This anime is not typical shoujo. Anno's genius shows up again in this series, and his style has evolved a lot since
Evangelion. This series gripped me right from the first few episodes; unlike Eva, where he waited until the end to whip out the
big guns, Kare-Kano is subtle and emotional right off the bat.
The most striking thing about Kare-Kano is that it is written in first-person perspective. Everything is distorted according to the point of view of the main character, (including the art and soundtrack!), and the result is total immersion and great emotional response. Kare-Kano takes the old anime concept of changing the background according to a character's feelings and takes it to the next level. When Miyazawa becomes absorbed in her thoughts, reality disappears and is replaced with a metaphor for her feelings (for example, when she thinks about how great she is, she starts flying and is surrounded by spinning "#1"s). When she ignores people surrounding her, they are replaced by blank outlines.
Plus, the plot and characters are round, complex and subtle, the art and soundtrack are great, and the storyline is paced beautifully; this is not a series that you should be missing.