kare kano?

[echolalia]

So, I've recently discovered that my local indie video rental store has acquired Love Hina and Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou for their anime DVD vault, two series I've been really curious about.

I rented the first volume of kare kano and watched it last night, and again this morning while I should have been cleaning the bathroom. =D I like it well enough, and I'll watch the rest, but... it's kind of weird.

The English dub is really quite good. Usually there's just something missing in an English dub, some spark of personality, some subtlety or depth of emotion in the Japanese performance that the English voice actors just can't match. I didn't find that to be the case here, and there were places where the English VAs coaxed a bigger emotional response out of me than the Japanese cast. Weird, huh?

The pacing in the first three episodes was *way* too fast -three months in the first four episodes! 8/ To be fair, in part it seems fast because I expected it to be more of a will-they/won't-they story, and it is so not. And I'm glad it's not -it's sweet to see a young couple discover love together, rather than stumble around it blindly forever- but still, I think there was a lot of valuable material to be explored in those early stages that the anime just shot through, like it wasn't really all that important. They lost believability there, and emotional engagement. The main couple solved their problems so quickly and so easily, I almost feel like they don't deserve their rewards. And, since I've seen them work things out so well in the past, I'm not the least bit concerned that they won't continue to do so in the future. Oh well. =)

But my biggest complaint about the anime seems to be the very same thing that recommends it to so many others: that it's made by Gainax. I don't have a lot of experience with Gainax: An unpleasant one with Eva (I really hate that series. Yes, I have seen all of it... Yes, I know it's all symbolic, but I still hate it) and a pleasant one with the English dub of FLCL. But that's enough to give me a feel of what makes Gainax, and the kare kano anime feels like Gainax. And that feels wrong. It'll be story-story-story-story.... Oh look. 10 seconds of a dripping faucet. Story-story-story-story... Hey. 5 seconds of a traffic light. =P

I know these inbetween frames are supposed to be all symbolic and shit, but it feels like externally imposed symbolism. It just doesn't mesh with the rest of the story... almost like if the anime producers ripped scenes from Eva or FLCL and shoved them into Fruits Basket. Admittedly, I haven't read the manga, so for all I know, there are whole pages devoted to dripping faucets, but for some reason, I really doubt it.

Anyway... In conclusion, I'm intrigued by the story and the characters, but rather turned off by the presentation. I'd love to hear what other people think, particularly opinions on the manga, which I am now even more curious about. =)

[Patches]

We watched Kare Kano in its entirety in my anime club last year. I liked the series okay, it's just that it never went anywhere, and it just kinda stopped rather than ended. Plus, the animation was really hit-and-miss, like they gave each episode to a different team and told them to get it done as quickly as possible.

The only thing I really liked about the series was the music. We'd always sway back and forth to Arima's little piano angsting theme, just singing along, "~Angsting aaangsting.... angsting aaaangsting...." Arima really started to grate on my nerves by the end. It's like, "Look, you've got your girlfriend, your life's good, so PULL YOURSELF OUT OF YOUR DAMN HOLE OF SELF-HATE!!!" I wanted to punch him sooooo many times (thankfully, Yukino did it for me occasionally).

So, yeah, I liked the series okay, but this is coming from someone who's not too into shoujo.

[Cabbage]

I enjoyed Kare Kano. It's one of the few shoujo series I like. However, there were a few aspects that kept it off my top ten list. Namely, the three recap episodes and the ending (I think it was three and if I'm correct, you can basically skip episodes 14-16 because they are straight recycled material x.x; ). The ending is not the anime's fault though, the manga-ka pulled the project in disgust of how Gainax and Anno where handling her story. This doesn't mean the anime is bad, it's just not as great as it could have been.

Now, it's been awhile since I've seen it, but from memory, I think it does shoot fast during the beginning, but then, if I remember correctly, it slows down a bit. I suppose a turn off can be that it's strictly about the characters, mainly Yukino and Arima (that's her name right?). There's no greater deed to accomplish, nothing driving or motivating actions other than daily life. So yea, it can feel like a dripping faucet. It's a simple story of living. ^.^

About Gainax: I can't say I'm a huge fan of the company either. In truth, I don't pay much attention to companies, but for the two series you've already mentioned, I think FLCL is overrated and have never seen Eva. I've never wanted to and the huge fanbase surrounding it makes me want to avoid it even more, heh. Also, Anno Hideki (however it's spelled) directed both Eva and Kare Kano so if you're getting that Gainax "feel," that may be why. But, more than not, he is following the manga, created by someone else, so at least it isn't his original work as it was with Evangelion.

About the manga: I haven't read it, but I've read many times in forums that it's better than the anime. There's more emphasis on humor and most likely character development, especially in the beginning areas that the anime drove highspeed through. Also, when you reach the final episode of the anime, you'll want to pick up the manga even more. I was just too lazy to hunt it down. ;D