Comments on: Problematic Love

By: evilfishbowl

evilfishbowl — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:17:54 +0000

Throughout the animated series I noticed that the action often cut away or included “pillow shots” of the industrialized suburbia of Japan. At first I found these cutaway scenes to be very disjointed and incongruous with the lovey-dovey nature of the anime as a whole. But a second reading could be that the anime may have been commenting subtly on the instability of the Japanese economy during the 1990s. The teachers in the series like Kawashima-sensei attempting to uphold the status quo (i.e. the belief that excellent high school students will naturally attend excellent colleges and thus obtain excellent jobs in their future) is pitted against the reality of a disheveled and unstable job market. Therefore, teachers were promoting this idea of the “nature course of events” to Arima and Miyazawa despite the fact that this belief was being simultaneously challenged by the reality of a rising unemployment rate in Japan.

I kind of want to watch this series again, considering the downturn in the Japanese economy as of late. A few of my friends in Japan, who are soon to be graduating seniors, are having a hard time finding jobs and are relying solely on part-time jobs to get by. It’s hard right now on both sides of the Pacific, but at least Kare Kano keeps the youthful lovey-dovey vibe alive under economic pressure.

Or, perhaps I’m reading to much into this…

By: vendredi

vendredi — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:25:20 +0000

As you note, Kare Kano doesn’t really directly address educational themes such as the role of the student, etc. I’m pretty sure though there are plenty of anime that engage more closely with those ideas. “High School Anime” is almost a genre in itself, after all.

Off the top of my head, titles like Manabi Straight, Great Teacher Onizuka, and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (potentially?) strike me as having that sort of engagement.

By: soyahoney

soyahoney — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:38:26 +0000

Oh, youth! You certainly brought back something from my high school days. When I was in high school, I truly thought what those lovebirds were saying was radical. In yet, they touched deeply into my teenage soul. Reflecting on this now, I can see how wrong I was.

Some parts I mistook as a cry of love and individualism were actually cries of stabilizing a future. The future or the “work world” is strict and as horrible as it sounds, sometimes you need to be the “perfect” role model for your kids. That will in return develop the kids into being ready at whatever the obstacle. When there are hard times or issues that are financially impossible, doesn’t knowing what you can do when you’re still young help?

Those two are motivated and smart. That is why Kawashima-sensei wanted to do a double check. He didn’t want such “youth” to go to waste because of love.

I love Kare Kano. I’m not bashing this lovcom series. I’m only saying there are two sides to a coin. You can look at it simply as growing love and nonconformity or the political, social, and economical warfare ahead.

By: elvadrieng

elvadrieng — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:43:04 +0000

@Marmoset The manga is good but not fantastic. If parts of it have been cut away, it would have been much better. I prefer the anime. Though the ending leaves much to be desired.

By: lelangir

lelangir — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:00:49 +0000

@ghost: lol, yes, this is a rewatch, so I don’t mind spoils, but I still can’t grasp what you’re speaking of.

@marmoset: Yeah, teachers are always interesting representations in anime. That makes me want to do a study of the ones I’ve seen…

dude: i no rite?

By: random passing dude

random passing dude — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:33:11 +0000

i no rite?

By: Marmoset

Marmoset — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:01:23 +0000

Hmmmm I really should read the manga because I initially loved the anime but the ending left such a sour taste. You raise a good point about how this ‘expression’ by the two main characters seems to essentially be a desire to conform (I’ve expressed that sentence badly myself).

I’ve wanted to see a sort of Hatarakiman-for-teachers for a while now. The Japanese school system portrayed in anime seems so bizarre and alien to me and I really want to see how it’s viewed from the other side of the fence as it were (GTO doesn’t count).

By: lelangir

lelangir — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:02:54 +0000

fucking aye, I should have written this AFTER I watched the whole damn episode.

By: ghostlightning

ghostlightning — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:22:03 +0000

How about a look at the Miyazawa parents?

Neither the mother and the father excelled and yet produced the kind of loving parental environment that reared 3 daughters (such an economic nightmare as I imagine). If you take the parental stand both the Arima (fosters) and Miyazawa made against the principal, what is the show saying then?

I’ve read through all of the manga (excellent) but I won’t spoil things. At the point of the story referenced here you’re beginning to see that The “her” part of circumstances reproduces values that are supremely important in the formation of a person, to the point of the Miyazawa’s impressing the Arimas and totally getting them on their side.

Yukino’s vanity is part of a not-so-simple character arc that runs through the whole anime, but is more of a foundation for the continuing narrative of the manga. “His” circumstances will need the growing/grown Yukino in significant ways.

So how does this relate to them being the cream of their classes? The narrative as a whole will take on the valuation of such goals relative to their ultimate choices in life.

I apologize if I can’t make my points any clearer or direct without spoiling the show or the manga. Let me just say some of your concerns will be discussed to a degree, though your mileage may vary.