Review of Kimagure Orange Road

When I saw the first episode, I have to admit I wasn't too impressed. Kasuga Kyouske is a junior-high school student who comes from a family with ESP, and has just moved into a new town (his younger sister Kurumi used her powers to augment her sprinting abilities, and thus the entire family had to move to regain inconspicuousness). The animation quality was only average, and the plot bordered on "cheesy." However, I was drawn into the anime with each episode as I watched more of Kyouske and listened to his personal voice-overs. Even though he has ESP, he is just another teenager trying to fit in some way, keep up with school, and falling for the most attractive, mature, sophisticated (yet also the most pure-hearted) girl in class. It's not one of those anime in which every episode is filled with action or inflated with emotional sap; rather, a cumulative appreciation for the true originality of the series develops as the viewer discovers the opportunity to relate to the many frustrating trials of poor Kasuga.

The anime is one of the few that has that rare, poignant aspect which reveals the universality of human feeling. I could recommend the series for the various phrase: "there's love, humor, action...(blah blah blah)." And so I do. But (of course) there's so much more than that. I laughed, I cried, I yanked my hair and thought, "Arrrgg! He was SO close! That @#%!* Hikaru!!!" The show's not just about the "silly" things only adolescents (supposedly) go through. It enables the viewer to realize how similar individuals can be...and how to look up, once in a while, from self-absorption and smile at life.