Kimagure
Orange Road (きまぐれオレンジ☆ロード
Kimagure Orenji Rodu) is a
popular
shonen
romantic comedy
manga
series from the late
1980s.
Written by
Izumi
Matsumoto
(まつもと泉 Matsumoto Izumi), it
was later adopted into
anime
by
Akemi Takada,
and in the mid
1990s
novelized. The series deals with a
love triangle between the main
character, an indecisive
ESPer
named Kyosuke Kasuga, Madoka
Ayukawa, a mercurial girl with a
tough past, and Hikaru Hiyama,
Madoka's ditzy best friend. Kyosuke
falls in love with Madoka, and
Madoka wants to return those
feelings, but cannot because of
Hikaru's involvement with Kyosuke.
While the
length of the series demands that
certain elements are repeated, and a
number of
running gags
abound, the series for the most part
avoids falling into formula, and
this has increased its popularity.
The series consist of 18 volumes.
Characters
Names are written in Western order,
with the family name after the given
name.
Kyosuke is the
man in the love triangle. He and his
family (excluding his father) are
all
ESPers.
His two sisters are often scolded
for using their powers in public.
-
Kyosuke is fairly shy when it
comes to girls, and this is used
as the source of much of the
comedy.
The archetypical "kimagure"
(whimsical) character. Secretly in
love with Kyosuke Kasuga, and best
friend of Hikaru Hiyama who is
herself in love with Kyosuke. This
character is specifically
constructed from several wildly
different allurements. On her first
appearance, she appears to be a
pleasing but typical girl. But in
that same episode, she is revealed
to be a tough brawler unpopular with
the boys in her school, who consoles
herself by playing the saxophone
enchantingly. In the anime, her
signature weapon is her ability to
throw a guitar pick like a throwing
star. Further, her parents are
professional musicians often touring
outside Japan. The story involves
her socialization upon Kyosuke's
joining her group, as evidenced by
her giving up cigarettes in an early
episode. He daren't use his powers
to win her love, though, for he
thinks that would be cheating. Her
given name refers to the moon.
She is initially presented as being
more unpleasant a brawler, and a
tougher talker, than Madoka. By
accidentally seeing Kyosuke using
his powers, she falls for him and,
besides always calling him by the
gaijin word, "Darling," reverts
to a form of baby talk. She has
unrequited love for Kyosuke. Her
name refers to the brightness of the
sun, and of a sparkling personality.
Genres: Romace, Shoujo
