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「LETTER 10」
It’s just my luck that both of the shows I’m covering have rather uneventful episodes this week. Just like with Zestiria, neither were bad, but at least there is assurance that one of them will always be pleasing on the eye. On the other hand… we have orange. Admittedly, it wasn’t nearly as ugly as last week, but this wasn’t anything to write home about either. The scenes that mattered looked good, but this felt like the first time where my emotional investment in what’s happening was compromised due to lackluster visuals. Hamasaki Hiroshi’s directing is still strong even when things don’t look as great as they should on-screen, but his talent can only go so far. Again, I pray this improves in the final weeks to come. I don’t want to be left feeling empty because this adaptation couldn’t deliver some worthwhile artwork.
Okay, back to this being a rather uneventful episode. Like I said with Zestiria, it wasn’t bad. It’s just… not much happened. Since this is way past the point where I had read to, I can’t be 100% sure, but I imagine this episode didn’t adapt more than one chapter. Typically, the episodes that feel jam packed with content are ones where more is squeezed into the 21 minute limit. Every time that’s happened, it has paid off well, so I’m curious to know whether they didn’t adapt as much content this week, because it sure felt slow. Which is amusing, because it was all about the characters running.
But before the running came Kakeru’s confession. Both the audience and his friends already know the full story, but this is the moment where he finally lays it all bare and tells the truth. None of it is new information, but the fact that he has opened up enough to be honest about his mother’s death shows how far he has come. As Naho keeps pointing out: the letters are becoming less and less relevant. I’m glad she’s reading them once again, because they could come in handy for predicting broader shifts in Kakeru’s emotional state, but the fact that things are becoming so different is only a good sign. The scene with the mattress was heavy-handed with its symbolism, but it was serviceable enough in getting Kakeru to trust his friends and let them share his burdens. Will that matter in the end? It’s hard to say, because we’ve still got three episode to go and so much could happen. Part of me still thinks death is an inevitability regardless of the timeline.
I really wish the final scenes looked half-decent, because that cheek kiss from Kakeru could have been a stand out scene. In the end it felt like a throwaway moment that was hard to decipher until Naho and Suwa reacted to it. At least we’re getting some romantic development: first handholding, now a cheek kiss. Before you know it, Naho will be pregnant again! Speaking of that, I hope we get more scenes from the future timeline, if only to rub in how Suwa is giving up a happy life he’ll never have the fortune of experiencing. You gotta love him.
I wish Suwa was the protagonist. I’d love to hear what he’s thinking.
He’s practically carrying the plot development, while Naho is just…there.
I would love that too. Suwa is someone I wish I could be like, especially when I was in high school. He is such a mensch!
True, and she had been even more “just there” since her other, more reactive friends, joined the plot in full. I hope she doesn’t end up being just someone who moves as her other friends tell her to.
It would be interesting to have any of them as the main protaganist, I reckon. But it’s hard to deny that Naho and Kakeru have a closer bond than anyone else, so it makes sense that she be the main viewpoint character.
You guys were really fast in posting this. Looks like I’m not too far off by reading the manga and following along. These days, when I read the manga, I can’t help but think of Tooi Hi No Kizuato playing in the background. I hope more action picks up next episode.
Thanks! I should definitely finish reading the manga once the anime ends. It feels very different in style, but I do remember loving the manga a lot in the early chapters.
And it also shows that if you want things to change, it will sometimes take more than just one or two things to really bring about that change. Like here, it seemed like the thought of bringing Kakeru’s grandmother to the meet and participating in the relay and all would be enough to change things, but as clearly shown last episode, it wasn’t. It basically took everyone just hammering in hard how Kakeru isn’t alone and doesn’t need to keep everything bottled up around them.
https://randomc.net/image/orange/orange%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2001.jpg
<3
Is it really nothing happened? Our crew of 5 filled another hole in Kakeru’s heart (and altering a full bullet point in the process)Welp, good thing I re-read the post. Though I can’t figure out why you would say nothing happened and then proceed to say that something DID happened.
ps. Chapters 15 & 16 (fully covered and drawn) are a lot of actions and less talking than usual.
Also, am I influencing your posts?