Anime: Kimagure Orange Road

Lemme start with a quick clarification. What follows is simply a list of observations which I made while watching through Kimagure Orange Road, filtered through the lens of my opinions. It's about to get a little nasty, which is why I want to start this review by making it abundantly clear that I loved this anime. It gets my ecstatic recommendation, with a few "but if"s. So read on at your own peril. Minor spoilers may ensue.

The set-up for this anime is, especially today, in 2014, nothing really spectacular. A 15 year-old boy by the name of Kasuga Kyousuke lives with his family who have supernatural abilities. Having just moved to a new town, he meets (and immediately falls for) Ayukawa Madoka, a beautiful, cold-at-first-but-tender-later-on girl who is, predictably, in his class. And then, shortly after, Kyousuke also meets the clingy, naive Hiyama Hikaru, who latches on to Kyousuke and refuses to let go.

Let the hijinks begin.

And they do. Ooooooh they do. As the anime progresses, we see Kyousuke & co. thrown into all manner of over-the-top situations, perhaps the strangest of which involves a gang turf war being settled with a skateboard race. But we also see time travel, personality swapping, hypnosis, a series-long love triangle, and misunderstandings. Lots and lots of misunderstandings.

And here's where my first big complaint about this series surfaces -- in all these misunderstandings, if one character or the other would get it through his or her head to just say something they'd have had a much smoother time of it; instead, Kyousuke is often left befuddled and speechless when he's caught in seemingly compromising situations. Chalk it up to the inexperience of youth, if you like (the characters are all teenagers, after all), but I'd rather place the blame on the series' writers who probably couldn't think of a more creative way to do angst. [I fully realize that this is a common trope in anime, especially in romance-centered genres, but man...I guess I was just hoping that I'd found that one that doesn't succumb to it. Ah well, the search continues!]

This brings me to my next (and probably biggest) problem with KOR -- it is long. 48 episodes is a hefty investment for any anime viewer, myself even moreso since I can realistically only watch one or two episodes a day at most, on average. Getting through this took a while for me. And for a time -- the first 20 episodes or so -- it was fine, it remained relatively fresh, and was progressing. But then, mysteriously, it stopped moving forward. I couldn't tell you the exact episode, but around halfway through it became apparent that the story had simply stopped. Instead of making any more progress, the show devolved into a series of side-stories and isolated events. Plot points stopped being introduced, relationships stopped developing, and the series entered a state of Limbo for the greater part of its second half.

Let me stress again: I love this anime. Don't forget, because I'm about to go off on a mini-rant here. If you've been indecisive up to this point, it may be best to skip the next paragraph. It should not be the determining factor in your decision to watch or not watch KOR. You should watch it. But still...

...it can't be denied that there are a good 20 or so episodes in a row that do absolutely nothing as far as moving the plot forward. A persistent character is introduced in one episode, perhaps, or a new use for the "Power" is discovered, but by and large nothing happens. Each episode ends precisely where it began, with Kyousuke just as indecisive as ever, Hikaru just as annoyingly sympathetic as she's always been, and Madoka still standing off to the side, waiting waiting waiting. This is a series that was stretched far beyond its limit in terms of actual content; this could have been a single season easily -- 26 and done. Instead we're treated to a whole second season of essentially filler just to get to the last two episodes. Around episode 40 my patience was being severely tried; by episode 46 I was almost completely checked out. Thankfully the last two episodes redeemed the preceding 20 or so, and I felt justified in having sat through them. But be warned -- Orange Road is needlessly long and winding.

Thankfully (and this where things start getting positive, mostly), KOR does enough things right to make the series worth sitting through, even at its most trying. To begin with, the main characters are brilliantly developed. As a viewer I liked each main character at one point or another. Even though we as the viewers are supposed to want Kyousuke and Madoka to get together, it becomes more and more difficult not to sympathize heavily with Hikaru. As annoying as she is, she is very, very human, especially given her age.

Actually, that's true of each of the three main characters. They're dumb, yes, and more often than not they don't always think things through. But in almost every case it's because they're young and naive, blinded by emotions and confused at how to react. Kyousuke is especially likable in this regard. I can relate to him in more ways than one, and even when he made stupid, boneheaded mistakes I think back and...y'know what? I probably would have done the same thing. Being a hormone-driven teenage boy who doesn't know what he wants sucks. Kyousuke embodies this in a very real way. And even when the story was stretched paper-thin, the characters remained interesting and engaging. I may not have cared about the specifics of what was happening to them as the series progressed, but I never stopped caring about them as people.

The auxiliary characters, on the other hand, are very hit-and-miss. Kyousuke's sisters are cute and fun and I enjoyed episodes that featured them more heavily. His two friends, however, are completely moronic, overly perverted, and are horrible, horrible friends who don't care about Kyousuke or anyone besides themselves, to an unrealistic extent. That's the one thing that did bother me about Kyousuke's character -- he didn't kick these two people out of his life even after they repeatedly screwed him over and showed no signs of remorse. As comic relief they're okay, but in a show where characterization is otherwise done very well, they really stood out in a bad way.

Besides the (mostly) great characters, the animation is also spectacular. Being that it's from 1987-1988, it is predictably dated. But I personally love this style, and if you're not prepared for this type of animation, the '80s may not be the best decade to be finding your anime. In any case, it's very well-animated, there are a lot of interesting artistic touches throughout the series, and the openings (there are three separate ones through the 48 episodes) are brilliant. I flat-out love the animation in this series, but it's obviously not for everyone. That's the gamble you take when you watch older anime like this.

The music throughout the series is also excellent. Again, though, it won't be to everyone's tastes -- it is distinctly '80s. If you're into that era of music you'll find a lot to love here. Madoka plays the saxophone and so that gets integrated into the series throughout. I don't have too much more to add on this, but suffice to say that if you like the '80s aesthetic, you'll love the sights and sounds of KOR.

The other really great thing about KOR lies in its simplicity -- there's nothing too deep or intense in this series. Even the "esper"/"Power" element is not overdone. For a good amount of the series, it plays a very slight role. This is primarily a slice-of-life anime with supernatural elements thrown in, and when they are, they typically are only used as one plot point of many. The focus here is on character development and emotional investment, both of which are done well beyond most other anime in this genre. It's lighthearted, each episode resolves itself at the end (usually), and the angst-meter is usually kept somewhere in the middle. When it comes to the details, KOR is very well-balanced.

When all is said and done, certain series have that je ne sais quoi that, despite their glaring flaws, still get a resounding recommendation from me. Kare Kano was one. Kokoro Connect would be another. Kimagure Orange Road is going to be added to that list. If I were to rate this series on sentimentality alone, it would be 10. No, 11. No, 20. I love this series, and I desperately wish I could say it was perfect and it was the best anime ever and that I'd found the perfect romance series and that everyone else should just stop trying because this is it, they've done it boys, let's pack it in.

But I can't.

There's just too much of nothing in this series that I can't ignore. If this had been condensed down to 26 episodes, it very well might be topping my (admittedly small, at the time of this writing) list of anime that I've seen. But as it stands, it's at least 20 episodes too long, and I'm sorry, but that's not something I can just write off. So, at the end of the day, yes, I seriously recommend Kimagure Orange Road. It's a seminal creation in the medium. It's beautiful and human and funny and touching. It's heartwarming and heartbreaking, it whips you through the full gamut of emotions like all young romances do. It might remind you of yourself at a younger age.

Just make sure you have the time and patience for it.

My first Comment:[br]I started watching this series on the 1992 when i was 6 years old and from the first time i started watching it, i felt something special about this anime, i kept watching it until the last episode, and i was sure to record it in the VHS, and now a days you can find the DVD box set of this anime, and until this time i keep watching it from time to time and i can't get enough watching it, i watched this series 11 times with OVA&Movies.[br][br]Story:[br]The story involving 3 main character Kyosuke Kasuga, Madoka Ayukawa and Hikaru Hiyama, were Kyosuke Kasuga loves Madoka Ayukawa but he can't confess to her because he don't want to hurt Hikaru Hiyama feeling or he can't put what he loves the most Madoka Ayukawa or Hikaru Hiyama, the the story about a triangle love between these 3 character.[br][br]Animation:[br]For a 1987 animation it was amazing, not like these days animation more details, but the animation in KOR was really well done the character the background and the face details.[br][br]Sound:[br]Can't say much about the sound but it was really good, "Tohru Furuya as Kyosuke Kasuga", "Hiromi Tsuru as Madoka Ayukawa" and "Eriko Hara as Hikaru Hiyama", they really done a great job, and for the music it was the best music i ever heard and the best for all the times.[br][br]Characters:[br]The characters were so well done, Kyosuke Kasuga the one who can't put his mind what he likes or what he wants, Madoka Ayukawa the strong girl who's her best friend and her childhood too Hikaru Hiyama, and finally Hikaru Hiyama the selfish and a simple minded girl who she loves Kyosuke Kasuga the most, a great character for a romance triangle anime.[br][br]Enjoyment:[br]The first time i saw it it was great and i said to myself i will watch this anime to the end, and until now, every time i watch it i really enjoying watching it.[br][br]Overall:[br]Great anime great animation and great sound&music what do you want more?!.[br][br]My last comment:[br]If you don't know anything about the nineteenth anime i HIGHLY RECOMMEND for you to start watching this anime, and don't give you desision for the first episode, you should at lest watch 10-15 episodes then give your rates, and believe me after watching the whole series from TV to OVA and movies you will have a special feeling for this anime, and if you don't then you can pick other classic anime like Maison Ikkoku, Touch, Urusei Yatsura, Ranma ½.

Minor spoilter ahead.

I watched this series when I was exactuly 15. Almost the same age as these characters and to say the least, this series blows me away.

Varies ESP power of Kyosuke's family definitely make this series interesting, but it is the relationship of Kyosuke, Madoka and Hikaru that make this series what it is.

Madoka definitely is the star of this series. She is such a complex character that it is hard to find these days. It is also hard to find a drama anime like this that last for 48 eps. She is cold to her classmate, tough in the street and extremely mellow towards her closest friends. Hikaru definitely is more 1 dimensional than Madoka and I view her as a plot device to bring out the complex side of Madoka.

You couple these well design characters + EPS power + good plot + good music and you end up with this 48 eps gem.

Time has make this anime look dated now. I sincerely wish that they can re-make this series with the same character design with updated art.

The Loving Heart CD definitely is one of the best around. Just look at the auction price for these babies. It won't be selling at collection prices if this is a wash away series.

Recently Toho decide to release this series in DVD, I decide to take the hit bought the series. Unlike popular movies, these things don't stay in print for long. I regret that I didn't buy anything when I was 15. I won't make the same mistake again..:)

This anime defined the anime love triangle. Modern anime romances owe a lot to KOR.

Stop. Reread my first two sentences.

You almost certainly have an opinion on how the standard anime love triangle is portrayed and/or resolved. Do you like it? Does the prospect of watching an entire series revolving around it, where episode after episode drags on in teen angst without resolution fill you with dread? Apathy? Or are you actually looking forward to it? By now you should know whether this show is for you.

Even for those of you who are new to the romance anime thing, there's a general way to determine if you'll like this. Many animes have characters who are always thinking about things, mentally rehearsing, always always thinking about the situation they're in(I know I've watched too much anime because this sentence made sense...itsumo itsumo). Some people don't get this, and in fact despise this. This is because they don't do this. The fact of the matter is that some of the population spends a great deal of time thinking *during* the experience, and rest(and in fact, the majority) do not, they live the experience. Those camera shot moments where Kyosuke stops, and practically breaks the 4th wall while talking to himself are things thinkers do, and when things like that happen, it strikes a chord deep inside the thinker watcher. Analysis of the situation over experiencing it. These moments of quite often inappropriate introspection are probably why I like KOR more than Maison Ikkoku, in fact(frustration at the neighbors aside).

Quite often, those who are far towards the experiencing the moment rather than analysing about it loathe animes where the central point of view is from a protagonist thinker character, because to them, this is a foreign concept. A ridiculous artifact that has no basis in reality. This applies to all situations, but it specifically hits hard in romance animes because *most* people are inclined to do a great deal of thinking about the relationship already, so the effect is exacerbated. It should be noted that people attracted to the internet tend to be thinkers, as the medium allows you to disconnect more easily and take time to think about things, so I would imagine the rating of KOR is significantly higher than a random sampling of the population. Being overly weighted towards dorkiness and males doubtless helps as well;)

For those of you still here, I think you know what you want. Is it that particular gnawing feeling in the pit of your stomach as you watch the main character humiliate himself? The weak-willed characters unable to consumate what was obvious 30 episodes ago? Painful love triangles that could be resolved in seconds if everyone wasn't so unwilling to hurt each other? Do you think it's perfectly reasonable that people could be in love for years without voicing it? And all this made bearable because they're just friends trying to live through the trials of adolescence and high school together? Well then, do I have the anime for you. Ten years after I finished watching it, just the act of reviewing it is bringing back that clench in my stomach, it's just that powerful of an anime...if you've got the suceptability to it:) Everytime I think about the ludicrousness of the the theme, I just remember being 14. There's a genuineness in KOR that is lacking in much of the processed high school love sclock being churned out by the dozen in today's anime.

A few caveats: It IS old, and it shows. Disco dancing anyone? Also, the anime had to mangle the manga story a little bit. Okay, a lot. Nothing of consequence ever really happens, our trio are living in a soap bubble protecting them from the world. The music will probably turn off a lot of people now that it's no longer the 80s, though I love them. No, I adore them, with an unwavering nonsensical love. That actually sums up my feeling for this anime. I forgive everything bad in this anime because I love it. The stories can be downright dumb, and the characters dumber. It's painful to watch the characters bumble around in the same way all coming of age shows are. The Engrish is still infamous to this day to those who have watched it. But despite this, or perhaps in part because of it, Kimagure Orange Road carved out a little space in my heart that it calls home. And that's the way it is.

Animation
The animation is actually pretty good. I recently rewatched a few episodes and to my eye it compares quite favorably to current releases in background, detail, and animation quality. It's horribly dated as an 80s anime of course, but can you really say that the standard anime character designs of shininess and spikiness represent the human body any better? It's actual animation is probably better than most say, and it's character designs aren't nearly as cliched as you might think, since they're the basis for many of the characters you've seen.

The story being presented in flashback mode with camera stills also is a pleasant gimmick.

Sound

Ok, the music. Well. I love it. That is, I really, really like it. I also grew up during the 80s. Your mileage will vary greatly depending on such. I myself think that regardless of their 80s japanese pop origins, think they're quite high quality songs, except for the ones that are utter trash. The voice acting hmmmm, quite variable. Some of it I think is really good, and some of the characters never really matured beyond comical relief, nor did their voice acting.

Story

Kimagure Orange Road is about 90% episodic. This is a character piece. You have to fall in love with the characters and want to see your characters being themselves in any number of situations. It's also a extremely long running romance-comedy, which entails many, many repetitions in story and emotion. As I rewatch the anime for the first time in 6 years(up to ep. 9), I'm quite impressed at how well things are developed. I'm aware that the middle of the anime has a lot of "filler" in which no significant emotional development is made, but the first season of the anime is chockfilled with character development, and by the time they had finished, watching the filler was a treat because I just loved watching the characters interact and be thrown in new situations. Kimagure Orange Road and Maison Ikkoku practically pioneered the modern rendition of the genre, so by now you're bound to have seen 90% of the stories before. I think it's quite well done, and I found the stories extremely entertaining. They're really endlessly inventive, and while themes are rehashed endlessly, the author refrains from falling into backup storylines for the most part. There are some seriously weak episodes now and then which keeps it from maintaining excellent throughout though.

Character

As previously stated, you have to fall in love with the characters. I did, and I expect most others will as well. I remember all their names, their mannerisms, their relationships, and their trials. All the characters establish harsh personalities you'll remember easily quickly, but then the characters are fleshed out quite well. Well, with the possible exception of Hikaru, whose cluelessness and oblivious(forced?) cheerfulness is essentially what powers the show to last as long as it does. Madoka, of course, is the character everyone falls in love with with her alternating vulnerability and pushing away, torn between friendship and love perhaps more so than Kyosuke. It's important to note that while Kyosuke and Hikaru have a very real, important relationship (that may seem exraordinarily silly and contrived to anyone who can't remember being 14), the love triangle is made and broken not by their shallow relationship, but by the bond of friendship between Hikaru and Madoka.

Value

Until very recently you'd be hard pressed to find high quality versions of KOR either on the internet or in real life. This is no longer true since the petition/prepurchases of the DVD boxed sets succeeded and they are now on sale. Who else here seriously considered buying the LD set and/or signed the petition (either of them, both being a serious piece of internet history and anime history).

-- IMPORTANT -- MINOR SPOILERS, BUT WOULDN'T READ, MAY AFFECT THE VIEW OF THIS ANIME IF YOU HAD NOT ALREADY SEEN IT --- IMPORTANT


I still get the jitters when I watch this series. I mean although nothing is quite thrown out in a series, just the fact of him having "powers" makes the series remotely interesting. Thats why I watch Smallville, when they play the new episodes on Thursday... That cyborg episode was pretty cool....

This series is very interesting, its very funny and even has some funny sexual humor, not that, that matters.

I mean, its romantic and has Madoka in it, shes gotta be more sensual than Hikaru to make you want to wack off to her and not Hikaru, since the series is meant to beat on her... I mean nobody likes Hikaru!

He moves into town, mister Kasuga or w/e --
He meets Madoka and then later goes to school finding out that she along with Hikaru goes there. He starts a relationship off with both of the two fine women and a "FRIENDS ONLY" relationship with two friends, a frickle-one and a fat man, and they have their eyes set on Kasunga's two sisters. -- w/e


The series escalates, I don't see why its called triangle of love - or w/e - I mean its obvious to not only us but to everybody that Kasuga likes Madoka, that damned Hikaru should try harder and put out if she wants to be even remotely in league....

Sometimes… okay let me honest, rarely do I enjoy being wrong. After being extremely disheartened by Urusei Yatsura, my expectations for Kimagure Orange Road lowered dramatically. I mean, of course it’s going to be a poor imitation. I just knew that managing to be worse than its predecessor would be its greatest achievement. Add these thoughts to the fact that I usually don’t touch the genre with a ten-foot pole and I thought this will suck some holy ass. How wrong I was. How glad I am. Unlike Urusei Yatsura, KOR is truly deserving of classic status. Not only is it actually good, but it had just as much influence on the genre as a whole; it has its mark on everything from Tenchi Muyo to Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. However, it thankfully lacks the repetitive formula of the former and the eye-rolling theatrics of the latter. At its core, Kimagure Orange Road is neither a situational comedy nor a soap opera. It’s about three teenagers who may or may not be in love, a whimsical story that should have one reminiscing of times when he was just….like…that.

Kimagure Orange Road may seem rather crude and silly now that twenty years have passed. Yet the fact remains that KOR remains the most real, the most believable anime of its kind in portraying human-or shall I say teenage- outlook and emotion. To the naked and untrained eye, it may seem that later anime (such as KNGE) are more meritorious. KNGE may have the sophistication and more established premise, but had KNGE succeeded in doing what it tried so hard to do, it wouldn’t have the much deserved “love it or hate it” label. Kimagure Orange Road, on the other hand, would be enjoyed by most people who watch it. It has a charm and realistic quality that most anime of the same kind lack. As of yet, only Boys Be (to a certain extent) have managed to achieve this effect. From the intriguing first episode until the ending, the anime refuses to fall into the traps that so many of its kind fall under. For example, the main character has supernatural powers. He has ESP and sometime has foreboding dreams that are usually right….but in an ironic way. It would have been all too easy to use this as a constant running joke. Fortunately, the anime doesn’t do this. Only occasionally were his abilities on the forefront and most of the laughs actually come from character interaction.

The charm of this anime lies in its great characters. I knew this was going to be a good anime when I saw Madoka playing the saxophone. I knew it was going to be a very good one when she opened a pack of cigarettes. Madoka is certainly not the poster child for fifteen-year-olds everywhere. All she needs is a leather jacket and some bubblegum and her image would be complete. …but that would be too easy. Instead of settling for clichés in the likes of Grease and Cry-baby, Madoka is not as tough as she appears to be. She’s vulnerable. She’s subdued. She’s even a little shy. Hey, what do you know? She’s me . Kyosuke is a decent character in his own right. I give him credit because I cannot say this often of anime of this type. He’s almost heroic, but in a dorky, clumsy way. But more importantly, he’s not despicable or physically inept at everything he does. For example, in the second episode Kyosuke is playing a basketball game. I was very wary of this scene. I knew how it was going to play out after all. But to my surprise, Kyosuke “almost” makes the shot (without using his powers). Sure, he’s no Michael Jordan, but he didn’t exactly look like a loser either. Close your eyes and imagine Keitaro on a basketball court. ….I rest my case. Hikaru is a bit on the annoying side (“Darling!”), but even she had her good scenes.

Unlike others like it, Kimagure Orange Road is not merely good for a romantic-comedy. It’s just a good anime, period. I expect that this will be the only time I’ll say this. However, a few things need to be said. For starters, this is an episodic story. However, it’s tolerable in this case because I enjoyed the characters. If you don’t like the characters, drop this anime. Fast. And there are some very bad fillers in this. A good test is to see if an episode involves one of Kyosuke’s sisters…or the cat. All of those episodes were bad. Oh, and although the anime insists that Kyosuke is fickle, it’s very obvious who he really likes; hence, the ending- though nicely done- should be no surprise. In fact, I completely agree with Luminaria (from animenfo). I had a short paragraph talking about how the term "love triangle" is a bit erroneous and how it's a more of a love duo and there just happens to be an unwanted third party, but I omitted it. Luminaria already covered that. Last but not least, I expected Paris Hilton to become a MENSA member before I’d enjoy this. And maybe that’s the most important thing said in this long ass review.

Sound
I like the saxophone jazz. There were a few insert songs that I liked (the best is the one in episode seventeen), but on the most part, the BGM is forgettable. The first two ending themes were very good, especially the second. That was catchy and it had a Latin feel to it. “Stop stop stop…” Voice acting is excellent, save for Hikaru and all the bad English. I hate those obnoxiously cheery, cute voices.

Value
If you like the genre, I highly recommend this. If you don’t like the genre (like myself), then I still recommend it. If there’s one to change your mind, this is it. If you liked this, I recommend Boy Be. It has that realism, but without the charm. I also recommend Maison Ikkoku. But being twice the length of this, you'll need a lot more patience. This anime would make a great trivia game. What’s the name of the store Madoka works at? Huh Huh? What’s the cat’s name? Huh Huh? What are the names of the couple that appears in nearly every episode quoting Shakespeare? Huh Huh? What instruments do Madoka’s parents play? Huh Huh Huh?