Kimagure Orange Road TV

Original Title: きまぐれオレンジ★ロード
Romanized: Kimagure Orange Road
Literal: Whimsical/Capricious/Moody Orange Road

Plot Synopsis

Kasuga Kyosuke is a not-quite-average Junior High student with a problem. He has a tendency to overdramatize, he frequently launches into rambling internal monologues, and he is one of the most indecisive youths in Japan. But none of those are his real problem. His family is also blessed with psychic powers. And, since his two younger sisters aren't very good at keeping their paranormal abilities under wraps, the family has ended up moving all over the country trying to avoid notice. But that's not the real problem either. Kyosuke's real problem is one that most people would pay money to have. He hasn't even gotten settled in at his newest school and he's already got two girls interested in him: Ayukawa Madoka--beautiful but unfriendly and known far and wide as a bad seed, but with a soft side that shows through on occasion. And, Hiyama Hikaru, cute and with an infectiously bubbly personality

To make things even more complicated, Madoka and Hikaru are best friends. So we've got Madoka, who seems to like Kyosuke, but isn't letting anyone know, Hikaru, who definitely likes Kyosuke, and is letting everybody know, and Kyosuke himself who's too spineless to make up his mind or tell either of them how he really feels.

Add to that Kyosuke's sisters, his loser friends Komatsu and Hatta, Yuusaku, the martial arts expert who thinks he should be Hikaru's guy, and a whole host of other folks out to raise a ruckus, and you've got one of the most popular psychic-youth-love-triangle-comedies to come out of Japan.

Quick Review

Rating: 3.5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2006-08-22

Kimagure Orange Road may look like yet another wacky love comedy, but this tale of adolescent angst and romance is far more shoujo-light than harem show. Although you'd be hard-pressed to label it anything but a comedy--the series is definitely funny and usually a bit wild--the meat of the show is its touching and effective snapshot of the swirl of emotions of young love. The psychic stuff just magnifies everything and adds a twist to the mix--when the episodes are good, it is surprisingly realistic, if you can believe that. If you don't take it too seriously, and watch it as a series trying to capture the excitement, pain, and awkwardness of youth--which I think it effectively does--the drama works. It's not a visually impressive series, but the voice cast in the main trio is extremely good--particularly Hiromi Tsuru's subtle, moody Madoka--and the variety of era-appropriate (and non-anime) J-rock adds flavor.

While the series' anime comedy roots definitely show through, the central romance is handled in a more subtle and touching manner than most, and that makes this tale of young love a real gem if that's your thing. Definitely worth checking out.

US DVD Review

AnimEigo's DVDs have basically zip in the way of extras, but have what counts: A high-bitrate video transfer with no noticeable artifacts (although it's quite soft-looking, that's not the fault of the transfer, just old source material), a clean Japanese stereo soundtrack, and their famously accurate subtitles. The Japanese credits are left intact, with the full translated credits found in the menus, and while there's no dub, the subtitles are soft, so you can turn them off if you want. The only bonus you get is AnimEigo's famed liner notes, which can now be found online.

Content Guide

The themes are about appropriate to the age group of the characters, so (depending on the episode), it ranks somewhere between 10-up and 13-up.

Violence: 2 - There is some pretty serious fighting once in a while.

Nudity: 1 - In most episodes nothing, but there are a few bits of provocative dress.

Sex/Mature Themes: 1 - Again, mostly not much, but there are a few episodes.

Language: 2 - Not foul-mouthed, but they don't talk like little kids.

Notes and Trivia

Based on a comic series of the same name by Izumi Matsumoto that ran between 1984 and 1988. It is not available in English as of this writing. The non-cel illustrations that AnimEigo uses for box art are by the original artist.

The word "Kimagure" in the title can, depending on context, mean a number of different things in English. A common translation is "whimsical," but it can also mean "capricious," "moody," or even "fickle." In this case, since the word most likely refers to the unpredictable moods of Madoka, "capricious" is probably the most accurate translation.

This series is based on a number of influences, but that's all explained in pretty thorough detail in the liner notes. Spawned an OAV series and two movies, all of which are entirely worth watching.

As always, AnimEigo has their extensive liner notes available on their KOR page, both as one huge page or as downloadable PDF files (down at the bottom of that page).

Availability

Formerly available in the US from AnimEigo, though it is no longer in print in any form. Was most recently released on 12 subtitled DVDs (originally available as a preorder set for fans, later as individually-sold discs). Prior to that it was released as two sets (24 episodes each) of either subtitled LDs or VHS tapes, again initially as preorder only, though individual VHS tapes were later sold individually.

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