bishopcruz
Member
Edit: 12 hours to go!!
Ok, this goes out to the old school anime and manga fans out there, but 29 years after its conclusion the Kimagure Orange Road manga is finally getting a print release in English! This is awesome! You can check out the page here!
It's being released as 6 Omnibuses, each containing 3 volumes of the original manga. It is also getting a new remastered digital release.
What is Kimagure Orange Road?
KOR as it's known for short, is one of the early prototypes for what would eventually become the harem genre. It is credited with creating the Tsundere in it's main female lead Ayukawa Madoka, and is a slice of 1980's pure awesome.
Now if you aren't a harem fan, don't run away just yet... because there is a lot to this series.
First let's look at a great ANN article on it:
There is more there, that gets into the nitty gritty, it's a great read. The Kickstarter Page summarizes the story as well.
And that's a fairly quick summary. KOR was one of the touchstones of Anime and Manga in the 1980s often called the bible for teens in Japan during that time. It has great art, an amazing cast of characters, romance and humor. And what I really enjoyed about it was that, unlike a lot of other later shows with love triangles and tetrahedorns or whatever, everyone involved was a really good person. HIkaru and Madoka are good friends, and that dynamic changes the triangle. Kyousuke can be indecisive, but you understand why a 15 year old kid in that situation might be, he doesn't want to hurt anyone and he doesn't want the group of friends to break apart.
Of course it's not always heavy, in fact there is a ton of humor, it's the 1980s, there has to be a weird sci-fi twist (psychic powers) but that just kind of adds to the whole thing. It's kids acting like kids, with the occasional teleportation and body swapping.
Why should I care about an old ass manga?
Well, as I said it was majorly influential, but there is more to it than that. KOR is a series with a metric buttload of heart. Izumi Matsumoto poured himself into the series, and it shows, the characters were so well realized that later archetypes would be based on them, the art, while rough at first becomes sublime, and then there is also the fact that Madoka is just plain awesome.
She is the uber: a sukeban girl with a heart of gold, rich parents, incredible musical talent, smarts, and looks to match. She just plain rocks, and cannot be touched in how amazing she is.
She never seems to be as pure hot and cold as modern Tsundere, and it's clear that she really does care about her friends and Kyousuke. And I much prefer that to more modern interpretations of her trope like Naru in Love Hina or even Rin from Fate (even though Rin is best girl).
Beyond that is the cast of characters themselves, they're kids, doing stupid kid stuff, sneaking into clubs, getting drunk on the low, smoking behind the school, but they are never really treated as delinquents (for the most part). Kyousuke's friends, Komatsu and Hatta are lecherous, but endearing. His sisters are a blast, and the secondary love interest HIkaru is a sweetheart, if a bit clingy. They all feel like people, kids specifically, trying to be more mature than they are, trying to figure themselves out against a backdrop of wacky hijinks, and over time succeeding.
Wasn't there an Anime?
Yes there was, and it's awesome too. Though it is long out of print. AnimEigo lost the rights to it 10 years ago. God I feel old.
The anime condenses the story of the Manga into 48 episodes, taking place over one year instead of the Manga's four years (it took place in real time as it was released) and certain bits of characterization were changed. It was followed up with an 8 episode OAV and 2 movies. The first of which "I want to return to that day" is considered one of the best Anime romance movies of all time.
If you REALLY want it, the TV series is only like $750 or so on Amazon.
But wer're talking about the manga here, and as awesome as the music in the anime is, you really can't go wrong with the original. There are more characters, the story isn't as compressed, and the ending is every bit as good as "I want to return to that day" if a bit different.
Personally I love how the kids grow over time, and the later stories in the manga are just great.
Didn't this already get a digital release?
Yes, but it was pretty rough early on. The translations weren't the best, nor the quality of the scans. Digital Manga Publishing is doing a completely new localization and that is great to hear!
Are these guys the real deal?
DMP has been around for years now, and they release a TON of stuff from Shonen to Yaoi. Other kickstarters they ran involved bringing out some of Osamu Tezuka's more obscure work. So there is that.
How Much? Stretch Goals? Any swag?
The print volumes are $30 a piece shipped to the US, the digital releases are $15, but this prices can vary depending on the swag you get.
There were stretch goals that would allow for more volumes of the manga to be released, but that is no longer the case. All 6 volumes will be available, even if the final stretch goal is not hit, because Izumi Matsumoto, the artist wanted it that way.
Here's the list of tiers:
Some of the cooler sway is the 7 poster set, the canvas prints the OOP art books, and the Madoka figures, though the latter is far too rich for my blood.
How well is the Kickstarter doing?
As of right now, April 29th the KS has gotten $103,357 of a $34,900 goal. So it's definitely happening. It has 681 backers right now.
Got a final pitch?
I'll leave it to Jason Thompson talking about the original digital release:
and I'll add this
Kimagure Orange Road is niche as hell, but it deserves to be better known in my opinion. I love this series, so much that I bought the whole damn thing in Japanese, and then again bought most of it in hardcover. KOR is special, it is of a time, and of a place, and just oozes nostalgia. But above that it's a fun story about young love, mischief, the best days of your life. Check it out, you won't regret it!
Ok, this goes out to the old school anime and manga fans out there, but 29 years after its conclusion the Kimagure Orange Road manga is finally getting a print release in English! This is awesome! You can check out the page here!
It's being released as 6 Omnibuses, each containing 3 volumes of the original manga. It is also getting a new remastered digital release.
What is Kimagure Orange Road?
KOR as it's known for short, is one of the early prototypes for what would eventually become the harem genre. It is credited with creating the Tsundere in it's main female lead Ayukawa Madoka, and is a slice of 1980's pure awesome.
Now if you aren't a harem fan, don't run away just yet... because there is a lot to this series.
First let's look at a great ANN article on it:
There is more there, that gets into the nitty gritty, it's a great read. The Kickstarter Page summarizes the story as well.
When high school student, Kyōsuke Kasuga, moves to a new school, he is suddenly mixed up into a complicated love triangle between a mercurial and enigmatic girl with a troubled past, named Madoka Ayukawa, and Hikaru Hiyama—Madoka's ditzy and energetic best friend. While Kyōsuke’s true feelings are for Madoka, his indecisive and sensitive personality keeps him from hurting Hikaru at the same time. To throw things more into the mix, Kyōsuke and his family hold a secret— they are espers (aka—people with psychic powers). Can Kyōsuke juggle the growing pains of high school life all the while keeping his family’s extra sensory powers a secret?
It’s teenage high school romance meets supernatural powers…roll that all up with the hi-jinks of a family of ESPers, and you got Kimagure Orange Road!
And that's a fairly quick summary. KOR was one of the touchstones of Anime and Manga in the 1980s often called the bible for teens in Japan during that time. It has great art, an amazing cast of characters, romance and humor. And what I really enjoyed about it was that, unlike a lot of other later shows with love triangles and tetrahedorns or whatever, everyone involved was a really good person. HIkaru and Madoka are good friends, and that dynamic changes the triangle. Kyousuke can be indecisive, but you understand why a 15 year old kid in that situation might be, he doesn't want to hurt anyone and he doesn't want the group of friends to break apart.
Of course it's not always heavy, in fact there is a ton of humor, it's the 1980s, there has to be a weird sci-fi twist (psychic powers) but that just kind of adds to the whole thing. It's kids acting like kids, with the occasional teleportation and body swapping.
Why should I care about an old ass manga?
Well, as I said it was majorly influential, but there is more to it than that. KOR is a series with a metric buttload of heart. Izumi Matsumoto poured himself into the series, and it shows, the characters were so well realized that later archetypes would be based on them, the art, while rough at first becomes sublime, and then there is also the fact that Madoka is just plain awesome.
She is the uber: a sukeban girl with a heart of gold, rich parents, incredible musical talent, smarts, and looks to match. She just plain rocks, and cannot be touched in how amazing she is.
And I'm totally not saying that because she was one of my first Anime crushes when I was in high school. That is totally irrelevant.
She never seems to be as pure hot and cold as modern Tsundere, and it's clear that she really does care about her friends and Kyousuke. And I much prefer that to more modern interpretations of her trope like Naru in Love Hina or even Rin from Fate (even though Rin is best girl).
Beyond that is the cast of characters themselves, they're kids, doing stupid kid stuff, sneaking into clubs, getting drunk on the low, smoking behind the school, but they are never really treated as delinquents (for the most part). Kyousuke's friends, Komatsu and Hatta are lecherous, but endearing. His sisters are a blast, and the secondary love interest HIkaru is a sweetheart, if a bit clingy. They all feel like people, kids specifically, trying to be more mature than they are, trying to figure themselves out against a backdrop of wacky hijinks, and over time succeeding.
Wasn't there an Anime?
Yes there was, and it's awesome too. Though it is long out of print. AnimEigo lost the rights to it 10 years ago. God I feel old.
The anime condenses the story of the Manga into 48 episodes, taking place over one year instead of the Manga's four years (it took place in real time as it was released) and certain bits of characterization were changed. It was followed up with an 8 episode OAV and 2 movies. The first of which "I want to return to that day" is considered one of the best Anime romance movies of all time.
If you REALLY want it, the TV series is only like $750 or so on Amazon.
But wer're talking about the manga here, and as awesome as the music in the anime is, you really can't go wrong with the original. There are more characters, the story isn't as compressed, and the ending is every bit as good as "I want to return to that day" if a bit different.
Personally I love how the kids grow over time, and the later stories in the manga are just great.
Didn't this already get a digital release?
Yes, but it was pretty rough early on. The translations weren't the best, nor the quality of the scans. Digital Manga Publishing is doing a completely new localization and that is great to hear!
Are these guys the real deal?
DMP has been around for years now, and they release a TON of stuff from Shonen to Yaoi. Other kickstarters they ran involved bringing out some of Osamu Tezuka's more obscure work. So there is that.
How Much? Stretch Goals? Any swag?
The print volumes are $30 a piece shipped to the US, the digital releases are $15, but this prices can vary depending on the swag you get.
There were stretch goals that would allow for more volumes of the manga to be released, but that is no longer the case. All 6 volumes will be available, even if the final stretch goal is not hit, because Izumi Matsumoto, the artist wanted it that way.
Here's the list of tiers:
Some of the cooler sway is the 7 poster set, the canvas prints the OOP art books, and the Madoka figures, though the latter is far too rich for my blood.
How well is the Kickstarter doing?
As of right now, April 29th the KS has gotten $103,357 of a $34,900 goal. So it's definitely happening. It has 681 backers right now.
Got a final pitch?
I'll leave it to Jason Thompson talking about the original digital release:
and I'll add this
Kimagure Orange Road is niche as hell, but it deserves to be better known in my opinion. I love this series, so much that I bought the whole damn thing in Japanese, and then again bought most of it in hardcover. KOR is special, it is of a time, and of a place, and just oozes nostalgia. But above that it's a fun story about young love, mischief, the best days of your life. Check it out, you won't regret it!
