• Author: Ichigo Takano
• Series: Orange Vol. 1-5
• Genre: Contemporary Romance
• No. of pages: 768
• Dates read: 08.04.2021 – 02.05.2021
• Star Rating: 5 stars
• Challenge: Not a Novel

Plot: On the day that Naho begins 11th grade, she receives a letter from herself ten years in the future. At first, she writes it off as a prank, but as the letter’s predictions come true one by one, Naho realizes that the letter might be the real deal. Her future self tells Naho that a new transfer student, a boy named Kakeru, will soon join her class. The letter begs Naho to watch over him, saying that only Naho can save Kakeru from a terrible future. Who is this mystery boy, and can Naho save him from his destiny?

Before I start I just want to mention that there will be discussion near to the end of the post about mental health, depression and suicide. I just wanted to put a trigger warning out there just in case.

So, as you all know, I have been trying to try new ways of reading and I set myself a challenge to read more books that weren’t novels. So, manga, comics, graphic novels etc. I was browsing on Amazon one day after being inspired to read more manga and discovered a series called Orange that really intrigued me. So, I bought the first book and read it in about 2 days and then a month later on my first trip to Waterstones after the lockdown was lifted in the UK, I found the second book. I originally wasn’t going to do a review on it but then decided it would be a great idea to do a review of the series as a whole.

Going into this series I had no expectations I was just hoping to love it.

So, for starters the art work is just so incredibly beautiful, from the small conversational panels to the big one page spread. I didn’t find the art to be too busy or hard to read which is what I find sometimes with other manga. It was spaced really well and just looked amazing!!

The plot was so good. I loved watching the events unfold as Naho tries to follow the letters and and try to make things happen in a subtle not forced way. I loved wondering will she be successful? Will she be able to save Kakeru? The story flowed really nicely and was paced super well. It didn’t feel rushed in anyway. Sometimes the story can get a bit ahead of me when I read manga but I didn’t have an issue this time round.

One of the standout elements of this story is the friendships. The friendship in this series is so interesting to me as all the characters couldn’t be more different but they fit together and work together so perfectly. The scenes in which they are all together interacting are some of the funniest scenes I have read.

Naho isn’t my favourite main character, there were times when her inability to act could get quite frustrating and I found her shy, demure personality to grate on me a little bit. But she is sweet and a good friend and has many qualities I love in characters but there were a couple of times where I was calling out to her to say or do something and not miss her chance.

The romance in this series is done well. It wasn’t my favourite couple, I preferred the friendship side of the series but the romance was paced well and I was rooting for the couple by the end of the series.

The main theme in this series is mental health specifically depression and suicide. I felt that these themes were handled ok. I have seen these themes handled better in other novels, I feel like the author went in with the best intentions but just didn’t hit the mark. But that didn’t stop me from balling my eyes out! One volume in particular I did like was giving an insight into the individual’s head as they struggled with their mental health. It really highlighted the struggles and brought awareness to the destructive nature of mental illness.

But what I did love was the message that you don’t need to struggle alone and that people are here for you when you don’t even realise. I loved the idea of friends being there for you no matter what, they will help you through anything you are going through!

The next book I will be reviewing will be the last book in the Percy Jackson series, The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan!