Orange Days brought out the sweet and sour times for five students in their final year at university. This coming-of-age drama explored friendships, hardships, romance, and finding their place in the world. I watched Orange Days during its 20th anniversary year and its stories of life and love still hold up even if the technology and styles were dated.

Kai, Shohei, and Keita are friends at university. Kai and Shohei are still trying to figure out what they want to do when they graduate while Keita knows his future is in his family’s wedding business. One day Kai comes across a young woman, Sae, playing the violin and his world is turned upside down. Sae and her friend Akane are slowly integrated into the group, eventually called the Orange Group which has its own spiral notebook in the lounge for the members to write down their thoughts for each other.

I was pleasantly surprised that the male lead, Kai, was a nice guy. Too often in older dramas, the MLs were cold alphas. Sae was the cold and volatile character in this story. A musical prodigy and on her way to fame and fortune she lost her hearing which caused her to close her heart off. Shohei was the player of the group, but Akane quickly sussed out that he had a heart of gold under his sarcastic exterior. Poor Keita ended up being the fifth wheel, unlucky in love but still supporting the others.

True to life at university, the characters were struggling to figure out who they were and where they were going. Having a degree and knowing exactly what to do with it are often two different things. And much like in real life, the lovers often made mistakes, sometimes stupid ones as they discovered what made each other tick and what ticked each other off. The group began to learn sign language so that Sae would not feel left out. If there was anything that didn’t feel realistic it was that a lot of people became fluent in sign language quickly when it would be like learning a foreign spoken language. Sae's desire to cling to her gift of music provided for numerous violin and piano solos along with the classical background music which I greatly enjoyed. The drama didn’t shy away from showing how her disability affected her skill sets.

Tsumabuki Satoshi gave a gentle performance as Kai with the porcupine hair who wanted to be a handrail for people to help them up and be their best selves. Shibasaki Ko had the more difficult role of Sae, conveying all of her complex emotions without saying a word. I tried to not give up on Sae. She could occasionally come across as a temperamental toddler, her volatile moods swaying back and forth. Her character growth was slow and as often happens she took a dramatic step backward in the last episode which was nearly the breaking point for me. For the most part, Kai would call her on her selfish actions and cruel words.

Orange Days highlighted the time in life when the bonds of friendship were vibrant and love could be elusive, rapturous, and excruciating. The group attempted to squeeze all of the joy and meaning they could out of their days, knowing that they were on the cusp of adulthood. If I could change anything it would have been Sae’s impulsive and self-protective decisions in the last episodes. But as in real life, change is hard and takes time and most people will slide back into old behaviors before making lasting transformations. Watching these young people face their unknown futures with hope and enthusiasm was addictive and comforting, well worth trying out.

9 January 2024