History YMMV / KimagureOrangeRoad

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The situations, tropes, character arcs, etc. now common in many romantic comedy manga and anime probably originate from here. Although this anime itself borrows heavily from the American teen sex comedy. Newer audiences on anime forums express deep frustration at the episodic writing of the series where important plot progression occurs in only a handful of episodes while the rest of the series is just comedic fluff relying on such cliches.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Back in the day the anime was ''wildly'' popular in Italy with the title [[CompletelyDifferentTitle ''È Quasi Magia Johnny'']], and is still regarded as a classic. In fact, the Italian counterpart of the BettyAndVeronica trope is named after Madoka and Hikaru (their Italian names It/SabrinaETinetta), since [[TropeNamer Betty and Veronica themselves]] are not that famous in Italy. Madoka, in particular, is still regarded as one of the top [[https://www.animeclick.it/news/33208-il-sondaggione-risultati-miss-sexy-anime-80s "hot girls" of the 80s]] by anime fans, along with [[Manga/UruseiYatsura Lum/Lamu]] and [[Franchise/DragonBall Bulma]].

* RewatchBonus: [[spoiler:After seeing the time-travel episodes at the end of the series, there are clues in early episodes that Madoka ''knows.'']]

** With [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Shi]][[Manga/HisAndHerCircumstances rou]] [[{{Manga/Bleach}} Sag]][[Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic isu]] as the head composer, you bet your ass this series has awesome music by the wazoo. Besides that inherent benefit, Kimagure Orange Road, when taken alone, has a great amount of songs that are heavily awash with purely 80's aesthetics and Japanese citypop, no doubt one of the reasons the anime is loved by the Vaporwave/Future Funk community. For further reference, the majority are preserved [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mQ3k6d2thI here]].

** People could not decide on whether Kyosuke was a relatable and adorkable everyman or if he was a sexist and hypocritical idiot. Others see it as him being a not-too-bright young teen who ''also'' is a product of a conservative society like the Japan of TheEighties, and who doesn't fully grow up until he becomes an IntrepidReporter and witnesses the Yugoslavian Wars.

* DieForOurShip: Hikaru has been bashed and hated for ''decades'' by rabid Madoka/Kyōsuke shippers. This [[Fanfic/RevengeRoad fanfic]] is ''extremely notorious'' for this very reason. [[SchmuckBait Read it at your own peril]].
* {{Fanon}}: There is a great deal of fanon about Takeshi and Akemi. Fanon has it that Takeshi had at least one older brother, and Akemi's only siblings were female. Takeshi thus took on the surname Kasuga (his wife's name), and this is why Akane and Kazuya's last names are Kasuga. However, the problem is that Kazuya and Akane's surnames have NEVER been given, either in the anime or manga. It's also quite possible that this bit of lore was created by usenet discussions back in the late 80s where it would be necessary to differentiate between the Akane the poster was talking about (Ranma 1/2's or Kimagure Orange Road) hence leading to Akane being called Akane Kasuga. There is also an inherent contradiction, since if Akemi only had sisters, Akane and Kazuya would have a different last name anyway.

* ValuesDissonance: The series was regarded as sexist even back in the 80s and it appears especially so these days.

* DieForOurShip: Hikaru has been bashed and hated for ''decades'' by rabid Madoka/Kyōsuke shippers.

** Hikaru. Some fans dislike her because she gets in the way of Kyosuke/Madoka, plus acting exaggeratedly childish, clingy, and affectionate to TastesLikeDiabetes levels ([[CharacterExaggeration especially in the anime]]). Other fans feel sorry for her (she deeply loves a boy who only has eyes for her best friend), and actually find her more genuine and likable than moody {{Tsundere}} Madoka.