This book was a fitting and satisfying conclusion to Kyoshi’s duology, but the first book was much more enjoyable to me. While the beginning and ending of the book packed a punch, the middle dragged a bit.

Kyoshi is still a wonderful protagonist. Though we see her make mistakes and have regrets, she never gives up when it comes to the ones she loves. Kyoshi and Rangi’s romance is very sweet.

I very much enjoyed being able to see what the Fire Nation was like before Aang’s time. The epilogue starting to put the pieces in place for the hundred year war was a very nice touch.

THIS WAS SO FUNNY! A book has not made me laugh this hard in a long time. From the character interactions to the facial expressions, everything about this silly romantic comedy are absolutely hilarious. I am immensely excited to pick up the second volume.

As one mix-up is resolved, another comes along and sends our protagonist into a new tailspin. I love this series! It’s delightful, funny, and sweet. Now that Hashimoto has been freed from the “unattainable love interest” prison, we get to see her interact in all new ways. She is such an honest and earnest character that I can’t help but adore. Akkun is such a precious idiot. He’s trying so hard and everything constantly goes wrong for him. I want to protect all four main characters at all costs. They’re all so wonderful and unique.

I really enjoy the concept of this series! Helck is a human “hero” who claims to hate his own kind and wants to become a lord among demons. To stop him, Elite Lord Vermilio will go to any length to see him knocked out of the tournament and unable to win the title. Vermilio’s antics are a bit silly and cliche, but I still enjoyed them. I’m definitely a bit confused about the world this takes place in, but I hope my questions will be answered as the series progresses.

Lady Vermilio herself is an incredible protagonist so far. Despite possessing a number of annoying cliche anime traits—such as destroying everything in her vicinity when angered—she is a fierce and loyal leader who will stop at nothing to protect her people. All of her subordinates respect her deeply and, from what I can tell, she has earned that respect. Hon is the best little lackey. What he lacks in brains, he makes up for in dedication and enthusiasm.

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this one. It was a lot darker and violent than I was expecting, but that isn’t what bothers me. I am only rating this manga so highly because of how badass Lucy is. She is an unstoppable force that doesn’t take crap from anyone. But she’s not entirely a heartless monster, either. She doesn’t kill without being provoked.

However, while I love Lucy, I hate Nyu. I understand there’s some trauma in her past that has reduced her to the form she’s currently in, but I find her unbearably annoying. She constantly crosses boundaries and causes issues for the other characters around her. I really don’t like the way she is written. I also would have preferred far less unnecessary nudity. It added nothing to the story and made reading it incredibly uncomfortable.

As the battle at Castle Urum continues, Helck and Vermilio are separated from the rest of the group. Now that they’re forced to work together to find a way home, Vermilio begins to question whether her initial impression of Helck could have been mistaken. Their character dynamic is very interesting and I am looking forward to seeing how this part of the story will work out when the next volume releases.

Hyura is quickly becoming my favorite character. She is a strong and capable warrior fighting for the greater good of demonkind, but she also admits to fancying handsome men. She’s quite clever and a good strategist. I really like her interactions with Kenros. I hope that she’ll continue to be a fierce presence in the story as the series continues.

The premise of the story is interesting and I look forward to seeing how it plays out. However, the characters are quite unlikeable; even Uesugi himself is hard to stand. Itsuki is my favorite of the quintuplets so far, but I hesitate to say that I genuinely like her. She’s more like the lesser of five evils. I could also do without the heavy fanservice and awkward camera angles that lend nothing to the plot. It‘s pointless and uncomfortable.

This volume was not an improvement to the first one, but it’s nice to see the quintuplets slowly starting to warm up to Uesugi one by one. I like how each sister has their own personality traits, hobbies, and likes/dislikes. The fireworks festival arc was incredibly confusing. I get that it’s purposefully written and drawn that way to emphasize Uesugi’s confusion, but the story was muddled with the constantly shifting perspectives. I could hardly tell which quintuplet was in which scenes, and the progression of time was super hard to follow.

I am blown away! Orange is an incredible story about friendship, love, and second chances. Naho receives a letter from herself ten years in the future telling her to look after the new transfer student arriving at her school. It becomes increasingly obvious that something terrible will happen to Kakeru should she fail at following the advice from her future self.

But this story is about far more than protecting Kakeru. Naho is a beautiful character. She is flawed and full of regrets for the things she couldn’t say or the things she couldn’t do, but if there is one thing she has learned from her future self, it is that she no longer wants to live with regrets. Naho’s journey is so lovely to observe. As she strives to change the future for the better, she also begins to change herself for the better.

I am very much looking forward to picking up the second volume so I can continue to watch these six incredible characters learn and grow, and see if they can truly save Kakeru.

I have been completely destroyed emotionally. This second volume was even more wonderful than the last. I would not recommend this series to anyone with a high sensitivity to discussions of depression and suicide, as those themes are featured heavily throughout this story. This manga beautifully illustrates the power that one lost life can have over those that continue living.

Despite being marketed as a “sci-fi romance,” Orange is a story about friendship and forgiveness. These six friends are not just fighting to save the life of one of their own, but to create a future in which all of them can create more happy memories all together. Each character is unique and wonderful and real, but they all share one unbreakable bond.