Kare Kano: His and Her Circumstances, Vol. 11

Rating:
Summary: Masami Tsuda's Most Intense Volume Yet
Review: I thought that if Tsuda ventured off the Arima/Miyazawa storyline that the manga might not be as entertaining. How wrong I was!

This volume lets you see some of Tsubasa's step-brother, Kazuma's, past--mostly how he became part of the band he sings for, Yin & Yang.

It also covers the relationship between Tsubasa and Kazuma-chan (as she calls him). They act more like newly-weds than their parents do. They are step-siblings, so there isn't a huge stigma with them having a romatic relationship. But it's just not something that happens all the time.

Tsuda really puts Tsubasa and Kazuma through the emotional blender. They start out considering each other "just my brother/sister". Tsubasa (whose feelings for Kazuma are really hard to pinpoint: does she care for him as a boyfriend/lover or as a brother?) starts to hate Kazuma's other love, music. But as time progresses, Kazuma's feelings for Tsubasa change and intensify.

For an invigorating read, I highly reccommend this volume. My heart wouldn't stop pounding throughout the last few chapters.

Rating:
Summary: a whole volume dedicated to Kazuma and Tsubasa
Review: this volume of Kare Kano branches off from the Arima/Yukino storyline to explore Kazuma and Tsubasa, who are now step-brother and step-sister living in the same apartment. Kazuma's past is narrated, we get to know his bandmates better, and the rest of the cast pops by, briefly, to check out one of their concerts.

Kare Kano continues to be thoroughly enjoyable-- It's still the most mature and sophisticated romance manga on the shelves.

This volume also contains the first part of an interview with creator Masami Tsuda.

Rating:
Summary: A Marked Departure for TP Translations
Review: Volume 11 of "Kare Kano" primarily deals with Tsubasa and her new step brother Kazuma. She calls him "Kazuma-chan" and they go to the same high school as Arima and Yukino. However, the two of them are getting along so well that one would think they were the newly weds rather than his mother and her father. Kazuma finds himself falling in love with Tsubasa, something he knows shouldn't happen. She finds herself in love with him as well. However, the call of music is strong and Kazuma must decide which he loves more -- Tsubasa or life with his band.

In the first 10-volumes of the manga, TokyoPop decided to remove all of the Japanese honorifics. I disapprove because "Kare Kano" is such a Japanese title that removing the honorifics removes something special from the story. With this volume, TokyoPop has rectified that situation and at least some (if not all) of the honorifics are now included. I wish all of the manga were this way, but better late than never.

In addition to the Tsuda Diary at the end of the manga, TokyoPop has included the first part of an interview with Tsuda-sensei. I find her remarks in every chapter to be entertaining, and the interview is very insightful in seeing how she became a manga artist. It is an excellent addition and I'm glad there will be more in the future.

Bottom line: Tsubasa fans will appreciate the fact that the whole volume is dedicated to her and Kazuma-kun. I found this subplot of "Kare Kano" to be very interesting. I can't wait to see where Tsuda-sensei takes this.