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