Characters from Orange. Names are in Western order.
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Main Characters
Naho Takamiya
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese), Jill Harris (English)
The heroine of the series. The plot is kickstarted when 16-year-old Naho receives a letter from her future self, with instructions on how to create a future where Kakeru doesn't die.
- Betty and Veronica:
- The Archie to Suwa's Betty and Kakeru's Veronica.
- The Betty to Ueda's Veronica for Kakeru's Archie.
- Cannot Spit It Out: In the original timeline, Naho never got up the nerve to confess to Kakeru.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Future Naho has longer hair.
- Generic Cuteness: She's supposedly kind of plain or modestly pretty, but her shoujo design means this has to be spelled out in dialogue.
- Happily Married:
- In the original timeline, Naho is married to Suwa. Although they both regret Kakeru's death, they love each other and their child. This is negated by the movie, which states that she's unhappy in her marriage and still dreams of Kakeru until then.
- In the new timeline, Naho and Kakeru marry and have a child together.
- Important Hair Accessory: Kakeru gifts her with a hairpin, which she treasures. It sort of becomes a symbol for their budding relationship.
- Late for School: She winds up late for her first day of junior year.
- Loving a Shadow: Future Suwa believes that Naho only came to love him because he consciously attempted to imitate Kakeru's persona as much as possible after his death, and thus he's being unfair for the both of them. This is one of the reasons why he tells his alternate self not to confess to Naho.
- Oblivious to Love: In the new timeline, she doesn't catch on to Suwa's feelings for her although Everyone Can See It.
- Shrinking Violet: She's incredibly shy, which her future self believes contributed to Kakeru's death.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Unlike her friends, whose hair colors tend to match their eye colors, protagonist Naho's greenish eyes match with her reddish hair.
- Team Mom: She looks after her friends like a mother, something Kakeru lampshades.
- Through His Stomach: Naho makes a bento lunchbox for Kakeru, which she's too shy to give him at first, but when she works up the courage it makes him very happy and she promises to keep making them for him. She stops making them when he starts dating Ueda, but after he breaks up with Ueda he tells her that he missed eating her lunches.
Kakeru Naruse
Voiced by: Seiichirō Yamashita (Japanese), Micah Solusod (English)
A New Transfer Student from Tokyo, and the subject of the letters sent to Naho.
- Betty and Veronica:
- The Veronica to Suwa's Betty for Naho's Archie. Due to him being melancholic and internally depressed, while Suwa is cheerful and openly friendly.
- The Archie to Naho's Betty and Ueda's Veronica.
- Break Her Heart to Save Her: He sees himself as dangerous, and is thus reluctant to get close to Naho romantically. He thought he was doing this when they fought on New Year's Eve and says as much when Suwa confronts him about it in the new timeline. It didn't quite work in the original timeline since she still deeply regrets not making up for their fight ten years later.
- Broken Bird: Kakeru used to be a happy and optimistic kid, but his mother's death turned him pessimistic and cynical.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Despite his pretty clear attraction to Naho, Kakeru is reluctant to act on his feelings. Part of it is because he feels bad for getting in the way of Suwa but mostly because his guilt over his mom's death.
- Driven to Suicide: His fate in the original timeline, although Naho and company don't find this out until much later.
- Happily Failed Suicide: What his suicide attempt ends up being in the new timeline — although he does step in the truck's path, the memories of his friends are enough to make him not want to go through with it, and he later tells them he's glad he's alive alongside them.
- Henpecked Husband: Kakeru has a mild case of this during his short-lived relationship with Ueda. He goes along with her more overbearing personality, allowing her to monopolize all of hsi free time and alienate him from his friends. It's not until he sees Ueda shove Naho to the ground that he finally calls her out on everything.
- It's All My Fault: Kakeru blames his mother's death on himself, thinking that his not going home on the first day of school is what ultimately killed her. In the original timeline, he blames himself so much that he eventually commits suicide over it.
- Lovable Jock: Like Suwa, he's a soccer player, although he doesn't join the soccer team in the original timeline.
- Missing Mom: She was Driven to Suicide on the first day of school.
- Mood-Swinger: Kakeru's depressive state is closer to Bipolar-Depression, as he has a habit of swinging from being energetic and sociable to sullen and withdrawn at the drop of a hat.
- New Transfer Student: A new student who joins the class in the first episode. Naho and company waste no time in befriending him.
- Parting-Words Regret: His last text to his mother was angry, calling their appointment a pain. He later found out she killed herself.
- Raised by Grandparents: His father is out of the picture and his mother committed suicide, so he's living with his grandmother.
- Sixth Ranger: He easily joins Naho's friend group in the first episode.
- Stepford Smiler: His friends regret that they never picked up on his depression because of this trope. Kakeru smiles while he's at school and doesn't want anyone to know he's grieving and tormented inside. For a long time he doesn't even tell his classmates that his mother killed herself. Naho's letter regrets that she didn't see through his false cheerfulness in time to save him. Even in the new timeline, she notes that although he smiles and laughs often, his wholehearted smiles are rare.
- Troubled, but Cute: Kakeru is a handsome and athletic boy with a kind personality, which makes more than one girl fall for him, but he pushes people away because of his guilt complex and sometimes lashes out when he gets angry.
Hiroto Suwa
Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa (Japanese), Jason Liebrecht (English)
One of the boys in Naho's friend group, Suwa is friendly and easygoing. He's a member of the soccer team.
- Betty and Veronica: The Betty to Kakeru's Veronica for Naho's Archie. Due to Suwa is cheerful and openly friendly, while Kakeru is melancholic and internally depressed.
- Big Eater: His friends frequently pick on him for his appetite.
- Chick Magnet: Apparently, all three of the soccer team managers are into him.
- Curtains Match the Window: Reddish-brown hair and eyes.
- Happily Married: To Naho in the original timeline.
- Hunk: In contrast to Kakeru's Bishōnen, Suwa is taller and more muscular as a result of his athleticism.
- Last-Name Basis: His friends call him Suwa regardless of how close they are.
- Lovable Jock: He's a member of the soccer team, and is widely regarded as a Nice Guy.
- Nice Guy: Suwa is constantly supportive and understanding of his friends. He even pushes Naho to end up with Kakeru despite his own feelings for her.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Suwa wants Naho to be happy even if it means letting someone else have her, to the point that even his future self from the original timeline, who is married and has a child with Naho, advises Present!Suwa to let Kakeru and Naho enjoy their time together, as she only had eyes for him back then. Future!Suwa doesn't give any specific advice about the day when he confessed to her after Naho and Kakeru had a fight, but Present!Suwa decides by himself to not confess his feelings, in order to not get in the way of Naho and Kakeru from the present getting together.
- Replacement Goldfish: Future Suwa tells his past self that Naho may have seen him as this for Kakeru after the latter's death, which eventually led to their marriage.
- Romantic Runner-Up: He becomes this in the new timeline, where Naho ends up with Kakeru.
- Screw Destiny: He eventually learns in his letter that he confessed his feelings to Naho on New Year's Eve, which was the trigger for the two of them to start dating and end up married in the future. Wanting to change things and give Kakeru and Naho a chance, Suwa decides to not confess his feelings but merely comfort Naho.
- Stepford Smiler: In the original timeline, he ended up imitating Kakeru's personality to help himself and Naho cope with the loss of their friend, eventually regretting it since Beneath the Mask he felt like this was unfair to both of them.
Azusa Murasaka
Voiced by: Natsumi Takamori (Japanese), Sarah Wiedenheft (English)
One of the girls in Naho's friend group, Azusa is loud and energetic. Her family owns a bakery.
- Affectionate Nickname: "Azu" to her friends.
- Curtains Match the Window: Has dark yellow hair and eyes.
- Daddy's Girl: She's close to her dad and admires his baking.
- Genki Girl: She's energetic and loves teasing her friends.
- Like an Old Married Couple: With Hagita. They're always bickering with each other, to the point that it is lampshaded multiple times.
- Shipper on Deck: She and Taka initially support Kakeru dating Ueda, before they realize that the letters were right and Kakeru's relationship with Naho will benefit him in the long run. At this point, they wholeheartedly support Kakeru/Naho. While she doesn't actively cheer for Suwa, she encourages him to confess to Naho as well.
- Those Two Girls: She and Takako do everything as a pair.
Takako Chino
Voiced by: Rika Kinugawa (Japanese), Jeannie Tirado (English)
One of the girls in Naho's friend group, Taka is loyal and protective.
- Affectionate Nickname: "Taka" to her friends.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Downplayed. She's taller than her female friends, has long dark hair, and can be scary and intimidating when provoked, but she's always nice and amiable to those close to her.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Future Takako has short hair.
- Out of Focus: Taka is primarily there to round out the friend group and act as a Straight Man when needed.
- Shipper on Deck: She and Azu initially support Kakeru dating Ueda, before they realize that the letters were right and Kakeru's relationship with Naho will benefit him in the long run. At this point, they wholeheartedly support Kakeru/Naho. Takako herself is not averse to Suwa confessing his feelings for her, however, and actually gets mad when he says he'll never confess.
- Those Two Girls: She and Azu do everything as a pair.
Saku Hagita
Voiced by: Kazuyuki Okitsu (Japanese), Dave Trosko (English)
One of the boys in Naho's friend group, Hagita is serious and intelligent. He seems to enjoy reading manga.
- The Glasses Gotta Go: Invoked. Azusa constantly tells him that he's more attractive without them. His future self has switched to contacts.
- Last-Name Basis: Is called by his surname regardless of closeness.
- Like an Old Married Couple: With Azusa, who's always teasing him. Lampshaded multiple times by other characters.
- Nerd Glasses: He wears them, although Azusa thinks he shouldn't.
Other Characters
Rio Ueda
Voiced by: Ayane Sakura (Japanese), Tia Ballard (English)
An upperclassman who's interested in Kakeru.
- Alpha Bitch: She's an attractive, popular girl who's used to getting what she wants, and is willing to terrorize her underclassman for it.
- Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Kakeru's Archie. She's the flirtatious, popular, city girl girl with a mean streak, contrasting Naho's kindness and unassuming personality.
- City Mouse: Ueda, like Kakeru, is a transfer student from Tokyo. Unlike Kakeru however, Ueda makes no effort to try and get used to her new lifestyle.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: While they were dating, she'd flip out whenever Kakeru would interact with Naho. She still expresses envy long after they've broken up.
- Commonality Connection: Azu suggests that her interest in Kakeru is based on the fact that both of them moved to Matsumoto from Tokyo.
- Informed Attractiveness: She's one of the most beautiful girls at school, but this has to be spelled out because of the Generic Cuteness in the art style.
- Girl Posse: A couple of girls follow her around to emphasize her Alpha Bitch status.
- New Transfer Student: She transferred in from Tokyo before the series started, which is something she has in common with Kakeru.
- Romantic False Lead: Ueda manages to snatch up Kakeru before Naho can early on, but Kakeru soon regrets agreeing to go out with someone just based on looks when he realizes she has a bad personality, and it isn't long before he breaks up with her.
- Wrong Girl First: Kakeru accepts Ueda's confession to him early in the story and even admitted to Naho that he found Ueda attractive. It's not until dating her that Kakeru realizes that he doesn't have any chemistry with Ueda, and ends things when she pushes Naho.
