Part of what's so surprising about His and Her Circumstances is the simple genius of it. The story is unique because it is normal. Circumstance makes up a large part of life, and who we are depends quite a bit on what we do with what we have. Kare Kano emulates the ebb and flow of life, taking us along for the ride. It becomes apparent in the third volume that the most romantic thing about the show isn't Arima and Miyazawa's relationship, but their lives.

Kare Kano's third volume doesn't add anything new at all to Yukino and Souichirou's relationship, at least not directly. It makes us forget this fact, however, by simply doing what the show always does: expose life's hidden marvels. This volume picks up where the second left off, with Tsubasa upset about her father wanting to marry another woman. She ends up sleeping over at Yukino's house after a heated fight with him. Episode 13 introduces Kazuma, Tsubasa's new stepbrother, who unintentionally stirs up a major ruckus. The next two episodes are a recap of events up to this point. The fact that there were two recap episodes instead of just one did not bother me, somehow. They were orchestrated in the same narrative style that has worked so well in all the previous episodes. Episode 16 ends the third volume beautifully, offering a flashback on how Yukino's parents (Miyako and Hiroyuki) ended up together.

I don't know if Masami Tsuda knew what she was creating when she wrote Kare Kano, or if Hideaki Anno knew what he was creating when he adapted the story to anime. What I do know is that their respective creations effortlessly pour forth heart and soul in every single scene. It's impossible not to care for every character, and their feelings are so simple to understand. Another important fact is the lighthearted and positive nature of the characters. The show is romantic not so much because of its content, but because it makes you feel genuinely good just watching it.

Tsubasa gets a little mad when mistaken for a younger girl.	Hiroyuki tells how he and Miyako got together, in Episode 16.

It also strikes a chord with the familiarity of it all. Many of us have lost parents due to death or divorce, and Tsubasa's ordeal is all too real to us. Some of us have fallen for childhood friends and maybe even married them. Some of us silently hope that our families will be a bit happier the next day. Everyone, I'm certain, has gotten lost in the simple rhythms of life and taken moments to reflect. Kare Kano facilitates these thoughts through animated stills of railroad crossings and empty streets, with a backdrop of somber piano music. It would seem cheap if it wasn't timed so well. The show employs many techniques which would seem obvious cost-cutting tricks, but somehow not one of them seemed out of place. One example is an Uno game played in Episode 12, where it shows nothing but the card pile and the characters' faces. This scene ended up being very funny, because it let the voice actors show off.

And show off they should. I can honestly say that never have I heard such an incredible voice cast who were all so well suited for each other and their characters. Atsuko Enomoto brings Yukino to life in a way I know nobody else could have. Her gentle but crisp voice is also featured in Yume no Nakae, the show's ending song. Yuki Watanabe and Maria Yamamoto are endlessly funny and cute, filling Yukino's sisters' roles perfectly. They open volume 3 with a near 5-minute spiel about everything that had happened in the first 11 episodes, and it just cracked me up to hear them speaking so fast (as they do in next-episode previews). Mayumi Shintane's coarse voice shows how spoiled Tsubasa was with no effort. (She has gone on to do equally impressive performances as Haruko in FLCL and Cindy in Arjuna.) The male voice cast is also not to be forgotten. Atsushi Kisaichi fits Hideaki's persona like a glove, and Chihiro Suzuki puts on a great show as Arima.

Right Stuf continues to bring in the big guns on extras, with a second interview with voice actors appearing in this volume. Junko Noda (Maho) and Atsushi Kisaichi (Hideaki) were featured this time around. The cover art for this volume is pretty laid-back (literally), featuring Tsubasa and Kazuma sitting against a wall and listening to music. The other extras include notes from the translator, and character bios for Hiroyuki, Miyako, Tsubasa's father Toshiharu, Kazuma, and his mother Hiromi. Right Stuf releases always feel a little bare with no insert inside the case, but what's on the discs more than make up for it in this series.

Perhaps the thing that is greatest about Kare Kano is that it helps us find simpler solutions for ourselves. Tsubasa's ordeal was resolved through communication and the eventual understanding that nobody wants to be alone in the world. Hiroyuki discovers by having children that simply being born was the greatest thing he had to offer to his grandfather who raised him (and that women are always right). What's my solution? To watch more Kare Kano, of course! Ockham would have been proud.

Video Quality: A
Audio Quality: A
Presentation: A
Content: A+
Overall: A+