Orange (manga)

Orange (stylized as orange) is a Japanese romance manga series written and illustrated by Ichigo Takano, aimed at the shōjo and seinen demographics.[2][3] It was first serialized in 2012 in Bessatsu Margaret manga magazine and later in Monthly Action.[3] It has been compiled into 6 volumes as of 2017. Its chapters are published online in English by Crunchyroll and in print by Seven Seas Entertainment.[3] It is also published in France by Akata,[2] in Poland by Waneko,[4] and in Spain by Ediciones Tomodomo.[5] A live action film adaptation of the same name was released on December 12, 2015.[6] An anime television adaptation started to air in July 2016.[7] A spin-off to the manga began serialization on March 25, 2016, in the Monthly Action magazine published by Futabasha.[8] An anime theatrical film, titled Orange: Future, premiered in Japan on November 18, 2016.

Orange
Cover of Shueisha's first volume of the series
GenreRomance, slice of life
Manga
Written byIchigo Takano
Published byShueisha → Futabasha
English publisher
ImprintMargaret Comics
Action Comics
MagazineBessatsu Margaret → Monthly Action
English magazineCrunchyroll Manga
DemographicShōjo, seinen
Original runMarch 13, 2012 – May 31, 2017
Volumes6
Novel series
Written byIchigo Takano
Published byFutabasha
ImprintJunior Bunko
Original runJuly 18, 2015 – March 18, 2016
Volumes3
Manga
Sorigerisu
Written byMatsupon
Published byFutabasha
MagazineMonthly Action
DemographicSeinen
Original runMarch 25, 2016 – present
Anime television series
Directed by
  • Hiroshi Hamasaki
  • Naomi Nakayama
Produced by
  • Ikumi Hayashi
  • Takashi Yoshizawa
Written byYūko Kakihara
Music byHiroaki Tsutsumi
Studio
Licensed byCrunchyroll
Original networkTokyo MX, AT-X, BS11, TVA, ABC, TSB
Original run July 3, 2016 – September 25, 2016
Episodes13[1]
Anime film
Orange: Future
Directed by
  • Naomi Nakayama (Chief)
  • Hiroshi Hamasaki
Produced by
  • Ikumi Hayashi
  • Takashi Yoshizawa
Written byYūko Kakihara
Music byHiroaki Tsutsumi
Studio
ReleasedNovember 18, 2016
Live action film

On August 22, 2019, it was announced that a 7th volume will be published which will serve as the true finale.[9]

Plot

In Matsumoto, Naho Takamiya, a second year high school student, receives letters sent from herself 10 years into the future. Her future self asks her to prevent her "biggest regrets", which has something to do with the new transfer student from Tokyo, a boy named Kakeru Naruse. At first skeptical, Naho begins to believe the letters as they accurately predict events. When the letter asks her not to invite Kakeru to go out for the first day, Naho and her friends (Hiroto Suwa, Takako Chino, Saku Hagita and Azusa Murasaka) decide to invite him anyway. Kakeru ends up not attending school for the next two weeks.

To prevent another mistake, Naho resolves to do what the letters order her to do, such as volunteering on a softball round, encouraging Kakeru to join the soccer team, objecting to him pursuing a relationship with an upperclassman, and insisting that the two watch the fireworks alone. Naho learns from the letters that in the future Kakeru is dead, having died by suicide around Valentine's Day in the same school year in which he enrolled.

During the Bon Festival, Kakeru explains to Naho the reason for his absence: his mother died by suicide because of a mental breakdown caused by him leaving her for friends, and not taking her to the hospital on the day of enrollment as he promised. This causes Naho to also feel guilty, as she feels they share responsibility for Kakeru's mother's death. Later on, Suwa tells Naho that he has also received letters from his future self, asking him to be a good friend to Kakeru and save him from his death. Suwa hides the fact that he and Naho are married and have a child in the future, as he realizes Naho and Kakeru are in love. Although he has feelings for Naho, his future self realizes by saving Kakeru, he is giving up a future with Naho. Because he knows of their feelings, he listens to the letters and supports them as much as possible. Later, Azusa, and Hagita, and Chino admit they have received similar letters. They all agree that though they may not be able to change the fate of their future selves, they may create a parallel universe where Kakeru is still alive.

To cheer up Kakeru, the five friends organize a celebration for his 17th birthday, in which Kakeru confesses his feelings to a surprised Naho. The five also join the relay race team to back Kakeru. With his friends' encouragement, Kakeru wins the race. As his reward for winning the race, Kakeru kisses Naho. However, on New Year's Eve, Naho and Kakeru argue over the latter's grandmother's health. The two become distant over the following weeks, up until the day that Kakeru is supposed to die by suicide, as Naho manages to confess her feelings as well as telling Kakeru to share his plan for suicide.

On the night of Kakeru's supposed death, the friends' plan to meet up is interrupted as Kakeru does not arrive on time. The five search throughout Matsumoto and manage to stop him from getting hit by a truck. Kakeru apologizes, telling them that he had been thinking of suicide, but at the last second decided not to after realizing that doing so would mean that he would never see his friends again.

Characters
Naho Takamiya (高宮 菜穂, Takamiya Naho)
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese); Jill Harris (English)[10]
A high school girl who receives a letter from herself ten years in the future, informing herself that she will meet a guy named Kakeru who she must keep an eye on. At first she ignores the letter, but when she realizes that everything written in it actually happens, she decides to listen to the letters in order to save Kakeru. She and Kakeru have romantic feelings toward one another. Although at first unaware of each others feelings, due to her future selves regrets about not informing him of her true feelings, she informs him of her feelings, and they are able to start dating.
Kakeru Naruse (成瀬 翔, Naruse Kakeru)
Voiced by: Seiichirō Yamashita (Japanese); Micah Solusod (English)[10]
A transfer student from Tokyo. On the first day of classes, he was supposed to take his mother to the hospital, but instead he was invited to go out with Naho and her friends, and ditches her. As he's out with his friends, she texts him asking where he is, and he replies saying she can go by herself, that she's not a kid, and to leave him alone because he's with friends. Due to a mental breakdown, his mother committed suicide. Blaming himself for his mother's suicide, Kakeru falls into deep depression for a while, and eventually commits suicide while making everyone think it was an accident. In the current future, he and Naho start dating, and his friends prevent his suicide.
Hiroto Suwa (須和 弘人, Suwa Hiroto)
Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa (Japanese); Jason Liebrecht (English)[10]
Naho's friend who is in love with her. Despite knowing of Naho's and Kakeru's feelings for each other, ten years after Kakeru's death, he and Naho are married with a child. After watching Naho's sad face, he realizes Naho still has feelings for Kakeru, and acknowledges Naho and Kakeru would probably have been together had Kakeru not committed suicide. He writes a letter to his past self and asks himself to help prevent Kakeru's suicide, and to be encouraging of Naho and Kakeru's happiness together, even if it means he doesn't have a future with her if Kakeru is alive.
Takako Chino (茅野 貴子, Chino Takako)
Voiced by: Rika Kinugawa (Japanese); Jeannie Tirado (English)[10]
Naho's friend who received a letter from her future self. She and Azusa are best friends. They speculate that Naho and Suwa are hiding the fact that they have letters from their future selves, and only reveal they've gotten letters from their future selves when Naho and Suwa do. She and Azusa support both Kakeru and Suwa when it comes to Naho.
Saku Hagita (萩田 朔, Hagita Saku)
Voiced by: Kazuyuki Okitsu (Japanese); Dave Trosko (English)[10]
Naho's friend who likes reading manga. He received a letter from himself and helps Kakeru. He likes Azusa but denies it.
Azusa Murasaka (村坂 あずさ, Murasaka Azusa)
Voiced by: Natsumi Takamori (Japanese); Sarah Wiedenheft (English)[10]
Naho's friend who received a letter from her future self and helps the group keep Kakeru from dying. She teases Hagita about them being a couple and harasses him, to which he denies he likes her.
Rio Ueda (上田 莉緒, Ueda Rio)
Voiced by: Ayane Sakura (Japanese); Tia Ballard (English)
A girl who usually watches Kakeru's soccer games and is interested in Kakeru. She confessed her feelings to Kakeru and they started dating. To which Naho, who is in love with Kakeru, becomes emotionally devastated. After her split with Kakeru, she bullies Naho but is constantly confronted by Takako, Hagita, Azusa and Suwa.

Media

Manga

The original manga series is written and illustrated by Ichigo Takano, and originally began serialization on March 13, 2012 in Shueisha's Bessatsu Margaret, however switched to Futabasha's Monthly Action in 2013. The first tankōbon was released by Shueisha on July 25, 2012, who published two volumes of the series. The first two volumes were later republished by Futabasha on December 25, 2013. The manga ended serialization on August 25, 2015, and the fifth volume was published on November 12, 2015.[11] It was later announced that an additional sixth volume based on Orange: Future would serve as the final volume, which was released on May 31, 2017.[12] The series is licensed in English in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment, who published the series in two omnibus volumes.[13] Crunchyroll Manga simultaneously published the series on their website.[3]

A spin off manga began serialization in Monthly Action on March 25, 2016.[8]

No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 July 25, 2012 (Shueisha)[14]
December 25, 2013 (Futabasha)[15]		978-4-08-846804-4 (Shueisha)
ISBN 978-4-575-84323-1 (Futabasha)		January 26, 2016[16]978-1-626923-02-7
2 November 22, 2012 (Shueisha)[17][18]
December 25, 2013 (Futabasha)[19]		978-4-08-846861-7 (Shueisha)
ISBN 978-4-575-84324-8 (Futabasha)		January 26, 2016[16]978-1-626923-02-7
3 August 22, 2014[20]978-4-575-84470-2January 26, 2016[16]978-1-626923-02-7
4 February 20, 2015[21]978-4-575-84575-4May 31, 2016[22]978-1-626922-71-6
5 November 12, 2015[23]978-4-575-84709-3May 31, 2016[22]978-1-626922-71-6
6 May 31, 2017[24]978-4-575-84987-5February 6, 2018[25]978-1-626927-79-7

Live action
Main article: Orange (2015 film)

A live-action film adaptation was released on December 12, 2015 in Japan with Tao Tsuchiya and Kento Yamazaki as the main characters; directed by Kojiro Hashimoto and written by Arisa Kaneko.

Anime

The anime adaptation of Orange is produced by Telecom Animation Film and directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki and Naomi Nakayama, with Yūko Kakihara handling series scripts, Nobuteru Yūki designing the characters and Hiroaki Tsutsumi composing the music. The series premiered on July 4, 2016 on Tokyo MX and AT-X. The series was simulcast on Crunchyroll outside of Asia,[26] while Funimation produced an English dub as the series aired.[27] The opening theme song is "Hikari no Hahen" (光の破片, lit. Fragment of Light) by Yu Takahashi, and the ending theme song is "Mirai" (未来, lit. Future) by Kobukuro, which also served as the main theme song for the live-action film and the anime series.[28]

Episode list
No. Title Director Writer Original air date[29] Ref.
1"LETTER 01"Kazuhiro OzawaYūko KakiharaJuly 4, 2016 (2016-07-04)[30]
A 26-year-old Naho Takamiya and her friends meet outside their old school to dug up a time capsule and read letters they wrote to themselves 10 years earlier, when they were 16 years old and went to the same school. Naho begins her story thinking about the many moments in her past that she regrets, and wishes to tell her 16-year-old self how to change them to avoid future regrets and their consequences. 10 years earlier, Naho wakes up late for her first day of school and sees a strange letter, which apparently comes from her adult self. She reads the first page of the letter at school and realizes that it accurately describes the events of the day, including the arrival of a transfer student, Kakeru Naruse. As the classes end, Naho and her friends decide to walk back together, and they invite Kakeru to get to know him better. Although the letter says not to invite Kakeru along on that very day, the new student ends up spending the whole afternoon with the group. The following day Kakeru does not come to school, and is absent for two whole weeks. After that, when Naho asks why he did not come to school for so long, Kakeru answer with a joke. In PE class, and heeding the letter's suggestion, Naho modifies her decision of not taking risks during a softball game, and her change leads the team to victory. After the match, Kakeru helps Naho with her injured foot being the only person who noticed she was hurt. Naho realizes that the letter is real as it reads: "today is the day I fall in love with Kakeru". Unfortunately the letter also says that, 10 years later, Kakeru is no longer with them, and her older self exhorts 16-year-old Naho to watch closely over Kakeru.
2"LETTER 02"Takayuki KuriyamaYūko KakiharaJuly 11, 2016 (2016-07-11)[31]
Naho continues reading the letter, learning that Kakeru will die soon in an accident. When she realizes that Kakeru never brings lunch to school, the letter says that one of her regrets is not having ever brought him lunch. So she spends her evening preparing lunch for herself and Kakeru, but the next day she does not find the courage to give it to him. After school Kakeru notices that Naho's bag, that still contains the lunch she prepared for him, is larger than usual, and offers to carry it for her. But Naho, embarrassed, shies away from him giving Kakeru the impression that she does not want him to bother her, so he leaves her alone. Naho, upset for her own reaction and realizing that Kakeru must have interpreted it as a nasty dismissal on her part, finds him and apologizes. He asks her to walk home with him and Suwa, but Suwa leaves on his bike so they end up walking back together. During the walk Kakeru asks Naho many questions, and eventually she laughs at his curiosity. He apologizes and tells her to ask him something in return. She asks him why he missed school for two weeks at the beginning of the year, and Kakeru reveals that his mother had committed suicide on the first day of class, the very same day they invited him to spend the whole afternoon with them. Naho's reaction, as a way of comforting him, is to finally give him the lunch she made, making Kakeru smile. She decides at that moment that she will do all she can to take care of Kakeru and make sure that he keeps on smiling. In the 10-year-later timeline Naho and Suwa, now married with a baby, meet up with their other friends to go to Kakeru's burial place.
3"LETTER 03"Taku YamadaMariko KunisawaJuly 18, 2016 (2016-07-18)[32]
Naho continues to read the letter from her future self, which says that Kakeru will soon leave the football club. However, on that same day Suwa tells them that Kakeru will be staying in the football club for good. Naho realizes that what is written in the letter can change, surely depending on her taking better decisions to avoid her future regrets. The letter says that Kakeru will start going out with a girl, Ueda Rio, who is interested in him. In a brief conversation, Kakeru asks Naho if there's someone she likes, to which she answers with a negative out of embarrassment, after which she asks him the same thing. He also replies that there isn't anybody he particularly likes, and when Naho asks about Ueda, Kakeru tells her that he likes how she looks. As written in the letter, Ueda approaches Kakeru on that same day to ask him out. Before answering, Kakeru asks Naho in a tiny note if she thinks it is OK for him to date Ueda, and Naho replies "no", also on a small piece of paper. Unfortunately Kakeru sees Naho's note too late, after having agreed to go out with Ueda. Naho leaves school upset and apologizing to her future self, regretting her attitude and lack of initiative. In the 10-year-later timeline the group is reading the letters they left for their grown-up selves in the time capsule, and realize that Kakeru wrote to all of them, but nothing at all to himself. They ask themselves if Kakeru already knew back then that he would not have a future, and the shadow of his death, now possibly a suicide, looms heavy over them all.
4"LETTER 04"Takanori YanoAyumu HisaoJuly 25, 2016 (2016-07-25)[33]
In the 10-year-later timeline, on the day of Kakeru's birthday and after having opened the time capsule, Naho and the rest of the group visit Kakeru's grandmother with whom he lived after his mother's suicide. His grandmother remembers them all, telling them that Kakeru used to talk constantly about them, especially about Naho. Shifting back to the earlier timeline, while Kakeru and Ueda date, she constantly clings to him, making it impossible for Naho to ever talk to him. Naho, having read the letter further, really wants to change the behaviour described in it and its consequences, by having a conversation with Kakeru and telling him something she keeps hidden even from her friends, but since Ueda is always at Kakeru's side this seems impossible. One day at the end of class, Naho tries to calls out to a sombre Kakeru but Ueda bumps into Naho making her fall. Kakeru rushes to Naho's side to help her stand up causing Ueda's jealous anger. Ueda screams at Kakeru that he is always talking to Naho and that she does not want him to talk to other girls, then storms out crying. Kakeru stays behind, kneeling in front of Naho with his hand outstretched to help her stand up, but Naho also runs away thinking that she is the cause of the fight with his girlfriend. Naho then bumps into Suwa who tells her to stop running away. Although it is clear that Suwa has feelings for Naho, he tells her to go talk to Kakeru, and that Kakeru wants to talk to her too. Suwa says that he does not think it is bad that they speak to each other, at the end of the day they are friends. Listening to Suwa's suggestion Naho rushes off with the intention to finally have that very-much-needed conversation with Kakeru. Takako and Azusa, who witnessed Suwa and Naho's conversation, thank him and wonder what she is not telling them, which Suwa perfectly knows but does not share. Finally, Naho reaches Kakeru and they sit down on a park bench to clear the air. Kakeru tells Naho that he will break up with Ueda, and that it is not because of what just happened at school so it is not Naho's fault, but because he has realized to be in love with someone else.
5"LETTER 05"Nobukage KimuraYūko KakiharaAugust 1, 2016 (2016-08-01)[34]
Kakeru asks Naho to walk home together after school, and Naho continues to notice the increasing discrepancies between the letter and her current world, since her past-self walked back on the same day with the whole group, while she is now alone with Kakeru. Kakeru wants to see the park close to Naho's home so she takes him there, and Kakeru uses this opportunity to give Naho a hairpin as thanks for the lunches she made for him. He also asks her to study with him, alone again, during the weekend at the library, where they are seen by Ueda. After the test that Kakeru aces, with Naho's help, their Science teacher gives a short exposition on the concept of time travel and the theory of alternate universes. Naho suddenly realizes that the letter hasn't changed despite her present self taking different decisions, probably due to the fact that she has created a new timeline with the new choices she has made. She is upset when she realizes that, despite everything she has done, nothing will change for her future self who wrote the letter, nor for anybody else in that specific timeline, including Kageru. As her present has changed, Kakeru will not ask Naho to watch the fireworks alone together at the end of their school festival as mentioned in the letter, one of the unforgettable memories her 26-year-old self wishes to preserve. So Naho, surprising herself the most, pushes herself to ask Kakeru to watch the fireworks with her, alone. Kakeru asks Suwa for permission, as he and the others are aware of Suwa's feelings for Naho. Suwa, however, has made up his mind to support Kakeru and Naho, like everybody else in the group. During the school festival, Naho is ambushed by Ueda and two of her girlfriends who bully her into showing the hairpin that Kakeru gave her, but she is saved by Suwa's intervention. Naho realizes that Suwa is an important person for her older self, "the person who saved my heart" as written in the letter, and thanks him for everything he has ever done for her, following the letter's plea to never take his kindness and friendship for granted.
6"LETTER 06"Taku YamadaMariko KunisawaAugust 8, 2016 (2016-08-08)[35]
Just before the fireworks, Kakeru asks Naho to meet him at the pool as he wants to talk with Suwa, who persuades him to go and make Naho happy. Before getting to the pool Naho is once again cornered by Ueda and her friends and is bullied into carrying two heavy packets to their homeroom. Ueda then heads to the pool with the intention of watching the fireworks with Kakeru, but is stopped by Suwa and Hagita who lie to her saying that Kakeru is looking for her at the football club, so she leaves. The fireworks start with Naho still underway, surely going to miss her appointment with Kageru, when she runs into Asuza and Takako who take care of the packets, telling Naho to hurry to Kakeru. By the time she arrives at the pool the fireworks are over, but Kakeru notices that Naho is wearing the hairpin he gave her. While they talk, the fireworks suddenly start again and they watch together holding hands. Kakeru tells Naho that he is happy and that he will remember that night for the rest of his life. Later, Naho finds the courage to read her letter until it mentions the date of Kakeru's accident. In the future timeline, while the group is at Kakeru's grandmother's, Suwa asks her if Kakeru's death was really an accident. She shows them the last note Kakeru wrote before he died, asking his grandmother to forgive him, telling her that he was going to see his mother to apologize and requesting that she tells everybody that his death was accidental, to avoid causing grief. In the present, the group meet at the Matsumoto bon festival but Naho and Kakeru find themselves alone when the other four pretend to be late. While visiting a shrine, Kakeru lets slip that he asked God to pass on a message to his mother. As her letter tells her, Naho finally manages to get Kakeru to open up about his mother's death, which he thinks was his fault. On the first day of school, when he chose to spend the afternoon with his new schoolmates instead of accompanying his mother to the hospital, was when she committed suicide. Naho is upset for not being able to help him, and she does not know what to do when he stops showing up and contacting her. Suwa shows up at her home the next day and, understanding that she cannot save Kakeru on her own, tries to explain everything. Suwa does not need any explanations though, as he too received a letter.
7"LETTER 07"Toshihiro KikuchiAyumu HisaoAugust 15, 2016 (2016-08-15)[36]
Now that Naho knows that Suwa also got a letter from his future self, they team up to save Kakeru from his impending suicide. They learn about Kakeru's upcoming birthday and plan to celebrate it together, which did not happen in the other timeline. The 26-year-old group leave their birthday presents at Kakeru's shrine at his grandmother's home, Suwa letting go of the flower bouquet he brought just for a few seconds, only to pick it up again and handing it to Naho, from Kakeru. He explains that, jokingly, Kakeru asked him for a bouquet as birthday present so that he could give it straight on to Naho, adding that Kakeru had always been in love with her. In the 16-year-old timeline, having found out about Kakeru's birthday in time to celebrate it, Suwa hands him a bouquet and tells him not to run away. With this encouragement Kakeru gives the flowers to Naho and confesses his feelings for her, telling her that she does not need to answer. Through their letters, Naho and Suwa learn that Kakeru will attempt suicide after meeting up with his friends from Tokyo, who laugh at his admission of thinking about killing himself. Naho and Suwa know that, for them to be able to save Kakeru, he needs to confide in them, so Suwa asks him straight out if he is thinking about dying. Kakeru answers honestly saying that yes, he is in fact thinking about death since he feels responsible for his mother's suicide. On the first day of school he chose to stay with his new group of friends instead of going back home, thinking his mother was a bother. To that Suwa replies that this is absolutely normal, that he himself thinks his family is bothersome and prefers to have fun with his friends. Suwa embraces Kakeru telling him that he did not do anything wrong, that his mother's death was not his fault, to live on. Naho realizes that the answer to Kakeru's confession is not about her, but about Kakeru understanding that he is loved and needed, so she candidly reveals her feelings to him, admitting that she is in love with him and asking him to never leave her alone.
8"LETTER 08"Ryūta Kawahara
Takahiko Kyōgoku		Yūko KakiharaAugust 22, 2016 (2016-08-22)[37]
Naho is becoming convinced that what happened in the other timeline can change, especially after Kakeru tells her that he cancelled his plans with his friends from Tokyo to go out with Suwa instead. This means that his first suicide attempt has been thwarted. Naho and Suwa, however, worry when Kakeru faints during a soccer match, so when he is chosen as the anchor of the relay team they try to have him quit, following their letters' requests. Naho's letter states that Kakeru is going to be uneasy about the relay run, but when they ask him he seems sincerely happy to be able to do something for the class. Eventually Naho and Suwa decide to depart from their letter's instructions to follow their instincts, and the whole gang end up volunteering to run the race with Kakeru, which makes him really happy. After school, Suwa and Naho discuss their decision to go against the suggestions of the letters, and on that same day Naho decides to put her letter away and act as she feels is the best for Kakeru instead. At the end of class Kakeru asks Naho to walk to the school gates with him, and stretches his hand towards Naho. This also happens on the following day, and on both occasions she does not understand what Kakeru means. Kakeru apologizes both times and walks sadly away from Naho. Sensing Naho's struggle Suwa reminds her that she is not alone, that they are all there for her and she should share her troubles with the group. They explain to Naho that Kakeru is simply asking to hold her hands, and that they understand his sadness at what he surely interprets as a refusal on Naho's part. At that point, Suwa suggests that Naho should tell the group everything, and she mentions the letter from her future self and Kakeru's fate. To her surprise, they all show her their own letters from the future, and assure her that they have exactly the same goal: save Kakeru.
9"LETTER 09"Hideki Tonokatsu
Telecom Direction Department		Mariko KunisawaAugust 29, 2016 (2016-08-29)[38]
Naho begins making a more conscious effort to do what she feels she needs to do to improve her relationship with Kakeru, counting on the support of the whole group. Thanks to Asuza's future self, the groups knows that her birthday will be rainy despite the sunny forecast, so they all bring umbrellas except Kakeru, who is left to share Naho's. They walk home together and eventually stop for shelter, where Naho finally finds the courage to hold out her hand for Kakeru to hold. Kakeru tells Naho that whenever she will want to go out with him, he will, but Naho is unable to say yes yet. Naho goes back to the letter from her future self to learn that nobody from Kakeru's family will attend the upcoming athletic meet, and that Kakeru will be sad the whole day. Suwa decides to ask his parents to invite Kakeru's grandmother to the meet and drive her over, a surprise for Kakeru that improves his spirits, although throughout the event he still thinks about his mother. Suwa tells Kakeru to make sure he asks Naho out as other boys might snatch her up, that he might even do it and if Kakeru thinks that would be acceptable. Kakeru's answer is that it might actually be a good thing, since he himself might disappear sooner or later, and if Naho were going out with him she would be hurt when he has gone. But after a game, when Suwa receives medical attention from Naho, Kakeru is upset and leaves the group not allowing Naho to take care of his own bruises, musing on the truthfulness of his earlier words to Suwa.
10"LETTER 10"Takanori YanoAyumu HisaoSeptember 4, 2016 (2016-09-04)[39]
The gang notice that something is going on with Kakeru but do not really know what to do about it. Hagita's future self wrote in his letter that Kakeru had injured his ankle during the previous game, although he would not say anything even when he is sent, together with Naho, to carry out an errand. Hagita, Asuza, Suwa and Takako eventually find them and help them out, even if Kakeru insists it is not necessary. Together they ask him about his sadness and make him understand that he is not alone. Kakeru finally accepts their support and shares with the whole group the truth about his mother's suicide, and that he feels he does not have the right of having fun and being happy since she has gone. They tell him that if his mother is looking down on him, it would worry her to see him sad, while it would maker her happy to see him having fun. Kakeru eventually understands and leaves to have his ankle looked up by a doctor, who says he should not run the relay, although he assures everybody that he is perfectly fine with his ankle bandaged up. During the race each member of the group passes a message on to Kakeru, the last runner, letting him know that they will always be with him, even ten years from now. When he receives the messages with the baton, and although starting from last place, Kakeru finds the strength to finish the race first leading his team to victory, contrary to what the letters said. Naho concludes that the letter, having strayed from the other past, is not always right but also not always wrong. After the games, Kakeru's grandmother reminds him about another athletic meet in the past, just after his parents' divorce, during which he would not smile until he also won the relay race, and that his smile made his mother really happy. And at the end of the day, when they find themselves alone, Kakeru claims from Naho his reward for winning the race: a sweet kiss on her cheek.
11"LETTER 11"Hideki TonokatsuMariko KunisawaSeptember 11, 2016 (2016-09-11)[40]
The group each takes one photo that was taken by Suwa's father. The story shifts to the future group, where Suwa hopes that Kakeru is ok with him stealing his girl. They begin to each question what they could have done differently, but it hits Suwa the hardest as he was the only one who really knew how both sides felt. Naho comments about how she still would've married him, citing how happy she was when she got his confession in high school. The date of the confession was New Year's Eve. Shifting back to the present, Suwa suggests that they spend New Year's Eve as a group, but Suwa does not want to go. Takako then alerts him to what she receives from her future self, and asks him if he really wants to let go of his chance to be with Naho so easily. The episode shifts back to a class discussion about parallel worlds which explains a lot about how the future will stay the same regardless of their decisions. He will still always marry Naho in that world, but in this world he wants to make a choice to support Kakeru and Naho. Kakeru could not make the Christmas date because of his grandmother being sick. The future letter wanted Kakeru to stay with her on New Years despite his grandmothers condition, and he refused to do so. She tries to get him to stay because they meet his grandmother in the letter too, meaning she lives through in that future. This leads to Naho making the same mistake, and the fight happens again. After encouragement from the group, Suwa meets up with Naho and says he will support them no matter what, but remains firm to not confessing his love for Naho.
12"LETTER 12"Nobuo Tomizawa
Takahiro Tamano		Ayumu HisaoSeptember 18, 2016 (2016-09-18)[41]
The episode begins with the story of Kakeru moving to the area, and covers the day of his mother's suicide, and some of the events that led to his eventual suicide in the future timeline. While most of the details are hashed out in notes from the future, the end of the flashback of the future timeline shows when Kakeru found his mothers phone and the unsent message that he never received from her. He learns things that he did not know about her situation, including his father's violent past that led to the divorce that he blamed his mother for. It allows him to gain resolve needed to commit suicide to be with his mother again. After a brief visit to Naho's future timeline, the story resumes in the present. Naho read in the letter that she never was able to talk the same way with Kakeru again, and she makes a point to apologize to him for what happened on New Years, which her future self was never able to accomplish. While she does accomplish this goal, there is still a rift between the two that she cannot seem to get through. The future selves of the five group members meet at the designated spot, where they lament inviting Kakeru to go with them on that day. They discuss that a researcher believes that there is a black hole in the same location as the Bermuda Triangle, and they decide to send letters out to see in hopes of reaching their past selves. The episode concludes with Naho telling Kakeru to wait until valentines day. Her thoughts suggest that she remains committed to seeing him through his troubles, regardless of whether or not he likes her or hates her.
13"LAST LETTER"Keiko Oyamada
Yūichirō Yano		Yūko KakiharaSeptember 25, 2016 (2016-09-25)[42]

Leading up to Kakeru's final day, Naho struggles with being able to deliver her chocolate to Kakeru. The future letter outlines the four different chances that she will have, but the first three times she missed her opportunity. Her last chance she has Kakeru leaves earlier than anticipated, and she hurries to catch up. On the way there, she collides with Ueda and drops the chocolate and it gets stepped on. This does not change her resolve to chasing after Kakeru. She meets him in the locker room, where he attempts to decline receiving the chocolate. She confronts him about avoiding her, and he suggests that he felt like he hurt her on New Years Day. She delivers the message sent by text in the future "I'm not hurt". Furthermore, she expresses her commitment to Kakeru regardless of fights that occur, and apologizes again to Kakeru. He admits that he was trying to distance himself because he did not want to hurt her anymore. He admits every time she wanted to be with him, it made him happy, and that he struggled to keep his distance. She finally expresses her desire to go out with him on a date, and reminds him that if she asked him if he would go out on a date he would do it. Despite his attempts to avoid Naho and the date, she eventually gets her point across that she is ok with all of his faults, and embraces him in a hug. After a brief scene, he requests the chocolate that Naho has behind her back still, and the rest of the group onlooking cheers them on in much the same way they stood up for Ueda earlier on. Kakeru's last day in the future timeline finally occurs. Each member of the group gives Kakeru gifts in attempt to lift his spirits as high as possible. Naho provides him a lunch for the first time since the Ueda issue a months earlier. Kakeru even turns down the walk home, suggesting he is going to the hospital with his grandma (this was something he had refused the opportunity to do in the future timeline).

Small changes occur throughout the episode that differ from the letters, but the group is still worried about 8pm that night. The future group talks about the paradox that would occur if the timelines were connected, and further convince themselves that they have said goodbye to Kakeru for the final time in their own time. But they are satisfied with sending the letters knowing that if there are parallel timelines that they save him, that it is more than worth it to them to try it. The present timeline returns, and Kakeru looks at his mother's phone in the current timeline just like future timeline. This was the event that pushed him to commit suicide previously. While he lasts beyond the 8pm timeline that the even occurred in the past, he makes the same effort to take his own life again, walking in-front of an oncoming truck. However, this time he could not bring himself to do it and got out of the way at the last moment, citing that friendship made him reconsider. Specifically, the friends he had made had led him to consider their feelings as well. The group all shows him the letters that they received from the future, and suggest that they had attempted to make amends for previous mistakes. They also provide letters from their future for him to read. In the end, Suwa tells him it is his fault for trying to die and that he won't forgive him if he does, and then apologizes for inviting him to join them during the opening ceremony. All of the friends embrace. Afterward, they walk back and learn that someone vandalized his bike (Hagita), which is why he walked instead and was late. He writes a letter to his future self for the capsule that differs from the future timeline, and occurs on a day beyond when he otherwise would be living in the future timeline. The group takes the time to put together a time capsule in much the same way they had earlier in the future's timeline. This breaks the chain of events, and the future world suggests that they will ensure it never happens as they will always be there for Kakeru.

Film

An anime theatrical film, titled Orange: Future (オレンジ -未来-, Orenji -Mirai-), was announced at the end of the television anime's final episode. The film will retell the series' main story from Suwa's viewpoint, and will also feature an original story written by Takano which is set after the anime and manga series. It is scheduled for a 2-week premiere in Japanese theaters that premiered on November 18, 2016.[43]

Reception

Volume 1 reached the 30th place on the weekly Oricon manga chart and, as of July 29, 2012, has sold 31,451 copies;[44] volume 2 reached the 31st place[45] and, as of December 2, 2012, has sold 68,977 copies;[46] volume 3 reached the 20th place[47] and, as of September 7, 2014, has sold 111,934 copies.[48]

On manga-news.com, it has a staff grade of 17.5 out of 20;[2] volume 1 was chosen by the staff as one of the top manga of the week as a "new [release] crush"[49] and volume 2 was also chosen as one of the top manga of the week.[50] On planetebd.com, it has a staff grade of "good, nice".[51] It was number 23 on the 15th Book of the Year list by Da Vinci magazine.[52]

The English release was reviewed favorably by Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network, who gave both omnibus collections an overall A− score. She praised the "poignant and moving" story, but warned the issue of suicide may make it a difficult read for some people.[53] Eva de Gans of Dutch magazine Aniway recommended the series, praising its visuals and "endearing and relatable" cast of characters, while criticizing Naho and Kakeru's characterizations as passive, timid characters and the "unconvincing" explanation of the time travel.[54] The series was nominated for the 2017 Eisner Award in the "Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia" category.[55]

The second omnibus volume reached number 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list for manga on June 19, 2016, where it remained on the list for four weeks.[56]

See also

References
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  2. "Orange - Ichigo Takano". manga-news.com (in French). Retrieved December 26, 2014.
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