“The Red Straw Hat”
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Izumi Matsumoto
Translation: Steven LeCroy
Lettering: Laura Scoville
What They Say
Secretly-psychic Kyosuke has just settled into a bustling school filled with brand-new faces, but he wastes no time making waves! With both the shy and mysterious Madoka and the high-energy Hikaru spinning in and out of his life, Kyosuke’s dizzy with the first sweet rush of female attention! But will his instincts lead him into the arms (and heart) of the right girl?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Known originally as Capricious Orange Road, it’s known originally as きまぐれオレンジ☆ロード, and it’s localized as Kimagure Orange Road. The manga comes from Izumi Matsumoto, which began in 1984 and it wrapped up in Japan in 1987 with eighteen volumes. Full volume reviews just aren’t my jam or in my workflow, so I wanted to work through a series on my own schedule and spend the time to talk about it chapter by chapter. This series saw release in English through Digital Manga Guild, and I’ve had the oversized volumes sitting on my shelf for years, unread, because it’s hard to just sit down and read for pleasure anymore. I was introduced to the property through the OVAs, then the movie, and years later, the TV series, thanks to AnimEigo. So, to finally dig into the manga after so long feels right.
The premise is straightforward enough that can easily carry itself as we’re introduced to Kyosuke Kasuga, a middle school student whose family is made of people with psychic powers. They’ve had to move seven times in the last few years over issues that caused it to come to light, and they’re hoping to last a bit longer in this new town. The family is definitely fun in its own right as Kyosuke tries to keep things good and balance, while he has two younger twin sisters with the studious Manami and the outgoing Krurumi who seems to get them in the most trouble. Their father has that kind of quiet background approach at the start here in the limited time we see him, and there’s no indication of a mother at all. There’s a closeness to the family because of the secret that they keep, but also plenty of teenage-ness about it, such as how Kurumi keeps using her telekinesis to move furniture as they set up their new place.
Kyosuke does feel like there’s promise in this new town, and part of that comes from the iconic opening of him reaching the top of the 100-step stairway nearby. He ends up jumping up to catch a red straw hat that floats by, which as it turns out belongs to Madoka Ayukawa. The two have a light and silly argument over how many steps there really are, and she lets him keep the hat. Is it any surprise that she’s in the same school as him? The same classroom? And that she’s a delinquent that skips class and smokes outside with her friend Hikaru? Kyosuke’s introduction to the school is fun, such as making friends with Komatsu who has the hots for one of his sisters, and then finding Ayukawa there only to have some of the image shattered by her smoke. And again, an iconic line where he chastises her for doing so when it could impact the health of any future babies.
Suffice it to say, Kyosuke has not made it easy to pursue her going forward, but he’s also shown some of his strengths and weaknesses. He looks out for people, which is a good thing, but he’s also sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong at this point. She’s pretty much a stranger, so calling her out like this – and quietly using his power to do so – isn’t great on his part. Even more so for how much he gets after Kurumi in this chapter alone for using her powers. Through this interaction, we also get to see the side of Ayukawa that she presents to most people, where it’s harsh and rebellious compared to the colorful and fun feeling of when they met at the steps with her outfit and expression. Kyosuke’s young and dumb enough to be confused, but it just means he has even more to learn going forward.
In Summary:
I won’t do much in the way of comparisons with the anime, especially since it’ sbeen a few years since I saw it, but I really do like how Matsumoto’s artwork at this point makes the characters really feel like teenagers, especially Ayukawa. The series has a lot going on in each chapter with lots of panels throughout the layout and little in the way of bigger sequences. This keeps it to working through a lot of dialogue and reactions, and small nods here and there. There’s a usual shakedown period for me in starting a new series in getting into its groove, and this one, being over forty years old, means reconnecting to a different presentation style. It’s fun and conveys so much that the first chapter feels particularly stuffed here. Definitely a lot of fun as the basics are all put into play, even if they’re very light touches, such as Hikaru at the moment.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade:B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Digital Manga Guild
Chris Beveridge
http://www.fandompost.com
Chris has been writing about anime, manga, movies and comics for well on twenty years now. He began AnimeOnDVD.com back in 1998 and has covered nearly every anime release that’s come out in the US ever since.
He likes to write a lot, as you can see.
