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Music of Kimagure Orange Road

Theowne — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 02:10:44 +0000

There isn’t a whole lot of music from Kimagure Orange Road that stuck out for me, so this post will be rather short, and you probably shouldn’t expect another orchestral remake project like I did for Maison Ikkoku (heh). With that being said, there are some pieces that I enjoy:

Score: On the score (background music) front, there are relatively fewer background tracks of real value. One of them that I posted about earlier is Madoka’s Theme. There are multiple versions found on the CD, the best one is “Madoka no TE-MA ~In lovers room” . I’m not sure where the second half of that name comes from, but this is the version that has the saxophone joined in by background strings. This is a slightly jazzy, charming piece of music which makes good used of major and minor seventh chords. To be honest, a lot of the rest of the KOR soundtrack feels more like stock material from what I have heard (or perhaps the directors simply didn’t put enough emphasis on the score to help the story), and there aren’t many recognizable melodies apart from Madoka’s theme, as far as I remember (if I have overlooked one, feel free to correct me).

Vocal Music: Again, a mixed bag. None of the songs really stood out to the extent that Waltz might, but there are a few pleasantly nostalgic and enjoyable pieces. Two in particular that I’ll mention here are the first two OP songs. The first, Summer Side is a fun, light-hearted piece which is accompanied by a visual (in the TV series) that I can only describe as “seizure-inducing”. The constant switching between images for every beat of every bar may annoy some viewers, but I think it has some kind of charm to it. Maybe I’m just crazy. Beyond that, it has a likeable and memorable melody, particularly when you’ve heard it open the series over and over again during the course of the show. The lyrics aren’t profound by any measure, but they do the job well enough, I suppose.

…that also carries over to the next song I’ll mention, “Orange Mystery”. This song caught my interest because of it’s opening chord progression, it has that same tinge of youthfulness but with a slightly melancholic tinge. However, I’m not a huge fan of the chorus. I really don’t like “Tell me baby that you need me” Britney-Spears kind of lyrics, and I hate them even more when they appear in the middle of a Japanese song that I was liking up to that point. Still, it’s a generally pleasant song.

Film Review: Kimagure Orange Road: I Want to Return to That Day

Theowne — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:04:46 +0000

Note: If you looking for a spoiler-free review of the series from my perspective, find my review of the TV series. This post contains spoilers, and my thoughts on the contents of this film. As the only people who would/should watch this are those who have completed the TV series, and because those who have completed the TV series should already know (or have a very strong inkling) how the “triangle” will resolve, I don’t feel it’s necessary to avoid spoilers.

The Kimagure Orange Road TV series concluded with an optimistic and quite well-done moment that nevertheless did not really conclude the story because it left the issue of the “romantic triangle” up in the air. It was something of an idealized ending – providing the viewers with a happy moment without having to actually resolve the romantic triangle, which of course, would yield plenty of depressing moments.

A lot of reviews for this film are exceedingly positive, applauding it for being realistic, mature, serious, etc……I’m not really sure what my opinion of this film, to be honest. I was ready for the lack of comedy and serious nature, and I was looking forward to seeing the plotline be dealt with seriously, yet still, something doesn’t sit right with me. The first thing I should mention is that this film is very different from the series. As mentioned, there is absolutely no comedy or light-heartedness. But beyond that, it feels very disconnected from the series as well. The time shift has something to do with this, perhaps – this film takes place as Kyosuke and Madoka are preparing for college exams. But throughout the film I constantly had this feeling that the characters I was watching felt somehow disconnected from the characters that I had followed for so long in the television series.

Essentially, I suppose my main issue with the film is that in order to really “break” the triangle and yet still come out as admirable characters in my mind, there would have had to be some degree of introspection and regretfulness – which was present, of course, but perhaps not enough to satisfy what I expected. More on that later.

The majority of this film is about Kyosuke ending his relationship with Hikaru. He tells her the truth, she takes it very negatively and is unable to cope with it, and we follow her as she is consistently rejected, and in most cases very coldly so, by Kyosuke, who wants to put it behind him completely and thus treats her very poorly, almost like an annoyance. This does not seem tor reflect the Kyosuke we know – an ultimately well-meaning guy who is afraid of causing harm to anyone. Now, certainly he has to do this in order to end the series – but I don’t think it is realistic for him to become as cold and almost heartless in his rejection of HIkaru as he seemed in this film. I had always imagined that in the end, Kyosuke would be forced to “come clean” to Hikaru and that it would be painful, but I never imagined that it would end with Kyosuke gradually ignoring and acting cold to Hikaru until their correspondence simply ends. It’s simply not who he has been shown to be for 48 episodes. I also missed the short monologues Kyosuke would deliver in the series at tense moments – it provided a window into his mind that may have really have softened the nature of his actions here.

Speaking of friends, where is Yuusaku? Yuusaku did not appear once throughout the entire film. He was a childhood friend of both Madoka and Hikaru – surely this alone permits him to play a role here? Furthermore, he spent a great deal of his life harboring an affection for Hikaru, but the television series hinted that it was not simply a superficial one. For example, when Kyosuke, through some mishap, causes Hikaru to cry, Yuusaku is angry at Kasuga for harming Hikaru, rather than being content that there is trouble in their relationship (which obviously benefits him). I thought that this might foreshadow the role that he could play towards the end, but I was wrong. Yuusaku is nowhere to be found. I have to wonder then, what the people behind this film interpreted from Yuusaku’s character. That he was just comic relief intended to draw pity and laughs? I think it is disappointing that he simply disappears from the face of the Earth.

I suppose my point is that there was a delicate balance in the show that, to me, kept it from being the typical shallow soap opera that most love triangles end up as. That balance was caused by the fact that there was really no character who was at fault, nor anyone to really dislike, despite the situation. Hikaru was oblivious and took everything at face value (although the film seems to contradict this, another thing I disliked). Kyosuke was afraid of shattering the group’s friendship and causing anyone harm, so he continued in that indecisive limbo between the three characters. Madoka, though she had her fondness for Kyosuke, was also Hikaru’s closest friend, and she was always wary of doing anything that could end up harming that friendship as well as the friendship of the group as a whole. So she earned our highest degree of sympathy as a character who simply was in an unfortunate circumstance.

But the high points of the show were always the moments where the fondness between Madoka and Kyosuke would come out for a brief moment, and, of course, come to the forefront in the final episode of the series. But this sort of positive sentiment isn’t the main focus of this film. In fact, the film almost trivializes that relationship. For me, the final moments of the television series, under the tree, were a very satisfying and mutual affirmation of a very special bond between them, yet in this film it’s like it never happened, and there is still insecurity and jealousy in their relationship, which is something I just don’t find appropriate at this point and just makes it seem like the same old shallow love triangle. The “love triangle” was never about Kyosuke being indecisive between the two, except in the weakest episodes. It was about a clear relationship between two characters which could not be fulfilled because of the presence of a third.

There was another scene that disappointed me, and that was when Hikaru visited the AbCb cafe after Kyosuke “came clean”. Here was the culmination of a friendship that had lasted since childhood, the final necessity to confront something which had built up between the two girls for years, and yet it was disappointing, as a scene, to me. It was short, and nothing deep, nothing significant was really said between them. Madoka apologizes to Hikaru briefly…..Hikaru complains at the unfairness of what is happening to her…and nothing else really happens. Hikaru leaves in anger. Friendship since childhood….and that was the final scene between them? For so long, Madoka has bottled up her own sentiments in order to prevent Hikaru feeling hurt, and I expected so much more out of this final scene between them, deeper remorse, reluctance, empathy…….I just can’t shake the nagging thought that the film is just “going through the motions” of a love triangle ending without being influenced by the characters and their history.

Oh, and earlier, I mentioned the strange altered characterization of Kyosuke, but Madoko was hit by it as well. Throughout the series Madoka has always valued the well being of others over herself. As I said, this was one of the reasons for the triangle in the first place. It is simply inconceivable to me that her decision to finally act on her own feelings would be accompanied by anything other than a great degree of reluctance and guilt for Hikaru, much more than what was present in the film.

Okay, I’ve rambled incoherently long enough. While I mostly discussed the negatives of this film, I don’t dislike it as much as my post may seem. But I can’t shake the thought that this film, at times, feels like the resolution of some other love triangle, not KOR. Like a template of “love triangle dissolution” was taken and fitted onto the KOR cast. This would be why characters like Yuusaku are absent, why the entire paranormal aspect is gone (not that I consider this essential….but it is a very obvious omission), and why characters act contrary to what has been established in the TV series. Furthermore, it’s also why it never gives the impression that the two girls were childhood friends, that the three of them have grown up together as friends, nor that the love “triangle” being broken was not one of wavering emotions, but rather an obvious and significant bond between two characters which couldn’t be fulfilled due the “triangle”.

I know how many people would probably respond to my opinion – they would say that the film is realistic, and that I am being unrealistic. That’s probably true. I don’t know. But as I said before, I very much an idealist. And by that I don’t mean that I expected a perfect happy ending….but I thought that the way we would proceed to that inevitably bittersweet ending would be more…admirable? I don’t know. But my final bit of advice is that if your favourite aspect of the show is the bond between Madoka and Kyosuke, then the highlight of KOR is still the final episode of the television series.

Review: Kimagure Orange Road TV & OVA

Theowne — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:58:56 +0000

There are no spoilers in this review, since it’s intended for those who are interested in picking up this series. For my thoughts on the ending, check my “impressions” threads. This review covers the TV series and the OVA packages, and is written before I begin the final movies, so I am reviewing these solely on their own merit.

Kimagure Orange Road is often touted as one of the “classic romance duo”, the other being Maison Ikkoku (Edit: After watching Touch, I must say that Touch is the rightful counterpart to Maison Ikkoku in this regard). My other blog posts should indicate that Maison Ikkoku, despite having several flaws which were highly visible at times, became one of my favourite anime, and that was due mostly to a strong attachment to the characters, causing a very deep investment in their growth and development. That is one of the most important factors which affect whether I enjoy an anime of this genre or not – the other one is a lack of shallowness. I like to think that what I’m watching is meaningful.

So how does Kimagure Orange Road stack up on those two factors? First – the characters and character development. On that front, Kimagure Orange Road does well. I typically do not continue watching an anime if I don’t like or feel any attachment to the characters. This obviously is not the case for Kimagure Orange Road. The characters are likeable and you can sympathize with them, especially the lead pair. Remember that this is essentially a story about a love triangle, which usually bring to mind shallow soap operas, but KOR doesn’t descend to that level. The three main characters are all good friends, and it is the desire to not shatter that friendship which keeps the group in the limbo which takes up the entire series. With that being said, the main character, Kyosuke, isn’t perfect, and sometimes his behaviour feels a little too juvenile – expected, of course, considering the target audience. And what matters is that in the end, he didn’t cross any line to make me have any unforgivable distaste for the character. The most captivating character, however, is definitely Madoka, pictured above. Although at the beginning of the story, there are jarring divergences in her personality and behavior between scenes, the general image of who she is becomes solidified shortly, and we sympathize with the position she finds herself in.

As for character development, unfortunately, I must bring up a comparison to Maison Ikkoku. Maison Ikkoku was wonderful in this regard because it was so long – yet the character and story development felt very tight. There are several significant moments of growth, and the entire 96-episode series is like a long journey towards the final resolution because of that. KOR isn’t the same kind of series, which would be expected due to its length and scope, but the lack of character growth becomes frustrating. For long stretches of time there may be little relationship or character change at all. That’s not to say Maison Ikkoku wasn’t episodic at times, but it’s strong emphasis on gradual character development made it less noticeable. Kimagure Orange Road features a lot of episodes which are all basically drawn from a similar formula. In fact, some plot lines are even repeated in a very similar fashion throughout the series’ many episodes. It was a bit longer than it should have been.

However, you do find many dramatic, satisfying moments scattered throughout the series. I should mention, at this point, that there is another aspect to this story than the romantic plot – the main character and his family have psychic powers. Strangely, although I was expecting the worst, it never really detracts from the series’ realistic, human plot, and only a few times does it become excessive in its presence. And indeed, it also contributes quite positively to the ending, which, although it isn’t bells-and-whistles perfect is it’s execution, has the sincerity and charm that a finale should have. However, the plot is not resolved by the end of the television series – that is left, apparently, up to the final movies, and which will be covered in a later review, once I have finished them.

Now, apart from the television series, there is also a set of eight OVA episodes which were released after the show had ended, to provide more KOR content to hungry fans (as well as provide more money to the hungry producers). Unfortunately, in my opinion, this isn’t really a significant collection of episodes. Mostly it is a group of episodic side-stories involving the characters in various different situations involving a misuse of Kyosuke’s powers, or a side character. In other words, it’s meant for KOR fans who want to see more “adventures” with the cast, but it doesn’t really have any significant milestones for the plot or character development. The one exception, however, may be the final OVA episode, “Message in Rouge”. In this episode, Madoka has to confront the idea of her father being unfaithful. It is a subtle and poignant, though I would recommend that it be viewed before the final 2 episodes of the TV series, which round of the “TV” portion of the series very well in preparation for the concluding films.

As for the technical details….the background music is adequate, but not really as exemplary as Honey and Clover or certain parts of Maison Ikkoku. There were, though, several pieces which I enjoyed, such as Madoka’s saxophone-and-strings theme (which I posted on this blog). The songs – well, I didn’t grow as fond of any of the opening or closing themes as I did with Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa from Maison Ikkoku, but the first two opening songs were enjoyable and had a very youthful and nostalgic quality to them, very fitting for the show. The voice acting was quite good, all the characters were given a great sense of personality by their characters, and Madoka’s voice actor deserves credit for giving her such warmth and complexity. The animation is expectedly dated, as it is an old series, but, like in Maison Ikkoku, you really don’t notice it after a few episodes. It certainly doesn’t compromise the character designs – as in my earlier post, I still really like Madoka’s character design, which gives off a very gentle aura, and is relatively simple.

So what is my final opinion of this series? First, we have to look at it in context – this was a very early anime, and aired before most of the series in this genre that we are familiar with. A lot of people might say that it contains certain cliches or typical behaviours, but that isn’t really a fair statement when you evaluate it in context. But, of course, context only gets one so far in terms of enjoying a series. In the end I have to make an absolute statement of whether I think this is a good series, a worthwhile story to become involved with. My answer to that is “yes”. Despite the faults that I have harped on above, I am glad that I invested the time in this series.

1/2

Kimagure Orange Road Third/Final Impressions (30-48)

Theowne — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:54:39 +0000

I’ll go over my thoughts on the final third of this series in this post – but a full review will be written soon. Like all my “impressions” posts, this contains spoilers for the episodes I list above (in this case, until the ending), but my review will have a non-spoiler section. So rather than looking back over the series as a whole, I’ll simply focus on the episodes which are fresh in my mind.

First of all – Kimagure Orange Road has a beautiful ending. The direction, writing, and other aspects of the final scenes may not be on par with Honey and Clover‘s first season conclusion (which is my favourite ending in all the series I’ve watched) , but the humanness is very apparent in the closing episodes. At the same time, while it is a wonderful moment, the main issue, which is the romantic triangle, is not resolved. I have read that the true conclusion of Kimagure Orange Road is in the final movie, “I Want to Return to That Day”. That makes sense, because if the end of the TV series was the true end of the series, I would probably be disappointed. However, considering that a true resolution to the plot is still coming, it is very fitting that the TV series concludes with that final, happy moment between the two main characters.

However, I don’t want to let my overt love of the ending disrupt the other feelings I have towards this series. It wanders, and can be aimless at times. Plots are sometimes recycled in episodes, which feels very tedious. The main plot, the relationships between the main characters, doesn’t really build in any significant way for huge blocks of episodes. Every so often, you will get a scene or even episode which is really satisfying, but then it never leads anywhere, and we end up on a blank slate in the next episode. I would be lying if I didn’t say it didn’t frustrate me at times. I think this series could have been a shorter length without significantly affecting the main plot all that much.

I guess what I didn’t like about it was that it was a very episodic anime series. Maison Ikkoku could sometimes fall into that category, yet that show had very strong milestones of character and relationship growth. The same isn’t really true for KOR. It has a very episodic nature, and a common formula often repeats itself throughout these different episodes. That kind of diminishes the impact, because even though there may be a significant moment between the two leads, by the next episode everything seems to be just as it always was. As a result, it kind of weakens the impact of the final episode. Maison Ikkoku’s ending was so effective because we had been slowly climbing a stairwell towards it, so to speak, for 96 episodes. But with KOR, it’s more like we’ve been walking on the ground floor for 46 episodes and then took an elevator up for the final two.

Still, I don’t want to diminish the effectiveness of the ending. I don’t know what my opinion about the psychic powers is – sometimes I think that it has a role to play in making KOR what it is, and sometimes it feels unnecessary, just an intrusion on the characters and their development. But here, it is used to a good effect – to show us both the past of these characters, as well as what potentially could have been. It’s the juxtaposition of the “future” Madoka, without having met Kyosuke, and the present Madoka that we realize why the outcome of the “triangle” has been obvious from the very beginning.

I do wish that the series could have been a bit tighter and loosened on the repetitive and filler episodes. Coming across the really well-done moments kind of makes me disappointed that the entire anime couldn’t have been uniform in such quality. Anyways, my final review of the TV series will be posted soon, and after I watch the final movie, you can expect a review of that as well.

Although I may have significant complaints about it, it was a worthwhile story to watch.

Madoka’s Theme Music

Theowne — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 22:54:59 +0000

Here is an mp3 of “Madoka’s Theme” from Kimagure Orange Road. This is from the OST, not by me, so I did not mark it with the site URL. It is carried by a saxophone solo, but after a few phrases, it is joined by strings which gently provide harmony in the background. The saxophone is an instrument I don’t hear much of (especially as a classical music fan), but it provides a certain touch to this piece of music that isn’t comparable to any other. I instantly fell in love with this piece when I first heard it, it has such a wistful quality to it. The KOR music and score don’t have as many gems as Maison Ikkoku or Honey and Clover, but the ones that are there shouldn’t be overlooked.

Madoka’s Theme

Kimagure Orange Road, Second Impressions (EP 7-30)

Theowne — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:32:16 +0000

In my “first impressions” post, I mentioned that there are essentially two directions that a “love triangle” can take. The first is a shallow, soap-opera-ish melodramatic path, which is the most common one. The second one is the path of “Honey and Clover” took with Takemoto, Morita and Hagu. I feel almost “embarrassed” to call it a love triangle because that makes it seem so much less interesting than it actually was. In H&C, it wasn’t anyone’s fault that the triangle existed, nor was it due to indecisiveness or overt jealousy. It simply is the way that it turned out, for better or for worse, and there is a strange sort of wistfulness to how it plays out.

In a lot of reviews, people say that Kimagure Orange Road’s “triangle” is due to the indecisiveness of the main character. Yet I think that trivializes it into the same old romance formula we’re used to. Kimagure Orange Road, no matter how rusty and sometimes-shallow it is, is better than that, because it is observing the lives of youth as they grow up. There is a strange blur between friendship and love that is occurring frequently throughout the series, but the convergence of the two is what causes the conflict. The “triangle” in the series, Madoko, Kyosuke, and Hikaru, are all good friends with each other. The two female characters have been friends since childhood. In my opinion, the reason why the “triangle” persists isn’t because Kyosuke is indecisive, but rather because, like anyone would be, he is afraid of shattering a common, familiar friendship. It is obvious to even the most dense viewer that the main “heart” of this show lies between Kyosuke and Madoko, yet if Kyosuke actually acted on this, the friendship of the group would be shattered. Whereas if Kyosuke continues in the “indecisive” limbo that he is now, the friendship can continue. It’s a kind of social inertia, a preference for familiarity over change.

Now this might just me, but I really like Madoko’s character design (see above picture) . Actually, this might just be a common preference I have, because I liked Kyoko’s character design as well, and they are somewhat similar. Neither have flashy hair or eye colors, neither have any special glamor or flash to their appearance. They are just drawn in a relatively simple and more realistic way, and both have a certain kind of gentleness to them. Although early on the series, Madoko was anything but gentle, and I am glad that the writers decided to ease up on that side of her personality.

I feel sorry for the character of Yuusaku, who is brought up a lot for comedic purposes, but his dedicated to Hikaru in some way has earned my respect. If this world were perfect, he would get some prime development time and some sort of happy conclusion, but I have a feeling that this won’t happen since he is just a “side” character.

I’m not sure yet whether KOR is going to creep into my “favourite anime” list. That will depend on how the characters and relationships are developed further, as well as how it all ends. The dramatic and emotional moments haven’t reached the level of sincerity and maturity that Maison Ikkoku had, but that’s okay. This is, after all, a story about youth. And I think Maison Ikkoku just had some formula that hit all the right notes for me. It may be unfair to compare the two of them, as they are very different.

Kimagure Orange Road First Impressions

Theowne — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:55:06 +0000

Although I am still very much in a slightly obsessed mode (with Maison Ikkoku), I’ve decided to begin watching Kimagure Orange Road. This series is not nearly as long as Maison Ikkoku, which means it will be slightly better for my schedule, but compared to modern anime series it is still double the length of most longer series nowadays. Regardless, Maison Ikkoku’s length, in my opinion, helped make it as unique an experiences as it was. KOR seemed like a natural series to continue onto because I have always heard that Maison Ikkoku and Kimagure Orange Road are the two “classic” series in this genre that everyone must watch.

I have now watched up to episode 7 and will post my initial impressions. Like Maison Ikkoku, the series starts off in a very light-hearted manner. There is a great deal of comedy so far in the series and it also has the typical sidekick characters who exist mostly for laughs. I’m kind of skeptical at this point because there has been a bit of “shallowness” so far, which as you know I’m not the biggest fan of. True, Maison Ikkoku also had some of this, but the emotional, mature moments in that series far outweigh any negatives caused by those tendencies. The pure likability and sincerity of the story also helped. The question, I suppose, is whether Kimagure Orange Road will go down that same path. Will there be really strong points in the series later on? At this point, it is entertaining, sure, but it hasn’t really transcended the typical school-romance-triangle genre yet.

The series appears to be focused around a love triangle involving two friends. This could potentially be a very satisfying series which explores friendship and bonds in a way similar to Honey and Clover….or, in the worst case, it could be nothing more than a shallow soap-opera-ish love triangle. Judging by the reviews, I believe it may the former. I’m hoping that all the praise it receives is appropriate and that I will enjoy it as much as I did Maison Ikkoku.

On a side note, I notice that most of the slice of life series I enjoy are either seinin (late teenage/adult men) or josei (late teenage/adult women). Unfortunately, KOR’s wikipedia page classifies it as “shonen” (young boys). But, I’m not one to prejudge so…..on we go.

P.S. There is a specific aspect which I like….there are certain scenes where Madoko, one of the female characters, plays the saxophone. It begins as a solo, then slowly, the strings join in and the music envelopes the scene….it is very satisfying and effective.