Ranked #541

Kimagure Orange Road: I Want to Return to That Day

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 heartwarming Hikaru is gone. The Kasuga twins just make some brief appearances. Jingoro is turned into a passive cat. Hatta and Komatsu are still as horny as ever, but they're toned down, and perhaps are the only sources of humor in the movie (and they didn't do well). And for the first time since I started watching the franchise, I kind of missed the bozo Yuusaku.

The falling leaves. The telephone talks. Secrets were finally revealed. Each scene was made with subtlety and utmost care so as to deliver to us what each character really feels. They were made more human. They run after who they love. All defenses put aside, they show their hidden sides and deepest doubts and fears.

There are some parts that were totally silent except for the voices of the main characters, which was good, since it emphasized the movie's meanings more. The art, well, is still what it is: outdated. I can't really say I enjoyed the movie; it was too emotional. I was a bit shocked with its content; it was really a departure from the feel of the TV series. This is no romantic comedy, this is drama. You could feel the uneasiness, the uncertainty, the bitter parts of adolescence, embodied by Kasuga, Ayukawa and Hikaru.

Even though it doesn't contain the same warmth of its prequel, the story could be looked at as something that is more reality-based. We have to grow up. We have to take separate roads. Still, with all the emotions surrounding it, this is a worthwhile work to watch and is as gripping as any movie, only it will leave you will a feeling of nostalgia and loss, and a bit of relief and bittersweet happiness, too.

My suggestion: watch something jolly after this. read more

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 sorta early in the movie. It's based more on their feelings and how things go after that, not indecisiveness.

Kyosuke finally tells Hikaru how he feels in this movie. It's pretty tough, but... well, it was always very one-sided from the start. She was always just pressuring and forcing him into stuff simply because she thought he looked cool the day he used his power to shoot a basketball through a hoop? I always thought Hikaru just seemed really shallow and stupid, so it's pretty easy to accept her defeat.
The movie starts off in black and white as if to set a more serious tone... it also ends in black and white after the story is explained and it returns to the point where the intro ended. Something about this feels just feels kinda incomplete... It didn't just set a serious tone, it set a kinda depressing one, like all the fun's been sucked out since Hikaru's been turned down. Are Kyosuke and Madoka happy together? They sure didn't make it look like it. Did Hikaru accept reality? I dunno what the point of her "bang" at the end was. The black and white thing makes me feel like the two aren't happy and like Hikaru didn't move on...

The movie gave the conclusion we were all waiting for, but it could've tied things up a little better, I think. It doesn't handle that very well by itself, but the second movie gives a more concrete ending. read more