Tsuda (津田雅美) is a tea-loving, crazy manga-ka who lives in Japan. Her most famous work that has been translated into several languages is Kare Kano (or His and Her Circumstances).
Tsuda likes operas, historical sites, and classic children's tales.
Un volume allegro che inizia con uno spaccato sulla storia d'amore tra Maho e Takashi prima di passare alla gita scolastica a Kyoto piena didivettiemnto e che consolida il legame tra tutti i compagni di classe; ma anche in questi momenti allegri e spensierati, il lato oscuro di Arima è sempre presente, in agguato per poter spuntare fuori al momento meno opportuno... Il volume si chiude con una storia extra dedicata al giorno degli esami di ammissione al liceo, un momento dove possiamo confortare i desideri di Yukino e Arima, i loro progetti e quello che desideravano dalla loro futura vita liceale, una parte che è molto bello leggere conoscendo poi come i due si sono evoluti fino a questo punto della storia e poter vedere (e in un certo senso apprezzare) come sono cambiati. Un volume carino ma è un peccato che la storia non va molto avanti, sopratutto mi dispiace che non venga che accennata la questione di Arima, del suo lato oscuro e della sua famiglia, è una cosa che mi incuriosisce molto e spero davvero che venga narrata presto in maniera esaustiva.
Kare Kano is a gut-wrenching and wild ride. If you have only seen the anime, then you are missing a lot of the meat of this story. Kare Kano follows the story of Yukino who strives to be an image of perfection. She’s beautiful, is at the top of her class, and seems naturally good at everything she tries. However, this perfection is a complete facade. Yukino’s home life reveals her to be a messy, rude, narcissist, who is obsessed with being the best. Yukino’s obsessive pursuits seem to be fueled by the praise and admiration she receives from those around her, it becomes clear that she has a crippling fear of failure. Meanwhile, her class rival, Soichiro aims for perfection for entirely different reasons. Soichiro’s perfect life aims to conceal his dark past as he tries to make up for the abuse and trauma he faced as a child. He clearly has an overwhelming fear of loss and rejection.
Throughout the story, these two characters’ lives intertwine as they learn one another’s secrets and help one another work through their problems. Each of them grows as individuals separate from one another, but they also grow as friends and eventually a couple. If you have watched the anime, then your perception of this story is probably that it is a romantic comedy. While you are not necessarily wrong, this manga reaches levels of depth and darkness that the anime definitely does not prepare you for. This story tackles topics like self-harm, suicide, domestic abuse, sexual assault, and unwanted pregnancy, and a whole slew of mental health-related issues. While the manga covers much of these topics with noticeable care and sensitivity, I will say that given that the manga ran from the mid-’90s to the early ’00s, its understanding of some of these issues can feel quite dated at times. There are elements to this story that I think are actively harmful. Specifically, the great length’s to which Yukino attempts to heal Soichiro’s dark past. This establishes a narrative in which a woman’s strength is defined by her ability to stand by her man no matter what. Unfortunately, that kind of storytelling has real-world consequences no matter how realistic the depiction is in this case. While it is not at the forefront of the story-telling, this manga also perpetuates the idea that girls should pursue older men; that they have more to offer and are simply more suitable partners than more age-appropriate options. This is a sentiment that I absolutely do not agree with, and I believe it to be a harmful trope.
That being said, while this story is quite dark at times it has an undeniable honesty and relevancy to the narrative. In many ways, it feels realistic, even if it is uncomfortable, which is probably why so many manga readers still flock to this series years after its publication. If you liked Fruits Basket or Mars, then I think you would enjoy Kare Kano. I think Fruits Basket does a better job unpacking different kinds of trauma, especially in regards to toxic masculinity. However, for better or worse, Kare Kano never relies on metaphor or fantasy to soften the blow of hard-hitting topics and in that way feels all too real in its delivery.
2.5 rounded down because EW MAHO'S ROMANCE IS GROSS AND WHY ARE THERE TWO CHAPTERS DEVOTED TO IT??? This volume reads like a bunch of vignettes of the characters. While I don't hate Kare Kano's cast, I do enjoy the lead couple much over the ensemble cast meaning this volume again feels uninteresting to me. Especially after constant teasing Soichiro's mental health crisis with it being near-nonexistent in this volume. I just wish Tsuda would have focused on the leads more than fleshing out the side cast. Maho's romance is well written except for the giant glaring issue of a high schooler dating a 27 year old. If the romance was a 27 year old and a college freshmen or sophomore it would be ok. But its just too gross for me. The idea behind the romance is okay but the execution is just terrible because of the awful age gap. The Kyoto trip is uninteresting to me. It focuses a lot on the iconography of Kyoto but I'm from the USA. I don't know enough to be wowed by the rendering or referencing of Kyoto stuff. And as a reader I care little for the many side characters of KareKano. I love KareKano the most when its about the main leads. And this volume is definitely not about them. It's a fun volume for fans to enjoy seeing the whole cast dick about. But I don't care where they're dicking about because of how it is framed and handled and I care little for KareKano's side cast aside from a few characters.
Bagian favoritku di volume ini adalah di bagian awal, yang mengisahkan awal pertemuan Maho dan pacarnya, Takashi. Sejauh ini, mereka pasangan yang paling aku suka.
Bagian berikutnya mengisahkan perjalanan darmawisata sekolah. Blablabla. Tak banyak perkembangan yang terjadi. Bagian selanjutnya malah flashback ke waktu mereka masih kelas 3 SMP dan mau menjalani ujian masuk SMA.
Ugh. I don’t understand the 28 year old and Maho situation but.. I like that stupid man LOL
Anyway, the school trip to Kyoto was fun!! I love this group of friends! Seeing Hideaki not so tan is funny. I like him pale LOL.
The zero chapter was a nice extra. It was interesting to see how everyone was in the same place at the same time, yet passing each other by. Little do they know, they would be great friends in the future :-)
Me estoy empezando a aburrir con la historia. La parte más relevante fue la de Maho y aun así me dejó indiferente; en cuanto a lo del viaje fue tan mehh. Estaría genial un poco de drama o algo que prenda la chispa de la historia, porque ahora mismo se vuelve cansado leer tanta armonía y felicidad por doquier.
Esta mejorando un poco,aunque sensata llendo por las ramas, me gusta que desarrollen a varios personajes, pero siento que podrían hacerlo mezclándolos con la historia principal y no en capítulos aparte
It began super cute - charming characters & fun little slice of life episodes with the occasional dramatic shift. Over the past three volumes, however, it's dissolved into a jumble of filler snippets without much character development. The author's sweet little updates on her life became my favorite part of the series.
Today's post is on Kare Kano: his and her circumstances volume 10 by Masami Tsuda. As it is the tenth in the long running series you need to have read the first nine to understand the story. It is 224 pages long and is published by Tokyopop. The cover has Yukino, Tsubasa, and Maho on it. The intended reader is someone who likes high school love stories, humor, and cuteness in general. There is no language, no sex, and no violence in this volume. The story is told from the main characters point of views moving as needed over the course of the story. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the back of the book- When Maho confesses her true feelings for Takashi, he admits that he's not the man she thinks he is. With the arrival of winter comes an end-of-semester school trip to Kyoto, where a little love and tenderness just might fill everyone with good memories, glad tidings and the sweetest of dreams.
Review- The first part of the volume is about how Maho met and started dating her older boyfriend. It was sweet but the age difference did bother me. It is talked about how much older he is than her and how that will affect their relationship. The last half is on the school trip to Kyoto. Things go back to normal with everyone acting like teenagers. Yukino and Soichiro have some time to themselves and it sweet. Everyone else's adventures are pretty funny. Nothing about Soichiro's 'dark side'; just him and Yukino enjoying themselves together. More Drama ahead!
I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.
Il decimo volume de Le situazioni di lui & lei si focalizza ancora su un personaggio diverso, Maho, la ragazza che sembrava, solo qualche numero fa, la candidata perfetta al ruolo di villain. L'autrice ci mostra il suo incontro con il giovane dentista e gli sviluppi della loro storia. Il volume continua con la gita scolastica (possibile che le ragazze giapponesi non possano passeggiare da sole per strada senza essere molestate almeno verbalmente dai ragazzi?? Mah!), durante la quale Arima pensa che il suo amore per Yukino sia "esasperato" e "sbagliato". Nell'ultima parte, diamo un'occhiata ai due protagonisti quando erano ancora degli estranei l'uno per l'altra, durante gli esami di ammissione alle superiori.
i felt like this one, and the last vol. didn't really focus on yukino and soichiro. i guess that's unfair since the play was practically all yukino. anywho- i'm sad to find out that they won't be focused on till vol. 13.
fairly typical school trip. i disagree with the belief that being over protective is a wrong kind of love. you're over protective because you care (at least on some level, unless you're a diabolical villian and are over protective for selfish, self-serving purposes).
....I guess elaborating more on Maho's story was worth the read, but other than that, I feel as though this manga's taken a silly direction instead of a serious one. It was more serious at first, and now it's gotten silly, but I don't think that that's a good combo. Instead, it's better if the manga goes from being silly to serious, like OHSHC. I guess....it's still worth reading, but hopefully it'll get back to being serious from now on...
Back story of Maho and her boyfriend as well as a Tokyo trip with the gang. It ends with a flashback to the entrance exams to their current school (eg where Arima got first, and Miyazawa second). Didn't feel like there was much special about this one. The flashback didn't really develop much either.
I didn't really see anything about Arima that was weird, considering the end of the last one where he seemed to be in despair over his girlfriend's happiness. I would think he would be more violent or at least some type of nerve would just implode and he would spazz out over something small, but he kept his cool...most of the time...
I liked the back story of Maho and her boyfriend. It was revealing and interesting to see how they met and what they thought of each other, considering the 12 year age gap.
I just wish I could remember how much of it I've read. I know I haven't read all of it, but I have read at least through volume 10. I think I borrowed the volumes I've read from a friend, but I just don't remember!
This school trip seemed oddly focused on food. I did not enjoy it merely as much as all the other volumes. Im really curious to see what the meaning is behind Soichiros strange inner dialogue.