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Reviewed by Jason Brice Kare Kano, subtitled "his and her circumstances" is an exemplary shoujo manga; one that focuses on the concerns and interests of young / teenage girls. Centered on the school lives of Soichiro Arima (his) and Yukino Miyazawa (her), much of the first volume is spent showing the pair's first encounters with each other, and their growing romance. Readers are treated to an intimate look into the lives of teens, with creator Masami Tsuda establishing the characters' internal monologues as an integral part of her story-telling methodology. Both are excellent students, good-looking, and popular. But both also lead "second" lives; Miyazawa is ill kempt and ill tempered at home, while Arima fears that his poor family history will taint his relationships with others. Seemingly confident, Miyazawa is troubled deeply by her own "phoniness" and her inability to articulate how she feels about Arima. Meanwhile, he is oblivious to what she interprets vindictive behavior by him. Tsuda offers a resolution for the growing tension by the end of the third chapter, in which Miyazawa and Arima vow to be honest with each other and the rest of the world about their true feelings. Tsuda keeps the tone fairly light despite the deep personal dramas occurring in the story. There is plenty of humor to be had via switching into caricature mode (not quite super deformed), and even the most jaded cynic will be amused and delighted in places. Tsuda strips back the art in places to give maximum impact to the characters expressions, and this works well, although her style has yet to mature fully in this first volume. The plot could have moved with a little more pace. But I do get the feeling that the plot’s slow nature is intentional and somewhat necessary to service Tsuda’s great interest in character interaction. This is an unusual thing to note, but I especially liked Anna Kernbaum’s production design on the book for Tokyopop. The cover features a simple but attractive illustration of Miyazawa, by artist Gary Shum, set against a background photo of a field of tulips. Just lovely. Comment on this review of Kare Kano v1 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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