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? This is the heart-wrenching sci-fi romance that has over million copies in print in Japan!
In this long-awaited sequel to the critical and commercial hit, orange: future contains two stories that continue from where the series ended.
There are a small amount of spoilers for the previous books in this review. It's hard to review this without bringing up the events of the last two. If you have not read volume one or two I recommend reading my reviews which I will link below.
Orange Volume One
Orange Volume Two
3.5 STARS
TW: suicide
This is technically " Volume 6" and I believe the last portion of the story Takano has created. I was a little hesitant going into this volume because I saw that a few reviewers I follow gave this a lower rating than the ratings they gave the rest of the story. But I actually really enjoyed it! Not as much as the previous volumes but I did like seeing the story in Suwa's point of view.
I know I've said this in my reviews for the other two but the characters are really what make me love this story so much. Their personalities and friendships are so wholesome and sweet. They all care so much about each other in different ways. I love their individual personalities and I'm the kind of reader that if I love the characters I can read them doing anything no matter how mundane and boring. I really loved Suwa in the previous volumes so I was completely content learning about everything from this experience and what he was thinking during certain events. It made me love him even more because the reader already knows Suwa is being this selfless guy and trying to help his friends but when you read his thoughts, his compassion and selflessness is even bigger than the readers can imagine. I also thought his self-doubt and humbleness was something that felt plausible but also highly relatable.
The plot in this volume is definitely weaker than the previous ones. The urgency to save Kakeru is gone so it was more about Suwa's experiences right after they lose Kakeru in the past, ten years in the future, and a little bit of the future where Kakeru is saved. I didn't mind that the plot was slower and not as urgent because I like the character enough to read them doing basically anything. Plus, this volume is significantly shorter than the last ones so it went by even quicker. I enjoyed it a lot even if it didn't have the same effect on me. I can't deny I did tear up, but I full out bawled when reading the first two volumes.
The writing has never been confusing for me before in the other two volumes but I did find myself a bit more confused in this one when it came to figuring out which place in time I was currently reading in. I am not sure if I missed the hints and clues given to indicate the time I was in or if it was fault of the writer but I did find myself confused. Nothing too crazy and for the most part I think I got the gist. I just think the previous volumes were a bit smoother in it's storytelling. I love the humor and the pure innocence this story emulates. This story of course gets sad, which makes sense considering it's main premise, but there is so much light and hope embedded in the story. Which is one of my favorite aspects of Orange as a whole.
Overall, if you loved the complete volumes of 1 & I recommend reading this one also. I think it's a cute little side story. I don't think it's a required thing to read because I don't think the reader learns enough new information for this to be essential to the story. But if you liked the previous ones you'll probably enjoy this one too. Especially if you're a reader who loves the characters and just wants to know more perspectives. I honestly wouldn't mind a volume in the perspectives of the three friends we see little of in the story. But like I said, I really enjoyed this. It's cute and heartwarming and when I buy the original two volumes I'll probably buy this also because I liked it enough to have it in my collection.
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