Orange
“Friendship, Regret, and Time-Travel Letters”
Orange was highly anticipated when it was released. From afar, it looked like a rather exciting anime and potential new classic shojo anime with a rather odd premise for a shojo. I tried to watch it... and failed. I wanted to watch it many times but couldn't get past the first few episodes. But for this review, I put all my determination into breaking that barrier, so today, I will bring you the review of Orange!
When 16-year-old Naho Takamiya receives a letter from the person who claims to be her future self (a 26-year-old Naho), her life changes completely. Her letters accurately predict everything about to happen to her. The first letter explains how a new transfer student named Naruse Kakeru will arrive in her class; her future Naho warns her to keep an eye on him. Why? Naho must decide whether to heed the letter's cryptic warning and what it would mean for her future and Kakeru's. Ignoring the letter's warning, Naho invites the new boy, Kakeru, who has just arrived from Tokyo, to go out with her friends after school. But something terrible happened to Kakeru that day.
Something that might not have happened if he had returned home earlier. Knowing this, Naho starts following the instructions she receives from a future world where Kakeru no longer exists. But facing the present without leaving room for regret is not as easy as it should be. Orange is a 13-episode anime series aired from July 4 to September 26, 2016. It was produced by Telecom Animation Film and TMS Entertainment and directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki and Naomi Nakayama. The anime adapts Ichigo Takano's manga from 2012 to 2022 in Bessatsu Margaret before moving to Monthly Action.
The plot of their world begins to unfold slowly but surely. At first, the premise is quite interesting because, in shojos, it is uncommon to find anything related to time travel and paradoxes. Orange uses its strange travel mechanics to raise the plot's central question: "If you could time travel, what would you change?" The protagonist's future self tries to stop her past self from making what she considers mistakes she wishes she could change. At the same time, it raises the dilemma of whether there are things that should not be altered or are impossible to change.
These are probably well-known questions to those who have already seen anime about time travel. But in the case of Orange, we are presented with the obvious (and not often shown in other anime) situations where no matter what you do, a specific decision will be inevitable. Naho cannot change everything that her future self, surrounded by "what ifs," considers imaginable to change.
There was a point in the series when events that were not listed in the letters or happened in slightly different ways began to happen. By making small decisions, Naho slightly changed the future, showing that even the most minor things can significantly impact future choices and those around you. These differences make Naho put aside the letters because they are no longer helpful to a certain extent. She must now rely on her power and be confident that her choices are correct. On the other hand, the main reason the letters came to them from the future was that they were sent through a possible black hole in the center of the Bermuda Triangle. This seemed a bit out of place, but I understand it was necessary to put a reason for time travel and the concept of parallel worlds. But I would have been just as happy with a magical time-traveling mailbox in a lake house, mainly because time travel wasn’t the central focus of the anime. However, despite how interesting it may sound, I can't say that the proposal hooked me.
My problem with not getting past the first few episodes the first few times I tried to watch wasn't exactly the plot but the main characters. I cannot put up with submissive, bland shojo heroines who seem to take too long to connect obvious dots. And Naho is a cliché with legs. Likewise, Kakeru doesn't bring anything new to the table either. That's why I couldn't care less about their couple. Whether or not they ended up together didn't particularly thrill me. However, as the episodes go on, the other characters start to get involved, and, in that way, what looks like a sad love story begins to transform into the friendship story that it is. On the other hand, by developing Kakeru more, one understands his instability and empathizes with him.
Although the characters are generally charismatic, the only ones who get some real growth and a lot of screen time are the main ones, unfortunately. However, the real reason for my love/hate feeling towards the anime is what they do with Suwa. This guy is the friend of the year, the most admirable and most selfless of them all. He is the savior of the plot with all the letters and in every way. I think he deserved a better closure to his story.
Like its mixed bag of characters, Orange's animation quality presents various technical achievements and limitations. While the character designs are generally pleasant and serviceable, the series struggles with consistency throughout its run. The early episodes showcase crisp character designs and realistic backgrounds, demonstrating the studio's initial strong effort. However, the quality noticeably declines as the series progresses, with episode nine marking a particularly significant drop in animation standards. The gap between the early episodes' crisp, refined looks and the later episodes' degraded quality is described as "huge" and "almost unbearable."
One of the more contentious aspects lies in the facial expressions, which sometimes feel disconnected from the emotional weight of scenes. While presumably intended to create dramatic emphasis, the static shots often create an uncomfortable viewing experience that breaks immersion. Despite these technical shortcomings, the series effectively conveys emotions through subtle body language and facial expressions when the animation is at its best. The overall decline in animation quality suggests budget constraints affected the production's consistency. While the show starts strong with fluid movement and detailed backgrounds, these elements gradually diminish, impacting the visual storytelling. However, even with these limitations, the core emotional moments still resonate through careful direction and character acting, though they could have been more impactful with consistently higher production values.
The series features music composed by Hiroaki Tsutsumi, whose other notable works include Dr. Stone and Jujutsu Kaisen. Yu Takahashi performs the opening theme, "Hikari no Hahen" (Fragment of Light), while Kobukuro performs the ending theme, "Mirai" (Future). The opening and ending themes contribute significantly to the show's emotional impact. The soundtrack employs delicate melodies and heartfelt compositions that effectively capture the bittersweet nature of the story. The music accompanies key moments with appropriate tenderness and poignancy, though some viewers found it not memorable.
Orange maintains a score of 7.62 on MyAnimeList, with over 407,000 viewers rating the series. Viewers particularly praised its handling of serious themes like depression and suicide, though some criticized the pacing and character development. Despite its animation inconsistencies, the show's realistic portrayal of friendship and emotional struggles resonated with many viewers. In broad strokes, Orange is not too bad. The theme of regrets and reflections has been a good point in favor, despite being somewhat predictable and not at all wonderful, with not the most original and best-developed characters. More towards the end, it entertains quite a bit. I think it's finally a matter of taste, so it wouldn't be wrong to give it a chance.
Originally Published: 4/23/2021. Edited and Updated 10/27/24
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