Seinen manga has been a staple subgenre in my comics collection. Orange is shoujo, and my last experience with this (and definitely not seinen) type of slice-of-life YA Japanese literature is through the anime, Boys Be. That was years ago, and I remembered that I was totally hooked every episode. 
 Now that I am significantly old for the material, I never really knew what to feel at first reading this shoujo manga, Orange. But as the reading progresses, the beautiful yet sad story unfolds unfolds right to my eyes and directly to my heart. I felt young again, a time when innocence and ignorance from all the responsibilities are still unseen in the horizon, a simpler time in school, where my everydays are motivated by childish love, friends and crushes. And of course, those heartbreaks. Oh, those were the days. 
 Orange has a special story about love, regret and friendship that is ought to be read by all. It plays with the heart's all-time question of regret: if I can change the past, what would that be? For future Naho, it is for her past self to save her dear friend Kakeru. 
 Orange plays with your heart, excellently blending teenage love and friendship with heavier themes like loneliness, regret and the value of life. The sci-fi elements of time travel is there to set the plot of the whole story. 
 I have never expected Orange to be that moving even at my age. After finishing volume one of the complete collection, I do care about the characters, not only with Kakeru and Naho, but all of them. 
 Orange also is a window for foreigners to see the Japanese society, at least how their youth behaves, and there's some romance with them not being straightforward emotion-wise. There is definitely a darker side in this story though. It is the reality of suicide and death. But I'm glad that Ichigo Takano conveys these dark elements in a good way. 
 There is still volume 2 in this awesome collection, I do hope Orange is beautiful and heart-warming until the end.