Kimagure Orange Road

Overall Rating: 80 (STRONGLY recommended)

Characters: 72

Plot: 70

Animation: 88

A fun series

I'm writing this on July 5, 1998. Updated August 15, 1998. Last viewing: (INCOMPLETE) 1 day ago

Original comments: One word: Madoka. She's just a wonderful character. Though at the point in the series where I am, you don't really know her. But the mystery and first love thing is kind of nice. I'm going to be watching more of it soon, since the movie's out now in the video stores. I've got the tapes here, so it's just a matter of time.

A rather cartoonish animation style, but, well, everyone's just so darned cute. It's got its moments of tension, but much better are the moments of comic relief. It seems odd that the psi powers seem to be entirely a side note in the lives of these high schoolers. But to them, I guess, it's their normal daily routine, so they get used to it. Except for Jingoro (the cat), of course.

Hoping that my rather vague like of this series continues and grows as I watch more.

New Comments: Well, the only major nitpick I have about the series is that it really has a whole lot of footage re-use. Still, when watching many episodes a day (as I have been lately, to rewatch what I had seen, and make my way to the fourth of 4 tapes), I notice it while I'm watching, but soon forget about it.

Perhaps a bit too episodic (things from one episode usually aren't really relevant to the next episode), but I guess I can understand that. And it's nice that, on occasion, the characters actually do develop. Given the titles, I'm thinking that maybe a few things will be concluded by the time the series ends. Probably not, but even a little closure would be nice.

Last eposode seen at time of this writing: Ep 36.

Final Comments: Its ratings have been bumped around yet again. The animation did have too much re-use, and was cartoonish, but it's the first anime style which I've really gotten good at drawing. Too bad a broken wrist prevents me from working with the style some more. Most episodes were a lot of fun, and though this series did have more than its share of the humor-by-discomfort (which I generally dislike), it did have a lot of great moments. The final episodes, a two-parter, were very nicely done, and gave a certain pleasant symmetry to the series. Not a series to keep you glued to your TV, perhaps, but very satisfying.

Episode titles:

       Ep. 1: The Transfer Student! Shy With First Love. 
       Ep. 2: Give the Girl a Little Lemon Kiss. 
       Ep. 3: Mood Swings. A Rolling First Date. 
       Ep. 4: Hikaru-chan!? The Disturbing 'C' Incident. 
       Ep. 5: Two People's Secret! The Puzzling Part-Time Job. 
       Ep. 6: He's a Rival! The Test Between Their Loves. 
       Ep. 7: Madoka's Private Life! The Spark-Colored Kiss. 
       Ep. 8: Your Smiling Face! Shutter Chance at the Beach. 
       Ep. 9: Kurumi Teaches a Method of Dating. 
       Ep.10: A Prophetic Dream!? Hikaru Is Going To Die! 
       Ep.11: Don't Ring! Wedding Bell. May 17 
       Ep.12: Foreign Study in America! Sayonara, Madoka. 
       Ep.13: Concentration of Looks! Hikaru-chan! Big Transformation. 
       Ep.14: Prophetic Dream! Madoka and Kyosuke Break Up. 
       Ep.15: Madoka's Decision! End of the Triangle Relation. 
       Ep.16: Believe it or Not! Madoka Saw a UFO! 
       Ep.17: Summer Temptation! The Sudden Double-Date. 
       Ep.18: Madoka's Challenge! Ghost Beach's Big Wave Legend! 
       Ep.19: Two's Incident. The Island of Forbidden Love. May 17 
       Ep.20: Hikaru's a Witness! A Training Camp is Full of Danger. 
       Ep.21: Kyosuke in a Pinch! A Storm is the Hills' Sweet Whisper. 
       Ep.22: An Adult Relationship! Madoka's Secret Morning Return. 
       Ep.23: Kyosuke and Madoka's Big Fight! The Three-Legged Race of Love. 
       Ep.24: Kazuya's Appearance! Taking Care of the Panic Kid. 
       Ep.25: Dangerous Self-Hypnosis! Kyosuke's Metamorphosis. 
       Ep.26: Kid Kyosuke! Approaches Madoka. 
       Ep.27: Targeted Madoka! Kyosuke's Proof of Manhood. 
       Ep.28: Big Decision! Manami's Big Adventure. 
       Ep.29: Don't Cry Jingoro. Period of Love and Seishun. 
       Ep.30: Kurumi's First Love. Hell Edition. 
       Ep.31: Madoka and Yusaku! Youth Elopement March. 
       Ep.32: Birthday Comes Twice! Kyosuke Time Travels. May 17 
       Ep.33: Suspicious Madoka! 120% Truth Mushrooms. May 17 
       Ep.34: Root Search Panic. Madoka in Wonderland. May 17 
       Ep.35: H With Camera! Robot Kyo-chan. 
       Ep.36: Farewell Kyosuke! Power Recorded on Video. 
       Ep.37: Orange Chivalry! Madoka's Duel in the Snow Storm. 
       Ep.38: Kyosuke Time Travels! Third Christmas. 
       Ep.39: Hypnotized Madoka! Kyosuke's Risky New Year. 
       Ep.40: It's Hatsuyume! Jingoro the Monster Strikes Back. 
       Ep.41: Immobile Madoka! Kyosuke's Wonder Watch. 
       Ep.42: Popular Madoka! Kyosuke Finally Declares. 
       Ep.43: Broken-Hearted Hikaru! Chase Me To Winter Beach. 
       Ep.44: Taste of Love? Kyosuke's Valentine From Hell. 
       Ep.45: Good-bye Hikaru-chan! And There Was None. 
       Ep.46: One Silver Night! Gondola for Two. 
       Ep.47: Sad Farewell. Search for Madoka's First Love. 
       Ep.48: Caught the Love! And Da Capo.