Differences Between The Anime and The Manga

- Hiyama Hikaru. The manga Hikaru had more self-respect and a temper to
go with her cheerful, bubbly side. She did not tolerate Kyousuke seeing
her in the nude, for example. She also flew into a rage if anyone so
much as disrespected her beloved sempai in any way. The manga also
implies a violent past; in one scene she suggests to Madoka the two
"go and fight those girls we used to beat up". BTW, in the manga,
Kyousuke actually chooses her over Madoka briefly during a stay in the 
hospital. She walks in on him using the Power to levitate a telephone.
When she promises to keep his secret, he is so moved he chooses her
right then and there. Later he changes his mind after he finds out
she was really talking about his sister's panty he was wearing.
All in all, poor Hikaru-chan was "dumbed down" when she made 
the transition to the anime world.  Compare the way she handles herself
in the manga finale (summarized below) versus the anime movie.
Finally, Hikaru is much prettier in the manga, especially in the
last few volumes.

- Kasuga Kyousuke. The manga Kyousuke was more obnoxious and 
opportunistic.  For example, in the manga version of the auditions
for Mitsuru's Talent Caravan, he laughs unmercifully at Kurumi's
audition. He's a lot meaner to Kurumi in the manga. No wonder she
sometimes executes those brutal wrestling takedowns/locks on him! Another
example, in the time-stopping watch story, he has no qualms about
taking a peek up Madoka's skirt. Don't get me wrong, he's still
a basically decent guy; its just that the manga exposes more of
his quirks than the anime.

- Ayukawa Madoka. Basically the same as in the anime, except
she seems a little more human somehow in the manga. I think its
because we get to see her get spooked by imagined ghosts more
often. For example, in the Mitsuru-Kyousuke soul-switch story,
she trembles in fear and grasps Mitsuru's (in Kyousuke's body)
arm more tightly as they enter Mitsuru's old high school to
access his old broadcast studio. We don't see this in the anime
version. BTW, the ghost seen in the White Lovers story is explained
by Ojichan as the effects of hallucinogenic gas seeping through
cracks in the mountain. This explanation only appears in the manga.

- Kasuga Kurumi. She gets teased a lot by Kyousuke and sometimes
responds to the teasing with violence.  A big difference in the
manga is that she is a big wrestling fan and does not hesitate to
subject her brother to devastating takedowns, locks, and holds.
In one episode, she also inflicts wrestling locks and holds on 
Komatsu and Hatta.  Unfortunately, she does not get the same 
attention to detail from Matsumoto that she gets from her sister
who is much more consistently drawn beautifully.

- Kasuga Manami. Same as in the anime, except like Hikaru she is
much prettier in the manga.

- Kasuga Kazuya and Kasuga Akane. We see a *lot* more of these
two in the manga; thus the manga gives a better taste of what
these people are like. Despite what Matsumoto said about Akane
being a worshipper of Madoka, the manga clearly depicts her as
a lesbian. For example, when Kyousuke accidentally touches her
breasts, she is absolutely thrilled, thinking it's Madoka who
is touching her. She even has another girl fall in love with her
in one story. This other girl is driven off when Kyousuke pretends
to be Akane's boyfriend.  As for Kazuya, the manga is the only
place where we meet his playmates. We also see in the manga that
his mother must be a powerful ESPer to keep him under control.
 
- Komatsu and Hatta. For some strange reason, Komatsu's first name
was Kazuya in the anime, while in the manga it's Seiji. More importantly,
these two are immature hentai to the bitter end in the anime while
they actually grow up a little by the end of the manga.  The scene
where Hatta finally convinces Komatsu that Madoka is not a delinquent
because she took the fall for them speaks volumes about their change.
BTW, while Komatsu had crushes on the Kasuga twins, the girl
he was truly in love with was Sayuri.

- Jingoro. Sorry, no Jingoro in the manga.

- The Kasuga clan. The manga offers considerably more background
on the family. It turns out the Kasugas are descendants of an
extraterrestrial race. The manga also offers the story of how
Takashi and Akemi met, the underground secret Kasuga village,
and more. The grandparents give Kyousuke a pendant that belonged
to his mother, admonishing him to give it to the girl he loves.
He of course gives it to Madoka when he is alone with her. Later,
the grandparents admonish Kyousuke to reveal the family secret
to the girl he loves; they reason he'll have to do it sooner or later
if he intends to bring her into the family. He does....at the very end
of the manga.

- The finale. I was going to just present a summary, but I felt
some of the dialogue was too important to omit. Note the use of
important symbols that have diminished/nonexistent significance in
the movie: the red straw hat and the 100 Steps:  

While buying a round-trip plane ticket for her father, Manami is
surprised to see Madoka buying a one-way ticket to Los Angeles.
Manami asks Madoka if she intends to take a long vacation in LA.
Madoka momentarily looks sad then jokingly says that her vacation will
be so long she might never return, then begs Manami not to tell anyone
about their conversation.

Gossip runs rampant throughout Koryou High about the disappearance
of Madoka. Komatsu dismisses it as behaviour typical of a "deliquent
like Madoka".  Momentarily angered, Kyousuke abruptly gets up and
leaves the classroom to search for her. Hatta convinces Komatsu that
Madoka cannot be a delinquent because she allowed herself to be
suspended for auditioning for the Mitsuru Hayakawa Talent Caravan
without snitching on Hatta and Komatsu; let alone all the other
students who also auditioned.  Hatta also makes the observation
that Madoka has changed somehow from "her rebellious and uptight"
ways ever since Kyousuke transferred to their school.

Meanwhile Master is in the principal's office offering to take
responsibility for Madoka's suspension. He thinks she was suspended
for working at the ABCB. He offers to close the ABCB in exchange
for the lifting of Madoka's suspension.

A depressed Madoka sits in her room going over photo albums. As
she pulls a solo photo of Kyousuke from one album, all the reader
sees of her thoughts is that she has finally made a decision and
that she feels like her deepest wish will never come true. Her
sad contemplation is interrupted by the ring of her phone.

Outside Madoka's house, Kyousuke fails to get a response from the 
doorbell.  He angrily drives away talent scouts who are after Madoka
after hearing about her awesome audition at Mitsuru's talent show.

Later, Madoka is at a bar with Mitsuru. He offers her his help in
establishing a career as a singer. She does not give him a
definite answer, so he says he'll wait.

Back at the school, the principal faces an angry gathering of Hikaru,
the twins, Komatsu, and Hatta, who all demand to be suspended since
they too took part in the auditions. They are stunned when the
principal tells them that Madoka phoned him and asked for herself
to be put on suspension.  The principal goes on to tell them that
Madoka's grades did not suffer from working part-time or music; they
in fact suddenly jumped to the top of the class after the spring of
her 3rd year in junior high (hmm...about the same time Kyousuke 
transferred in).

While Hikaru ponders Madoka's latest stunt, Manami cannot help but
reflect her last conversation with Madoka. "I might not come back
at all."

While the gang approaches Sayuri outside the school building, 
Komatsu wonders aloud who started the rumor about Madoka being
suspended by the school. Sayuri confesses to starting the rumor,
declaring that Madoka's suspension "serves her right". Manami
sweats as Sayuri taunts Hikaru about Madoka's relationship with
Kyousuke.

At the Kasuga apartment, Hikaru and Kurumi laugh off the 
confrontation with Sayuri, dismissing her as clueless about
Kyousuke's true girlfriend. When they propose telling Madoka,
thinking she would laugh about it, Manami suddenly embraces Hikaru,
begging her not to do so.  She thinks about Madoka's words "I might 
not come back at all" and in a flash of intuition realizes her motive
for hiding from her friends and flying off to L.A; out of their
lives forever - unless she, Manami, does something about it.

Apparently knowing the full consequences of her actions, Manami
shows Hikaru the red straw hat in Kyousuke's room, asking Hikaru
if it is hers. After a short while, Hikaru realizes with a shock
that the hat belongs to Madoka. She tells Manami that the hat was
Madoka's most prized possession, a gift from her first love.
Manami thought the hat belonged to Hikaru because on the day the
Kasugas moved in, he said:

"I fell in love with her...but I don't know her name..."

After reflecting on the first time she met Kyousuke, when Madoka
denied having met him although he mentioned receiving a red straw
hat from her, Hikaru comes to an awful realization and abruptly
leaves.

Under a freeway overpass, as the rain starts to fall, Yusaku
confronts his rival for Hikaru's affections, Shinichi. They begin
their eighth fight.

A drunken Madoka arrives at the ABCB. She apologizes for missing
work. Master tells her Kyousuke just left ABCB. She says she hid,
explaining that she's afraid of what she might say to him if she
saw his face. Eventually she spills out the following:

"When Hikaru firsted called Kasuga-kun her boyfriend, I said,'I
see. Then, do your best. I'll root for you!' I definitely....
promised...her."

She falls asleep. As Master puts a coat over her, he says:

"You held up well, Ayukawa-kun. The role of big sister who
is concerned for her little sister was long and tiring."

He is horrified to discover a despondent Hikaru at the doorstep, who
has heard the entire conversation. She runs away into the rain,
blinded by her tears. She wonders if she was merely a clown, 
completely fooled by everyone for three years. Her first instinct
is to run to Kyousuke to beg him to tell her it isn't true, that
Madoka-san is really the one he....But she is unable to approach
the Kasuga residence, afraid to see him.

Running away from the apartment, she runs into Yusaku, who is
helping Shinichi limp along in the rain after their fight. 
Desperately needing a hug that very moment and feeling rejected, 
she leans on the two blushing boys. The boys entreat her to turn
her attention to them, swearing they would always be there for
her, even if they have to keep fighting each other.

Kyousuke continues his search for Madoka, checking all her favorite
haunts. He finally locates her at Disco Moebius. He tells her he's
quit being indecisive. She tells him she's going to America and that
she'll return when she's sorted out her feelings. She warns him that
because she's "kimagure" he may have a long wait. She blushes when
he swears he'll wait forever. 

Madoka goes on to explain that her parents recommended a music 
school in L.A. 

Kyousuke: Why...Why all of a sudden?
Madoka: You're also important to me, Kasuga-kun...And Hikaru is an
important sister. I don't want to destroy these precious people just
because of my own selfishness....That sounds so cool, but actually it's
just that I'm an awful coward.

Kyousuke tells her he loves Hikaru as if he were her older brother
but his feeling for Madoka is different.

Madoka: 'Like' or 'Love'? (in english)
Kyousuke: Hikaru is 'Like'. You, Ayukawa, are...ai shiteru (I love you) 

On Madoka's departure day, Master, Komatsu, Hatta, and all three Kasuga
siblings are at the airport to see off Madoka. Hikaru arrives a little
late, wearing the red straw hat. Kyousuke gets on his knees before her
and apologizes. Everyone is stunned at his gesture. Hikaru tells
him to stand up. She tells him she heard from the twins about him
and Madoka. She slaps him, then accepts his apology.

She turns to Madoka and confronts her.

Hikaru: I'm very angry because you weren't frank with me!...that
you are the one Sempai liked. Such an important thing...Why did you
hide it from me?

Madoka: What are you talking about? How silly...Kasuga-kun is yours,
Hikaru.

Hikaru: No! No more secrets! Oneesan!! You're going to America because
of me, right? We aren't real sisters but I came to think of you as
more than a real sister, Madoka-san!!

Madoka: Then...now we're finished...because I was an incredibly
stupid big sister, ne?

Hikaru: To tell you the truth, Madoka-san, I hate you! But up to now
you always went and suffered for my sake. You acted as go-between 
for Sempai and me and gave way for me. So this time, I'll take a
step back. I'll...set Sempai free. I feel better after slapping him.

Kyousuke: Hi..Hikaru-chan...

Hikaru: On the whole you are a coward, Madoka-san! Where are you
going after toying with our feelings?! That's not like you,
Madoka-san! [covers face with hands] Please...that's why...please
don't run away...Even I...find it painful when I think of Sempai.
It's hard...I feel so lonely...I think...This can't be...happening
to me...[both Madoka and Kyousuke are deeply moved]..This can't be..

Madoka: Hika..ru..

Hikaru: [clasping Madoka's shoulders] And so, oneesan! Please come
back soon!! For my sake....[removes red straw hat, places it on
Madoka's head]...and for Kyousuke-sempai's sake.

Tears start rolling down Hikaru's face. This is too much for Madoka,
who also begins to cry. Both girls embrace tightly.

Later, Hikaru and Kyousuke watches Madoka's plane fly off.

Hikaru: Ahh, she's gone. Sempai...Right now I still find it hard
to talk to you....but I understand your feelings for Madoka-san, 
because Madoka-san is so wonderful. Until now, I had you all to 
myself. From now on, I want you to be more free. Sempai...don't
give up! I'm sure Madoka-san will return.

Kyousuke: Hikaru-chan.

Hikaru: But everyone is still unrequited, ne?

Kyousuke: (Come to think of it, I still haven't heard how Ayukawa
feels!)

The following spring, Kyousuke, having made it into college happily
counts the 100 steps as he climbs them.

Kyousuke:...98...99...100! [sees something ahead]

It's Madoka. She stands at the top of the steps, holding luggage
with one hand and holding down the red straw hat which she wears
on her head.

Madoka: You miscounted again!

Kyousuke: 99 steps are close enough to 100! Welcome back, Ayukawa!

Madoka: I'm home, Kasuga-kun.

Kyousuke: Did you return to answer my question? 

She nods.

Kyousuke: 'Like' or 'Love'

Madoka: 'Like'!

Kyousuke is stunned. He stands on the 99th step.

Madoka:...is close enough to...[she takes a step down, her foot landing
on the 99th step and closes her eyes, grasping his hands and leaning
towards him]...'LOVE'!

As they share their second kiss, the red hat flies off into the wind.

Some time later....

Kyousuke: Say...Ayukawa...don't be surprised when you hear this.
To tell you the truth, I'm... 

[Here it is implied he's about to tell her that he is an esper]