Kimagure Orange Road Cartoon

2007-11-03T06:42:00.000-07:00

Kimagure Orange Road (きまぐれオレンジ☆ロード, Kimagure Orenji Rōdo^?) is a popular shōnen romantic comedy manga and anime series from the 1980s and 1990s.

Written by Izumi Matsumoto and serialized in S hueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, it was later adapted into an anime series broadcasted on Nippon Television, animated by Studio Pierrot and directed by veteran animator Osamu Kobayashi with character designs by Akemi Takada and scripts by Kenji Terada, with Narumi Kakinouchi, one of the creators of Vampire Princess Miyu adding design work to the anime, as well as the opening and ending credits for episodes 1-8. In the mid-1990s the series was novelized as well.

Background

Teenage romance meets science-fiction in this series as a love triangle develops between the main character, an indecisive esper named Kyosuke Kasuga, Madoka Ayukawa, a mercurial and enigmatic girl with a tough past, and Hikaru Hiyama, Madoka's ditzy and energetic best friend. Kyosuke falls in love with Madoka, and Madoka wants to return those feelings, but can not because of Hikaru's involvement with Kyosuke.

The series exists in manga, anime, novel, and radio drama incarnations. Originally a manga consisting of 18 volumes, it was necessary for Izumi to create an extended ending in the wideban release because the original run had been canceled. The anime consists of one pilot TV episode, 48 TV anime episodes, eight OVAs, and two animated movies. Three novels published as Shin KOR (New Kimagure Orange Road) written by Matsumoto and Terada also exist. Translations of the manga and novels exist in several languages, including Chinese and French. The Shin KOR novels have not officially been translated into English, although all three have fan translations available at various websites. In addition, there is a five volume "cinema" radio drama set on compact disc. It has a slightly different storyline than the anime or manga, but more closely resembles the anime. The CD dramas are published by Victor Entertainment.

In the United States, the TV series, OVAs, and the first movie were licensed by AnimEigo, though these licenses expired in August 2006 and they were unable to renew the license due to undisclosed reasons. The second movie, based on the first Shin KOR novel, is licensed by ADV Films.

Characters

Kyosuke Kasuga (春日恭介, Kasuga Kyōsuke^?, voice: Toru Furuya 古谷徹): Kyosuke Kasuga, manga version

Kyosuke Kasuga, TV anime version

Kyosuke Kasuga, Shin KOR version; DOB - 15/11/1969 (or 1971, according to TV); Kyosuke is the male protagonist in the love triangle. He and his siblings have supernatural powers, referred to in the series as "The Power", and are described as espers in the series. They are forbidden from using their powers in public, lest they be discovered and exploited. In each instance where someone has seen their powers, the family has immediately moved to another region. Kyosuke's esper powers include teleportation, telekinesis, and "time-slipping" (Time Travel) while falling from heights such as stairs. Kyōsuke is also rarely shown to use his powers to temporarily amplify his speed and strength. On very rare occasions when Madoka is directly threatened, his power has taken the form of raw energy that can shatter concrete walls or short out every light in a disco.

Kyosuke is a pretty gentle person and a bit of a goody-goody - when he sees Madoka smoking, he scolds her in a very nerdy way (and then uses his powers to destroy her cigarette). It is his indecisiveness that leads to the Love Triangle between Hikaru and Madoka. He is initially unable to decide between his feelings for Hikaru and Madoka. As the story progresses however, he becomes unable to terminate the relationship with Hikaru for fear of hurting her feelings and destroying her friendship with Madoka.

Madoka Ayukawa (鮎川まどか, Ayukawa Madoka^?, voice: Hiromi Tsuru 鶴ひろみ): Madoka Ayukawa, TV anime version

Madoka Ayukawa, Shin KOR version; DOB - 25/5/1969 (or 1971); The archetypical "kimagure" (whimsical) character, Madoka is secretly in love with Kyosuke, and is best friends with Hikaru Hiyama (who is also in love with Kyosuke). This character is described as having an adult allure despite being in junior high school. Her given name refers to the moon.

When she first meets Kyosuke, she appears to be a pretty and sweet girl. This, however, is in stark contrast to her personality at school, where she is aloof and feared by both the male and female students as a reputed juvenile delinquent. In the TV series she is nicknamed Madoka the Pick due to her use of a guitar pick, which she wields like a shuriken. Despite her "punk" designation, Madoka is also shown to excel at various activities both scholarly and athletic. She is able to earn high marks in school and still work a part time at Cafe ABCB (pronounced "ah-ba kah-ba").

Madoka's parents are kind-hearted but workaholic professional musicians often touring outside Japan, so she lives in a large house with her older sister. After Madoka's sister gets married and goes to live abroad with her husband, Madoka lives there alone. The story involves the eventual shedding of her tough exterior after she becomes Kyosuke's friend, as evidenced by the changes in her life after she meets him. She gives up cigarettes because of him, and in the manga other characters note that she becomes friendlier and does better academically following Kyosuke's arrival.

Creator Izumi Matsumoto reports that his inspiration for Madoka was actress Phoebe Cates.[1]

Hikaru Hiyama (檜山ひかる, Hiyama Hikaru^?, voice: Eriko Hara 原えりこ): Hikaru Hiyama, manga version

Hikaru Hiyama, TV anime version

Hikaru Hiyama, Shin KOR version; 15/11/1971 (or 1973); Hikaru is initially presented as being unpleasant, a brawler, and a tougher talker than Madoka. But once she becomes friends with Kyosuke, it is revealed that she's actually very kind and energetic. She accidentally sees Kyosuke perform an impressive physical feat using "The Power" (it wasn't obvious that The Power was used), and ends up falling for him quite hard. She always refers to him by the English word "Darling" (even before she knows his name). She tends to revert to a form of baby talk, which is a signal she's extremely immature and shielded. She has an unrequited love for Kyosuke, and has been Madoka's best friend for several years since she and Yusaku Kido were the only ones who were never afraid of Madoka. Her name refers to the brightness of the sun, and of a sparkling personality. Hikaru is two years younger than Ayukawa and Kyosuke, and has the same birthday as Kyosuke.

Manami Kasuga (春日まなみ, Kasuga Manami^?, voice: Michie Tomizawa 富沢美智恵): One of Kyosuke's younger sisters, Manami is very reserved. She is depicted as the homemaker of the house - cooking meals, vacuuming and doing laundry - but it is revealed in both the manga and anime that she has a wild side that occasionally needs release. Manami's esper powers include teleportation and telekinesis. Part of her reserved nature includes avoiding excessive use of The Power unless it's absolutely necessary.

In the manga she is especially fond of Ayukawa and would like to see Kyosuke and her get together. However this manga story never made it into the anime. As such the anime version shows no such preference, though she and Kurumi at times urge Kyousuke to choose between Madoka and Hikaru. But even in the manga she's unaware of the situation between Kyosuke and Madoka.

Kurumi Kasuga (春日くるみ, Kasuga Kurumi^?, voice: Chieko Honda 本多知恵子): Manami's (fraternal) younger twin, Kurumi is very energetic and argumentative. She's also able to bring these qualities out in Manami as well. She is known to use idioms of her own creation, which can sometimes be misconstrued by others. Kurumi is the most comfortable with using her powers, often doing so without thinking about the consequences. Kurumi used "The Power" to run the 100-meter dash in 3 seconds at her old school. This incident was responsible for the Kasugas moving to the town where the series takes place. Kurumi's other esper powers include teleportation and telekinesis. Kurumi also possesses the ability to hypnotize, and Kyosuke is her usual victim. Although Kurumi appeared to learn this from a book, her actual ability is probably derived from "The Power".

In the manga Kurumi wants Kasuga to end up with Hikaru. But, again, this storyline never made it into the anime, and the anime Kurumi shows no such preference.

Takashi Kasuga (春日隆, Kasuga Takashi^?, voice: Kei Tomiyama 富山敬): Kyosuke's father, he works as a photographer and has no esper powers.

Akemi Kasuga: Kyosuke and the twins' mother and Takashi Kasuga's wife, she died after giving birth to the twins. The Kasugas' powers come from her side of the family; since Akemi was the Kasuga's only daughter (apparently, Akane and Kazuya are the children of her cousins), her husband married into the family so their "Kasuga" surname survived. After the grandparents asked Takashi for a rather complicated task in the mountain to accept him fully, she secretly used "The Power" to help him win their hearts.

Master (マスター, Masutā^?, voice: Yuusaku Yara 屋良有作): Proprietor of the ABCB cafe located on Orange Road and, consequently, Ayukawa's boss. He is one of the few characters who realizes how Ayukawa and Kasuga feel about each other, and does everything in his power to smooth relations between the two. In the manga he shuts down ABCB after it is discovered that Ayukawa was working there. (At the time of the story, Japanese high school students could not hold jobs). In the novels it is revealed that he bounced back by opening one of the first cybercafes in Tokyo.

Seiji Komatsu ((小松整司, Komatsu Seiji^?, voice: Keiichi Nanba 難波圭一) & Kazuya Hatta (八田一也, Hatta Kazuya^?, voice: Naoki Tatsuta 龍田直樹): Kyosuke's two perverted friends. They're also potential boyfriends for the twins, but most likely the twins are using them as place-holders until someone better comes along. Kazuya Hatta is not to be confused with Kazuya Kasuga. Komatsu's first name has also been given as Masashi (most notably in the credits for "An Unexpected Situation"). In the novels, Hatta becomes an aspiring manga author, and Kazuya gets trapped inside of one of his stories and Kyosuke has to bail him out.

Kazuya Kasuga (春日一弥, Kasuga Kazuya^?, voice: Chika Sakamoto 土反本千夏): Kyosuke's younger cousin, Kazuya looks like a younger version of Kyōsuke. On several occasions people have mistaken Kazuya for Kyosuke's son. Kazuya has "The Power" as well. In both the manga and the anime he uses telepathy almost exclusively, with telekinesis being used on very rare occasions. Kyosuke and Kazuya can swap bodies by banging their heads together, and many stories with Kazuya involve Kazuya doing so either to avoid something unpleasant, or to "help" Kyosuke pick which female to focus on. In the manga Kazuya has two female friends, and his situation with them somewhat mirrors the situation between Kyosuke, Madoka, and Hikaru.

Akane Kasuga (春日あかね, Kasuga Akane^?, voice: Naoko Matsui 松井菜櫻子): The older sister of Kazuya, and the same age as her cousin Kyosuke. Akane can use "The Power" to make people see illusions. She has only been seen using this power to make herself appear as different people; it is unknown if she can create other types of illusions. The illusions appear to be both aural and visual. In the manga, this power works only on the person it is directed towards, so it is probably a mixture of telepathy and hypnosis (elements of "The Power" which have been demonstrated in other members of the Kasuga family.) In the animation she uses it on both Hatta and Komatsu at the same time.

In the anime Akane has the same powers that Kasuga and the twins have, in addition to her illusion power. It's never indicated if this is true in the manga.

Akane is considered by many to be a lesbian, for her apparent obsession with Ayukawa and other female characters. Izumi Matsumoto has gone on record as saying that Akane's feelings towards Madoka are misinterpreted, and are nothing more than innocent hero worship typical from teenage girls. However, this is very difficult to accept for some fans, who consider Akane's feelings to be unambiguous.

Akane's appearance in the manga and anime are quite different. In the manga she looks like a cross between Kurumi and Manami. In the anime her hair is shorter and darker, her face is more stark, and she has violet eyes. Akane only appeared in two of the OVAs, and never in the TV series. She appears considerably more often in the manga, almost being a regular.

Yusaku Hino (火野勇作, Yusaku Hino^?, voice: Masami Kikuchi 菊池正美): Initially appeared early in the series as a potential rival of Kyosuke for Hikaru's affections, having harbored feelings for her since childhood. He asked her to marry him one day and she jokingly said she would if he became stronger and self assured. This sent him on the path of practicing karate for years. He views Kyosuke as a womanizer on top of being a rival for Hikaru's love. Unfortunately for his romantic situation, he tends to get nervous and unable to speak in Hikaru's presence. As a result, she's unaware of his feelings and nothing ever happens between the two of them.

Sayuri: Sayuri is an extremely cute girl who only appears in the manga, and whose seemingly innocent and pure demeanor hides a devious mind obsessed with breaking as many male hearts as possible. She carries a book where she tracks the various males that she's left heartbroken. At her first meeting with Kyosuke, the young man leaves her to walk to class with Madoka. Because of this she becomes obsessed with both of them, and comes up with various schemes to wreck their relationship. Most of her schemes involve bragging to Madoka that she's going to steal Kyosuke, and then playing the role of the damsel in distress toward the kind-hearted Kyosuke. Fortunately, the schemes invariably backfire - often quite spectacularly.

Because she first saw Kyosuke with Madoka, Sayuri assumes that the two are dating. Although Sayuri sees Kyosuke on one occasion with Hikaru, there's no indication that she ever realizes that Hikaru is the one publicly acknowledged as Kyosuke's girlfriend. This makes her pivotal in the manga, as she is the one who tells Hikaru about the relationship between Kyosuke and Madoka, forcing the events that occur at the end of the manga.

Hiromi: Hiromi only appeared in the manga. She was Kyosuke's classmate in his previous school, and transferred to Kōryō about halfway through the manga's run. She enjoys messing with Kyosuke's head, and neither the reader or Kyosuke is sure if Hiromi knows about "The Power".

Ushiko and Umao (馬男 and 牛子, Ushiko and Umao^?, voice: Katsumi Suzuki and Chisato Nakajima 鈴木勝美中島千里): Ushiko and Umao are a newlywed couple that serve as one of the primary running gags in the television series. Their appearance in an episode generally consists of them saying the same romantic lines to one another, followed by a chaotic event involving Kyosuke or other primary characters, sometimes in the most ludicrous places. In the movie Kimagure Orange Road: I Want to Return to that Day, their appearance is limited to Umao, who appears on television holding a crying baby and begging for Ushiko to return to him.

Ushiko and Umao's names are references to farm animals. "Ushi" is the Japanese word for "cow," and "uma" means "horse."

Jingoro: Jingoro is the Kasugas' pet cat. Jingoro gets his name from the Edo-period wood sculptor Hidari Jingorou, who is thought to have carved the famous Sleeping Cat sculpture at the Nikkō Toshogu.

orange road cartoon

Kimagure Orange Road Cartoon

Background

Characters