His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 6

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 6
TV Tokyo
March 26, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
C

Yes, there's a Part 6 and, no, we don't get any real closure for the series:

• Arima's dark side darkens so Tonami decides to really befriend him;
• Tonami realizes that his plans for revenge have changed and he's attracted to Tsubaki;
• Arima and Yukino still haven't really processed that their relationship is now sexual, or for that matter the fallout of "being their real selves and pursuing their true happiness";
• We don't even see the damn play that Aya wrote!

His and Her Circumstances ranges from a B+ premiere to 2 C-s, averaging out to a B-.  It reminds me a little of Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, in that it's an animated show that starts strong but loses its way, although the decline is more dramatic here of course.  As I recall, the manga went beyond this point and gave a real sense of closure, in fact SPOILER showing Arima and Yukino as married with a teenage daughter.  It's disappointing that the focus couldn't stay on the main couple here, not that side characters are a bad thing, but they should remain on the side.  I'll compare and contrast this with the other anime I have the complete collection of, Fruits Basket, when we get there.

His and Her Circumstances: A Different Story from Up to Now

His and Her Circumstances: A Different Story from Up to Now
TV Tokyo
March 19, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
B-

Kano is being followed by someone, possibly a stalker.  Then it appears to be a female classmate, who might have a crush on her.  Then it turns out that the classmate thought Kano had a crush on her.  And meanwhile Tsukino had set up a prank that she had to adjust.  It's interesting that same-sex crushes are presented here as a normal phase, including for Mrs. Miyazawa apparently.  Yukino is mostly here to react to Kano's dilemma, while Arima only has one line, but if they have to focus on other characters, I'd much rather it was the younger sisters than more about Tonami and Tsubaki.

His and Her Circumstances: A Different Story from So Far

His and Her Circumstances: A Different Story from So Far
TV Tokyo
March 12, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
C+

Choppy, confusing yet nonetheless interesting episode, the first half of which has Arima and/or Yukino dreaming about her helping him confront his childhood traumas, while the second half has the theme song and recaps, including by Yukino's female friends.

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 5

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 5
TV Tokyo
March 5, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
C

Plans for the Culture Fest continue, as do Tonami's plans for revenge.  Oh, and Yukino thinks kendo is sexy until she smells Arima after practice.  I think I was planning to give this a C+ but the fact that I completely forgot about watching it last night means a C makes more sense.

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 4

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 4
TV Tokyo
February 26, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
C+

Yukino agrees to do the play and emotionally blackmails Maho into participating.  They get a teacher to sponsor them and start planning.  Asaba, whose class is doing all the planning for his "dinner show," including tie-ins (amusingly a manga called His and His Boyfriend's Circumstances is one product), offers to help with sets for the play.  Meanwhile, Yukino and Tonami bond further over their dark sides.  Arima feels left out and Asaba is sympathetic.

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 3

Aya

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 3
TV Tokyo
February 19, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
C

Aya bribes Tsubasa and pressures Yukino and Maho to perform in her play, which is futuristic sci-fi about androids and their inventor.  Meanwhile, Tonami doesn't want Sakura to know who he is so that he can enact his revenge against her.  And Yukino goes along with it because she can relate to Tonami's remaking of himself.  So much for the girl-bonding.

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 2

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 2
TV Tokyo
February 12, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
C-

Tonami gives his backstory, of how Tsubaki both bullied him and protected him from other bullies.  Only Arima protected him, and Arima is happy to welcome him back.  I might've gone with a C, but then there's the scene where Yukino and Asaba force Arima to eat something and then say they enjoy making people do things against their will.  At least the animation is back up to standard.  And, no, I don't know why they couldn't just give the episodes real titles, rather than drawing out "14 Days" to five parts!

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 1

His and Her Circumstances: 14 Days, Part 1
TV Tokyo
February 5, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
C+

I don't remember the backstory on this but Hideaki Anno left as director, replaced by Kazuya Tsurumaki, and so we got this paper-doll version of the show.  Same voice actors though.  School is back in session and plans are in motion for the Culture Fest.  Meanwhile, a new student, Tonami (voiced by Ed Paulson), returns after an absence of three years, and Tsubaki used to treat him like a servant.  Note that the opening narration sets the story in the late '90s, one reason I decided to go with the original broadcast dates.

His and Her Circumstances: Progress

His and Her Circumstances: Progress
TV Tokyo
January 29, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
B

The title turns out to be an understatement, as this episode contains all of the following, any of which could've been a half or full episode in themselves:

• Arima and Yukino get to second base and he says he wants to make love to her someday, but also they manage to read and study a lot;
• They go to the beach with their friends;
• He goes to a family reunion where he's shamed as the son of the black sheep, but his adoptive father stands up for him;
• Arima and Yukino get caught in the rain and then seek shelter at his empty house, where they make love for the first time (represented symbolically by her chibi self losing her hat and his chibi self catching it, as well as dancing lights);
• He has nightmares because he's sought happiness.

Overstuffed but still good.

His and Her Circumstances: His Return

His and Her Circumstances: His Return
TV Tokyo
January 22, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
C+

While it's nice that Arima comes back, this episode has dubious messages:

• Maho has a 28-year-old dentist boyfriend and this is only seen as a sign of how mature she is.  (No, this is not like "Mrs. Marcia Dentist" on The Brady Bunch.)
• Yukino worries that she's accomplished nothing over the summer but homework, while Arima got taller and won the Kendo championship, neither of them an accomplishment that's going to help Arima that much in life.
• Yukino worries that her life has no direction without Arima, but Maho says love is meant to make you feel uncertain and unbalanced.
• Yukino finds herself more in love and physically attracted to Arima when he returns but she has trouble sharing her feelings until he feels rejected and corners and yells at her.  Then everything's OK.

His and Her Circumstances: Eternal Interspersion

His and Her Circumstances: Eternal Interspersion
TV Tokyo
January 15, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
B-

The family goes to visit the paternal grandfather, leading to flashbacks of how Father and Mother grew up together and gradually fell in love.  We don't see much of Yukino, and Arima is only glimpsed in a photo.

His and Her Circumstances: The Story So Far (Part 2)

His and Her Circumstances: The Story So Far (Part 2)
TV Tokyo
January 8, 1999
Anime, Romance
DVD
C+

After more flashbacks, we finally get back on track.  Arima and Yukino talk on the phone and miss each other.  Asaba comes over because he misses Arima, and we find out more about his background.  We also get some humor with the family, especially when the girls' father is understandably protective when Tsukino and Kano dote on "Asapin."

His and Her Circumstances: The Story So Far

His and Her Circumstances: The Story So Far
TV Tokyo
December 30, 1998
Anime, Romance
DVD
C-

On a live-action show, the characters sit around the living room (or workplace or what have you) and reminisce, while apparently in anime you just get a little narration linking clips in order that recap the "past five months."  I suppose this was tolerable when the show aired once a week, but watching on DVD?  Well, I confess I skimmed.

His and Her Circumstances: The Subjectivity of Happiness

His and Her Circumstances: The Subjectivity of Happiness
TV Tokyo
December 25, 1998
Anime, Romance
DVD
B-

To her surprise, Tsubasa finds herself befriending her punk rocker stepbrother-to-be, Kazuma (voiced by Buddy Woodward), and thus accepting their parents' engagement.  Yukino is hardly in this episode and the focus of this series has really shifted in the second quarter.  So of course we'll get one-and-a-half recap episodes next!

His and Her Circumstances: The Location of Happiness

His and Her Circumstances: The Location of Happiness
TV Tokyo
December 18, 1998
Anime, Romance
DVD
B-

"Sis gets involved in the problems of another household," as Tsubasa and a reluctant Maho sleep over because Tsubasa is angry at her widowed father for wanting to remarry.  It's nice to see the Miyazawa family, and a reluctant Maho, play Uno, but the focus here is more on Tsubasa's family, including her father slapping her for mouthing off.  Arima is seen only in flashbacks.

His and Her Circumstances: At the End of the First Semester

His and Her Circumstances: At the End of the First Semester
TV Tokyo
December 11, 1998
Anime, Romance
DVD
B

Although this aired in late autumn, it's set in summer, with vacation beginning.  Arima has to prepare for a kendo tournament, so he won't be able to spend time with Yukino, but she hangs out with her new female friends.  We first hear that Tsubaki likes cute girls, although it will later turn out that she's not a lesbian per se.  My favorite part here is the monster song at karaoke.

His and Her Circumstances: Everything Starts Now

His and Her Circumstances: Everything Starts Now
TV Tokyo
December 4, 1998
Anime, Romance
DVD
B

Yukino works out her problems with Maho and the rest of her class, and we get to know not only Tsubasa but her friends Tsubaki, Rika, and Aya (voiced by Lea Lane, Angora Deb, and Rachael Lillis respectively) a little better.  The series seems to be focused more on school than Yukino's family these days, which is fine, although I miss her sisters (they still do the synopses though).

His and Her Circumstances: Atonement for Postponed Debts

We've finally met everyone in this part of the opening credits.

His and Her Circumstances: Atonement for Postponed Debts
TV Tokyo
November 27, 1998
Anime, Romance
DVD
B

After one-third of a season with a rather skeletal regular cast (for anime), this episode introduces no less than five new recurring characters, all female.  Maho Isawa (voiced by Carol Jacobanis), who misses the popularity she had in middle school, stirs up gossip against Yukino, while Tsubasa Shibahime (Lisa Ortiz), who's had a crush on Arima since middle school, although he thinks of her as a kid sister, hates him having a girlfriend.  However, Tsubasa's three friends (whose names aren't really mentioned this episode) are friendlier towards poor Yukino.

His and Her Circumstances: Her Day

His and Her Circumstances: Her Day
TV Tokyo
November 20, 1998
Anime, Romance
DVD
B

Yukino and Arima share their second kiss after she accuses him of not being affectionate.  Then he flashes back to the day he fell in love with her, in April, when he saw her among the peach blossoms.  There's humor as well, especially with Asaba, so it's not just romance.

His and Her Circumstances: Their Estrangement

His and Her Circumstances: Their Estrangement
TV Tokyo
November 13, 1998
Anime, Romance
DVD
B

Despite the title, Arima and Yukino don't become estranged, but the principal and teachers try to separate them when they fall in the class rankings to respectively #3 and, gasp, #13!  They've been goofing off and having fun, so the faculty think they should wait till college to date and now concentrate on their studies.  Their parents, especially her father, take their side.