Orange - Episode 2 (Review)

By: Mithrandiel First off, if you didn't catch my review of episode 1 - make sure to read it here!Let the drama continue! Well, actually, Orange hasn't gone full steam ahead with the drama quite yet, as episode 2 largely revolves around Naho's budding feelings for Kakeru, and her inability to communicate with him for fear of rejection, or something. The major plot-point of the episode is Kakeru coming to school without lunch and, during a usual bout of banter and jest among the friends, the suggestion comes up for Naho to make Kakeru lunch. Naho accepts, then Kakeru says he was "just kidding" - throwing the uncertain teenage girl into a spiral of self-doubt. Making matters worse is that the mystical letter she receives tells her to make the lunch for Kakeru. So, what's an indecisive main character to do?Naho ultimately steels herself and prepares the lunch for Kakeru, only to choke at lunch-time and fail to offer her handcrafted meal to the object of her affection. She wallows in regret for the rest of the school day, and even manages to embarrass herself further when Kakeru offers to carry the bag holding the lunches and she brushes him off suddenly. Trying desperately to recover from the bad day, Naho decides to offer her apologies to Kakeru as he walks home with Suwa. Kakeru, recognizing that Naho is acting strangely, offers to walk home with her, and the two get to know each other as they walk through a nearby park.Things take a turn towards the dramatic when Kakeru reveals why he was away from school for two weeks: on the day of the opening ceremony his mother committed suicide. Since he was out with Naho and her friends (despite the letter telling Naho NOT to invite Kakeru on this specific day), he missed the opportunity to save her. Naho realizes the gravity of the letters she's receiving, and it will definitely lend more weight to the recommendations in the coming episodes.Orange wraps up this week with a bit more explanation of Kakeru's fate; in the winter of his 17th year he dies in an accident, and the group of friends all feel a sense of regret for not being able to "save" him. It seems very Anohana-esque, except the friends seem a lot less tortured collectively, which is actually refreshing. You can see some brief pangs of guilt and regret in the older incarnations of Naho and her friends, but overall they seem to have accepted it and are moving on with their respective lives.Overall, Orange is doing perfectly well as a slice-of-life series so far. It can definitely be a bit slow, and many people have expressed frustration with Naho's character as being too indecisive and whiny. I can definitely empathize, as she treads a fine line between how real teenage girls might agonize over a situation like presenting their crush with a homemade lunch, and being dramatic for the sake of drama. I will definitely be sticking around for next week - I'm curious to see what Naho and the others will do in their attempts to save Kakeru.You can see Orange on Crunchyroll every Sunday!