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A classic romantic comedy from the 1980's, telling the bittersweet story of three high school students. The series features very unique storytelling and direction, music from some of the biggest Japanese pop acts of the 1980's, and an added twist as Kyosuke and his family are ESPers, whose powers are used to tell unique stories and put the characters in unusual situations.
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Yusaku Godai is a ronin – a person who failed his entrance exams. Though eager for a second chance to succeed, Yusaku’s attempts to study for future exams are constantly thwarted by his fellow residents at Maison Ikkoku, who insist on using his apartment for their debauchery and drinking games. Though tempted to call it quits at the house, things change when Maison Ikkoku’s beautiful new building manager, Kyoko, arrives. With plenty of competition from the sidelines and interference from his drunken and provocative neighbors, Yusaku must now focus his energy on winning the girl of his dreams, Kyoko!
Maison Ikkoku and KOR are surprisingly similar. A love triangle forms the basis of each show, and great pleasure is taken to tease the indecisive male lead. In addition, the animation style is very similar; the two female leads could be sisters!
Both series are eighties era romance stories told in a simple, unhurried manner. The shows take time to develop the various relationships and both feature at least one love triangle (a common tool used by Maison Ikkoku creator Rumiko Takahashi) which are used to further the various dramatic and comedic scenes present in both series. Maison Ikkoku deals with a more adult situation with older characters while Kimagure Orange Road is about middle schoolers. Despite the age difference the two series often parallel the other and a fan of one will definitely enjoy the other as well.
Once you have allready seen KOR you can't miss Maison Ikkoku. You can have this romantic-comedy story and love triangle again but in a more realistic way, this time we don't have any Esper powers but instead we have a bunch of annoying neighbors.
It's like having all the good 80's animation and art by Akemi Takada but this time with the legendary Rumiko Takahashi.
While Orange Road involves supernatural powers (ESPers), both are beautiful old school love stories. Kyosuke can't really get to close to Madoka and so can't Yusaku to Kyoko. Enjoyed one? Enjoy the other!
Both Maison Ikkoku and Kimagure Orange Road feature strong characters that feel real and grow throughout the series. They all have their flaws and you can't help but cheer for them. KOR features fantasy aspects with ESPers, but both feel very grounded.
Ataru is one of the most desperate womanizers alive, and a man whose life is about to become complicated. When aliens invade, he discovers he has been chosen at random to be mankind’s defender, and must play a game of tag with the beautiful alien princess Lum to decide the fate of the planet! After chasing her with all of his crafty techniques, Ataru finally wins, but his victory also means he must marry the princess herself! Now, with strange alien visitors and a jealous wife to handle, Ataru still manages to keep an eye on his ultimate goal: having his own harem!
There is nothing more sad and pleasant than love in its various forms, and a group of high school students will discover them in this melancholy series. The focus is on Kanzaki Kyoichi, an artist and a dreamer at heart, and Nitta Chiharu, a track star and a childhood friend of Kyoichi's. From spring to summer to fall to winter, love will grow and fade, and grow again
When I first watched the TV series Kimagure Orange Road, back before DVD was anything more than an ASCII owl's face, I found myself wondering whether Kyosuke really deserved a girl like Madoka the Pick. 48 episodes later, I am not sure whether I got an answer. But I liked how the story focused on making moments and letting time pass slowly rather than rushing through seishun.
Fast forward (right chapter select?) to the dawn of the 21st century (itself a plot point in a Boys Be episode). For your consideration are Kyoichi, who is essentially a non-ESPer Kyosuke, and Chiharu, who is essentially a non-sukeban Madoka (think "school track team" and not "saxophone"). I still wonder: what draws butch Japanese girls in anime and manga to all these sensitive guys? Sure, it might be wish-fulfillment on the part of the creators, but I think both sides must get something out of the relationship. Sensitive guys aren't insulting: they don't call girls like Madoka "delinquent," or Chiharu "barbarian," and they don't insist on pushing, er, physical things forward too quickly. For their part, tough girls aren't singularly focused on mere physical handsomeness, and they don't worry so much about what their friends think about their romantic choices.
I really thought Boys Be was going to be a lot like KOR, and I wasn't disappointed. I was impressed at how the stories in Boys Be seemed to get more into the minds of the main characters, especially the male characters, even more than KOR did (and that series plays out most of the time in Kyosuke's own head). The seasonal timeline used in Boys Be will be familiar to those who watch KOR from beginning to end, with seasonal references liberally sprinkled. Finally, fanservice is kept reasonably low in both series. Thus, after watching all of KOR and Boys Be, I now feel I can safely cross-recommend each to viewers of the other.
The average Tsukushi Makino attends the snobby, elite Eitoku Academy, which is dominated by the Flower Four (F4) – the sons of the most powerful families. Like the rest of her classmates, Tsukushi keeps a low profile until one day she can stand it no more! For her obstinance, the F4 declare war and it's Tsukushi against all. In the middle of it all, she finds herself drawn strangely close to two of the F4; they might not be as bad as they seem. With her heart torn between two boys, will Tsukushi be able to find the love she desires?
Mio Hagiwara is a young and upcoming actress who has a fairly normal life -- high school, fame, and a well-known idol singer for a best friend. There is only one thing missing from her life: love. Enter Ichiya Kumagai, a budding film director with funding for a hot new flick, and an eye out for Mio. With tensions rising and love on the rise, the show must go on!
