A number of notable features of 彼氏彼女の事情 (Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou) — known as the abbreviated Kare Kano, or more commonly His and Her Circumstances, in the United States — stand out to the 1998-series’ viewers, but most notably perhaps is the show’s dark overtones that seem to mask the animated rendition of the manga. This is, perhaps, due to the workings of Kare Kano’s director, Hideaki Anno, who as you all should know also directed the infamous Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-6).
The “dark background” of Anno’s life has frequently been referred to by fans to explain the themes of Evangelion, which is probably why it comes as “no surprise” that the animated Kare Kano is directed with similar atmosphere. In a way, this psychological tenor to Anno’s two works operates as a sort of auteurism for the director (that is, the work can be readily associated with the director because it resembles his “style”). Auteurism is primarily a film term, but applies to Japanese animation in particular, because a director must work in a setting that comprises multiple, artful minds at work, all creating a “unified” piece, and for the auteur-director, as Wikipedia so succinctly puts it, the author’s creative voice is distinctive enough to shine through all kinds of studio interference.
Whether or not that is true, it’s interesting to find real evidence of how Anno approached the production of the series. As a member of the English-language Evangelion mailing list, I recently happened upon a website that hosts a translation of “庵野監督きいてよ！” (Mr. Anno, Listen to Me!), a compilation of interviews that Anno recorded at various high schools around Tokyo. These interviews formed the majority of his ethnological research that informed Kare Kano. The website description reads:
Anno Hideaki is working on the preparations for his new anime series, “Kareshi Kanojo no Jijoo”. As this will be a high-school love comedy, Anno is personally doing research into what high-school kids are like these days. There is a column in the young people’s newspaper, Mainichi Chugakusei Shimbun (Mainichi Middle-Schooler’s News), called “Anno-Kantoku Kiite Yo! (Hear What Anno Hideaki Has to Say)”, which details this ongoing project. With the gracious permission of the paper’s editorial section, we are privileged to bring you installments from the feature.
Now you can enjoy conversations between present-day Japanese high-schoolers, and Anno Hideaki, who was a high-schooler twenty years ago.
The interviews derived from the six high schools are extremely interesting to read, especially in the way that Anno waxes philosophically with these young students. So, I highly recommend reading through the website, which is available here: http://web.archive.org/web/20041208024056/www.gainax.co.jp/special/kiiteyo/toyoko01-e.html
Auteur theory huh…
I recall Satoshi Kon’s preference for the medium, because, to paraphrase what he said after he was asked about why making live-action-like films in anime, he can exert some very strong control over the work. In a live action production, there are actually more things the director cannot control than a director-animator could in the animated medium. This is particularly true when trying to realize specifics of a scene–the director can just draw it in detail.
I feel like a there’s a distinct void of analysis that compares directors’ works with director-animators’ works. The latter, of course, would have a style, I think, very distinct from the former, and certainly (?) one that focuses more on movement within the show/film/whatever. Then again, Anno was an animator, and we had to deal with inordinate sequences of cuts and lack of animation due to the budget. Related thoughts?
In Anno’s case, since he is one of the two off the top of my head that has done work in both anime and live action, you could probably see a more coherent pattern in his works. In Oshii’s case, you can probably see a stronger pattern also because of the type of work he tends to produce… Well, both of them were brought up as animators, so that’s that.
As far as “non-animator” directors, it’s tricky. For example, in Production IG’s Oblivion Island, a traditional live-action director paired up with an anime director to produce the work. It’s pretty clear that while the overall direction is clearly a product of the live-action director, you can still see the “fingerprint” of the anime director Naoyoshi Shiotani in the work.
Come to think of it, it’s really rare to have an anime director who did not have some kind of background as an animator.
That’s why I think someone like Yamakan is so interesting, because he brings new complications — and possibilities — to the table. While of course creating a ton of awkward controversy.
Well, he is interesting I suppose. The feeling I get is that a lot of the real meat & potatoes portion of an animation production is about process. In that sense I see directors also as managers. There is, of course, the creative aspect that belongs to the director (like going over storyboards etc), but the method in which animation is produced also plays a big part in distinguishing one director’s style from another. When I recall what Yamakan talked about last summer, that was the impression I got.
Unfortunately, that kind of information is mostly locked up in Moonrunes. (If that sort of business end of things is even openly available?) The bits in English that’s available tend to be the sort of anecdotes used to support some other thing. As you’ve said, there isn’t really a lot of study per se on anime. Maybe that’s more of a realm in animation production and filmmaking in general.
I think any rumors about Anno’s “dark past” or whatever are false. Everything I’ve read about him just leads me to believe he’s like any other nerd.
He has said in interviews and elsewhere that he went through a period of emotional depression during the final half of Evangelion’s production, but I feel like that shouldn’t be read as the reason for Evangelion’s narrative, story, plot, themes, flow, what have you.
However, random words on screen, fast cuts, facial close-ups… all these and many other distinct Anno-esque things that made their premiere in Evangelion also appear in Kare Kano. These are the elements that people identify as markers of his “dark past,” but they’re really just filmic elements that define his auteurist style.