His and Her Circumstances (Vol. 2)
As their relationship deepens, Yukino and Soichiro feel less inclined to live  up to their model school student images and more like enjoying themselves.  When they spend too much time together, the unthinkable happens: they drop  from the top spots in their class. (Soichiro is only number three and Yukino  falls to 13th.) Their counselor upbraids them and they agree to work harder,  but not to give up their relationship. Although Yukino displays many of the  traditional sympathetic qualities ofyasashii, Soichiro loves her  because she is "strong and independent, with clear, unhesitating eyes." When  the other girls become jealous of their relationship, Soichiro wisely steps  back and allows Yukino to resolve the problem in her own way. Writer-director  Hideo Anno (Evangelion) uses split screen, slow motion, and shifting  graphic styles to imbue this unpretentious story with visual imagination.  (Rated 13 and older: minor profanity, cartoon violence)--Charles Solomon