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ashitomarisu · 2 years

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Kimagure Orange Road ( A FULL BLOWN REVIEW because Final Thoughts are not enough to explain).

Welcome back....

Before I start this special review, something must be addressed. Last month, there was suppose to be a final thoughts post pertaining to Tropical Rouge! Precure. However, for personal reasons, the draft evidently had to be scrapped and will be reworked into a special post about the future of Precure; since my feelings about the past two seasons are being affected due to the pandemic.

With that out of the way, let's start this massive unpacking....of a review.

Exactly what is Kimagure Orange Road? What about it made this series so influential in the coming decades in popular media (including anime)? At first glance and in face value, my initial thought was this would be another 80s anime with a shallow plot and share a similar vibe as to something like Ranma.

Sadly, I was dead wrong, by the middle of the season.

Let's back up for a moment, and look at the origin of this anime.

Kimagure Orange Road originally started as a manga series created by Izumi Matsumoto, and was serialized through Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1984-1987. A pilot was filmed in 1985, which prompted a series two years later. The anime series ran from 1987-1988 with 48 episodes. An OVA series consisting of eight episodes was produced in 1989, with two films being released in 1988 and 1996, respectively. With the impact it has left during its runtime, what made Kimagure Orange Road so darn beloved to begin with anyway?

SYPNOSIS

The story consists of 15-year-old Kyosuke Kasuga, a teenage male with a secret: he and his family have paranormal abilities. Therefore, they have had no choice but to move from one city to another to avoid the same outcome over and over again. However, things would be different when Kyosuke encounters Madoka Ayukawa, a tomboy delinquent who can be a bit bitchy at times but otherwise, can show friendliness. On the other hand, there is Hikaru Hiyama, another delinquent who is childhood friends with Madoka and develops a crush on Kyosuke and assumes he feels the same (no he doesn't...not even close...why the fuck would she think this way wtf). Thus, a love triangle develops and a long summer of complications, drama, and hilarity is about to begin.

You'd think this would be another one of those romcom anime with one-dimensional personalities for supporting and background characters, right? ACTUALLY, YES AND NO. MAINLY NO THOUGH.

While the plot, at first, felt like something I could have seen out of another romcom, there are just way too many things going on to focus on the romance aspect when necessary. In fact, each episode has a “plot B” element going on that forces you to pay attention and literally watch EVERY, SINGLE, GODFORSAKEN episode from beginning to end or else, you miss something important; albeit either character development or shift in direction. For once, I kept getting hooked, wondering what was going to happen.

Oh, did I mention, the COUNTLESS TIMES THE WRITER KEPT TEASING WITH THE POSSIBLE IMPLIED INNUENDO OR SMUT????

(Given the standards back in the 80s, the anime industry really let themselves go so far before hitting the hentai/ecchi level of HOLY SHIT. Although, this might have been the start of the era where women or female characters being “damsels in distress” was outdated as hell. Hell, a LOT of heavy topics are shown throughout these 48 episodes that may have been a kickstart to a new generation of social exploitation.)

Needless to say, there was never a dull moment.

CHARACTERS

In order to properly explain my thoughts on the cast, I have to break it down into three different groups: the main characters, supporting, and background and/or one-shots.

Main characters in a nutshell

Kyosuke Kasuga is the older brother of the three siblings who has the ability to teleport and foreshadow (although it usually is raunchier than what it turns out to be, because teenage boys in puberty are always gonna have their “moments”; very natural to the human body). He does gain a couple new powers during the series, but I won't say this here. He is well-mannered, but indecisive when it comes to his two-timing situation.

Kurumi Kasuga, one of his two sisters; able to use telekinesis; energetic, can be emotional and defensive around other boys or men (especially Hatta and Komatsu); kicks ass without touching.

Manami Kasuga, the other sister (my favorite main); also uses telekinesis, but doesn't get along well with her sister; more reserved, and home-bound.

Jingoro: BEST CAT; doesn't do much except be a mascot, but he's freaking cute and adorable. Sometimes, he is abused by Kurumi (so help me God let me punch her). BEST CAT CHARACTER in my opinion...I demand a Jingoro plushie.

Takashi Kasuga is surprisingly the only one in the family that has no esper powers whatsoever. He does photography. He's just there.

Madoka Ayukawa: main female protagonist; best friends with Hikaru Hiyama, top student but also a lonewolf who has smoked and been involved with gang wars; obviously capricious (lol this is what they meant by Kimagure??) I do adore her. (Wait until I talk about the seiyuus).

Hikaru Hiyama: sweet, bubbly, obsessed with Kyosuke, can be a bigger bitch than Madoka, (Personally, I could not stand her for most of the series, until the end of the 1988 movie (and the sequel movie from '95)).

The main characters were an enjoyable bunch with great dynamic., espiecially the “love triangle dynamic”, which had me engaged in how this was gonna turn out. The supporting characters, like Hatta and Komatsu, were decent, although not a lot of layered dimensions in terms of traits or behavior except for “being mainly horny at the sight of girls” and “begging for love”. Yuusaku had more character development throughout the season than those two ever did receive; although Hatta could have had a little more.

As for minor characters, like Akane and Kazuya (Kyosuke's relatives), their involvement was short but memorable. (Speaking of Akane....*thinking the wrong thing right now when she should be focusing*).

Overall, the writers really took the time to make these characters seem believable and relatable.

Story Elements

Before I drop into my favorite portion of this review, I want to quickly explain a recurring plot point that ended up making this series influential. Prior to its premiere, sources claim no other film, animated series, or any other property at that time used this particular trope, as coined by TVTropes: Temporal Paradox or Bootstrap Paradox. (Of course, time travel tropes have been around longer than that.)

However, KimaOran implicated a time loop effect in their Christmas episode, which left Kyosuke repeating the same damn day...which inspired future films, tv shows, and anime to pull this stunt. (No, the Endless Eight arc in Haruhi Suzumiya kinda took that trope a bit too far where there was a literal added catch in order to actually get out of it; one that might gave stemmed from Groundhog Day).

Hell, people are telling me Groundhog Day is the perfect example of being inspired by this trope KimaOran started, although the concept originated from Urusei Yatsura, which predated the series by three years. Nevertheless, this plot device was done seamlessly with a dash of mystery left to be resolved.

(Not to mention, the tsundere trope was also used here in Madoka's personality; not the first to adopt this behavior but the same trope would eventually blow up in the 00s and up to present day).

MUSIC

Now, to my favorite portion of this review: the music. As someone who is trying to expand into older anime titles and the genre of city pop, this series had some memorable tunes. I'M DEAD SERIOUS.

Let's start with the OPs.

Night of Summer Side – catchy song; uses animation from the show itself with some original content; love the use of cut transitions, although it may have been a bit too fast for my liking. Still, solid opening for its first arc.

Orange Mystery – better animation; use of filters and color splash in some places, also inspired by the Take On Me MV (you know the one) with the sketch-like pencil style; not a bad song, but it's okay.

Actress in the Mirror – best of the three; stellar animation, has a continuous, fluid feel that transitions very well, and also ends how it began and I cannot get over the song. The drum beat was killer; and I just LOVE every moment of that OP.

Choose Me – From the OVAs, this was decent, although I was meh on the song itself.

Endings

悲しいハートは燃えている (Sad Heart Burning) – The best of the EDs ; no questions asked. The animation reminds me of an old PBS bumper from the 90s that involved a crow trying to retrieve water out of a bottle by shoving pebbles into it. The song, which is sung by Kanako Wada, is, in my opinion, her best track. There is so much more emotion complimenting the sequence and the arrangement is immaculate. (Highly recommended).

ダンス・イン・ザ・メモリーズ (Dance in the Memories) – This ending has a simple sequence, but the song itself has a mall rat music vibe. It sounds a bit goofy, but also appropriate for the time.

ときどきBlue (Tokidoki Blue) – one of two OVA endings; it's nice in appearance, but on par for an average tune

もうひとつのイエスタデイ (One More Yesterday) – Slightly better in animation and music...nothing special though.

あの空を抱きしめて (Embrace That Sky) – literal tearjerker, fits the end of the main series almost perfectly, but not as great as her second ED track.

Day Dream ~I'm at Your Side – I have no idea why the fuck this is considered city pop, when by 1995, the genre was basically dead to the sounds of bubble gum / teen pop and europop. This sounds more teen pop than anything. It's okay at best.

Most of the music used in the show were done by Kanako Wada, whom has her own distinct and memorable vocals. The OST is remarkably worth a listen. I cannot say or praise their music any more than that.

In conclusion, Kimagure Orange Road showed more than enough evidence to leave a lasting, enjoyable experience for me, as a viewer. Such a simple story about a love triangle expanded into this huge, complex concept involving time loops, drama, comedy, more time paradoxes, and social commentary; going as far as including such adult topics, like drugs, sex, alcohol, and the like. Nothing more can be said other than this:

Kimagure Orange Road, if it had to be placed anywhere in my tier, it is definitely worthy of an S-rank (perhaps 9 and ¾ mikans out of 10). As I said before, there was never a dull moment in this show. If you are interested in exploring 80s anime or even romance shonens, please give this a shot.

As for my opinion on if this series deserves a reboot: NO. The content in this title is a product of its time; a lot has changed since the 80s, and to just bring the original material back and adapt it from the manga could be risky. Not to mention, this may never happen, since the original mangaka, Izumi Matsumoto, passed away in 2020. Whomever holds the rights nowadays...is unknown to me; I can see a sequel series happening, but that's up to them. Personally, I see no reason to reboot this.

With that, I want to thank everyone for reading my thoughts on this rare gem of an animated series. Next month, there will be no scheduled anime watches due to personal reasons. I have to prepare the last of the watches for this year, and also start next year's WHEEL of WATCHES (more info in November). Until next time, here's hoping senpai notices you!

(I feel like I forgot something important...)

#2022 anime watch #first review in a long time #kimagure orange road #forgive me if something seems inaccurate #I swear I've put enough research into this.

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key-imagines-blog · 7 years

Note

If you can see anyone being a Daddy at Jinkou High who would it be?

Admin Tea- Do you mean Daddy ;) or Daddy!! :D But since yourstruly is a dirty birdy I’ll chose Daddy;)

Suwa

He seems the type thatwouldn’t know he had this kink until his S/O moaned it out.

The S/O looked reallyembarrassed after saying it before apologizing. When Suwa told them to say itagain, but in a rather aggressive way, the S/O had been both equally partsscared and turned on.

He mainly likes it becauseit makes him feel incredibly masculine since he feels like he’s not that manly.

Hachioji

Even though he’s the olderbrother type to those around him, when he gets into the bedroom he is indeed aDaddy

He forgot who brought itup, but when it was brought up he knew that he liked it.

He loves the way his S/Omoans it out when they’re doing it. Or begging when he’s being a tease.

He doesn’t mind if his S/Ocalls him that in a teasing way outside. Everyone thinks it’s just them teasingHachioji. But him knowing that it’s actually something that is used duringtheir more intimate moments causeshim to just smile and making a mental note to tease them later on while saying,‘(Name)-chan you better be careful, what if someone were to find out that youcall me this while looking all disheveled? That would be rather troublesome foryou right? Having them thinking of you in such a way.’ (It would bother him toobut he likes teasing them about it). Now they just do it to seewhat he’ll say during sex. Which he knows and loves.

Hirota

He’s already a confidentguy, so when his S/O teasingly whispered ‘Daddy’ into his ear one night whilethe two were alone in the S/O’s bedroom, Hirota first, got confused, but theway his S/O kissed down from his ear to his neck caused him to blush, before asmirk spread across his face.

That night when his S/Owas getting roughly ravished by Hirota they wouldn’t stop calling him that andhe wouldn’t stop loving the way it sounded as it came from their lips.

He may or may not boastabout this to everyone in the club room. They would only know if after practice.The club members blushing and avoiding to talk to them. Hirota would tell themnot to worry about it. However, he would realize his mistake for braggingbecause some of the guys would stare at his S/O to often for his liking.

The S/O would never findout however, because Coach Komori would scold the members who kept staring atthem, stating that they should focus on Rugby than some members partner.

Kasuga

He saw a friend of his S/Otexting them, they asked him to read it to them. He asked if they were sure, towhich they laughed, only for the laughter to leave them when he said, “one wayto spice up your sex life is nicknames, for example ‘daddy.’”

To their surprise Kasugawas rather open to this idea, however, he did seem annoyed that the friendsuggested anything as ‘spicing up’ their sex life, Kasuga thought that 1.) itwasn’t their business and 2.) he’s a damn fine lover so what would they know.

He would swallow thatannoyance however, when his S/O meekly called him Daddy as he hovered overtheir body. That name went straight to his groin, and he didn’t know if it wasthe name or just how cute they were while saying it.

After the rather vigoroussex he laid there looking up at the ceiling. It had seemed that the nicknamewould be a recurring thing since he liked it so much.

However, the only twopeople who knew this was his S/O and Kasuga because he think’s that their sexlife should just be between them.

#All-Out!#Suwa Yusakku #hachioji mutsumi #hirota eiichi #kasuga hirokuni

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