Orange: ANIME REVIEW

You can't just take two anime and mix them somehow together to create a complete different one. I hope the makers of this anime kept that in mind because it looks to me like they put Clannad: Afterstory and Ao Haru Ride (Blue Spring Ride) into one anime and the result was one of the highlights of the Summer 2016 season-Orange.

STUDIO: Telecom Animation Film

GENRE: Sci-Fi, Drama, Romance, School, Shoujo

EPISODES: 13

LINKS: MY ANIME LIST | PV TRAILER

PLOT & STORY LINE 📜

To explain what I wanted to say in the intro, this anime looks like the makers took the characters along with the Romance and School life from Ao Haru Ride, but the emotions and Sci-Fi element from Clannad. It is not as childish as Ao Haru Ride, it is has a more serious topic, but it doesn't give you an emotional breakdown like the one Afterstory gives. Picture it like this, if anime could evolve, Orange would be kinda in the middle of the evolution from Ao Haru Ride to Clannad. Still, Orange is a completely different story that happens to be emotional, thrilling and exciting at the same time. Let's see what it is all about.

On her first day of second year high school, our protagonist Naho receives a strange letter addressed to her.  The strange thing about it is that the letter is from herself-10 years in the future! Naho is of course skeptical at first, but after the letter describes events that really happen she realizes that the letter really is written by her 26-year-old-self.
The letter points out all the regrets that she'll make in the future and that she wants her younger self to fix those. Also one important part of the letter involves the new transfer student Kakeru. She must be especially careful when making decisions that involve him, as Kakeru is not a part of her future. Having the letter, Naho has now the power to protect Kakeru before she regrets it once more.

The story is set in the usual school setting but it still involves complex character personalities  and intriguing side stories. It actually pictures the true hardship of a high-school student whose mind is everything but just books and classes. Those teenage problems might seem small to the outside world, but in our small world things like a broken heart or a small regret about not listening to our parents can destroy us. Orange is an anime that pictures all that and the extend to witch it changes us and our future. It shows, how every single detail, no matter how small actually contributes to shaping our life.

In addition to that, the story of Orange is extremely exciting and always so unpredictable. You actually know one future, but the thing you're thinking about the whole time is how the happenings in the present will actually change it. Also, you get a cute romance, filled with everyday drama and emotional background story with, as I think, anyone can relate.
In short, Orange is an anime that pictures the true hardship of every high school student's life but without exaggerating. Its goal from the beginning is to convey one important message, which is: "You are never alone".

CHARACTERS 👦👩

I can't remember an anime that put more detail into characters than this one. Characters in other anime mostly have those superficial personalities, but the ones in Orange are detailed, original and extremely involving. Also, the anime makes it easy to actually display each personality so we really get to know them. My favorite character was definitely Suwa. He is an extremely caring and down-to-earth guy (even though he is extremely popular) who is always putting someone else before him self. He is nice, sweet and also extremely funny. The male lead, Kakeru, has the most complex personality of all which is mainly the result of the events that take place in the anime. Naho, is somehow like Suwa, extremely caring but much more emotional. On the whole, the makers of the anime put a lot of effort in creating good characters for the show and you can clearly see that.

ANIMATION & STYLE 💻

I just love everything about this anime including the character design. Some of them like Naho, Kakeru and Chino do look like characters from Ao Haru Ride, especially Naho that looks exactly like Futaba and Kakeru looking like Kou. About the animation, it was breathtaking, especially some backgrounds and scenarios like the one after which Orange got its name. It is amazing how the whole anime actually connects to that one beautiful moment bringing together both, the past and the present.

CONCLUSION 📌

Orange is an extremely emotional and exciting anime that follows a really interesting story about friends and life. The anime conveys a simple yet extremely important message in a way that no other anime could. Through beautiful animation and characters that everyone can relate to, it makes you ride an emotional roller-coaster and make you feel like you're also part of their story. Once more, the anime is exciting, interesting, funny, moving and above all beautiful. A true masterpiece in all its aspects that definitely deserves to be part of your list on MAL.