Story: 6/10
Art: 7/10
Characters: 5/10
Quality Polish Edition: 8/10
Enjoyment: 6/10
Overall: 6.4/10

This is a quality manga; this is one that has a good probability of tugging at your heartstrings.

This really deserves a longer review. I'm at a stage of my life in which I can no longer really spend the time on on a detailed breakdown. Fortunately, lots of longer reviews here. I figured I would just do some part to contribute some more words on MU. MU never die! Manga reviews are spread thin now across here, AniList, MyAnimeList, Good Reads, etc., but MU 100% is still the best database for manga.

Alright, I suppose I should move onto my brief thoughts about Orange.

What I did not like:

-The series really did not need an expository explanation for its time travel mechanism. Time travel always gets much lamer when talk of parallel universes, paradoxes, and physics gets more than a brief mention. The ultimate explanation for how the group achieves their time travel in was so hokey that it momentarily jarred me out of a really moving part of the story. If you are working on a time travel story in which the science of the time travel is not directly related to the plot, please, your characters don't need to actually cite physics technobabble. They can just be confused and accept that miracles are happening. (Also, see Netflix's Dark for another example of poorly handled time travel exposition that distracts and weighs down the story with nonsense.)

-Kakeru and Naho could have used a few more character quirks. The series could have also fleshed out Ueda a little bit more. It seemed like she was also in a bad mental place.

What I did like:

+Sadness, ruminating regret, and familial depression are fortunately handled in a much more sensitive and measured manner than the time travel mechanism, which is obviously much better than if vice versa were the case. This series will stick with me because of how grounded and sensible Kakeru's struggle with his mental health felt. It felt so real that Kakeru kept having setbacks, that his friends had to strive so fervently for Kakeru to be able to realize small improvements. It also felt much more lifelike that the series did not culminate with Kakeru being ultimately cured. Yes, the group is able to change the future and .

+Especially in the last volume, I think the series beautifully delivers the wisdom that we will always have regrets and demons to work through. And ultimately, who is to say that one future is better than the other?

Will read Orange Future soon to see if it provides a nice coda. For the time being, I will wrap up by saying that Orange concluded with a feel-good warmth that felt earned through the hard work of friendship and love. It was not saccharine. The pacing was well done and the characters had believable arcs. This is a rewarding, life-affirming work.

Love and cherish your friends, people.

This is a wonderful manga! I don't want to repeat what most people have mentioned before so I'll keep my review short and simple
Pros:
- This is how you do emotional school-life manga right (no insta smut here....in fact no smut!)
- Shows solid friendship, the kind you reminiscence of your school days
- Does approach the topic of suicide from a different angle- mainly how OTHERS deal with a loved ones suicide (Although i respectfully disagree with another reviewers comment that this manga did the theme of depression right...my take is that the depression was not the main issue here- it was the unexpected death of a loved one; the "how could we-the closest to him- could have missed the signs of depression and suicidal tendencies)
- Best character- Suwa!

Cons:
- The explanation to the time traveling was confusing as if the author wanted to make it sound very scientific.
- Nao- I get that there are people who are naive and shy etc etc but the number of times she almost asked Kakeru what was troubling him- but didn't ask in the end; as well as her "he loves me-he loves me not" was very irritating -_-
- Poor Suwa!
While the author makes the Nao x Kakeru pairing seem like they were meant for each other, I couldn't help feeling sorry for Suwa in the real world. It's one thing to love a girl in school, only to have a friend take her away, but for the adult suwa, I'm not sure if Nao did finally come to love him because I found their marriage just plain convenient. In the whole series, there is only one time the author addresses it and Nao lamely says, "thats not it, I was very happy when you confessed to me" 0_o Ummmmm not enough....
Anyway on the whole- a manga worth reading!

Edit: Apparently Orange:Future will show Nao and Suwa in college and how they fall in love as well as some chapters from Suwa's point of view....

... Last updated on July 27th, 2018, 5:33am

I tend to stay away form shoujo, but this one was actually really good. I know that there are some readers who thought that the female protagonist was a typical shoujo type, but she's not. There are many people on this earth who are just as shy and passive as this person is, and she's not annoying like most shoujo characters. Her worries and doubts are not shallow as they are dealing with a SERIOUS issue. Who wouldn't be stressed knowing that



This series did a pretty good job of shedding light on parallel worlds. What I gathered from this series is that the letters didn't so much as travel back in time as they did travel to a parallel universe? Kind of like the concept of "In reality one, person-A narrowly escaped being hit by a car at a crosswalk; but in a parallel universe, person-A made one wrong move and was killed instantly by a speeding car." So while the manner in which the author attempted to describe the "time travel" phenomenon was pretty lacking, the concept was not a new one and basically very understandable--I'll take that. The boundary between two parallel universes breached due to the strong feeling of love, heartbreak, longing, and regret of others--that's basically what I gathered. Could be wrong, but more or less makes sense to me. So this series' execution was quite marvelously done. It was far from perfect, but definitely not your run-of-the-mill shoujo, which I GREATLY appreciated. Also, the manner in which the author attempted to approach the subjects of depression and suicide and how it effects the person suffering, as well as their loved ones, was touching and very well done. The characters were all likeable, pretty realistic, and the overall pacing was good. Again, there were several areas that could use some improvement, but this series is a great read overall.

My main gripe about this series is that the ending felt rushed. It could have made much more of an impact and could have been quite profound with a little more input. :/

P.S. For the record, if the above comment was in response to what I said, I just like to point out that I said that Orange's take on depression was done "well", not "right." Depression is not the main theme of Orange (though it is a very important factor of the series), because the entire series revolves around the effects of Kakeru's suicide on those who loved him in one reality, and the effects of Kakeru's feelings of hopelessness and impending suicide on the people around him in the other reality. So, I definitely agree with you on that. No shade, just clarification

... Last updated on October 25th, 2018, 8:48am

This series has really solid art and a great message about the value of life. Sure, it can get a little preachy, and when taken too far the message can be a little counterproductive (yes, absolutely love people and help them, but in the end if they still make bad choices that's on them...) But I think this series gets things just right. I was really on the edge of my seat during the "exciting conclusion" and when things do get resolved it's very fulfilling. I understand there's an anime, movie, and all kinds of spin-offs. I haven't looked into any of those, so this review is just for the manga. I probably won't look into the spin-offs either, since this story is nice and concise on its own and I think extra material would make it too complicated...

A friend had actually recommended me to read this manga and knowing myself, I ABSOLUTELY HATE reading tragedy because I know how extremely depressed I get afterwards. There's no doubt that I'll go through that feeling once again now that I've just finished reading this series.

I don't know how much I teared up even after just the first chapter. I still teared up til the very last chapter and I can assure you that reading this will definitely give you a better outlook on life. You won't regret it (reference from the manga, so please read it to find out what I'm talking about!)

I was hesitant to read this because I knew it was probably going to make me sad. While it may seem fluffy it's definitely not.

I seriously cried. Maybe it's because I'm alot like both Naho and Kakeru, but I felt this pit of sadness in my stomach. I lost someone I loved deeply to death in the same way as the characters do. I have these deep regrets and often I wished that I could change the past.

This manga really gets it right. I promise if you read it you will cry.

Extremely powerful tale about a boy and his suffering, from the point of view of his friends. Someone saying that said person doesn't act realistically probably(perhaps blissfully ignorantly) hasn't ever had or known someone who has crippling, chronic depression and tragedy-related trauma. Especially later on I can say with fair certainty that he acts very accurately. The author probably has some significant second, if not first-hand experience with the topic to write it so well. The shojo shenanigans are whatever, sure some of it's pretty corny, but the overarching storyline throughout the entire thing is incredibly strong that it ties it all together really well. A definite pro-read. Just maybe don't read it if you're already in a bad headspace.

I stumbled upon this manga before and already the plot had already pulled me. We are taken right away in the story. With themes like friendship, love and the heart tugging feelings of regrets. And these feelings did reach to me as I was rooting for the characters and cried along the way. Loved Suwa's character.

Story was sweet and short, yet managed to create this emotional turmoil in me. It reminded me a little of the novel

... Last updated on May 9th, 2016, 7:53pm

I absolutely love this manga. The theme of this manga is focused on regrets, fate, and hope. Everyone has regrets, sometimes the choices we make aren't the right choices, and it's all process of life. This is one of those 'what if we took the chance we couldn't back then' 'what if we were able to stop that event from happening' actually coming true. Yes, it is not possible that we could actually stop our past selves. But we should be honest with ourselves and prevent the regrets before it's too late. Fate does it's work, but don't be so set on it that it's just the way it's supposed to be and will be, because it isn't. I think that's what this manga is telling us. I also like how it points out
I enjoyed the Parallel Worlds theme, not only because it won't affect the Naho of the present that married Suwa, but because it is a symbol of hope. The hope that you're doing okay in your own way in your own world and that the other you is doing okay too.
I really liked how Kakeru was complex and really mysterious at times, but very fragile and relatable.
One thing I could point out as a flaw, I felt like other than Kakeru and Naho, the gang felt a little forced, were like a typical shoujo background "friend" characters at times, and were not given as much depth as the Kakeru and Naho. Later in the series, I felt like Hagita was given more depth and I loved it. I just wished it was like that throughout and with the rest of them. One of my favorite part is that
The plot is not slow nor fast, it's perfectly paced. I do think there are things that could've been added near the end to make it feel more finished, but nothing is rushed to wrap up the story and it's great as it is. I like the nostalgic feeling this gives me, as if I was a part of this world. The plot just sucked me into the story.

... Last updated on April 12th, 2016, 9:33pm