The Kare Kano journey continues, and this volume does the absolute most to provide things I don’t want from this series.

Whereas other volumes would spend just part of their time introducing and building up new characters, this entire volume is devoted to Kazuma, who, like Tonami, Tsubaki, and Tsubasa before him, has next to no bearing on the main thing that drew me to this story. Continue reading →

This volume sort of turns us in the right direction, but it ultimately comes off as being sort of filler-ish. Continue reading →

Compared to the last volume, this one was certainly something.

In this volume, the culture festival finally begins, and so we get to see the play that Yukino and her friends conceived in action.

It’s a sort of clumsy play, but certainly impressive for girls their age. Continue reading →

This volume feels like a midpoint between story beats, in that stuff is set up for later, at the consequence of very little happening here.

The first half of the volume focuses on Tonami, who I don’t really care for. So much of it is just him interacting with Tsubaki, being angry and flustered, and realizing that he may be feeling affection for her. You can see it coming a mile away, and since neither he nor Tsubaki are interesting, it’s not at all compelling to read about, at least from my perspective. It would be okay if they were more connected to Yukino and Arima, but their connection is tenuous at best. Continue reading →

This volume of Kare Kano does something I like and something I don’t like: it gives Yukino some solo tasks, which is great, then introduces another bit character, which is.. not great.

The volume opens with school back in session, and the cast is working on the upcoming culture festival. Yukino, who isn’t part of any club, is struggling to find a way to contribute to the festival. Her group of friends get the bright idea to write and perform a play and seek to get temporary club status so they can perform it. Continue reading →

This volume sees Yukino and Arima’s relationship deepen. After spending some time with Yukino’s friends, we can finally get some of the core romance back.

The first chapter of this book continues the story of how Yukino’s parents met and fell in love. If the chapter that closed volume 5 is more happy go lucky, this one takes a more somber tone, as it primarily deals with the death of Hiroyuki’s grandfather. It’s a fluffpiece to be sure, but it’s a sweet story of how Yukino’s parents grow closer. Continue reading →

After the resolution of all the high-profile conflicts in the last volume, this one, like volume 2, is a bit more mellow. It focuses a bit on developing Tsubasa now that she’s been accepted into the Yukino’s group.

Summer vacation is upon the cast of Kare Kano, and Yukino and Arima are unable to be together because Arima has a kendo competition in Kyoto that he has to participate it. Yukino spends her time hanging out with Tsubasa, Maho, and their friends. Continue reading →

This volume of Kare Kano introduces another rival for Yukino, then sees the resolution of both that conflict and Maho’s from the previous volume.

A classmate of Arima’s from the past, Tsubasa, joins Arima and Yukino’s high school late in the spring semester, and is immediately jealous of Yukino for “stealing” Arima out from under her. She was in the hospital recovering from an injury for the past few weeks, which is why she started late and feels like Yukino got the jump. Continue reading →

The last volume of Kare Kano had pretty art but not much in the way of plot. This one turns the tides a bit and adds some more drama.

Yukino and Arima’s grades are slipping very slightly. I wouldn’t personally be all that disappointed or concerned for them – dropping two places in the exam rankings is hardly cause for alarm, if you ask me – but their guidance counselor is upset enough that he literally asks them to stop seeing each other and focus on studying. They later convince him that they can balance their relationship with their studies, and they appear committed to make it work, as Yukino starts getting up early, studying during her downtime, and getting more rest. Continue reading →

If the first volume of Kare Kano was the start of a roller coaster ride, where adrenaline is high, this was like the end of the ride, where we come back to earth and return to our daily lives. Not much substantial stuff happens in this volume; we just see Yukino and Arima settle in their ways some more. Which isn’t a bad thing! Continue reading →