There was a time when I almost hated this anime because Naho was such a limp, wilted flower with a density rivaling Osmium. Then I decided to forgive her for being a shy, introverted, 16-year old girl who grew up in Japan, walked always a step behind people, being happy when they were happy, and who never wanted to be a bother to anyone. A girl who's getting instructions from herself at 26, but while it's easy to decide in retrospect what you should have done, it's not easy to act on that knowledge if you're not actually 26. I would have never acted like Naho did, but then I am not her. And who knows what differences, what repercussions a Naho who's not 16-year-old Naho would have brought.
Story (9/10): This was the most original shoujo story I watched in ages. This is not actually a science fiction story. It has an sfnal element -- the letters the 26 year old friends send to their 16 years old selves -- don't get all excited; there's an "explanation" but it's technobabble. Don't get hung up on how the letters arrived. That's not what the story is about. It's also not really a romance, though there is a very strong romantic element present, and plenty of people will argue the benefits of one ship over another -- and completely miss the actual story. It's really a story about the power of love -- not just or even primarily romantic love, but the love that drives the entire story, that causes Kakeru's friends to not forget him, and to not forgive themselves for failing to save him. Love can be transformative. Love can be selfish. In Buddhism we are supposed to grow beyond our selfish attachments to the material world, and embrace something purer. Erasing regrets is a selfish desire because it's mostly about personal feelings of guilt, but what these friends ultimately do is selfless -- they will never know whether it worked, sending the letters back to save Kakeru. They will never be able to speak to him again, never be able to apologize, never be able to tell him that he is not alone, that he is loved. If it works at all, it will happen in a parallel world, and they will gain nothing from it. It's a powerful message of hope winning over fear and resignation, and I am probably showing my age by finding it a lot more powerful than the usual teen romance.
The message is underlined brilliantly in the last episode. Kakeru needs to take that step himself, hope over fear and resignation. Love can be transformative.
Beyond that it's an interesting thought experiment -- is it enough if you just change the action about which you harbour a regret? Once you change anything, what side effects might that have? Once the timeline diverges from your foreknowledge, what guides you towards other changes? Is it right to change something if it might rob other people of an important moment, or worse, their happy future?
And lastly, it's actually quite good in showing depression, how it can distort the lens through which you view the world and others, and how excruciatingly painful it can become, so painful that the act of living itself becomes an unbearable burden. Considering Japan is on the ass-end of acknowledging depression and doing anything about it, that's pretty darn good.
Art (7/10): The art and animation was very good at the start, but later on some episodes really suffered from either time or budget crunch.
Sound (7/10): I liked both OP and ED, and the BGM felt very fitting. I've heard better voice acting in my life, but it didn't detract from the story.
Character (7/10): Oh Naho, Naho, Naho. I did want to strangle her many times. I'd like to think that if I knew somebody's life was on the line, I could be more proactive instead of running from my own feelings, but as I said above, I am very much not somebody like Naho, and I already wasn't like her at 16, despite shyness and introversion and abject embarrassment at talking to people in whom I had an interest (not even romantic). She does come through when encouraged by others, and she grows into somebody who can tell her husband the truth, without even as much as blushing, so I forgive her.
I bled with Kakeru. I know we don't get a lot of character here beyond his depression, but that's enough for me to empathize with him. Yeah, I know what that feels likes. Yeah, other people hardly even register when the pain takes over. Yeah, every step is painful sometimes.
And wow, Suwa. Here's the embodiment of selfless love among the characters. What a great guy. I don't usually even like the extraverted, popular soccer captain sort of guys much, but there isn't anything about this guy that's not likable.
In fact they're all likable (except for Ueda the bullying bitch). We don't learn enough for my taste about Takako, Asuza, and Hagita (the latter has some prime wisdom to dispense), but there is only so much time in 13 episodes.
Enjoyment (10/10). I can't even remember the last shoujo anime that has found me this engrossed, and thinking about the issues. Orange has flaws, definitely, but I don't even care to talk about them right now.
