80's Romantic Anime Throwdown: Maison Ikkoku v. Kimagure Orange Road

[shooraijin]

I'm feeling old and decrepit and I can't find my cane , and also I've been watching both KOR and MI the last few weeks.

So now it's time for the throwdown. Which one do you like better, and why?

I'm picking Maison Ikkoku. KOR is a wonderful series, but the plot doesn't hold together as well and the writers made life difficult for themselves with the mind-reading subplot (that they hardly ever used except for yuks or subtle deus ex machinas). Maison Ikkoku, otoh, has a more coherent plot, I like the character design a bit better, and the interactions (while still outlandish) seem a bit more grounded.

[J.R.]

Maison Ikkoku, IMHO.

[shooraijin]

What makes it better, in your opinion?

[ShiroiHikari]

I haven't seen either of those series but I would really like to.

[Phantom_Sorano]

Maison Ikkoku is one of those fundamental anime classics that all fans should be associated with.

The plot line is very slice-of-life, but manages to grasp a strong level of comical and romantic throwbacks. The characters are incredibly strong and well-developed; the reader quickly comes to understand the lives and emotions of the characters- especially Yusaku.

It is hard to say really why Maison is superior to or not superior to Kimagure. Personally, I have the highest regard for Takahashi and everything she produces. Maison Ikkoku is hands-down my favorite anime, so naturally I have an extreme bias.

[EricTheFred]

I can't help it. I've been in love with Madoka for over twenty years. KOR wins hands down. Although I still don't get why they gave her such awesome guitar pick skills and then made her a saxophone player...

[J.R.]

What makes it better, in your opinion?

Maison Ikkoku, at least to me, had better character development and a more solid plot. That being said, Kimagure was still a very good series. I like both. I simply like MI a bit more.

[shooraijin]

I can't help it. I've been in love with Madoka for over twenty years. KOR wins hands down. Although I still don't get why they gave her such awesome guitar pick skills and then made her a saxophone player...

I think Rev Doc would agree with you on KOR.

And yes, P_Sorano, I do tend to favour Takahashi's stuff (though I didn't really get into Inu-Yasha) -- I have all the Urusei Yatsura and Ranma eps, and I just picked up One-Pound Gospel (on VHS!).

[Ella Edric]

Is it ok if i vote on something i have no idea about?! XD

[shooraijin]

My greatest hope is that the Maison Ikkoku movie will be released in a properly licensed version (and, if I'm really lucky, with an Ocean Group dub -- I like the voice cast).

[Blitzkrieg1701]

I've only experienced a little bit of Kimagure, but that's just because it didn't grab me like Maison Ikkoku. So I guess the latter wins.

[Mithrandir]

Oooh... Perfectly split vote. I'm tossing my hat into the KOR ring, though. For some reason I just couldn't get into MI.

[shooraijin]

You'll have to do better than that.

[AngelicTotoro]

Because of this topic I just searched up Kimagure Orange Road and I reaalllyy want to check it out now.
But I first want to know if it has anything objectable in it, like nudity/sexual stuff/spiritual stuff/violence/and just anything objectable.

[shooraijin]

I seem to remember that there was some, and so does ABCB:

http://www.abcb.com/kor/index.htm

I thought that Rev Doc had done a review for us once upon a time, but I can't find it (I might be mistaken). It's not a lot, but there is a bit.

[EricTheFred]

I seem to remember that there was some, and so does ABCB:

http://www.abcb.com/kor/index.htm

I thought that Rev Doc had done a review for us once upon a time, but I can't find it (I might be mistaken). It's not a lot, but there is a bit.

I've always found Anime Cafe (the aforementioned 'ABCB') a reliable source of reviews, even though I've never felt motivated to join their forum. I mention this because otherwise one might think I'm negative on them, and this is not the case. My only real 'gripe' would be that they don't keep up with more recent shows, but I can't actually complain, since as a high-quantity, long time anime viewer I'm probably the exact sort of person they want submitting reviews, and I've yet to get off my duff and submit one to either them or CAA.

At Anime Cafe they only give three levels, "G", "PG" and "M", and frankly their PG tends to cover everything from an MPAA "PG" up to a few that might squeak their way into "R" territory. "Demon City Shinjuku" and the various ADP/BGC series are also "PG", and KOR is hardly in the same league in terms of problematic content.

Their PG rating on KOR is pretty much what the MPAA would have given it too, but only just barely "PG" at that. It's probably one of the least offenders on the list. Note that MI is also PG rated here, and to my mind it is at the same level as KOR (unless you place a high negative value on excessive drinking, in which case MI probably would rate an 'M'. I think more alcohol is consumed on 'camera' in MI than in any other show I've seen, with the possible exception of "Cheers".)

Anyway, Anime Cafe is a very appropriate tangent for this thread! Guess which show has its thumbprints all over the Anime Cafe site? (Hint: look at the URL and the pretty face gracing various logos!)

[shooraijin]

Yeah, it's pretty obvious which show THEY would vote for!

It is impressive how much booze Ichinose-san, Yotsuya-san and Akemi can put away. Even the manager has a wooden leg in a few scenes.

[adam.skinner]

I guess I have some pretty strong feelings when these two are pitted against one another.

I wrote a "comment" on AniDB as follows:

The aggregate rank of this series must be from reminiscence rather than objective comparison. It was:

* lacking any real storyline.
* No real continuity or character growth whatsoever; it was full of filler episodes. I can see why you'd want to convert a series into a movie now. This would have better been an hour and a half flick than a 48 episode series.
* bad ending. This may be remedied by the OVA and movies that follow, but I'm not really interested in seeing them. Having invested so much time in the series though, I just might.

There comes a point in time in an anime where you're like "this kind of sucks", but the decision to drop the series needs to be balanced against your existing investiture and time remaining.

The esper angle may as well have been tacked on. [spoiler]It did play a prominent role in the end, but most of the time it was comedic fluff.[/spoiler]

The characters were two dimensional. Bad girl now reformed tsundere, bubbly innocent latcher-on, indecisive male lead, jealous but impotent male friend, a pair of troublemakers. Throw in bowl and mix; see what comes out. This story could have been told in 10 episodes or less with nothing lost. To drag it on for so long is a criminal act of American TV proportions.

6.5/10. This show is a pale shadow of it's masterful contemporary, Maison Ikkoku.

Maison Ikkoku, on the other hand, is a gold-standard for rom/com, and stands up well against more modern shows like Toradora! Maison Ikkoku holds an actual story without fillers through nearly the whole series, which is an impressive feat since it's 96 eps long. It feels almost Seinfeldian with it's cast of characters.

Kimagure Orange Road is the most overrated piece of anime I've seen thus far (perhaps 150-200 distinct titles).

[shooraijin]

I'm a big booster for MI, but there are some cliche fillers in it though. The baseball game comes to mind, for example, and the hot springs (not the one where Kyoko goes on vacation). I do agree KOR leaned on them much more.

[Mithrandir]

.. I can't actually complain, since as a high-quantity, long time anime viewer I'm probably the exact sort of person they want submitting reviews, and I've yet to get off my duff and submit one to either them or CAA....

This is something you could very easily remedy, right? XD We would be TOTALLY OK with that.

[JapanAni]

As much as I adore Orange road there's no contest against Maison Ikkoku, that's one of the best.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I'm feeling old and decrepit and I can't find my cane , and also I've been watching both KOR and MI the last few weeks.

So now it's time for the throwdown. Which one do you like better, and why?

I'm picking Maison Ikkoku. KOR is a wonderful series, but the plot doesn't hold together as well and the writers made life difficult for themselves with the mind-reading subplot (that they hardly ever used except for yuks or subtle deus ex machinas). Maison Ikkoku, otoh, has a more coherent plot, I like the character design a bit better, and the interactions (while still outlandish) seem a bit more grounded.

I couldn't vote because I haven't seen KOR--but coincidentally I am now re-watching MI.

I love it for its background on daily Japanese life, but by this third go-round, the only characters I don't want to throw off a very high cliff are Asuna, Kyoko and Kozue.

I only want to throw Godai and Mitaka off a cliff SOMETIMES, though.

[shooraijin]

Yes, I've often wondered why Godai doesn't dump a boiling hot bowl of ramen on Yotsuya's lap. Then it comes to me: Yotsuya might simply eat it.

Yagami and Sakamoto drive me up the wall, however.