Anime Review – His and Her Circumstances
Article by Susie Q
This article is an anime review of the series His and Her Circumstances. This anime series is about a high-school girl, Yukino, who prides herself on being a practically perfect student at school. Everyone thinks she’s completely perfect without even trying. Secretly though, Yukino really just wants to look that way- she lives for others admiration and praise! Nobody knows the real her, until one person, this guy Arima, who is also a rival perfect model student (!), sees the “real” Yukino at home when she’s not trying to impress anyone (and she is a mess!). Arima blackmails her into doing his schoolwork, but of course it’s really because he likes Yukino and wants a chance to get to know her better!
ReviewHis and Her is a really good high school drama. It’s very realistic, and examines the emotions of a regular high-school student instead of relying on a hectic plotline (like the monsters or aliens that often attack other high schools- like in the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya or Bleach). Even without a complex plotline, I kept watching because I liked Yukino’s character- yes she’s very manipulative at school, but it is a lot of work maintaining her “perfect” image without letting anyone see her work hard. So it’s fun to see how she does it.There’s a lot of plotting how to look good at school, and Yukino also rethinks why she cares so much about what other people think about her.
AnimationThis show has very good animation. I read on the Quirky Japan website, about how tourist photos of Japan are heavily photoshopped and airbrushed to make them appear scenic and hide the massive powerlines that are actually there- maybe that’s why the city scenes stood out so much: there are huge powerlines but it looks very striking in front of the bright sunset skies. There are also a lot of moments with collages of character cutouts that is strange but also interesting. Perhaps it was cheaper on the animation budget, but it’s also creative and artsy at the same time.
His and Her Circumstances is a great series about high-school drama, hopefully this anime review will encourage you to check it out!