(CR) Orange (TV series)

[frivolity]

My guess is that Kakeru had a doctor's appointment or something, and going out with the group caused him to miss it, which resulted in a relapse of his illness and caused him to miss school for 2 weeks. Either that or he was going to visit a sick parent/sibling, but skipped it to go out with the group, and that relative ended up dying before they could meet for the last time.

What if the timeline actually updated itself and caused the letters to be rewritten in a feedback loop that never ends until the future self has no more regrets? So the first time future-Naho wrote the letter, present-Naho made a few changes, which caused the future to change as well, in turn resulting in updated-future-Naho writing a letter with fewer regrets in it, causing the updated-present-Naho to make a few more changes... rinse and repeat. So the timeline we are watching is the last iteration, in which present-Naho makes the last set of changes that future-Naho becomes satisfied with.

The scene featuring future-Naho at the end of the episode would then slowly be updated with every new decision that present-Naho makes, until the last episode finally shows the ideal future that future-Naho wanted. Or, it could all end up in tragedy as the decisions result in something even worse.

[Stark700]

Episode 2

Ah this episode...the narratives imo never fails to deliver so far for the series. The atmospheric feel and the character chemistry between Kakeru and Naho this week has been charming sight to see.

The revelation at the end as well...
From what I heard, the episode had 17 animator directors involved. No wonder it looked so good and realistic. Good episode again.

[Guardian Enzo]

17 animation directors is actually a major area of concern...

[AB079]

Glad that Episode 2 came out, thanks to how well is the pacing and how the studio is adapting the manga the people who watch the anime can realize what's the real reason behind the story.

Kakeru's mother died in a terrible way and seems like his smile is just a facade to hide the pain of that suicide. Naho is really trying to make things better for Kakeru and the last part where she gave him the bento was marvellous. Excellent episode, nothing else to say.

[moodie]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

17 animation directors is actually a major area of concern...

While it is for most studios this is TMS and im not worried with them putting out high quality anime. I mean look at Lupin that shit looked 10x more amazing. Ill hold my concerns till the 3rd episode. The only high production anime they are working on now is D. Gray man so i think they can handle the rest of their lower quality anime and this.

[drobertbaker]

Yeah, great episode, very well paced, and engaging.

THIS is the way that I remember high school: the lack of confidence, the indecision, the 2nd guessing, the regrets.

AND IT WAS NEVER IN THE LETTER!

[zeross87]

wow nice episode once again, didn't expect the suicide reveal

so the story will focus on trying to change the future on that accident day, that work for me

but am i the only one that think this letter is kinda too vague? girl if his mother is gonna suicide and he NEED to get home asap just write it in the damn letter. if you can send a letter back in time help yourself and be more on the point ?

[felix]

Episode was great.

That said.... Naho baka! Figure things out sooner! Its your own damn letter. How can you be confused by your own words.

[ginger02]

Originally Posted by felix

Episode was great.

That said.... Naho baka! Figure things out sooner! Its your own damn letter. How can you be confused by your own words.

haha I guess the 10 ear difference makes a difference in interpretation.

That said, if I was writing my past self a letter about the things I should and shouldn't do I would be much more specific. I wonder if the letter thing is ever going to get explained.

Anyway, I'm going in blind, not reading the manga or watching the movie, so I don't know how things will turn out, but I'm enjoying the journey so much. Loved this episode.

[HandofFate]

quite the animated group of friends

[MCAL]

This is a pretty good group of friends all things considered.

[Wandering Soul]

Future Naho could be a bit more specific about certain things. I'm guessing that there is a reason as to why she is being vague.

I guess that ending threw a wretch in the whole "It's really about enjoying their time with Kakeru" theory as there apparently is a way to save him. Whether they will find it remains to be seen.

[felix]

Originally Posted by Wandering Soul

Future Naho could be a bit more specific about certain things.

Also, present Naho could actually you know... read the entire damn letter once, instead of one page at a time.

Originally Posted by Wandering Soul

I'm guessing that there is a reason as to why she is being vague.

Yes there is.... Naho is a bit stupid and an air head. At least in the present.

[Mangonel]

Somewhat interesting that saving Kakeru will likely prevent the future-time ships. Naho has a child with Suwa but clearly in past-time Naho's on the Kakeru train.

Gives it a weird vibe especially without knowing what type of time-travel we're dealing with.

[felix]

Originally Posted by Mangonel

Somewhat interesting that saving Kakeru will likely prevent the future-time ships. Naho has a child with Suwa but clearly in past-time Naho's on the Kakeru train.

Gives it a weird vibe especially without knowing what type of time-travel we're dealing with.

It's fine, Naho can just have two husbands. It will work out.

[Psyco Diver]

I'm liking the present and future scenes, they bring the episode together by revealing just enough information and leaving me guessing. A interesting series for sure but I get the feeling this show will either end great or fall flat on its face given the premise

[MeoTwister5]

At the risk of sounding morose... I actually hope that they don't save Kakeru.

Stories with a time travel mechanic are almost always done in order to allow some sort of cosmic reset for the characters to change an unwanted outcome. It's very rare... actually in fact I can't even recall one from the top of my head, that focuses instead in using the knowledge of inevitable mortality to make one's limited life more fulfilled.

I actually hope that this story will instead go down that route, that is they will instead give Kakeru and themselves a life without regret until the inescapable end. I think that would go for a more powerful story.

Memento Mori.

[Kanon]

The second episode painted a clearer picture. Kakeru will die in an accident, most likely as a result of him trying to kill himself out of guilt over his mother's death (it's definitely not a coincidence the "accident" happened on the eve of his birthday), and Naho wants to save him. Naho already screwed up big time in the very first episode by preventing him from going home soon enough to save his mom, though whether or not that was even possible will forever remain unknown.

I honestly feel quite a bit uneasy about this premise. The idea of sacrificing your current family (if Kakeru is saved, chances are very low Naho will have a kid with Suwa) to save your teenage crush just feels wrong. I'll wait and see how the series handle this. If it ends with Kakeru being saved and the future timeline erased, people will rage even harder than at Erased, and this time I'd say it'd be pretty justified.

[Arya]

mmm, definitely I wasn't expecting this turn. The episode was lovable, I especially liked the moment finally Naho gave kakeru the bento. I liked also the indecision mirrored between Naho and her mother actions.
About kakeru's first revelation I do wonder what may lead a mother to do such a thing, but she may simply have suffered of depression, simply but quite a strong beast to deal with, at any age.
But it's the last revelation that surprised me a bit and as Kanon made me feel uneasy. Sure, grow-up Naho I suppose wrote the letter to an imaginary herself. For now I don't think there was some kind of consciousness from her that the letter would actually be sent back to the recipient. Also the way it has been written seems to hint and also stated that it's just about regrets. But since Kakeru fate can be indeed changed it made me wonder, just for a moment, what her deep intentions were.
I also can't foresee an happy ending for Kakeru and Naho given all the bits of the future we had and keep having. and honestly I wouldn't want it either.
Given the strong writing and the solid direction it makes me cautiously confident on how the story will be handled. On the other hand this turn makes surely the story more gripping in a way since the future is less certain.

Suwa on his part is behaving more or less how I was expecting him to be, selflessly. He seems aware of the situation and how it has reached a turning point with the appearance of Kakeru in the group.

[Last Sinner]

This is going to be something to always look forward to each week. They've really captured the vibe of that group well. I still adore that colour scheme.

I pose this one thought. In the first episode, Naho said that she was the type of person that didn't speak up and just let things happen so that others found their happiness instead. Even if the 26-year old Naho eventually found happiness, perhaps it wasn't exactly on her own terms. Maybe Naho felt she was lucky to since there were things she could have done but didn't. Saving Kakeru is the most altruistic part of the overall mix, but perhaps Naho wanted her 16-year old self to be able to take a chance and start looking out for her own happiness as well. There are no do-overs in real life and second chances are rare. Eventually regrets will pile up in some way whether you felt you made the better choice. But the happiness of others comes at the cost of your own. Letting others always get that instead of oneself will eventually lead to a rather empty existence. Some choices/events may seem minor by themselves, but collectively they will define Naho.

And on that, perhaps why the letter doesn't fully reveal all details is because the 26-year old Naho wants the 16-year old Naho to be able to make the choices for herself, take the risks she couldn't and become a stronger person as a result of the experience. Clearly, there's already a big regret over how things started. But there's so many unknowns factored into that. We don't know the full picture of why things happened that way. Perhaps that unfortunate event was an inevitability no matter what happened. Perhaps if Kakeru hadn't joined them that day, he never would have joined that group of friends and would have been alone anyway. Naho has tough choices to make. But with the path she is taking, at least she is doing it on her own terms this time. This is something fundamental that the 26-year old version wished for her 16-year old self. To take a chance, to be involved with people, to try and do something in life - it carries risk and can really backfire/hurt at times. But there's also a lot to gain. Perhaps we should also consider what Naho could gain for herself in this process on top of potentially saving Kakeru.

We know what Naho is seeing and feeling, so far.
We kind of do with Suwa.
But do you really know with Kakeru? He was unable to say the real reason he was absent for two weeks until he was alone with Naho - and considering what happened, makes sense. Here's the thing though - if he held out that long over that, are you sure he's being forthcoming about things in general?

We'll see how things pan out next week and how people feel about it then.