I was thinking the first three (?) chapters that a culture difference was showing. In my country we wouldn't be so alarmed when a students grade would drop one test. Not even the top two. Also I could not imagine we would go so far to suggest those top two students should break up for their own good.
It seems such an... 'alien' thing to do.

Then this page showed up:

And I was reminded that some things are universal. Such as parents who do trust their children because their children never gave them any reason not to. SO MUCH LOVE!

p.s. I forgot how awful peer pressure sometimes can be...
( )

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Title: Kare Kano: His & Her Circumstances #3
Author: Masami Tsuda
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 192
Words: 6.1K

Synopsis:

Miyazawa takes her two younger sisters over to Arima's house and they go nuts planting sunflowers in the big yard. Asaba walks out of the house in just a bathrobe and starts needling Miyazawa. Once he sees what her little sisters are doing though, he starts helping them out. Miyazawa and Arima discuss the recent final exams and feel like their relationship has taken a toll on their grades. The next day at school the results are posted and both have dropped in the rankings. They are called to the main office and several of the teachers tell them to stop dating and concentrate on their schoolwork.

Miyazawa breaks out into her “home mode” attitude and tells the teachers they are wrong. When they begin to remonstrate, Arima steps in and says that they're grades will improve so there is no need to worry. Miyazawa realizes that her goals have shifted from wanting to be Number One to wanting to be a real genuine person and that Arima wants the same and is supportive of that goal. The chapter ends with Yukino's parents (Miyazawa) being called to a parent/teacher conference at her school.

Yukino relates how her parents reacted, which was for her dad to go all gung-ho in her defense, as he and Yukino's mom were married young. Both of her parents promise to bring weapons to the conference and “fight” for their daughter! At the conference both sets of guardians and the 2 students are there. The teacher outlines his worries and asks the guardians to step in and prevent the relationship from interfering with the students' academic life. Yukino's dad pretty much tells the teacher to stuff it (very politely) as their policy is to let their children choose their own path. Arima's Aunt and Uncle also say that Arima acting like a normal teenager is actually a comfort to them and they will not interfere. Yukino and Arima apologize to the teacher for their reactions to his statement and he admits he didn't handle things in the best way, so peace is achieved and both of the kids realize they do need to concentrate on their studies.

It is Make-Up day at school, so both Yukino and Arima have the day off. Yukino heads over to Arima's house and gets all flustered and girly when Arima tells her that his guardians won't be there. So when she arrives she's prepared for some sort of seduction. Only to find Asaba in the kitched cooking and acting like Arima's house maid. Asaba failed most of his classes but didn't realize today was Make-Up day, so they hustle him off to school, like parents of a not-particularly bright child. They end up in Arima's room....reading. Yukino pesters Arima until he pays attention to her and they share another kiss. Yukino feels very grown up and Arima lets her know how much self-control he exerts when around her.

The girls of Yukino's class are discussing her and Arima and another girl starts talking about how fake Yukino is and casting doubt into the minds of the other girls about whether Yukino is actually so good. She says that Yukino has captured Arima's heart through false pretenses and causes the girls to turn against Yukino. Tsukino (the new character) begins a campaign of smear tactics and little by little turns the class against Yukino. Tsukino was head of her class in middle grade and resents that Yukino has eclipsed her. Yukino admits to herself that it bothers her but vows to keep on going and let the chips fall where they may.

My Thoughts:

Reading this, I was struck by how much I actually agreed with the teacher about the relationship between Yukino and Arima. Now, I completely disagreed about how he handled things, ie, calling them into the office and forbidding them from seeing each other, but I wonder/suspect if that is more a cultural thing. Tell an American he can't do something and chances are he'll just tell you to go to Tartarus as he's an Independent Entity. With the Japanese being much more Group Oriented, the behavior of the teacher makes more sense. I would have talked to the parents alone and gotten their input first and foremost. But yep, I agreed with him that putting a highschool relationship before your grades is a big no-no.

I had to laugh when Yukino went over to Arima's and they ended up reading together. Mrs B and I do that all the time and thankfully, we're both content in that. I think a big part of that though is that we're mature, married and a lot more confident about the other person then when we had first gotten married. So I totally understood Yukino's reaction to it.

The introduction of Tsukino as a character and her “snake in the grass” approach is definitely very high school drama'y. Her campaign to turn the girls against Yukino, which works and happens in like 2 days, is sad in how much truth it contains about how easily kid's minds are manipulated. I don't remember what happens, so I have no idea whether she'll end up like Asaba (starting out as an enemy and turning into a friend) or if she stays a nemesis. My goodness though, makes me glad I'm not a girl.

Overall, I enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting but I think my one volume per month rule is helping in that regards. Not sure I could handle more than that and not burn out. My emotions, while not burning so bright, are steady. After the turbulence of my own teen and 20something years, I welcome that steadiness. I guess I am liking this series because it is helping me see how I have changed over the years and that just fascinates me!

★★★☆½ ( )

2007 Review:

Kare Kano #1-3 (His & Her Circumstances) "perfect" girl meets "perfect" guy. Both discover the other is a fake, fall in love and try to balance school, being perfect and being themselves. "

Review- That is the first story of the book and it is really funny. Yukino and Soichiro have to put some breaks on their lover story but their parents are on their side. They know that school is important but they also want their children to be happy. It was handled well. The end of the book is about Yukino getting bullied now that she is being honest. Nothing dramatic but I do look forward to seeing her deal with it. Because she is going to make it be over-the-top. She is not going to handle this just sitting down.

I give this volume a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this book with my own money. ( )