With all of the times in the past few months that I’ve really been reminded of ‘Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou’ (His and Her Circumstances) because of the stylistic similarities with ‘Kimi ni Todoke’, and then coupled with that conversation with Enza-chan earlier, I figured it was about time to rewatch the series after eight years.

I’m on episode 3 now, and took a bunch of screens to show the younger otaku here who might not be familiar with the title what they’d be in for if they went out and bought it. It’s really an amazing series, though while saying it’s similar to ‘Kimi ni Todoke’, you could also say it’s exactly the opposite. Comparing Sawako to Yukino is like comparing the sun and the moon. Sawako is seen as scary and unsociable, while inwardly extremely innocent and kind, while Yukino is always the center of attention, externally perfect in all ways (beautiful, brilliant, but modest), while inwardly being spoiled, arrogant, and sly. Still, while ‘KareKano’ is a lot darker and more realistic, I can’t help but notice that I get the same warm feelings from both series. If I had to make one complaint, it’s that the seiyuus are really on different levels. Enomoto Atsuko voicing Yukino doesn’t even compare to Noto Mamiko voicing Sawako (that was just too damned perfect!)- and likewise the majority of the seiyuus in both titles are about the same. Of course, the argument could be made, and I’ve even made it before, that the voices in KareKano are a lot more realistic for being so rough- but it’s really all about just what a person’s taste is.