Kare Kano / His And Her Circumstances
Apr. 29th, 2020 07:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
satalasers This was a good manga! God, I haven't read manga in so long. (Besides Bleach.)
It starts off so cute! And then, oh boy, it takes a real sharp slope downhill.
But I really liked this manga! It was soft and sweet and difficult and intimate. It was also uncomfortable to get through, because of Arima's backstory, and then, less intentionally, two of the side ships, which I don't think have aged well.
I want to talk about that first: the first side ship: she's 16, he's 28. Even if the mangaka presented the 28 year old as a really cute and nice guy, the age difference is uncomfortable! (Also the implied future relationship with Asaba and Yukino/Arima's daughter!! DNW!!!) The second ship, they're stepsiblings. I would have been happy with a wholesome stepsiblings relationship, but I can't get what I want, and what I don't want is the stepsiblings to fall in love with each other.
I liked how quickly the leads fell in love TBH! It was such an interesting examination of how they fell in love because they wanted to get rid of the masks they had, and dated because they wanted to be truer to themselves, but they still trembled and stumbled because of their insecurities, but found a way to be healthier, happier people. IDK, it was refreshing that they got together after three chapter, and then I still had over a hundred more to get through.
It might have helped that the mangaka's attention sometimes wandered onto other characters, which was nice because it made other characters feel fleshed out, but on the other hand, I got annoyed because I wanted the spotlight back on the main couple, and sometimes I found it hard to tell who was who, when it tried to expand on their love lives? I'm sure when I get round to watching the anime, I won't mind it, but reading it the first time around I really was like: yeah this is nice and all but the main couple though!!!!
Nothing could have prepared me for Arima Soujirou's abuse storyline. I was aware that something bad was coming up, because it was foreshadowed, but jeez, it was difficult to get through. I liked that Arima's struggle was so turbulent, though, and how hard he tried to stay fine, because that's what he believed he needed to present, and then it just crumbles, and he cannot handle it. It felt very realistic how he pushed people away, and then how he overcame that, and began to rely on the ones he loved, and opened up truly. (Also, holy hell, I hated how vile the mother was, and how that storyline transpired. The fact that his 'abuse' was 'normal' to him, since he was a child and didn't know what 'normal' was, was so chilling to read as he recalled his forgotten memories.)
The Arima family was one huge cycle of abuse, and it was so interesting to see it reoccur through the generations, and how Soujirou was scared that it might also pass onto his children. I mean, it affected everyone in his family differently, his father/uncle/aunt in such different ways, and it was fascinating to realize the extent of badly it had impacted them all.
Also: Arima Soujirou's darkside was!!! intense!!! I know it was representative of his subconsciousness and posessiveness (and he tried hard to fight that), but it still shocked me as he spiralled into darkness.
It really was satisfying to see him get his happily ever after, though, because he overcame it and heartbreakingly got to know what it meant to be loved and to love, after he had closed him self off for so, so long.
I think I really started getting attached to him when he saw the school play, that was kinda loosely based on him/Maho/Yukino/Tsubasa, and it was too much for him, because there was more going on with him underneath than I knew at the time. But I liked the wackiness of the play, but you could see how it was based in what they had gone through -- the need to be 'seen' as 'perfect', and how damaging an effect it had on them. I mean, technically, it started before then: when he admitted to Yukino that he was afraid he had inherited his biological parent's bad genes, but seeing him get seriously affected by the play also was a big factor for me TBH.
I always liked Yukino, though! She made me laugh with her whiplash ways and originally solely existed to be praised, before she became a much more genuine and nicer person, and realized her loneliness and naivety. I also liked her becoming friends with Asaba, Maho and Tsubasa though.
I think I'd have liked a bit more of Asaba's backstory TBH! I liked his BFFery with Arima, understanding him when no one else could, and seeing him be kind of empty as well. But I kind of wanted to see him be healed too, actually, instead of it happening... potentially with his best friend's child.
I actually missed the group of friends hanging out by the end. As much as I liked the daily life, and the focus on other people, and then on a lot of people breakdowns, I... also would have liked to seen them just hanging out a bit more! Just a little bit!
I did not expect to love Reiji so much! I was already reeling from Ryouko being an awful mother, and I had a feeling there was something odd with Reiji, and he was a bit of a gadfly, a bit of a trickster, but then, learning his own backstory, and the fact that he was going to kill Ryouko was. Well, I can understand the sentiment. But seeing Reiji and Soujirou bond was great, and seeing Reiji and Souji reconcile was also great. And in general, I like how he got introduced to the group of friends.
Also: I super love that marriage/pregnancy isn't the end all of things! When Yukino got pregnant, I was worried, but just because they got married, doesn't mean that they can't have jobs later on, and the 16 years later epilogue proved that! She was determined to be a doctor and a mother, and Soujirou decided to be a police officer, and I liked how they worked hard to achieve their dreams, as it changed as they grew up.
So yeah, a pretty solid manga, that's left me a lot to think about. It's wierd, when I started reading this manga, it reminded me a bit of Kimi Ni Todoke, but as it progressed it reminded me more of Cheese In The Trap. Speaking of CITT, I really want to read that sometime, as much as I liked the kdrama, I do kind of want to read the webtoon too.
It starts off so cute! And then, oh boy, it takes a real sharp slope downhill.
But I really liked this manga! It was soft and sweet and difficult and intimate. It was also uncomfortable to get through, because of Arima's backstory, and then, less intentionally, two of the side ships, which I don't think have aged well.
I want to talk about that first: the first side ship: she's 16, he's 28. Even if the mangaka presented the 28 year old as a really cute and nice guy, the age difference is uncomfortable! (Also the implied future relationship with Asaba and Yukino/Arima's daughter!! DNW!!!) The second ship, they're stepsiblings. I would have been happy with a wholesome stepsiblings relationship, but I can't get what I want, and what I don't want is the stepsiblings to fall in love with each other.
I liked how quickly the leads fell in love TBH! It was such an interesting examination of how they fell in love because they wanted to get rid of the masks they had, and dated because they wanted to be truer to themselves, but they still trembled and stumbled because of their insecurities, but found a way to be healthier, happier people. IDK, it was refreshing that they got together after three chapter, and then I still had over a hundred more to get through.
It might have helped that the mangaka's attention sometimes wandered onto other characters, which was nice because it made other characters feel fleshed out, but on the other hand, I got annoyed because I wanted the spotlight back on the main couple, and sometimes I found it hard to tell who was who, when it tried to expand on their love lives? I'm sure when I get round to watching the anime, I won't mind it, but reading it the first time around I really was like: yeah this is nice and all but the main couple though!!!!
Nothing could have prepared me for Arima Soujirou's abuse storyline. I was aware that something bad was coming up, because it was foreshadowed, but jeez, it was difficult to get through. I liked that Arima's struggle was so turbulent, though, and how hard he tried to stay fine, because that's what he believed he needed to present, and then it just crumbles, and he cannot handle it. It felt very realistic how he pushed people away, and then how he overcame that, and began to rely on the ones he loved, and opened up truly. (Also, holy hell, I hated how vile the mother was, and how that storyline transpired. The fact that his 'abuse' was 'normal' to him, since he was a child and didn't know what 'normal' was, was so chilling to read as he recalled his forgotten memories.)
The Arima family was one huge cycle of abuse, and it was so interesting to see it reoccur through the generations, and how Soujirou was scared that it might also pass onto his children. I mean, it affected everyone in his family differently, his father/uncle/aunt in such different ways, and it was fascinating to realize the extent of badly it had impacted them all.
Also: Arima Soujirou's darkside was!!! intense!!! I know it was representative of his subconsciousness and posessiveness (and he tried hard to fight that), but it still shocked me as he spiralled into darkness.
It really was satisfying to see him get his happily ever after, though, because he overcame it and heartbreakingly got to know what it meant to be loved and to love, after he had closed him self off for so, so long.
I think I really started getting attached to him when he saw the school play, that was kinda loosely based on him/Maho/Yukino/Tsubasa, and it was too much for him, because there was more going on with him underneath than I knew at the time. But I liked the wackiness of the play, but you could see how it was based in what they had gone through -- the need to be 'seen' as 'perfect', and how damaging an effect it had on them. I mean, technically, it started before then: when he admitted to Yukino that he was afraid he had inherited his biological parent's bad genes, but seeing him get seriously affected by the play also was a big factor for me TBH.
I always liked Yukino, though! She made me laugh with her whiplash ways and originally solely existed to be praised, before she became a much more genuine and nicer person, and realized her loneliness and naivety. I also liked her becoming friends with Asaba, Maho and Tsubasa though.
I think I'd have liked a bit more of Asaba's backstory TBH! I liked his BFFery with Arima, understanding him when no one else could, and seeing him be kind of empty as well. But I kind of wanted to see him be healed too, actually, instead of it happening... potentially with his best friend's child.
I actually missed the group of friends hanging out by the end. As much as I liked the daily life, and the focus on other people, and then on a lot of people breakdowns, I... also would have liked to seen them just hanging out a bit more! Just a little bit!
I did not expect to love Reiji so much! I was already reeling from Ryouko being an awful mother, and I had a feeling there was something odd with Reiji, and he was a bit of a gadfly, a bit of a trickster, but then, learning his own backstory, and the fact that he was going to kill Ryouko was. Well, I can understand the sentiment. But seeing Reiji and Soujirou bond was great, and seeing Reiji and Souji reconcile was also great. And in general, I like how he got introduced to the group of friends.
Also: I super love that marriage/pregnancy isn't the end all of things! When Yukino got pregnant, I was worried, but just because they got married, doesn't mean that they can't have jobs later on, and the 16 years later epilogue proved that! She was determined to be a doctor and a mother, and Soujirou decided to be a police officer, and I liked how they worked hard to achieve their dreams, as it changed as they grew up.
So yeah, a pretty solid manga, that's left me a lot to think about. It's wierd, when I started reading this manga, it reminded me a bit of Kimi Ni Todoke, but as it progressed it reminded me more of Cheese In The Trap. Speaking of CITT, I really want to read that sometime, as much as I liked the kdrama, I do kind of want to read the webtoon too.
