Orange Ep3 Review

Hey all! This is GothicJazz31 again! I have to say that this is really one of my favourite episode of orange so far. I like the details, the atmosphere and the direction that the plot is heading to. So without further ado, lets begin...

First impression:
Like I mentioned earlier, I really love the whole atmosphere of the episode. From the music, animation to the dialogues, they are all very simple. However because it is very simple, sometimes the emotions evoked from us tend have more impact. This episode is a roller coaster ride of emotions and the pacing is good as well. The ending! The ending will be unexpected (expected if you see the hints these past 2 episodes) especially for anime watchers only.

Scenes:
1. 1st Letter & classroom scene

Classroom scene in the beginning.

We see the episode opens with a letter, a style which I believe will continue for the episodes to come. The letter tells Naho that Kakeru will quit the soccer club after a week and future Naho wants the present Naho to convince Kakeru to not quit. However as the episode goes on, we realise that Kakeru didn't quit the club. Suwa had managed to convince Kakeru to join the soccer club to which led to Naho's confidence that she could change the future. It's great to see Naho getting more sure of herself but of course this confidence will not last later. But anyways, here we get to see the gang's friendship deepening through their conversations and laughter.

2. Ueda-sempai

Ueda-sempai

We get to see a new character today. Her name is Ueda-sempai and apparently she has a crush on Kakeru. Ueda is seen to have an outgoing and confident personality. She is the opposite of Naho and this immediately makes Naho feel insecure. Naho also finds out through the letter that Kakeru and Ueda will date, so this blatantly makes Ueda the rival. I can tell there will probably be some cat fighting or just plain bullying between Naho and Ueda in the future. We don't get to understand much about her character so we will just have to wait till the next episode.

3. Kakeru & Naho's conversation

Naho and Kakeru talking about Ueda

This scene is extremely cute! With Naho blushing and all...Aww! So sweet!! The fact that neither of them are willing to confess to one another is adorable but also kind of sad. When Kakeru asks Naho if she was in love with any guy, Naho said "no" even though she was thinking of him. When Naho asks the same question back to Kakeru, he replied with a casual "no" as well. What is interesting is we don't get to see his expression so we can't really tell if he's telling the truth or not.

4. Buying drinks

Kakeru's blank expression

Okay, there is a part in this scene that got me like "What?!". It was the part when Kakeru was looking at his classmates from the first level, beside the vending machine. When he saw his classmates laughing, his face was expressionless. His blank expression is then focused on for at least a few seconds while the background fades out. Weird right? I can't help but feel a bit disturbed because Kakeru's true character still remains as a mystery to me. I really don't have a clue on his real personality. Yes, he may have joked or laughed here and there but most of the time you don't really understand what's going through in his mind. This scene only reinforces how little I understand about Kakeru.

5. Eraser cover

Letter hidden in the eraser

The letter advices Naho to look take out the letter hidden in the eraser after Kakeru returned her her eraser. She then realises Kakeru asked her if it was okay for him to date Ueda-sempai. Naho's reaction is immediate and she wrote back "no" and put it in his locker. This short little journey of her running to his locker is reflection of her increased confidence and I really love this new side to her. There is some character development from being extremely shy to somewhat brave. However Naho eventually finds out that Kakeru had already agreed to date Ueda-sempai. Naho's drop in confidence and sad expression really tugs at my heartstrings.

6. Suwa & Naho

Suwa after Naho ran away saying she liked Kakeru.

This is also another sad moment. Naho and Suwa. Both are depressed by the one that they love but Suwa made me emphatise more with him because he is depressed knowing that the girl she love is depressed because of another man. Suwa is like the backstage supporter in Naho's life. He knows she doesn't like him but he is still willing to be by her side even though it is clearly painful for him. Naho crying and Suwa's depressed look really makes it all the more upsetting. The emotions get even real when Naho went back home and crying softly in her bed. Naho drinking the orange juice and her comment on how it tasted sweet, sour and sorrowful is very impactful. There is no drama crying here. The crying is not overly emphasised and this reinforces my first impression of Orange being simple. Simple doesn't mean boring or shallow instead sometimes when things are simple, we get the message more effectively. This is so in Orange as despite the simple portrayal of the character's expressions and emotions, we feel the intensity of the sadness and heartbreak. The theme of this episode is clearly bittersweet love and both Suwa and Naho, especially effectively brings it across.

7. Future letters. 

Future themselves reading their letters they wrote from the past.

The best scene of the episode would probably be this, the ending. The ending ends of the episode at a lower note and contrasts so differently when the episode had began. The gang in the future dug up their time capsule and read their letters. When it came to Kakeru's they read it as well. What was shocking was hat even though it was a letter for himself in the future, he mentioned all of his friends but never himself. It was as if he did not expet himself to have a future and as it dawns upon them the harsh truth, I experienced it as well. Yes, I read the manga but this scene still got me bad. It's already bad enough that Kakeru died in an accident but the fact that it was a suicide and not an accident brought this whole issue to a new level of angst. The sorrowful expressions on each characters were heart wrenching. Hence this last scene really gives this episode a big punch.

credits: http://www.gogoanime.com/orange-episode-3

Okay now the scenes have all been settled, let's talk about the positives and negatives.
+ structure is simple but effectively conveys the theme of bittersweet love
+ Emotions of both Naho and Suwa are portrayed beautifully further reflecting their sadness and heartbreak
+ Character development in Naho from shy to confident to heartbreak. Naho becomes a charcter we sympathise more and more each episode
+ The music is soft and light, extremely fitting for the mood

Well...I can't really find anything bad about this episode so...
That's all I have for this post! Can't wait for the next episode and till then!