Kakeru Naruse

Kakeru is the main male protagonist of Orange. The series centers around him, his fate, and the efforts of his friends to fulfill the wishes of a letter from the future.

Appearance
Kakeru is average height with a slim build. His hair and eyes are dark, and he usually wears the typical high school uniform issued by his school.

Personality
Kakeru is initially shown to be quiet and reserved, however, once Suwa and the others invite him to join them on their walk home, he seems to open up more and enjoy himself. He enjoys video games. Though he puts up a happy front around his friends and family, he hides his true feelings often, and is incredibly depressed over his mother's death/suicide, in which he blames himself for it happening. As the story progresses, he finally lets some of his feelings loose to Suwa and Naho, though even after the incident, he seems to still believe his feelings are only a burden to others. He is also very hard on himself on a consistent basis. He claims to think about killing himself everyday. He is also a skilled runner and is the fastest runner in his class.

Main Timeline
In the beginning of the story, Kakeru is introduced as a new student from Tokyo, who ends up sitting next to Naho in class. After the short school days ends, Kakeru is invited by Azu to her family's bakery for some buns. He initially declines but is convinced by Suwa to go. After being convinced he asks if he can send an email quickly, which is later revealed to be sent to his mother, who ended up commiting suicide the same day. The next day, is absent from school and stays absent for two weeks, attending the funeral and mourning the loss of his mother. While that happens, Naho in the story receives a letter which tells her to look after him. It tells her everything that happens and what she regrets not doing. It then tells her that Kakeru dies in an "accident" and that she believes she could have saved him. Naho struggles with doing the things her future self tells her she should have done because of her shy personality. He develops and confesses his feelings to Naho she says she has the same feelings but both never claimed they started dating so they love each other but aren't a couple yet.

Like his main timeline counterpart, he attempts suicide by getting run over by a truck, but this time he avoids it at the last minute because he became afraid to die.

He and Naho begin dating shortly after, promising to always be happy together with everyone else. Ten years later, he and Naho have a son named Haru.

Alternate Timeline
In the alternate timeline, Kakeru commits suicide by getting run over by a truck while on his bike.