Kimagure Orange Road

This is another of those romantic comedies that I've watched so many times. What makes this a little different is its age. This was initially released in 1988. As I said, it's a romantic comedy with a little twist, in that our protagonist, Kyosuke, and his family are blessed (or should I say cursed) with supernatural powers. These powers are never fully explored, we get the impression that no one really knows their limits.

At the beginning of the show, Kyosuke meets a pretty young girl (Ayukawa Madoka) wearing a red hat, while climbing some steps in his new town. He instantly falls for her, but when he gets to school, he finds she's been labeled by everyone as a delinquent. To make matters more complicated, a young girl Hikaru, who is one of Madoka's childhood friends, falls for Kyosuke.

Much of the series is taken up with our 'hero' trying to woo Madoka while Hikaru is clinging on to him, often literally, and the events and mix ups (Love Hina style) that ensue.

The series is well done to my mind, with the 48 eps not feeling too stretched out. The animation, while looking a little dated next to today's stuff, doesn't lack in the quality department. It flows well unlike in some series where animation frames are dropped to save time.

The voice acting is also quite well done. I'm not a fan of the wishy washy voice they used for Kyosuke, but at the same time it fits his character perfectly, and the same essentially goes for Ayukawa and Hikaru.

The comedy elements aren't overdone (it's no ~fumoffu~), but I don't recall a single episode where I didn't have to suppress a chuckle or two.

The story is a bit drawn out, but not so much that you lose interest in the series.

Overall this series is quite good, but to make it excellent, it must be watched with the first movie at the end.

The Movies

The two movies give closure on the series. The first is set directly after the events of the TV series and gives closure on the romance element by making him choose between the two, and how to deal with the other girl. It's a very sad story, and to be honest after watching it I was afraid to watch the second movie as the ending was so well done that the second movie could have quite easily ruined it.

Fortunately, this is not the case. The second movie is set both a little after the first, and 3 years hence (goddamn paranormal powers messing with the timeline!!!). This movie reunites the members love triangle and reforms the friendship which was destroyed at the end of the first. Instead of cheapening what happened in the first, it builds on what happened and strengthens it.

The animation style changed somewhat in the second movie, mainly die to the fact that it was made 8 years after the first, but it retains the character of the original.

All in all I would recommend this series to romantic comedy fans who like animes like Love Hina or Ai Yori Aoshi. I wouldn't recommend it to people who prefer pure comedic shows like ~Fumoffu~ or Azumanga Daioh, or pure action fans who like Hellsing, Samurai Deeper Kyo or the like. Hellsing PRE note: This is the first time I've reviewed an anime. any comments would be welcomed

(though stuff like "h3h3h3 you suck!" would be completely ignored).

also I based my factors on the previous reviews here...