Orange Made Me Cry , And It's A Good Thing

Since the day I started watching animes, I had considered them the best medium to portray emotions.
From the likes of high tier animes such as  'Clannad after story'  and  'Kimi no na wa' or the vastly underrated ones(in my opinion) such as 'Living for the day after tomorrow' and 'Winter Sonata,'
they all have one thing in common, they made me cry. Crying is quite an underwhelming  term in here because I was literally sobbing  during the most climactic moments in these shows especially
' Clannad after story.'

Now I watched them when I was very young relatively, young, innocent and naive.
I hadn't really experienced 'the real world" by then so as they say.
As of now, just when the last year of my University life knocks at my door, I'm everything but a kid, drowned of every emotion, so as I thought before watching 'Orange'.

THIS IS WHERE IT GETS REAL.

"If the day ever comes again, when you feel like just being alive is painful, I'll be there." -Naho

Have you ever had regrets about your life?
Things you wished you could go back and change but couldn't?
I personally have hundreds of things that I would wanna go back and change, but If only I could.
This is the central theme of 'Orange.'

Orange is actually a metaphor here so as it seems.
It is used to describe the moments of life which are both joyous and sorrowful similar to the taste of an orange which is sweet and sour.
Not just that, I believe it is used to describe the season of fall, and the time of sunset when things seem to be at it's lowest.

16 years old Naho Takamiya's life takes a drastic change (for better or worse) when she receives a mysterious letter from her 10-year-old future self.
What does it contain?
All the griefs,  guilts and the happy memories she carried with her all these years.
And it all started on 6th of April, The first day of the 2nd year of her high school.
The day, a mysterious transfer student from Tokyo-'Kakeru Naruse' joins her class and is made to sit next to her.
His fate depends on the decisions she and her friends took that school year, which the letter wants her to correct in order to save him.
What happens next is an outburst of emotions, a story just about pure love and friendship, two emotions I have had long forgotten.

From the opening scene of the present day when the letters were sent through the concept of Blackhole and time travelling,
 To that high on energy opening theme song and then 16 years old  sweet and nervous Naho running late  towards her first day
of school after the break with that calm sort of countryside tune playing in the background absorbed me into their story like nothing else had in the last few years.

Naho, How do I even describe her?  One glance at her and you're in love with her.
She's the sweetest little thing, with that ginger hair and emerald eyes, that shyness in her face, the motherly vibes you get every time she's around her friends.
The most caring soul, she's the type of girl who would stay up  late at night to prepare lunch for you for  the next day, the girl who would wake up early to call you just so you reach your football practice at time, A girl who would always love you first before loving herself, It's hard not to fall for her at the first sight.
I did, she's everything one could ask for.
And that's just Naho for you.

When I look at Kakeru, I see myself staring back at myself.
I could relate to him at every point of the story.
And the story itself is so pure and believable.
At times it's harsh, at times it's beautiful like a perfectly formed rainbow after a downpour.
Just like life is.
What's so heartwarming is that with all the harsh times Kakeru went through, God sent an angel in the form of Naho and a bunch of friends to protect him, to save him from everything.
But it's easy said than done.
Because even if you have such a person or a group of people to support and love you, it doesn't mean you're saved.
It's difficult, very difficult in fact.
Everybody is fighting their own demons in their head.
Other people could help fight them in the real world but what about the ones in your head?
You have to fight it for yourself, Others could only guide you.
And so the ups and downs of this story, the way they portray are what I love the most.

Naho is the heart of the story, but it's Kakeru that kept me at the edge of my seat at every point.
Even the side characters such as Hagita.Azusa and Suwa play their part, especially Suwa.
It's heartbreaking to see this story unfold from Suwa's perspective.
At it's most climactic moments (which were a lot) I often found myself gawking at the screen which I had utterly missed experiencing in the last few years of my life.
And it's final phase, That jaw-dropping view from Mt. Kobo, the birds chirping in the background, that cold breeze hitting me on my face gently.
(Did I just say 'me'? Yes, I actually felt as if I was there.) and that lovely piano score  being played in the background set the tone to a very satisfying conclusion of a beautiful story,
A story I will probably never forget.

When all was said and done, when the black screen of my laptop reflected back my drowsy face, I tasted my own tears for the first time in a year.
I can't describe how good it felt. It was like I'm alive again.
The sudden burst of this emotion made me realize how every emotion is important.
That's why it's an emotion.
There's no such thing as a bad emotion.
Without 'Orange' it wouldn't have been possible.

What did I do next?

I started the first episode, to relive that moment again and again and again for the years to come.
'Orange' through its believable story, interesting and relatable characters and it's beautiful tone proved yet again that Animes are indeed the best medium to portray emotions and I will never ever stop
watching them, Because these characters and stories are what is actually keeping me and many others like me alive in this harsh real world, keeping our emotions intact, making us breathe.
And let's face it, we are still watching animes even after growing up because we don't want that kid inside us to die, the kid that holds the key to something called love and passion.

And now I sincerely believe that every now and then I'll stumble upon a beautiful piece of art like 'Orange' that would provide me with the much-needed hope and keep me going.