Ichigo Takano

Orange: Future is a continuation of the Orange series by Ichigo Takano. In this shorter volume (meaning about the size of your average manga volume in this case) the story comes to us from Suwa's perspective. We get to see more of what happened after high school for Suwa and Naho on the original timeline of the story. We see why Suwa made the choice to write what he did to his past self and how deeply he cares for all of his friends. Suwa is such a great character I am so happy that we got to see his story. He is someone that always puts his friends first and yet still worries over whether he is being too selfish.

Since this is a continuation and alternate perspective of the Orange series, I thought I would also recap that series below:

Orange is the story of a group of friends in high school who gain a new addition to their group when a boy named Kakeru joins the class. Kakeru is very quiet but seems very caring. It isn’t until it’s too late though that the group realizes their new friend has deep seated grief he hasn’t known how to deal with. Now, many years later, while the group has grown and gone their own ways in life, they still share the sorrow and regret that comes from their time with Kakeru. But they also share all the good memories and long to be able to do something for their friend even though everything seems to say it’s too late.

Naho and her friends find that sometimes even when it seems like it’s too late, there is still hope. And while their methods may not be entirely realistic, the ideal still holds true. They also learn that sometimes it’s the smallest gestures that can make the greatest changes. Sometimes if you make too big of a move, people get scared or question your sincerity. Showing you care about someone doesn’t take a grand gesture, it takes lots of small ones. And sometimes all it takes to make a difference is a single moment. These lessons they learn, along with others, are so heartbreakingly real and important it brings goosebumps. This series really has ALL the emotions, making me want to cry and then laugh and then cry again— and everything in between.

As adorable as the romance is in Orange, the friendships may be even more special. Each character is so unique and is fleshed out so well even in such a short series. This will always be one of my very favorite stories. Even with how short Orange: Future is compared with the rest of the Orange series, it packs just as much of a punch and leaves you with all the feels and loving these characters even more. This is what I want from a manga, and in fact from a story in general.… (mere)

I loved this manga so much! Orange is such a heartfelt story with such poignant characters. Plus the artwork itself is beautiful!

Naho and her group of friends try desperately to fix the present after learning from their future selves that they could have saved their friend. The characters realize that they don't want to become their future selves who are full of regrets about their past. They want to make sure they speak their minds and open their hearts so they live their life with intention and truth, not regrets and suppressed desires. They learn that it's hard to always know the right thing to say or do to make someone happy, so all you can do is try your best and be open and earnest and then you know you have given it all you've got.

This story reminds me of loss, and the feelings of regret about what you should have done differently but no longer can, and the hyper awareness of our limited time together when we experience loss in our lives. It is a sad thing to think about, that we have limited time together with our loved ones, but perhaps this is something necessary to keep in mind to make sure we are not using this time in a way that will just come back as regrets. That instead, we can use this time to make sure we are doing our best to show others how much we care and not allowing fear to hold us back from the things we really want.

As far as the bonus story at the end, Haruiro Astronaut, I wasn't big on the story and the characters but she did do a really good job of making super cutesy characters like she wanted.… (mere)

Have been interested in picking this book up for a while and I'm so glad that I got around to it! This manga is so addictive, I read this first volume of the complete collection at one time and if I had the second one right now I'd read all of it too! I love the story, characters, and the drawing so much! The tension created from knowing your future and struggling with how your decisions in the present will change it for the good or bad is constantly present. I can't wait to see what happens next.… (mere)