Orange

I did not have the issues that put most other people off, although I agree with them on some points. For example, I am going to start with the fact that the main female protagonist reads the letters she sent herself one by one throughout the season. Even though it may not seem to make much sense, I was not put off by that. That was because it is there for logical reasons (because of "plot convenience"). After all, the narrative unfolds gradually. If the main female protagonist had read all the letters in one go, it probably would not have worked out so well. The plot development needs it, and although it may seem a bit strange at first, it was understandable. At times, the "plot convenience" is necessary because if the characters were acting too logically, there might have been no narrative to speak of. For example, watch the video "How The Lord of the Rings Should Have Ended," and you can understand that the characters in this show would have read the whole letter without these slightly illogical pitfalls and thought it was just crap, and tossed it in the trash. Sure, nothing should be too over-the-top; however, I can live with such things. I also consider, for example, how in the later stages, the male protagonists resolve whether and how exactly to follow the letters a positive thing. This is good and interesting thinking by the anime's creators. As for the over-sweetness, the goofy smiles, the coyness, etc., I did not mind that either. This anime series is aimed primarily at girls, so it tries to fulfill their ideas of a love story. As an unpretentious consumer of cuteness and love stories, I am not offended by the simplicity and sweetness; indeed, I quite like it at times. Some of my fellow reviewers and I agree with the criticism of the characters. The main couple is, to put it mildly, completely pointless. Naho Takamiya strikes me as naive and even slightly foolish, and Kakeru Naruse? I do not know, but somehow I cannot positively relate to the main protagonist. On the contrary, I got tired of him. The boy is as sensitive as an exotic flower, and the fact that everything is based on everyone constantly helping him, trying to get something out of his introverted shell, and just when it seems like it might work, he gets depressed again. Then they are back to square one, and this irritated me. It is very sad when you cannot root for the main protagonists in an anime series based on a love story, and your attention goes to the third main character, in this case, Hiroto Suwa. I thought he was a real dude, and I liked him and what he got up to. Plus, Kakeru strikes me as just a "big girl's blouse" next to him (I am choosing a very mild turn of phrase, although another, much harsher one would have been appropriate). How am I supposed to empathize with the idea of saving Kakeru when I do not think that Kakeru deserves to be saved? I also had a problem because this anime series was virtually unconcerned with dealing with the past at first; however, they made up for it in the conclusion. There were reflections on what could have been, why they got into something like this, and they were not bad at all. It was good because the characters were asking themselves the very questions I had been wondering about for a few episodes by the end. Late, but still... Orange is definitely above average in terms of concept and ideas, and I am sure many people will be interested. However, how do you rate something that fails when considering the most important aspects? A romantic anime series where the main protagonists are irritating, and the "Saving Private Ryan" type-thing that irritated me beyond belief does not deserve to be awarded four stars. Even though the show is full of ideas, I felt pretty negative. So, in my opinion, this is worth a rating of 6.3/10. (10/07/2016) (less) (more)