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Kimagure Orange Road TV
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Animation - 7.9 |
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Sound - 8.8 |
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Story - 8.4 |
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Character - 9.0 |
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Value - 8.7 |
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Enjoyment - 8.7 |
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Average - 8.6 |
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| Average |
8.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| KOR is considered by many a classic , the founder of the romantic comedy genre. But does it deserve the title?
It tells us the story of Kasuga Kyosuke , an indecisive boy who is in love with emerald-eyed Madoka Ayukawa ; however due some irony of fate her best friend ends up becoming his ''girlfriend''.
Sounds like something you watched before? Well there's a good chance the idea originated here. The same happens with many plot elements; eventhough many situations may nowadays appear cliché, they are often the inspiration for what we get in recent anime.
KOR is an episodic anime ; the story itself is decent at best, however the saving point of the show is its female lead, Madoka.
In a show where most of the support cast is relatively mediocre, and Kasuga himself isn't a very charismatic character, she stands out even more.
Her multi-dimensional personality , various talents and also some vulnerabilities make even the simple stories where she appears a joy to watch.
The animation isn't really anything special , even considering the time this aired, however it becomes pleasant after one gets used to it.
Personally I found the sound part of KOR to be one of it's selling points; it's full of marvellous songs, and the SFX is good as well. I understand however that the 80's style may not appeal to everybody , so don't take my word on this.
I must admit that I enjoyed this anime so much mainly because of Madoka and the music, since the plot itself wasn't groundbreaking for the most of the series. However I must say that the two final episodes ( 47 and 48 ) are probably the best conclusion I ever saw for an anime , and they won't leave anyone disappointed.
I guess whether one considers this a classic or not really depends on the tastes of each other , still I think most will agree with me : this show deserves a try!
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| Kimagure was good. That's what I think of now that I've finished the TV series. It must've been great around the time it came out. During some bits I had to remind myself that this anime was done during the 80's and a lot of the things that felt cliche were not around that time.
Let's see, good points. In my opinion the pros outweighed the cons by far. A story about a love triangle between three students, two female, boring and overused, right? Somehow Kimagure manages to make this plotline original, funny, emotional and all around spectacular. Great characters, all with their own very distinct personalities, great music for its time, the little things on the side like the Kasuga family's 'Power', Madoka's past and the hilarious "Wherefore art thou, Ushiko?" "Wherefore art thou, Umao?" show just how much effort went into this series. Sure, the animation isn't up to par with modern anime, but it gets a high score because for it's time, this was quite good. Very funny, very likeable show.
Ok the not so nice. The big thing was the ending. I felt completely cheated. I won't spoil it for people that haven't seen it, but the focus was on two of the main characters and there was absolutely no closure, not even a hint, on the others and even the one's that were in the spotlight had a lackluster ending. It felt like the end of any ordinary episode. The only other thing I disliked about this show were fillers. FILLERS. There were so many episodes where the characters you want to see developement with seem to come closer, only to move back to square one in the next episode. An episode or eight is alright, but in Kimagure it was more like forty one. Honestly you can watch episodes 1-5, skip to 47 and follow the story quite easily, missing only the introduction on two minor characters.
In a nutshell, the show as a whole was quite good but the ending needed a very serious re-evaluation. I remember watching and seeing there was only five minutes left and wondering what was going on, as nothing had happened yet. I thought maybe they would rush it and include the credits in the show like they do in some shows, but no, there was a good scene and the anime finished about two minutes early to leave room for the credits, and that was it. I was immensely disappointed, but it doesn't mean that the show was bad. On the contrary, the good outshined the bad by far. Recommended to any love/romance/comedy fan.
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Iori |
(2007-06-30 16:06:40) 2007-06-30 16:04:57 |
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| Average |
9.7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| If you are romantic and don't mind slow-paced stories, you should definitely see this. Not because it is considered a classic, simply because it is the best romance ever...
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Avalanche |
(2007-05-21 22:01:31) 2007-05-21 20:45:43 |
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Kimagure Orange Road is one of the most memorable old-school romance anime ever. Now almost 20 years old, it is surprising to see how entertaining this anime remains even after such a long time. Telling the romances of an in-decisive 15 year old teenager called Kasuga Kyousuke with two beautiful girls Madoka Ayukawa and Hikaru, this anime was a breath of fresh air and a fun fulled ride throughout its 48 episode run.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Tremere |
(2007-01-25 17:43:02) 2007-01-24 17:51:00 |
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| After watching KOR, I can see why people refer to this as one of the best love/romance anime of all time. The anime tells a great love story and is easy to see the critical role it played in the creation of this genre. It has some very memorable characters and engaging relationships, both of which are essential in this type of anime. The three main characters (Kyosuke, Madoka, and Hikaru) form unique relationships with each other - Kyosuke's and Madoka's feelings secretly grow, Hikaru's openly-declared, but unrequited, love for Kyosuke, and Hikaru and Madoka's longtime childhood friendship.
The anime has quite a few "filler" episodes. I say "filler" because although they don't really advance the story, they DO let me see the character deepen their relationships, which in turn let me become more attached to them.
I enjoyed the songs a lot. The 80s style has grown on me and have some really deep lyrics to boot. My only complaint is that the BGMs aren't very memorable.
I had just finished watching Maison Ikkoku prior to this, so I may have judged this anime a bit harsher since I think the former is a much better show. It is important that if you decide to watch this series, be sure to watch the KOR movie afterwards, as it provides an excellent and much needed conclusion to the series.
My overall impression of KOR? I highly recommended it. If you're a love/romance kind of person, this is a must!
Edit: I realized I was sorta biased since I had just finished Miason Ikkoku prior to this and it was still fresh on my mind, so my scores didn't really reflect how I really felt about this series. This has been corrected.
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| Average |
7.8 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| KOR was the first anime I ever saw, after the revolution in Romania and the end of comunism I finally saw my first cartoon, and even dough I didn't understand much since it was on an italian channel I was fascinated by the way the people looked and moved at an age of 6 years old... I still remember it's italian name, the name of my first cartoon of any kind or origins ever "Johny E Quassi Magia" the italian traduction of KOR... After that the romanian channels became flooded with japanese animes such as Sailor Moon, DBZ, Heidi ,Candy, The hidden garden and many others.
So after almost 15 years I decided to rewatch the anime of my youth... It might not be a very objective review but still I feel like I owe this.
Animation:
The character design, the background, the action scenes, they're all outdated for today's standards and were probably and they were normal at best. At first I was a little discouraged by the animation, but with the passing of the episodes I kinda got used to it and in a way it grew on me. It just brings the old memories of a bygone time, the 80's.
Sound:
The voice acting is mediocre even if it hurts me to say this, the only characters that had a good play were Madoka and Kyosuke... as for the bg sound effects, and the music? well they're all up to the 80's standards and even dough not impressive as quality they still have a certain aura that makes them special.
Story:
KOR's story is quite episodic, with mostly filler episodes, or episodes in wich the relation between either Kyosuke and Madoka advances but get back close to the starting point in the next, Somethimes funny, somethimes frustrating as it seems not to go anywere... Well the story is given interesting oportunities, fun moments, stupid moments, dramatic moments, due to the Kasuga familly special powers and Madoka's exagerated tmultidimensional tallents, making the show more appealing as a recreative, lighthearted show then a dramatic love triangle and in the mean time giving it enough material and viewer willingness for 48 episodes... The last few episodes picked up the pace and made up the story in a nice way s a closure of destiny's hand in the two lover's life.
Characters:
You might call them flat, or maybe exagerated, and they are very exagerated, from Madoka's to many talents, to Hikaru's anoying personality, to the baka duo that are Kyosuke's friends or his two sisters... But still they all have their appeal to me. I guess it's just one of those shows that you start to like the characters not because they go through dramatic scenes, but because you see them over and over again... If I look in detail I can say kyosuke was the clyche indecissive guy that all love triangle animes have (but then again maybe he created that clyche character) but it still had some redeeming traits, aldough I can't remember any... Madoka was in my opinion the most admirable character in this anime as she was the most mature in thinking, a carring friend a real heroine, even dough all her talents were greatly exagerated... Hikaru was just annoying from the start to the end as she was the childish spoilled and selfish bratt... And I almost forgot about that unlucky cat Jingoro:))
Value and entertainement:
It somehow manages to bring a nostalgic feeling, not because it was my first anime, but it creates a certain mood that reminds me of teenage and it's innocent time that today's similar animes just can't do with their exagerated ecchi scenes and brainless characters.
It might be full of flaws, filler episodes, childish and stupid story at times, exagerated characters, but it still is one of the animes that created a genre (one of the most popular genres today "love triangle/fanservice") and it is an anime that defined a generation, even dough for some reason it will always be in Maison Ikkoku's shadow (the other great anime of the genre and epoch).
I couldn't recommand to anyone as in my opinion it's time has passed a long time ago and the new anime generation will only see clyche's in it and bad animation... but for those who saw it in it's glory years it will always be THAT ANIME that created the genre... Well every generation has it's heroes.
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| Average |
9.7 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| KOR is truly extraordinary, but in order to understand why, you've got to have a little patience and an ability to read between the lines.
It's a show that's as remarkable when silence pervades a scene as it is when dialogue flows. Even though some of the characters have strange powers, what is most amazing is the universal humanity embodied in the characters. It's nostalgic, wistful and chock full of all of the unmistakable emotions that arise during the teen years.
While the animation isn't technically spectacular, there are a lot of excellent expressive passages that lend insight into the characters and a lot of care is put into adding nuance to the facial expressions and body language.
Meanwhile, the soundtrack, down to the background music, is among the best in anime.
My only quibbles are that, especially when compared to the manga, Ayukawa is too perfect, too talented, Hikaru's virtues and motivations are nearly lost, and there are a few too many over the top conflicts that really are out of scale with the vast majority of the narrative.
Some might complain about the dated animation and music. In the case of the former, the same can be said of virtually every anime series from the early 80s. In the case of the latter, the music is just reflective of the period. While some of it is truly cheesy and out of date, the music that really addresses the characters and their emotions is still as powerful as it always has been.
In a nutshell, KOR is worth a look for any real anime fan. The only caveat is that you have to watch AT LEAST the first 5 episodes to really give it a fair chance.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Arc |
(2006-02-25 22:33:21) 2006-02-15 20:22:31 |
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| Average |
7.2 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| After the first twenty of so episodes, I was asking myself 'This is it?'Compared to an earlier masterwork like Maison Ikkoku, Kimagure was starting to comes off as just a rip-off or child's play at best. The attraction and romance here was a total mystery. The main character was a weak willed liar with little redeeming factors (bad even by anime standards). Only the character of Madoka was about the only saving grace the series contained, along with some fun 80's references.
Then the series dropped the endless amount of 'Kasuga messes up BIG TIME' plots, and started to give Madoka more screentime, while also cutting Kasuga a break and leaving the others to goof off. An imcomplete story arc for the bratty but lovable Hikaru is about the only flaw for the ending of the series, and thankfully the movies pick up on this aspect later.
Not as balanced as Maison Ikkoku, but it does cover almost the same amount of ground in only half the amount of episodes. Stay for the second half of the series, and you might just give it a fair shot!
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Ryuga |
2006-02-06 14:18:38 |
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| I believe Kimagure Orange Road is one of the series which actually deserves its good user ratings. However, it is some years old, so not very many people have seen this wonderful show.
We see the world and the whole story from the main character, Kasuga Kyousuke’s view. He has moved to a new town and falls in love with a girl at first sight. Already then, I started to like the story. Very soon, the plot got more and more interesting, since he has two girls who like him, and he feels that he can’t let any of them down. Each and one of the main characters are very interesting, though there’s a small problem that they don’t develop much throughout the series.
The whole series is first of all meant to be a love-story. However, it consists of much more than that. It has a lot of funny and amusing scenes, and not to forget the dramatic ones with jealousy and other love-problems. Also some of the characters have some special “powers”. It may sounds boring, but these powers made some really funny situations sometimes. Normally I’m not a fan of “magic”, but this was pretty okay.
Overall okay animations, good ones to be this old. The music is really 80’s style, but still the soundtracks are great. Unlike many other anime series, there are lots of different songs. So, if you’re a fan of love-comedies, not to serious ones, I would say that this is one is just brilliant.
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De Baer |
(2006-01-16 12:59:12) 2006-01-16 12:56:01 |
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| Average |
4.8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
4 |
| Value |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
4 |
| In einer Zeit in der es das typische Schemata und die etlichen Klischees der Romantik-Komödien noch nicht gab und jeder noch so abgedroschene Handlungsverlauf noch originell und erfrischend war, erblickte “Kimagure Orange Road“ das Licht der Welt. Und es ist wirklich interessant zu sehen wie viele der heutige Animes von diesem Oldie gebrandmarkt sind. Tragischerweise ist es genau DAS was Orange Road zum Verhängnis wird, denn wenn man, wie ich, schon etliche Serien, OVAs und Movies aus der heutigen Zeit gesehen hat die inhaltlich gravierend ähnliches bieten präsentiert einem Orange Road so gut wie NICHTS was man nicht schon von irgendwoher kennt. Da kann man von Klassiker reden so oft man will, das ändert nichts daran das Orange Road gut 20 Jahre nach seinem erscheinen kaum noch jemanden hinter dem Ofen hervorlocken kann der in diesem Genre gut bewandert ist. Zu standardmäßig sind die Zutaten: Männlicher Protagonist liebt Mädchen A, Mädchen B liebt männlichen Protagonisten, Protagonist sitzt in der Zwickmühle und hadert von Episode zu Episode mit sich selbst was seine Gefühl angeht. Was aber noch viel, viel erschwerender hinzu kommt ist dass die gesamte Serie versucht mit dieser mehr als dürren Basis weit über 40 Episoden zu füllen und sich mit ständig wieder kehrenden Plotelementen über Wasser zu halten. Selbstverständlich klappt das überhaupt nicht und sogar schon nach nur einem Viertel der Episoden bricht die Serie im dünnen Eis ein und sinkt unrettbar bis auf den Grund. Sowohl Story als auch Charaktere kommen fast zum kompletten Stillstand und die Entwicklung sagt somit auch Lebewohl. Monotonie und Frust sind das Resultat und steigern sich von Episode zu Episode immer mehr bis man einfach keine Lust mehr hat und einem der Ausgang des Ganzen kaum noch tangiert. Da kann auch der Comedy-Aspekt nichts mehr zur Rettung beitragen, besonders wenn er so unspektakulär und matt ist wie in diesem Fall (hör ich noch einmal dieses “Ushio-san, Umao-San“ dreh ich übrigens gepflegt durch!!!). Die Charaktere sind auch so ein Problem: Anfänglich noch recht liebenswert fallen sie dank ihrer abwechslungslosen Persönlichkeiten und Verhalten irgendwann in ein Loch, was sie mit der Zeit uninteressant und blass macht. Das Verfolgen der Serie wird spätestens nach gut 50% der Episoden zur Qual und Nervenbelastung. Es fehlt hier schlicht und ergreifend an Abwechslung und das in sämtlichen Kategorien und viel zu lang ist sie auch. Man hätte gut und gerne auf ca. 80% aller Episoden verzichten können denn man verpasst absolut NICHTS wenn man nach Episode 3 zu den finalen Episoden springen würde. Zur damaligen Zeit dürfte das womöglich zur Unterhaltung ausgereicht haben was “Kimagure Orange Road“ abliefert aber heute ist einfach zu deutlich zu sehen das dieser Anime heftig in die Jahre gekommen ist. Ein Klassiker? Möglich, aber mit ganz großer Sicherheit kein Evergreen. Nur extrem eingefleischten Fans des Genres und Nostalgikern zu empfehlen!
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Poom |
(2006-01-13 22:13:18) 2006-01-13 22:05:43 |
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| KOR is all about romance and comedy. The youthfulness of young people, we talking about jr. middle school kids. Fresh and some(innocent).
The jokes in KOR was always fresh or atletast it were at the time it aired. There're also load of ecchi thought and fantasy made up by both Kyosuke&Hikaru. Love triangle between Madoka, Kyosuke, Hikaru is always funs and cheesy. The show always start with some trouble then it solve by the end of ep. There might overused the flashback in some ep. but I guess it's cool if you doesn't marathon like I did. I also like all the Op/Ed songs. They're catchy and up to beat even it's in the 80' style.
They really focus on romance part and nothing else, so you get 120% of love, jealousy, and make-up scenes. It's a win and win for all the romance sucker.
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| Average |
8.7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| For me, who was born early enough to be in the same age at the same time as Kasuga and Madoka, this kind of series will always get extra attention.
Probably someone newer to this world would see more flaws.
For there is flaws, sure, not as many as 95% of anime usually get but there are some. I think the pace is nr1, or well, lack of said pace. This really is the series of fillers. The best fillers, only bested by Maison Ikkoku, and a series based on the fillers.
Another thing you shouldn't expect very much is character development since that is not much we get.
But what we get is oh so much intrigues you can get from a young teenager and his trouble. Girl A or girl B? Viewers are bound to root for one of them, I have a feeling I know who.
Add to this a psycic ability to teleport and you get some really nice situations. A good thing is that there is a good balance, there is no overuse of the psycic ability.
The sound and art of this series is wonderful, I love the real-world pre-mobile-phone series, only LP music, disco and pay phones^^
Together with Maison Ikkoku (no 1) this reigns supreme among anime of the 80's.
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Haman |
2005-11-17 11:35:25 |
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| Average |
10.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| The timeless one. KOR deserves to be on the shortest of short lists of the greatest anime titles of all time. A truly wonderful and beautiful anime in the genre of romantic comedy that has something in it for everyone, even after all these years.
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|
|
| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Orange Road is one of those 1980's anime that will always be a classic and although a little dated, it's a thoroughly enjoyable romantic comedy that everone should see!
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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|
|
| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Kimagure Orange Road is a pretty good Romance themed show, the comedy balanced it out so its not too serious. Many times while watching this show I was laughing out loud at the crazy situations main character Kyosuke got into. Story wise it was well paced and actually had a decent conclusion. If you want to know more read on.
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Pantha |
(2007-01-04 18:50:33) 2005-04-25 20:28:05 |
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| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| 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. 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.
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rande |
(2005-03-19 04:17:35) 2005-03-19 04:06:46 |
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| Average |
9.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| As with Maison Ikkoku, which this anime rides upon, Kimagure Orange Road is a timeless romance series; a classic of anime by any standards. However, there is an important difference between these two monumental series: MI is a comedy/romance, whereas KOR is a romance/comedy.
For fans of hand-drawn cels, KOR's animation is simply lovable. For fans of computer-aided animation, it should be bearable, as the actual art quality is maintained at a high standard throughout the series. The seiyuu cast breathe life into their respective characters with a realism that goes hand-in-hand with the warm animation.
Technicals aside, the main plotline is established early on, and makes consistent (consistently slow) progress. The love triangle between Kyosuke, Madoka and Hikaru is intricately handled and developed in a way that attaches you to them emotionally. Perhaps two-thirds of the series is filler, but it is constructive filler that develops the bond of the main characters. The most glaring problem with this series is that it does not have a proper ending. The two movies must be watched to achieve any sense of conclusion.
Our three love-entagled characters are each unique and most viewers should have no problems identifying with them. Although Kyosuke's indecisiveness is sometimes overdone, the two girls are easy to get attached to. Their almost-opposite personalities are both very lovable - in this regard, I feel KOR surpasses MI.
Most of the series focuses on the relationship between the three, with some well-placed comical relief provided by the minor characters around them. KOR knows its place: it doesn't reach MI's high comedic standard because it doesn't attempt to immitate it.
Through a delicate mix of romance (more) and comedy (less), KOR brews a tremendously enjoyable anime series that has earned its place among MI and other classics. Without a doubt, a must-see for romance fans, and highly recommended for any other anime fan.
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nauXolo |
(2006-05-14 21:52:41) 2005-02-12 01:25:10 |
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| Average |
9.2 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| If you like a story of humorous indecisiveness with a little twist of ESP, love triangles, chance events, laughable dates, and a lovable cast of characters that are always together, then this is for you. I have to say, my favorite parts are the alternate dimension ones or the travel back through time.
Where to start - Kimagure Orange Road is a classic love story between two people plus one more. Our main character is this clumsy boy who is born with ESP powers and hence allows him to levitate things, teleport, travel through time (with the help of his family), and all sorts of other cool things that make this more enjoyable to read. He is kind of uncool though and his indecisiveness to choose between the two girls may get on some people' nerves.
We have Hikaru who is pretty annoying. The reason why she falls in love with Kasuga is pretty ridiculous: he sees him use his ESP powers on a basketball and thinks he's just a hunk. Her role is more for dramatic tension between Kasuga and Madoka.
Ahh Madoka, the heart and soul of this manga. A beauty queen with attitude - someone who can stand up to her own. Perfect in home life, but known as "The Pick" at school. People fear and admire her. She's one of the best characters I've ever encountered in all my years of watching anime. If Kasuga represents the supernatural with his ESP powers and awkward undecidedness, Madoka represents the natural with her multi-dimensional personality that feels pain, sorrow, joy, and happiness.
Kimagure Orange Road's story is pretty straightforward at first glance - your typical school romance right? No, not at all! Unlike typical romance stories rooted in the "natural" real world, KoR has this added fun element of the story that totally transforms the progression and outcome. I can't spoil it too much but the ESP powers actually have a very strong role in the end. Thinking back on how they incorporated gives me the goosebumps. KoR truly has a bunch of fun and great ideas that make this enjoyable from start to end.
Kimagure Orange Road is one of the most stunning series I've seen ever. Truly a masterpiece when it comes to both character (Madoka v Hikaru) and story (the ESP powers). There is rarely any point in the story that is totally and completely predictabe. Watching this left me hanging on the edge of my seat as the story unfolded.
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m-oyaji |
(2005-02-01 13:58:21) 2005-01-07 15:51:18 |
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Alright, trying to be fair as a HardKOR fan. Really magical, this. The first third is about awkward love, the middle third mysterious love, and the last third off-the-wall love... if you can call it that. Actually, take away the word love and it makes more sense. But it is a love story. Atleast, when you pit it together with the OVAs and movies, it comes together, but the TV series makes it all happen.
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Luminaria |
(2004-10-20 23:06:20) 2004-10-19 19:06:03 |
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| Average |
8.8 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Classic by all means. Kimagure Orange Road, along with Maison Ikkoku, is one of the original "love-triangle" series that many of the newer shows try to be. However, unlike today's love-triangle series, Orange Road keeps it's focus on the characters and having fun. To some degree calling KOR a love-triangle is somewhat of a misnomer since it's really a love-line... with a third point on the side. What am I saying? Well, I cant give all the details of the series away, but Hikaru could be considered an "outlier" :P
KOR has aged pretty well, but a lot of the more subtle jokes and puns in the series bank on the fact that you lived in the 80's. Everything from the clothing, music, movies. It's the 80's. The main characters are extreemly memorable. Kyosuke is the typical indecicive teenager although he knows deep down who he really loves. They keep him from being your boring looser guy through a lot of monologes that make sure you know what he's thinking, and why he cant makes some of the choices he does. Madoka is smart, sexy, cares for her friends, and does her best not to break Hikaru's heart. Hikaru, to be honest, is really annoying. From the get-go the "triangle" aspect of the show is basically forced by her. She's ditsy, annoying, and immature, but you'll never forget her.
A little too episodic at the end, but a superb overall story nontheless. TV and the OVA counterpart follows up by the 2 movies will be a touching, and memorable watch.
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