Orange 11-13 [END]
The driving reason for the whole story
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Well, we’ve reached the end of the season, and I’ve put these posts off long enough, so let’s see how Orange finished up! |
Some People…
Kakeru tries to walk away
So after the Sports Festival, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Naho and Kakeru would get together, but of course it can’t go that easily. They still dance around the issue, with both of them thinking that they’d be a bother to the other one if they were going out. And on top of that, Kakeru seems like it’s his goal in life to be petulant and difficult. It’s hard to blame someone who is having that kind of depression, brought on by his consistent feeling that he is to blame for his mother’s death, but it does get a bit tiring to watch him constantly push Naho and the others away. Perhaps the good result of this is that Naho gets quite a bit more direct and confident as the series comes to a close.
Naho finally makes the move on Kakeru
There’s also the question of how much of the future in the letters that they want to preserve. The discussion about Suwa’s happy marriage to Naho is frustrating to me, because only Suwa and Hagita seem to understand the situation: There is nothing they can do to change that future. The only thing to really think about now is dealing with Kakeru. And I think they need to realize that there’s still the possibility that Suwa and Naho end up married, but that both of them would rather have Kakeru alive if they do. The mere act of getting Kakeru past Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean that he ends up with Naho.
Stupidest Time Travel Ever
At least the letters got there…
A brief mention of their idea for sending their letters back in time: WTF? Seriously, that’s just ridiculous. They’re throwing messages in bottles into the ocean with the hope that they go through a black hole in the Bermuda Triangle and go back in time. Sure, you can handwave this away with the multiverse theory, but it kind of just shows the lame bankrupt nature of multiverse stories. On top of that, the idea that there are time machine black holes in the middle of the ocean is pretty stupid. So, rather than continue to think about how stupid it is, let’s just move on. Letters appeared in the past. End of Story.
No Matter What You Try…
Not leaving things to chance
So even after all the work everyone does to try to make Kakeru happier throughout the series, and all the changes from the letters’ version of the world, such as Naho and Kakeru actually talking about going out, Naho giving him the chocolate on Valentine’s Day, Naho and Kakeru talking out their issue instead of continuing to grow farther apart after New Year’s, there’s still the precipitating event of Kakeru’s suicide attempt: Finding his mother’s phone, and her unsent suicide note. Her message just brings back all the feelings of guilt, since she says she’s not going to be a bother to him any more. This is exactly what his worry has been the whole time, and no matter what the others have said, to have it confirmed is enough to put him out of his head for a while.
Suwa is the best bro
But the others are on the case, and rather than just wait and hope that things will be ok, they go out and look for him, to prevent any ‘accidents’ from happening. And maybe the #1 reason that nothing happens is Hagita’s bicycle sabotage. But everyone’s out to find him, although they don’t until they see the truck almost hit him. But maybe there’s a little difference: Kakeru realizes what is going on and moves out of the way. Instead of feeling isolated, he wants to know what the future holds, wants to be with the others. So maybe they did save him, and not just by sabotage.
Everything does end up OK
I liked the decision to tell him about the letters, and give him the ones that they all wrote to him. And I think back to the FI post that I did with anaaga, and wonder what it was about the ending of the story that she didn’t like. I thought that, overall, the story was pretty sound. It was romance-y enough, and had enough touching moments between Kakeru and Naho, as well as some fun moments with Azu and Hagita. And I think the way they handled Kakeru’s depression was pretty good, because it is that kind of thing that can make you feel like killing yourself.
It’s always nice to be able to laugh after the truck misses you
I thought the show was a success overall, and was fairly well put together. There were a couple episodes that they really had terrible quality, but I wonder if those episodes were farmed out to different studios, since those issues didn’t really come back later in the series. It’s a shame that they happened in the first place, but the show is what it is. I’d certainly recommend this story for anyone to watch, and don’t think there were any sort of fatal flaws in it, even with the terrible time-travel portion. I hope everyone else who watched enjoyed it as well!
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I was never angry/upset/put off by how the letters travelled. Sure, it would have been nice to have a more scientific reason, but that would cut into the theme, really.
As far as that theme goes, I thought they did quite well. One of the key things to know about suicidals is that…well, how to put this as best as possible. Thinking about it becomes habitual. Not the actual planning or the real hard desire to so. But the habit of thinking of yourself with that in mind. Being dead, ending the pain, or humiliation, or despair.
I would call it a death of a 1000 cuts, but often it doesn’t end it death. You heal. But then, you start to feel down and that voice comes back out…the habit forms. Then you place people at a distance. When he blurted how he felt out to his friends. That happens often, and the response he got is…well it’s typical in how it played out, even if the scene was very clumsy. The words were true. They captured all that very well cause I could see it behind Kakeru’s eyes in all his hesitations. Kudos to the mangaka and staff of the show for paying attention…
BTW, I’m fine…it takes time…
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
I hope everyone else who watched enjoyed it as well!
There’s still the half sequel/half TV recap movie for Orange that’s releasing this November, with an extended epilogue written by Orange’s mangaka.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-09-25/orange-time-travelling-manga-gets-anime-sequel-film-written-by-creator/.106877