His and Her Circumstances, Vol. 3 by Kazuya Tsurumaki (Review)
Regardless of whatever is going on in my life, whatever topsy-turvy state of affairs the world is in, I know I can rely on His and Her Circumstances. It’s been a few months since I watched the previous volume, but as soon as the theme song came on, with its mention of angelic pinky promises and whatnot, I found myself immediately caught up in the spirit of the series. Even though some fans of the series might gripe at the contents of this disc, since 2 of the 5 episodes are essentially glorified flashbacks, I don’t really care. As far as I’m concerned, any new His and Her Circumstances is always a reason to celebrate.
The previous two discs in the series had focused almost exclusively on the developing relationship between Yukino Miyazawa, the most popular student at her high school, and Arima Souichirou, the student who challenged her position. Both of them had struggled with keeping up appearances as model students. Only when they met each other were they able to drop their pretenses and be their true selves. Much of the series emotion and charm derived from this, as they began to drop their guard while simultaneously falling in love. Pretty heady stuff, but the series’ charm and humor always kept it from feeling like some overwrought teen drama on the WB network.
However, at the close of Disc 2, the school year had come to an end and the young lovers found themselves separated as Arima left for kendo school. But over the course of the disc, Yukino had begun to develop friends for the first time in her life, and now she’s decided to make up for lost time. It’s these relationships that are explored throughout Volume 3. In fact, Yukino often feels relegated to cameo status on this disc as the attention shifts to those around her.
The first two episodes on the disc deal with Yukino’s friend Tsubasa, a very young-looking girl who had once been jealous of Yukino’s relationship with Arima. However, Yukino is now the one that Tsubasa confides in. Her father wishes to remarry and Tsubasa refuses to accept it. At first, it seems like the reaction of a spoiled brat. But beneath her outburst lies Tsubasa’s fear that her father no longer loves and needs her (yet another example of the series’ knack for layered, multi-faceted characters). She feels threatened by this new woman in her father’s life, that she’ll be pushed out of her father’s heart. Scared and confused, she strikes back, only to be hurt and shocked when she doesn’t get her way.
The next two episodes are disappointing, since they’re essentially flashbacks through the previous 2 discs with some additional humorous commentary. They don’t really offer anything new to people who have been with the series since the beginning and newcomers will likely be confused by the onslaught of recaps. Methinks these were simply cooked up to give the studio a buffer when they ran up against a deadline or two, as they’re pretty superfluous to the series as a whole.
The disc’s final episode follows the Miyazawa clan as they visit their grandfather, a stubborn old man who is still angry at the fact that Yukino’s mother married a loser like her father. The episode is essentially another flashback, but this one casts a nostalgic and heartwarming look back on the relationship between Yukino’s parents, from their childhood together to their eventual courtship. Yukino’s parents have relatively minor roles in the series, with her father usually serving as comic relief whenever he becomes overprotective of his daughters (which makes for some of the series’ funniest scenes), so it really was quite nice to seem them fleshed out and given more depth and substance.
Of the series’ strengths, the one I love the most is how well it’s able to juggle humor and drama, and I was overjoyed to see that this was still in effect. One particular group of scenes was especially enjoyable in this regard. Early on, the Miyazawa clan is playing a fierce game of “Uno,” which immediately brought a smile to my face because I often played the game as a kid. I found myself laughing out loud at the family’s zany reactions and dialog, which stirred up similar memories of playing with my family. Once again, we see that despite their rather unorthodox behavior, the Miyazawa family still deeply loves each other, even when they are screaming at each other over a card game.
However, the scene suddenly cuts to that of Tsubasa in the next room, lonely and despondent over her father’s pending marriage. Tsubasa wonders if she’s about to lose her family for good; meanwhile, the sounds of the Miyazawa family, caught up in a fierce game of Uno, can be heard in the background. While staying with the Miyazawas, she’s seen a loving (if somewhat odd) family, and she wonders if she’ll ever experience that sort of life. It’s a powerful scene that increases the viewer’s empathy with Tsubasa, who came off earlier as a very childish and petty character.
There are other scenes that are hilarious as well, such as when Tsubasa meets the kid who is about to become her stepbrother. She’s shocked when he turns out to be a punk rocker (complete with bleached hair), and appalled when she begins to think that he might be falling for her. It sounds silly and weird on paper, but believe me, after you see it, your sides will be hurting from laughter. Her (literal) explosion at the dinner table is yet another fine example of the series’ limitless supply of offbeat energy. And not surprisingly, it serves as an unlikely way for the series to inject a more serious, thoughtful moment or two.
Volume 3 can feel out of place at times, since Yukino and Arima’s relationship takes second stage to everything else going on. In fact, Arima’s only appearance on this disc takes place during a few phonecalls. The series does integrate their relationship in when it can, primarily during the first 2 episodes, which serve up the disc’s strongest emotional content overall.
When Yukino gets drawn into Tsubasa’s problems, she learns more about the relationship between Tsubasa and Arima. This only makes her question her relationship all that much more, as she wonders if she really knows Arima as well as she thought she did. But even so, it still remains a tangential thing. Hopefully, things will get back to normal with the fourth disc, which finds Arima returning as the new school year starts up. I can’t wait to see how Yukino and Arima’s relationship will be affected by their time apart, and I’m betting that the series will make it just as zany and madcap as always.
I continue to find this series as enjoyable as any anime I’ve ever watched. It’s one of those series that, when I explain it, illicits a raised eyebrow and a groan or two. But I always find myself thoroughly enjoying each episode, flashbacks notwithstanding (and I didn’t even mind those too much, truth be told). I love watching the characters continue to develop and I love Gainax’s amazing artwork and animation (which is both lush and detailed and incredibly over the top and bizarre).
But perhaps most of all, I love being taken on the emotional rollercoaster, as the episodes shift between hilarious scenes that leave me in stitches and gentler, more emotional scenes that have me reaching for the tissues. It’s amazing that His and Her Circumstances can pull this off as well as they do, and as consistently, without ever being manipulative or coming apart at the seams. This is one series I truly enjoy in every sense of the word, and I can’t wait for the next volume, even if it means I’m getting that much closer to the end.
