Summary
Contrary to popular belief, just because a series is a classic does not mean it is easily available to access. Hayao Miyazaki’s films, manga, andoriginal novelweren’t available to Americans for years, and even establish hits likeSailor Moonended up being unavailable due to legal issues.
In 2018, a company decided to use unique fundraising methods to bring one of the elusive manga classics to America for the first time. That project succeeded, then failed, then succeeded again. Buckle up as we explore this wild story.
What is Kimagore Orange Road?
Kimagure Orange Roadis a Japanese manga and anime series created by Izumi Matsumoto. It originally began as a manga series serialized in theWeekly Shōnen Jumpmagazine from 1984 to 1987 and was later adapted into an anime television series, as well as several OVA (Original Video Animation) releases and a theatrical movie.
The story primarily revolves around the life and romantic adventures of the protagonist, Kyosuke Kasuga, a high school student with supernatural abilities (though the abilities aren’t dwelled upon much in the series). Kyosuke comes from a family of espers, individuals with psychic powers, but he’s often torn between his feelings for two girls: Madoka Ayukawa, a mysterious and independent girl, and Hikaru Hiyama, a cheerful and outgoing classmate. The series is known for its romantic and comedic elements, as well as its exploration of the complexities of teenage love and relationships.
Upon release Kimagure Orange Road quickly developed a dedicated fanbase and is now considered a classic in the world of romantic comedy anime and manga. It has had a lasting influence on the genre and remains fondly remembered by anime enthusiasts. Despite this, the manga was never brought over to America. While the anime was adapted for Western audiences by a few companies, the manga was never picked up. One company decided they wanted to change that.
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Who is Digital Manga?
Digital Manga, Inc. (DMI), also known as Digital Manga Publishing, is a company specializing in the localization, publication, and distribution of manga (Japanese comics) in digital and print formats for the English-speaking market. The company was founded in 1996 and is known for its diverse catalog of manga titles, covering various genres and themes, including romance, fantasy, science fiction, and more. They have published both licensed manga from Japanese publishers and original works created by Western artists.
While the company has been around for many years, they have always been a niche player in the Western comics market, with few of their titles reaching mainstream status. They decided that they wanted to change this perception and looked out for classic properties they could translate. It was here when they released thatKimagure Orange Road- despite the anime being a moderate hit onVHS and DVD in the 80s and 90s- had never had its manga licensed. Digital Manga felt that this would likely be the title that they could use to finally achieve mainstream success. The only problem is the title wasn’t EXACTLY a safe bet, and the costs to license the series would be considerable. This is where they decided to turn to a method of funding that had just been starting to really take off: Kickstarter.
What is Kickstarter?
Kickstarteris a popular crowdfunding platform founded in 2009 that enables creators, startups, and small businesses to raise funds for their projects online. The way this usually works is that creators initiate campaigns on Kickstarter, outlining their project’s purpose, funding goal, and timeline for fundraising. These campaigns can cover various categories, including art (in this case comics), music, film, technology, design, and more.
Individuals who believe in a project (known as backers) contribute money to support it. In return, backers often receive rewards or incentives corresponding to their contribution level, which may include early access, exclusive merchandise, or special credits. Transparency is a key aspect of Kickstarter. Project creators are encouraged to provide regular updates to their backers, keeping them informed about project progress, challenges, and any alterations to the project’s scope or schedule. However, it’s essential for backers to assess the risks associated with each campaign before making contributions, as not all projects on Kickstarter achieve their goals. Even if they do reach their goals, things can still go wrong.
The Success of the Kickstarter
Digital Manga decided that to properly fund the project they would need $34,900 dollars (why be $35,000 when it can be $34,900). For fans who decided to back the project, the following items (and more) were up for grabs:
Aside from these various rewards that could be received, there were stretch goals that were added if certain goals were met. Ultimately, the project raised $154,097, well over their original goal. While it seemed like everyone was going to win, soon afterward the project fell apart.
What Went Wrong?
While certain rewards were promised to be shipped early on, backers would notreceive many of those rewards. In fact, to the frustration of many, Digital Manga created several more Kickstarter campaigns for other titles they wanted to bring over shortly afterward. Many of these titles got funded (others did not), yet for reasons that were never fully explained, many of the later campaigns (likeUnder the Air) received their rewards first.
Updates on the progress of the rewards became fewer and fewer, and many backers started to lose patience. The biggest blow came when Izumi Matsumoto was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, making it almost impossible to sign the promised autographs. Months would go by with silence from Digital Manga on the situation. Finally, on March 19th, 2018, Digital Manga finally addressed the project in an update titledA Word From DMI’s President:
Dear all our Kickstarter backers,
First of all, please accept my sincere apology for causing such a considerable delay in fulfilling your books and rewards. Since you put a lot of trust in Digital Manga when you pledged for this campaign, my heart truly aches. Due to the fact that our Kickstarter-driven manga publishing was an unexplored project, that none of us had ever challenged before, we encountered multiple problems and difficulties that we could not fully foresee.
In regards to Kimagure Orange Road, we never would have expected for Matsumoto-sensei to be struck down by his life-threatening illness while the campaign was still ongoing and we ended up not being able to obtain his hand-drawn shikishi and other exclusive reward items as we had initially planned. Being, also, responsive to the needs and requests of all the backers, we have put a significant amount of our own resources into each campaign and that in turn has made our financial situation weakened.
Despite of all of the above, I am here to pledge that we will do our very best to fulfill our obligation and deliver your books and rewards as soon as we practically can.
You will be seeing all of your campaigned books / rewards coming to your door slowly but steadily in the near future.
President
Digital Manga, Inc.
This was not the response many backers wanted to hear. While no one could have foreseen the health issues Matsumoto would be forced to deal with (he ultimately succumbed to his health issues on June 18, 2025), many backers felt (rightfully so) that since some of the higher tier rewards could not be delivered upon, partial refunds should have been issued. Digital Manga did not offer partialorfull refunds for the project.
The one original art piece they did receive didn’t go to any of the top tier backers (suggestions that the person who donated the most money or the piece be given away in a raffle were ignored by management), and was instead kept by Digital Manga themselves (whereabouts unknown as of this writing). Signed merchandise aside, many other rewards were not delivered. While the series wasultimately published in full, many backers had a bad taste in their mouths about the whole experience.
The rewards were late, many of them were not even delivered, and Digital Manga delivered just enough to stay within Kickstarters policy of making a “reasonable effort” to fulfill promises, so legal action against the company was unlikely to happen. Despite these issues, the best thing to come from the ordeal is thatKimagure Orange Road wasfinally available to purchase in English. Even if the Kickstarter flamed out in spectacular fashion, it did give anime and manga fans a chance to own what many consider to be a classic romantic comedy, and the unfortunate circumstances don’t change that fact.
