KOR is the story of a boy, Kyosuke, with telekenetic powers who move to a new town and meets a girl he instantly falls in love with. Her name is Madoka, and she's a juvenile delinquent, all those she seemed nice when he first met her. When her sister-like friend, Hikaru, sees Kyosuke use his powers when he think he is all alone, she falls for him. Thus, we have the Dangerous Triangle. Hijinks and comedy ensue.
So, per the sticky, I open this up with some controversial and riveting questions, I'll offer my opinions, which will be placed in a spoiler box.
Hikaru: Intentional annoyance, unfortunate distraction, or total victim?
Kasuga: name of which of Kyosuke's parents? This question has not been clearly answered in the series, and there is still debate in the community.Spoiler wrote: In all honesty, I hover somehere between Intentional Annoyance and Unfortunate Distraction. I genuinely believe Hikaru loves Kyosuke with all her heart for several reasons. For her to be only an intentional annoyance, she would have to be playing Kyosuke, which she isn't. Her intentions ARE to change Kyosuke, as she admits she knows he is in love with Madoka, and knew it from the beginning in the first movie. So, she isn't completely just an unfortunate distraction. She created some of the situation herself.
The concept of her as a total victim flies in the face of that very fact. One cannot be a victim if he or she causes pain to themselves by willingly committing actions that could end badly. Hikaru knew Kyosuke was in love with Madoka and that he would likely at some point move to end their relationship. She insisted on putting herself between Kyosuke and Madoka and risking that she could keep her relationship with Kyosuke. She really cannot claim victim status at all.
And finally, just for kicks, is Akane really a lesbian?Spoiler wrote: His mother's. The Kasuga clan refers to his grandparents as well, which are his mother's parents. Since the Kasuga clan is so powerful, as per Japanese tradition, the more powerful name takes precedence, even if the woman holds that name. I don't really get the debate, I think the circumstantial evidence for this answer is obvious.
Hope there's some interest in this thread!Spoiler wrote: Matsumoto Izumi, the author of KOR, said "she'll probably grow out of it." Sounds to me like he's passing the buck. Akane is old enough, I feel to understand the ramifications of her infatuation with Madoka. So much so, that she makes Kyosuke pretend to be her boyfriend to prove she is either not single... or not a lesbian. If not for her previous infatuation, I would likely have believe the former. However, because of it I believe the latter. She definitely has some sexuality issues, even if she is straight (and I don't think she knows one way or the other during the series). At the end of the day, I have to pass the buck too. Whatever sexuality Akane decides on, she's going to have some work to do, I think. Could be interesting to watch.
