When Takako Chino and Naho are handed their letters, their faces are not shown, and the viewer’s focus is drawn to the letter itself rather than the person. The fence is ever present in all of these shots, visibly separating their adult selves from the high school. This series generally uses somewhat saturated colors and contrast, but the visually ups the contrast in scenes of Naho’s future, making shadows darker and colors brighter, especially when the sky is shown. As previously mentioned, there is no background music, only Hiroto Suwa giving instructions, organizing their project as they each prepare their letters.
Orange begins with establishing shots of the grounds just outside of the schoolyard fence. The sequence pictured above is from the first episode of Orange. Naho and company are digging up a time capsule where they placed letters to their future selves ten years prior. These same audio cues are repeated when the entire scene is bookended at the end of the series’ third episode.
The sound of rustling paper, a slight breeze, and passing cars form an audible background soundtrack before music begins to play as the group is shown in front of a fence. Orange‘s premiere episode begins without music, just ambient sound and idle chatter between Naho and her friends as they prepare their letters to their past selves. Following Episode 3, I was again struck by how confidently this series is directed, and how well the visuals convey themes of grief, loss, regret, and hope found in Naho Takamiya’s letters from her future self.
The anime adaptation of Orange continues to impress through it’s excellent sound and visual direction. Orange is less about romance - despite the ever-present tropes - and more about dealing with the death of a loved one. I approached Orange with trepidation, but came away rewarded with a strong story that skirts around these expectations by focusing primarily on regret and the premature loss of a friend. I’ve stayed away from shoujo manga and anime due to my growing personal frustration with it. The insipid storytelling based on years upon years of tropes coupled with often insidious messages for young women found in most shoujo romances is still far more difficult for me to ignore than routine sexual fanservice aimed at men. When the Orange manga was first recommended to me, I was hesitant.
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