Audience reviews
11 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Mur-CuoreDiVirgo
Before we begin, a quick but important note: make sure to stay tuned after the credits. There is a final 20-second scene that is essential to understanding the psychological closure of one of the three main characters. Skipping it might leave you with an incomplete or even mistaken impression of how their story ends.
The Orange Road movie serves as the definitive original series true ending, finally bringing closure to the love triangle from the original 46-episode series in a way that I thoroughly enjoyed. By leaning into the maturity of characters who are no longer teenagers, it elevates the mood of the original series in several ways. It feels grounded and straightforward, at times even raw, in its portrayal of relationships. The film makes no effort to force a happy, innocent tone ju…
Read at the sourceGomeZzZz
I have a long history with Kimagure Orange Road. I don't remember exactly when I started watching the anime, but I believe it was in 2018 or 2017.
I never wanted to end it too quickly, as it was always a pleasure to be consumed slowly, as it is a 1988 anime after all.
Today, I finished the film that ends the story. I had this promise to myself, that I would only finish the film when I graduated, and here I am, at this crucial moment trying to explain a little what this extremely individual experience I had was.
The entire Kimagure (anime) has an episodic rhythm. Few episodic episodes have notable consequences in the following episodes, as is customary with anime at the time. However, the film takes us by surprise: there are no powers, there are not many visual effects to dictate the stor…
Read at the sourceFeistyFlamingo
Everything ends eventually.
I wasn't the biggest fan of Kimagure Orange Road, the series was nothing more than anime comfort food. Something to throw on late at night whenever I was too tired to focus on much else. The pastel colors, loveable characters, and occasional great episodes and moments kept me coming back to it despite the issues with its often soap opera-esque writing and questionable characterization.
The thing that separates the film from the series that precedes it is the reality of the situation. It takes everything about the series, its silliness, and warmth, and just leaves behind its characters. It forces them to confront the deeply amoral and borderline abusive nature of their behavior. If Orange Road was a sitcom designed to go on forever, I Want to Return to That Day…
Read at the sourceKyosuke69
I'm not sure I can really describe it better than other have already done, but let's just say it is like a bandage on a hairy leg. You know it is going to hurt to pull it off, no matter what you do, but it is something that must be done. The inevitable confrontation looms near, and Kyosuke knows there will be collateral damage. If only he had made his feelings clear in the beginning, it wouldn't be so bad.
I, for one, am glad the story takes a more serious tone, and tries to deal with the nagging problem head on. We all suffered through the TV and OVA episodes from his indecisiveness. But be prepared to shed some tears.
There are a few scenes where the voice acting really stands out. The emotions carried in their voices went to "11" while the animation frankly took a back seat. Perhaps t…
Read at the sourceQueenHaruko
Have you ever sat back on a summer evening? Just when the fun is over? When the wind takes over?
Have you ever felt a melancholy of sorts? The music is gone, the games have been forgotten, and you are all alone remembering...
I think this movie is like standing up to the breeze on a summer evening: it's a slow-paced trip full of nostalgia about something that's gone, and an ode to those things that can't be anymore.
I Want to Return to That Day is a movie that knows it can't be whimsical any longer. The indecisive nature of Kimagure Orange Road, which once gave us laughs, fun, and good times, evolves into a determined dramatic journey that is focused on giving our favorite characters, an impending conclusion.
Hikaru is in her best moments throughout the film, because she's not playing…
Read at the sourceNeimaj
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
"The wacky scenarios, drama, and misunderstandings would be non existent if Kasuga just told Hikaru that he wasn't in love with her and was in love with Ayukawa." (This is a quote from my previous review, Kimagure Orange Road.) Wow, this is embarrassing. That last review wasn't that good. Right after I finished writing my Orange Road review, I watched this movie and honestly I'm speechless. It fixes most of the problems I have with the show and Yuusaku isn't in it. Thank Kami-sama. That alone should give this movie a 10 out of 10. I'm not going to do that because I'm not that much of a joker. Kasuga is finally honest with his feelings and it only took a few years of waiting. By the way, the movie takes place a few years after the original show. He tells Hikaru that he wa…
Read at the sourceroastbeefbeef
This right here is the real deal, the end of innocence, the end of the easy days, the garish bubble of 1980s positivity is popped, your soul is crushed and you can never go back.
What is Kimagure Orange Road(KOR)? It was a long running romantic comedy series about a love triangle between a spineless goody-goody male lead, Kyousuke, the alluring high-school delinquent Madoka, and the bright-eyed always cheerful Hikaru. It was a huge hit at the time, not just in Japan, but in many European countries, especially Italy. Despite that, it fell down the memory hole at some point, and all that remained was a small cult following of superfans from back in the day.
It is the most 80s Anime ever created, the opposite of timeless, something totally rooted in 1980s Japan. If you think the 80s died f…
Read at the sourcexcomprr
This is the first movie which could be called a spin-off because it's an original piece of work written by Kenji Tereda, the main scenario writer for the TV series rather than based off the original Manga.
It takes on a more serious tone during the summer when Kyousuke is preparing for university entrance exams. There's no mention of supernatural powers nor are any used, just your slice-of-life romance. Kyousuke's originally kind indecisive character is changed to be more cold and decisive so it's no longer a romcom and can be quite bitter which is probably why it was ill-received. Even Izumi Matsumoto criticised the work, suggesting viewers took it as a parallel world story instead because of how harsh it was.
The supernatural powers were partly what made the original TV series fun so w…
Read at the sourceunknownuserame
I'll be the contrarian here, and say that I actually really liked this movie. My main complaint with the TV series was how repetitive it got and how it felt more like "comedy, with like one or two bits of romance thrown in there randomly". This movie, on the other hand, felt more like "romance, with like one or two jokes thrown in there to make it a little less serious". This is probably my favorite part of the movie.
Maybe I'm committing heresy for saying this too, but I also really liked that this movie didn't focus on the side characters (the sisters, father, cousin, random punks on the street who're after Madoka, etc), or the paranormal aspect. I'd always felt, even during the series, that the whole "esper" thing took away so much from the character development and storyline that cou…
Read at the sourceDanno
It's not often I see an anime movie based on a series that's really worthwhile. Most of the time the movie just feels very generic and dull compared to the series, like it's something they created for the sole purpose of making money. I've been disappointed by the One Piece movies, Bleach movies, Ranma movies... They had their cool points, but were overall pretty bland. This movie is not like those movies.
The animation wasn't really anything special; it was about the same quality as the series.
I really wasn't expecting an Ushiko-Umao reference in the movie. It's been a while since I watched the series, so it was just a nice surprise and probably the only really funny part in the movie.
Spoilers below, it's hard to talk about the movie without spoiling it since he makes his decision s…
Read at the sourceLorelei
There comes a time in your life when you have to decide over something so painful.
The goofing days are finally over. Kasuga and Ayukawa are finally graduating from high school and they're moving on. This is Kimagure Orange Road without the out-of-this-world Power, over-acting Hatta and Komatsu, and crazy time-travels. What's left in this movie is raw human emotion. This is the ultimate conclusion to the Kasuga-Ayukawa-Hikaru love triangle.
Kasuga Kyosuke has to choose. I won't say who he chooses. But it's what the movie is all about.
Before you watch this, think first. If you want to remain happy with Kimagure Orange Road's TV series conclusion, then don't ever watch this. The indecisive yet sensitive-to-others Kasuga is gone. The understanding Ayukawa is gone. The jolly and heartwarmi…
Read at the source