Finally, the finale of the Orange story! Orange only takes up about 2/3rds of the book, with the remainder being a filler short story called Haruiro Astronaut (no, as far as I can tell, the name doesn't make any sense). 
 First, for the ending of Orange: The story ends satisfyingly. It's a little abrupt, but it works. It ends at the moment when Kakeru stops thinking about how much pain his death will spare others, and starts thinking of how much pain his death would cause others. He's still depressed, he still has an awful lot to work through (and I really do hope that he changes his mind about seeking professional/medical help), but that one little change is a profound one. 
 We never do find out how the future is changed by Kakeru's survival - will he and Naho end up together? What will happen to Suwa? Will the friends keep in touch? But, in a profound sense, none of that matters. The fact that Kakeru will be alive already changes everything. And the rest is just... life. 
 There are a few things that have bugged me about the series. The first is, of course, Naho's naivete. I realize that it's meant to be the character flaw that she needs to overcome, but it just boggles the mind sometimes. How can she keep being shocked that Kakeru likes her when the letters have already told her, multiple times, that he does? Maybe it's just a translation issue, or maybe it's some cultural shorthand that I'm not getting, but it's frustrating. 
 Given that mental illness is such a key part of the story, I wish that it were more responsibly handled. Only one character (Kakeru's grandmother) brings up the idea that Kakeru might seek professional help. He gets angry, the issue is dropped, it's never brought up again. I wish that, just once, his illness could be identified (especially since he seems to share it with his deceased mother). And while I'm not sure how well it would have worked with the story the author wanted to tell, I wish that treatment had been brought up in a better way. I wish that the recommendation to seek professional help had been echoed by Kakeru's friends as well. I wish that it hadn't just been dismissed as if it were a humiliating thing to do. 
 Lastly, part of me is rather uncomfortable with the way the whole friend group tip-toes on egg shells around Kakeru. His feelings are front and centre. And while it's not like it's his fault, all his friends act like victims of abuse around him. Their lives are utterly focused on him - on making sure that he's always happy, on making sure that they never say anything that might set him off. Sure, they are getting good life experiences too, but that's incidental. Everything they do, they do for him. I'm not sure how responsible it is to present a love story and model of friendship like that. 
 Especially in light of Harairu Astronaut. That story is kinda terrible. There's an interesting story in between the lines about how the two sisters view their relationship, and the one sister's fear of hurting men's feelings leading her to agree to date anyone who will ask (a habit that is clearly presented as destructive). 
 It's just that all the men in the story are absolutely trash. Yui is abusive - he orders everyone around, tells them what to do, demands that the women feed him, etc. Tatsuaki is a stalker. Natsuki is okay, but even he is forceful in his own way (and his arc seems to be to learn to be more forceful, rather than it being Yui's arc to be less). 
 But there's some odd sexual dynamics in the story that I wish were explored a little more. I'm not sure whether Yui and Natsuki are meant to be more than friends, but they do seem like it at times. There also seem to be hints that the twins would be open to being in a poly relationship with Yui together. And the final scene has Chiki holding Tatsuaki's hand while Tatsuaki holds Natsuki's hand. 
 Mostly, I feel a bit out of my depth with Haruiro Astronaut. I can't tell whether the subtext I'm reading into it is meant to be there or not, and I feel like there is more going on than what I'm able to perceive.