Suwa happens to be the one that just makes me sad since he is willing to give up a future that isn’t so unknown as well as current feelings for the sake of saving Kakeru. Each of the friends brings something wonderful to the group and how the story unfolds. It’s a weird takeaway on a story about friendship, but I got invested?Ĭharacters are a key component of what made this collection such a great read. That point is even driven home when Takano seems to not give a clear answer on what that end game relationship is. It’s a bit of a predicament as you wonder what will happen either way since both relationships seem so special altogether. In the future timeline where the letters come from Naho is with Suwa and they even have a child, but throughout the story there is a definite push for her to be with Kakeru (one I was rooting for). I will say, the one thing I struggled with during this story through both volumes was the relationship of Naho with both Kakeru and Suwa. I’m still amazed at how well Ichigo Takano covers a topic such as this with respect, all while giving you that hope that the friends will help Kakeru this time around. This one was just as strong an installment as the first volume, bringing us the same sweet friendships, and yet delving further into Kakeru’s story. Orange is a slice of life manga focused on Naho and her friends as they try to use letters from their future selves to save their friend, Kakeru, from his future suicide.

I walked away wanting the next volume, and looking forward to how volume 2 would continue the story. It’s a hard subject to go into in any format, but Orange introduced us to the struggles of Kakeru, all while giving a clear edge of hope and a gentle approach to a tough subject matter. The first volume was a sweet mix of friends looking out for one another, and the desperate attempt to be there for a friend who they know died, but was likely a suicide. We left off the first volume of this collection feeling like the shortage of manga might just be my undoing.

Ichigo takano manga