About “Orange” in a few words:

“Orange” is a Japanese anime and manga series that follows the story of high school student Naho Takamiya, who receives letters from her future self warning her about the events that will lead to the death of her classmate and crush, Kakeru Naruse. As Naho and her friends work to change the future, they grapple with their own personal struggles and the complex nature of regret and second chances. The series explores themes of friendship, love, loss, and the importance of taking action to shape one’s own destiny.

Meet the characters from Orange

Naho Takamiya

Naho is this adorably anxious, notebook-clutching heroine who somehow balances crippling self-doubt with a huge soft spot for other people. She gets the future letter and suddenly becomes the most determined planner ever — lists, sticky notes, pep talks to herself — but also still makes embarrassingly impulsive mistakes, which is the best part. Leader-of-the-group vibes but also cries at cheesy commercials; she wants to fix everything, maybe a little too hard, and you can feel her trying. She’s thoughtful and stubborn in equal measure, like a tiny, fierce librarian who occasionally forgets where she put her keys.

Kakeru Naruse

Kakeru is heartbreak wrapped in a sunny smile — sweet, a little scatterbrained, and prone to moments of real, crushing sadness that catch you off guard. He’s the type who will doodle on the margins of his homework and then show up with flowers for no reason, but also whose past weighs on him like a bad dream. Soft-spoken and terribly sincere, he’s the emotional gravity of the group; everyone orbits him and you can see why. He likes old movies? Or was it jazz records — honestly, I forget, but he definitely has a weirdly specific taste that doesn’t match his hoodie collection.

Hiroto Suwa

Hiroto (Suwa) is the dependable, annoyingly good-at-life friend who is also sweetly earnest and ridiculous when he gets flustered. He’s the steady hand — supportive to a fault, secretly sentimental, and will pick up extra shifts or send a dumb encouraging text at 2 a.m. Imagine an endless source of warm, awkward hugs and bad puns; he’s that, plus an old photo of himself he refuses to throw away. Totally reliable but also has this goofy side that makes you wonder how he manages to be so sensible and so delightfully uncool at once.

Takako Chino

Takako is the loudest, sassiest rocket of energy in the friend group — sharp tongue, fierce loyalty, and zero patience for BS. She’ll tell you off and then make you a bento and somehow both actions feel like love; she’s dramatic but in the best way. Fashion-forward, overly dramatic about everything, but also the one who notices when you’re quietly falling apart and will explode into action. She claims she hates sentimental stuff but keeps a ridiculous collection of polaroids in a shoebox, which is peak contradiction.

Saku Hagita

Saku is the class clown with a secret poet’s heart — always joking, always smirking, but with a tendency to get unexpectedly serious. He teases everyone endlessly but remembers the smallest things, like your favorite snack or the exact way you tuck your hair behind your ear. Part of him is restless and a little reckless; part of him is the kind of friend who will sit in silence with you until you stop shaking. He’s fun, irritating, ridiculously loyal, and I swear he keeps a mixtape of songs he pretends he hates.

Azusa Murasaka

Azusa is the calm, steady brain of the group — cool, collected, kind of quiet but very much present when it counts. He’s a bit no-nonsense, the one who actually reads the fine print, but he has these soft moments where he’ll go out of his way to be thoughtful, which is adorable. He seems like someone who drinks bitter coffee and files receipts, but also has this weird guilty pleasure for rom-coms or something (I feel certain about the rom-coms). Practical, loyal, and quietly witty; he’s the kind of friend you’d borrow math notes from and then get a handwritten encouragement slip in your locker the next day.

Rio Ueda

Rio is sharp — like, razor-sarcastic with a warm center that he hides behind a very cool exterior. She’s blunt, stylish, and frankly terrifying when she’s on a mission to protect someone she loves, but also gets oddly gushy over tiny victories. Has suspiciously neat handwriting and a secret stash of snacks she denies owning, which just makes her more lovable. Always observant, a little intimidating at first, but fiercely loyal and emotionally smarter than half the adults in town.