Kimagure Orange Road OVA 1

Having enjoyed Kimagure Orange Road (TV) as well as the movies, going back to the OAVs which would take place during the time period of the TV series was both exciting, and yet made me think, "What's the point?" Well if you loved the romantic-triangle of Hikaru-chan, Ayukawa, and Kasuga-kun and couldn't get enough of that, then you'll really love this.

Man, I'd forgotten how much Hikaru-chan annoyed me and how great Madoka-san is. With each episode, Hikaru-chan just annoyed me to know end. For me, this was highlighted in the episode "I was a Cat, I was a Fish" where Hikaru-chan's selfishness really irritated me. Everything reminded me of the question I kept asking during the series -- what in the smeg did Kasuga see in Hikaru beyond a cute face?

The introduction of Akane into the OAV was clearly to toss a bone to fans of the manga, since she was a character there. While not as annoying as Hikaru-chan, her busy-body ways did get on my nerves. I'm not sure why they had to make her yuri, but I suppose the Japanese found that funny. I didn't laugh.

Of the four stories, "White Lovers" and "I Was a Cat, I Was a Fish" were the better ones, while "Hawaiian Suspense" and "Hurricane! Akane" weren't. Even with the good stories, I found that dealing with the love triangle again was almost depressing. It was unrealistic, but I just wanted to see the romance between Kasuga and Madoka.

Bottom line: fans of the manga will be happy to see stories animated, and fans of the series who enjoyed the love-triangle will be happy. However, for me, I can only give this a "Watch."

Last updated Monday, June 26 2006. Created Friday, June 23 2006.

• Drama: Med (with "Cat and Fish" being the most intense one)
• Comedy: Med (from hilarious to lame)
• Action: None (a rather normal teenager story)
• SciFi: Med (supernatural abilities being crucial for certain events)
• Ecchi: Low (teasing but nothing explicit)

1. White Lovers (episodes 35-45): Kyosuke and his friends visit the boy's grandparents; grandpa comes up with an old superstition claiming lovers skiing together will die in these mountains, so Hikaru asks Madoka to take care of Kyosuke. The grandparents playing "catalyst" is funny, but the unnecessary ecchi stuff is annoying, and the explicit application of the "power" should raise suspicion by the observers. Still, the story is interesting, the solution appears logical, and Madoka shines. [episode story: 8/10]
2. Hawaiian Suspense (episodes 15-25): Kyosuke and the girls are invited to a concert of Madoka's parents on Hawaii; Hikaru is mistaken for the daughter of an industry leader and being kidnapped. Action, stereotypes, stupid Engrish dialogues (the villains explain their plans in detail to the audience), no character development, unnecessary use of the "power" for solution; disappointing filler episode. [episode story: 4/10]
3. I was a Cat, I was a Fish (episodes 15-30): Kyosuke's grandfather brings along a magic rope that serves as catalyst for the exchange of minds between bodies, and Kyosuke is the unlucky guy coming into contact with it at the wrong time. Despite sounding silly, this is one of the best episodes of the whole series: Life&death decisions, fun and romance/ecchi, and finally a real competition between Madoka and Hikaru! [episode story: 10/10]
4. Hurricane! Akane, the shape-shifting girl (episodes 20-25): Kasuga's coeval cousin Akane visits the family; she quickly befriends Hikaru, falls in love (!) with Madoka at first sight, and consequently tries to drive Madoka and Kyosuke apart, using her powers; things go horribly wrong after this. Weak episode in all aspects, packed with embarrassing ecchi scenes, completely depending on 'unnoticed' excessive use of different "powers" in public. [episode story: 5/10]