Honestly, I haven't been into shoujo for a long time so it's pretty amazing that I liked this one. I've read a lot of shoujo manga before but this one really got me. I loved the nostalgic feel and the psychological aspect of the whole thing instead of just the romance. This manga connected to me a lot because I was actually put in a similar situation before. It touched me and definitely gave me the feels. However, this did not receive a 10/10 due to the following reasons:
Characters:
All of the characters were not very original. The main female protagonist, Naho, was the very typical shoujo girl: dense, cute, and shy. The main love, Kakeru, interest was the very generic: sporty, handsome, and popular. The friends supportive and loving. I feel like more development could have been to made to the third wheel, Suwa, and his love for Naho. I think that the author could have made the audience sympathize more to him to make the manga more heart-wrenching. I fell the biggest element that made this manga stand out from others was Kakeru's depression. Otherwise this would just be your typical shoujo manga characters.
Art:
Nothing needs to be said. It was great!
Plot:
The plot itself was original, but it was a bit confusing. The whole "sending letters to the past" was not very well-explained. Also, I feel like the plot revolved around Naho too much. There could've been more scenes featuring Kakeru and his feelings.

In the end, these are all based on my opinions so to truly know you should just read it for yourself. I promise you won't be overly disappointed.

This was a really lovely manga. I see a lot of people in the comments annoyed at the use of the seinen genre and I'd have to agree that it's definitely not seinen in my opinion (i don't read seinen manga), but besides that it really is a truly lovely story and extremely nostalgic (sometimes to the point of making your heart hurt).The mangaka did a great job of depicting depression. I think it's really hard to depict how depression eats away at people despite being surrounded by loved ones, but this manga did a great job of it. I usually stay away from manga that makes me cry, but I'm really glad I read this manga.

Just adding the theme of suicide doesn't turn a cliche ridden shoujo romance into seinen. Credit where it's due - the author tries to explain time travel but how much of it you buy is where ymmv. Otherwise, the main character is stupidly dense and even for just 5 volumes the amount of repetition in her "he likes me, he likes me not" is downright nonsensical. At times the manga was good but the overall feeling I got was that it needed tighter editing, a better use of the cast and most of all the emotions felt too fake.

That was the problem - a lot of the time the emotions felt were too manufactured and the way everyone meets 10 years later and how they just "happen" to remember what happened over a decade ago was too far fetched to believe. Overall, you can give it a read but don't expect it to hold up to a second read because it starts falling apart on the first one itself.

... Last updated on October 12th, 2015, 10:16pm

I love it when a shoujo is like this, you get your fluffiness you would expect but with a hard does of reality mixed into it. depression is not an easy subject to work into a story but i feel this does a great job at looking at not only how it effects the individual but how the people around you as well and the "what if i did this instead" they feel wen someone does commit suicide. one of the key things i really felt for in this was the fact that even though the letters were sent back they had no way of knowing if it would work and if it did it wouldn't necessarily change their time line but create a parallel world in wich he was alive in which case they still wouldn't know, but they do it anyway.

Really loved this one. Refreshing and a pleasure to read as it came out, without too much crazy shoujo "rollercoasters" but rather a deep, thoughtful look into human relationships.

Full review and recommendations of similar works here: http://www.foxymanga.com/manga-review-orange-takano-ichigo/

this is a beautiful read. description kept me away from it for a while - it's one of the better reads I've had in a looong while. poignant. and just really really good. not a 10 because I'm a sucker for comprehensive endings

My favorite part of this manga is the art, it is gorgeous. The story is certainly sad, though not in a hopeless way; you're always rooting for the protagonists and feel like they'll actually save Kakeru. It deals with some pretty serious themes of death, suicide, and hopelessness which really hit home for someone dealing with that kind of thing. The segments from the future reminded me a lot of the ones from Nana where the characters are looking back on their pasts but also moving on together
The main character Naho is likeable and cute but she is so incredibly dense-moreso than your average shoujo protagonist. Kakeru comes just short of telling her to her face that he likes her and she's like "Duuuuh I wonder who he's talking about?" There's really only focus on Naho, Kakeru and Suwa and while the other main characters don't feel out of place, it would have been nice to see more of them. They had unique and likeable personalities but a lot of the time it felt like they were being forced into scenes to be glorified background characters.
The story flows well and none of the chapters or scenes seem superfluous. And did I mention the art? Because it's amazing. I hope the author does more manga like this one rather than normal boring generic shoujo like they seem to have exclusively done in the past.

DAMN IT. This manga breaks me. A gem. I'm so glad I've read this.This is not your typical shoujo manga. Sure it has its cliches but, man, it tugs your heartstrings every single chapter. Kakeru just suffocates me not in a bad way but that just means that the mangaka is really good at getting these kinds of feelings across the reader. It has a similar feel to Kyou no Kira-kun but this just breaks my heart.

I'm also torn between Kakeru and Suwa though I like Suwa better (goddammityouresuchagoodguy).

... Last updated on July 30th, 2015, 9:26pm

One of the best shoujo ever written. All of the characters are lovable and understandable and incredibly mature for their age. It's lovely seeing how each character matures as the story progresses, and you want to root for them along the way. I read mangas simply to kill time, but this is the first manga where I actually learn something: do everything you can in the present so you won't have any regrets in the future. I know the theme is cliche, but this manga makes it powerful. Definitely recommend this manga to all audience.

pure shoujo drivel made "serious" from a mangaka who only does shoujo, expect allot of drama and the usual stupid stuff that comes with shoujo with a little mature theme like suicide cuz you know.. its seinen now.