Thanks for visiting the second update of our fledgling Media Spotlight section! There is plenty of exciting material out there that needs exposure, and we are enjoying looking for it. This update centers around His and Her Circumstances (Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou). It's a fantastic romance story by Masami Tsuda, which was adapted to anime by Hideaki Anno and the fine folks at Gainax. The series centers around Souichirou Arima and Yukino Miyazawa, two first-year high school students. Yukino is highly competitive and wants to be the best at everything to earn the admiration of her classmates. The only problem standing between her and her goal is Arima, who scored higher than her on the entrance exams. She vows revenge, and hilarity ensues. We have reviews of the first and second volumes of the series.

The Right Stuf, Inc. acquired the license to the Kare Kano anime, and began releasing the series in late 2002. The collection of screenshots below are out of the first two volumes of the domestic release, spanning 11 episodes. The third volume of Kare Kano is due out this coming Tuesday, the 28th of January, 2003. On the manga front, TOKYOPOP has the license for domestic distribution, and has recently released the first graphic novel of the series. The book also contains a cute short story titled, "The Tiger and the Chameleon: A Promise for a Week." The artwork samples shown below are out of a character art book which compliments the manga. The characters in the manga are drawn in this style. TOKYOPOP has adopted a 2-month per release schedule for Kare Kano, so the 2nd book will be available in March.

Souichirou Arima, the arch enemy of Yukino..at first, that is. Yukino's sisters: Kano and Tsukino, adorable as always.

Souichirou and Yukino, looking rather sharp. Cherry blossoms and Pero Pero are quite a sight.

Stills in the style of the manga are common throughout the Kare Kano TV series.
The show switches often between chibi designs and normal designs, to help bring out the humor more naturally. This also helps to differentiate which points the show is being serious and which it is being funny.
It's always refreshing to watch a strong female character in action. Even shoujo manga seems to have a shortage of it.
Yukino's sisters help keep the comedy going full-steam. Later on, she picks up a few friends (middle) through a common acquaintance. The story continually expands upon its roots to add depth seldom seen in romance stories.
One of my favorite scenes in the early part of the show. Hideaki, a mutual friend of the couple, teaches Souichirou a lesson for making Yukino wait. Notice the fantastic amount of detail in the drawings. The animators must have really liked drawing Yukino in that outfit. :)