Orenji deizu (2004– )

Kai Yuuki (Satoshi Tsumabuki) is in his senior year at university studying social welfare psychology. At present, he is in the middle of job-hunting season. He is finding it difficult with ... See full summary »

Stars:

Satoshi Tsumabuki, Kô Shibasaki, Hiroki Narimiya

Cast

Series cast summary:
Satoshi Tsumabuki	...	Yuuki Kai (11 episodes, 2004)
Kô Shibasaki	...	Hagio Sae (11 episodes, 2004)
Hiroki Narimiya	...	Shouhei Aida (11 episodes, 2004)
Miho Shiraishi	...	Akane Ozawa (11 episodes, 2004)
Eita	...	Keita Yashima (11 episodes, 2004)
Manami Konishi	...	Maho Takagi (11 episodes, 2004)
Yû Yamada	...	Saeki Soyoko (11 episodes, 2004)
Juri Ueno	...	Ayumi Kirishima (11 episodes, 2004)
Fumiyo Kohinata	...	Sakaida Kyouju (11 episodes, 2004)
Jun Fubuki	...	Yuriko Hagio (11 episodes, 2004)
Takashi Kashiwabara	...	Sano (11 episodes, 2004)
Masaru Nagai	...	Kakizaki Tohru (11 episodes, 2004)
Ikki Sawamura	...	Fujii Haruki (11 episodes, 2004)

Storyline

Kai Yuuki (Satoshi Tsumabuki) is in his senior year at university studying social welfare psychology. At present, he is in the middle of job-hunting season. He is finding it difficult with no job offers so far. One day, he meets a girl who is playing violin in the campus. She is Sae Hagio (Kou Shibasaki). In marked contrast to her beautiful tone and attractive looks, her personality is somewhat impertinent. And to top it off, she communicates through very vulgar sign language. Four years ago, she lost the most important thing for a violinist - her hearing. As a result Sae closed off her inner self from the outside world. Kai finds himself on a date with Sae, in place of his best friend. Unexpectedly, he comes into contact with Sae's private side. Love, job-hunting, friendship... Setting a campus in spring as a dorama's backdrop, it's the start of a glittering youth drama.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

TBS [jp]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese Sign Language Japanese

Release Date:

11 April 2004 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Orange Days

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS)

Technical Specs

Color:

Color Color (Technicolor)

User Reviews

Terrific coming-of-age J-drama

Orange Days is an excellent coming-of-age J-dorama about a group of students in their last year at college dealing with friendships, love, job prospects, and life in general. There's a main love story about a talented musician Sae (Kou Shibasaki) who has lost most of her hearing and the sweet guy Kai (Satoshi Tsumabuki) who tries to help her come to terms with it, while befriending and eventually falling in love with her. I love their relationship; it goes even beyond friendship and love. They understand each other instinctively. There are 11 episodes in the series, each one about an hour long. I watched the entire thing over about two days; that is how hooked I was. (That, and each episode practically ends with a cliffhanger. And that I am graduating from college this upcoming June and I can totally relate to lots of these scenarios!) One of the best J-doramas I've seen.

This is a great series about friendship. Kai, Sae, and the rest of their friends from a group, The Orange Society. They all learn sign language to be able to communicate better with Sae. And they do all the bonding things that graduating seniors usually do: they go camping, they go out and eat/drink with each other, etc. They do everything as if it is the last time they will all be together. One of the more touching moments in the movie was when they all get together and make pledges to the sunset in sign language (to be strong, to overcome fears, to protect the ones they love, etc.) - it's incredibly bittersweet. I myself am graduating from college this upcoming June. Man could I relate! Not just with the friendships, but also with all these insecurities: Where am I going in life? Where do I want to work? Do I want to be doing this for the rest of my life? What's my plan? etc.

Acting is A+. I've been a fan of Kou since her Battle Royale days and she's really very good in her role here as a deaf-mute. Different expressions pass across her face effortlessly. Satoshi was just as excellent as the sweet, caring, and handsome Kai. If there is ever a performance that could break your heart, it's this one. Finding someone like that in a lifetime is rare. Their relationship is something special; he doesn't really pity her --since she says she doesn't want to be pitied-- but they really understand each other. Like their souls are interconnected. Sounds lame, but it's true. Satoshi and Kou have amazing chemistry together. The actors playing their friends Akane, Shouhei, and Keita are also excellent. There's even a sweet subplot for their characters, and it's fun to watch the sweet "plain Jane" (Akane, who is very cute, not a plain Jane at all) and the "player" (Shouhei, who is much sweeter than his tough exterior would suggest) fall for each other. I said, "omg cuuute!" quite a few times while watching this show.

I studied Japanese last year, so it was fun to see what I could pick up from the show. I could make out lots of phrases and stuff, so that felt quite nice haha. Plus, you might even pick up some sign language; I know I did! All in all, an excellent J-dorama. One of the best I've watched. Great production value, terrific acting, great story lines, heartwarming. I laughed, I cried, I felt for all of the characters.

10/10