Tag Archives: His and Her Circumstances

Saving Judgement

Thursday, November 1, 2007 – 4:26 pm

Hot Step Jump shows just why I dislike passing judgement on a series until I’ve seen most or all of it:

After watching the first episode of Mokke a few weeks ago, I wrote, “The first episode didn’t necessarily grab me as much as I would’ve liked, but I think the show has a lot of potential.” Yet, despite my optimism, I proceeded to put the show out of sight and out of mind, almost to the point of forgetting about it entirely. This past weekend, however, I sat down and watched a few more episodes and discovered that my initial impression of the show was pretty much on the mark. In fact, I’d even go so far as to now label it one of my favorite shows of the season. I’m glad I gave it a fair chance.

Even a series like Myself; Yourself, in which I wrote that I wasn’t necessarily impressed with the first episode, I decided to keep watching, and now 4 episodes into it, it’s starting to grow on me a little.

First episodes might give you an idea of what a series is about, but it won’t necessarily tell you how well the series will turn out. A series may start off with a bang, then go down hill, while others may start out slow then have a fantastic ending.

Kannazuki no Miko, while hardly the best anime I’ve ever seen, is a good example of a show that got better as the series progressed. Then there are series like His and Her Circumstances which I think start off really strong, then collapse near the end. You could not get a proper impression of either of those series by merely watching their first episodes (or even first DVD volumes).

Thus, I think it’s always good to reserve judgement, at least for a little while, while watching a series.

By Josh | Posted in 2007 Anime | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #35

Saturday, July 28, 2007 – 10:42 pm

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode 35Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #35 is now online! In this podcast, I re-review the anime series His and Her Circumstances.

This week’s Podcast Stats:
Time: 27:06
Download Size: 18.6 MB

This week’s opening theme:
“Rhythm Emotion” by TWO-MIX
Second opening theme to Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

This week’s ending theme:
“Yume no Naka e” by Enomoto Atsuko and Suzuki Chihiro
Ending theme to His and Her Circumstances

You can listen to my podcasts in the following ways:

Flash Player:

Directly: http://www.joshsanimeblog.com/podcast/JABPEpisode35.mp3

You can also download or add my podcast-only RSS feed to your favorite reader or add my podcast using iTunes.

Enjoy!

By Josh | Posted in Podcasts | Tagged | Comments (0)

Anime Credits - His and Her Circumstances Opening

Friday, October 20, 2006 – 12:35 pm

By Josh | Posted in Anime Credits | Tagged | Comments (0)

Anime Review: His and Her Circumstances - Score: 77%

Thursday, June 15, 2006 – 10:17 pm

The Essentials

His and Her CircumstancesName: His and Her Circumstances, Kare Kano, Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō
Genre:: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Episodes: 26
Released: October 2, 1998 - April 23, 1999
Based On: Kare Kano manga by Masami Tsuda
Director: Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki
Produced By: GAINAX, TV Tokyo
US Distribution By: The Right Stuf

Major Japanese Cast

Yukino Miyazawa: Atsuko Enomoto
Souichirou Arima: Chihiro Suzuki
Tsukino Miyazawa: Yuki Watanabe
Kano Miyazawa: Maria Yamamoto
Hiroyuki Miyazawa: Takeshi Kusao
Miyako Miyazawa: Yuka Koyama
Hideaki Asaba: Atsushi Kisaichi
Tsubasa Shibahime: Mayumi Shintani
Maho Isawa: Junko Noda

Major English Cast

Yukino Miyazawa: Veronica Taylor
Souichirou Arima: Christopher Nicholas
Tsukino Miyazawa: Jessica Calvello
Kano Miyazawa: Megan Hollingshead
Hiroyuki Miyazawa: Pete Zarustica
Miyako Miyazawa: Rachael Lillis
Hideaki Asaba: Liam O’Brien
Tsubasa Shibahime: Lisa Ortiz
Maho Isawa: Carol Jacobanis

Scores

Animation: 7/10 (x 4 = 28 pts)
Story: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherency/Story Arc: 7/10 (x 2 = 14 pts)
English Dubs: 9/10 (x 1 = 9 pts)
Gut Score: 7/10 (x 5 = 35 pts)

Total: 154/200 (77%)

Review

His and Her Circumstances started out good enough. I found the story of Yukino being jealous of Arima and plotting his demise while at the same time falling for him intriging, the story started going down hill after they got together. Not that there some interesting things about the series - the character development is quite complex (in fact, the entire series is almost completely focused on character development in my opinion, in this case to it’s detriment).

After a while it seemed like the series didn’t know where it was going, and farther into the series the worst this sensation became. After a while, I just wanted to ask “what’s the point again?” It started as the dynamic between Yukino and Arima and ended up trying to portray the relationship of virtually every major character to each other (whatever that relationship may be) and in many cases went into story lines far removed from the two main characters. Perhaps if the series had started with such a broad look implied or stated, I don’t think it was as bad, but how it was scripted in the anime, it just makes it look like the series lost it’s way.

Next, to the animation. While some of this series was animated in the, shall I say “usual” anime style, there were times when it was also drawn in a way that I can best describe as looking like a colored pencil sketch, at least that’s what I recall. In any case, while I usually have no problem getting distracted by how a series is animated, I did have that problem to an extent watching this.

One final note, I may be doing this series a favor by giving it only a 77%. While this wasn’t a bad series by any stretch of the imagination, and I can see why many people may enjoy it, it’s rare that I end up finding myself surfing the web while the subtitled version of the series is still playing in my DVD. This is a clear sign to me that, by the last couple of discs in the series, I was just flat out bored.

First Watched: April - May 2006
Do I Own: Yes
Do I Recommend: Yes, with caveats

By Josh | Posted in Anime Reviews | Tagged | Comments (0)

I”s Pure and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Friday, May 12, 2006 – 6:46 pm

There are now two being-released-in-Japan-right-now series that I am currently following (at least the best I can with my internet connection): I”s Pure, which I’ve been watching since it first came out in December; and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which I’ve just finished downloading the six episodes that are out on torrent so far (7 have aired so far).

I”s Pure should be done in June (at least it’s Japan released…as far as being fansubbed…we’ll see about that) and TMoHS, if wikipedia is correct about it being a 14 episode series, should be done in late June as well. I hope to write reviews of both when they finish.

I’m also one DVD away from finishing His and Her Circumstances, so I should be able to post a review of it in not too long. Also, I almost posted a review of Please Twins! earlier, but I wanted to re-write it a little before I posted it.

I’m currently working on my first long series through blockbuster in Cardcaptor Sakura, which is something like 18 volumes long (it has 70 episodes) and blockbuster put volume 5 in the mail just a couple days ago.

I still have quite a few other series I wish to review as well. I’m renting DearS through blockbuster so I can listen to the English dub before I review it (I saw a subtitled fan sub of it before), ditto with Girls Bravo. I’m in the process of buying Koi Kaze, and the same watching it dubbed thing applies.

Ai Yori Aoshi and Love Hina are ones I’m finished with but haven’t gotten into a mode to write a review of. I want to see Neon Genesis Evangelion again first, and, if I don’t run out of anime to review before then, I want to wait until KimiNozo finishes it’s release in December before I review it.

Well, thats all for now.

By Josh | Posted in Various | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Not a Review, just general blather

Thursday, April 13, 2006 – 5:12 pm

I’m starting to wonder if the entire cast of The World of Narue was bummed off of His and Her Circumstances (and whether HHC was influence at all by DNA2).

First, all three lead English voice actors from DNA2 are in His and Her Circumstances:

Liam O’Brien (Junta in DNA2): Asaba in HHC
Jessica Calvello (Karin in DNA2): Tsukino (one of Yukino’s younger sisters) in HHC
Rachael Lillis (Ami in DNA2); Miyako (Yukino’s mother) & Aya Sawada

[UPDATE]:
I found another DNA2 to HHC voice actor:
Michael Alston Baley a.k.a. David Brimmer, who did the voice of Mori in DNA2, does the voice of the Narrator on HHC.
[/UPDATE]

On the other hand, there is a plethora of people who were in HHC who showed up in Narue:

Rachael Lillis (Miyako and Aya in HHC): Kanaka in Narue
Jessica Calvello (Tsukino in HHC): Narumi and Rin in Narue
Veronica Taylor (Yukino in HHC): Narue in Narue
Carol Jacobanis (Maho in HHC): Bathyscaphe in Narue
Lisa Ortiz (Tsubasa in HHC): Magical Girl #4 in Narue
Debora Rabbai (Sena Rika in HHC): Haruna in Narue

I just find it interesting how two anime series can share large numbers of cast members.

By Josh | Posted in Various | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Ebay package 2 of 3 has arrived!

Monday, March 13, 2006 – 11:40 am

Alright, now we’re talking. The other package may be small enough to fit in my mailbox, which I haven’t checked yet, but I did get the other package at my door this morning (usually the mail doesn’t come until after I leave for work. They must have been eager to get it to me today).

This package included the thinpack Last Exile collection as well as The World of Narue collection which, while it’s not a thinpack, is still packaged to save space.

So thats complete series #6 and #7 in my anime collection.

I’m also going for a set of 5 Ai Yori Aoshi DVDs which are on ebay for pretty cheap. Now they’re set up, the shipping will end up being a little much (it’s full price for first item, and 50% off other items, which means if I get all five, shipping will still be around $20), but given how cheap it looks like the actual DVDs will go for (2 already had bids, but the other three I got with Buy It Now for $4.95 each). Unless bidding on the other two DVDs go insane, I should still save more money than most auctions over the 5 discs together.

I also got Neon Genesis Evangelion Platinum volume 4 and Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventures volume 3 from blockbuster over the weekend. Why Volumes 4 of NGE had only 3 episodes, I’m not sure, but I suppose there is a logical reason somewhere.

That means I now only have 2 volumes of NGE left and 1 volume of Dual! left. Neon Genesis Evangelion #5 was sent out by Blockbuster Thursday, so I should get it in another day. Blockbuster should send the next movie on the list to me next, which should be Dual! Volume 4, which will finish that series up.

Some other notes:
I was (finally) able to find an (English) subbed version of I”s Pure episode 2 (thank you c1anime!). They said episode 3 should be out soon, so, hopefully they’re right about that.

I haven’t really decided what anime to start watching after Dual! and NGE. After the last volume of Dual! is shipped, then the last volume of NGE will ship. Other than Volume 3 of Cowboy Bebop, which has been sitting in the #1 slot of my queue with an availability of “Long Wait” for months, I need to select 2 or 3 more series to watch.

One already on the list (just stuck below NGE and Dual!) is Cardcaptor Sakura, since it’s CLAMP. The biggest problem with this series is that it’s 16 volumes long, which means that it’ll probably take something like 4 months to start watching it.

Other series on my short list to add to the top of the queue include: Fushigi Yugi, His and Her Circumstances, Ah! My Goddess! the TV series, and Kaleido Star.

Another option that I’m thinking is to re-rent some anime which I’ve already seen but haven’t heard the English dub to (either because I didn’t listen to it when I rented before, or I downloaded a fansub which didn’t have English on it). This list would include, out of anime I’ve finished, Dears, and anime I haven’t finished, Girls Bravo.

The only thing left to say is that there is no anime review today (duh!) and tomorrow is Tuesday, thus it is the big anime DVD/manga release date of the week, so I’ll list the major releases for that. The next review may come on the 15th.

By Josh | Posted in General Blather, Various | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)