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Title: Orange Planet Vol 2

Author:  Haruka Fukushima

Publisher: Del Rey

ISBN: 9780345513397

May Contain Spoilers

Rui’s life is very complicated.  She has a terrible crush on Kaoru, a cute young teaching intern ended up as her roomie, and her childhood friend, Taro, is hopelessly in love with her.  When Kaoru makes an unexpected confession, Rui’s heart is broken.  To make matters worse, a jealous classmate has discovered that Eisuke is living in her apartment, and she’s spreading some very nasty rumors about them around school.  How could Rui’s life get any worse?

I found the first volume of Orange Planet to be a convoluted mess, but the second shows a lot of improvement in the storytelling. This is still a brainless read, but at least it isn’t as painful as the introductory installment.  With its many large illustrations, the book is also a very fast way to spend a little down time.  There is little effort required on the part of the reader; reading Orange Planet is like eating cotton candy.  No substance, just teeth gritting sweetness.

Rui gets a very painful shock when she learns that the boy of her dreams loves her buddy Taro.  Argh!  That’s not the way it’s supposed to happen!  Now Rui is humiliated and embarrassed.  This was a fun little twist, but soon after Kaoru makes his eyebrow raising confession, that plot revelation gets shoved to the background.  Instead, Rui and Eisuke’s living arrangements become public knowledge, and the teaching staff isn’t very understanding.   Accusations fly, and both of them are in hot water.

Rui’s overly melodramatic life is about as subtle as a freight train.  Everything that happens is over the top, and is accompanied by noisy panels with lots of sound effects and screen tone.  Nothing right ever seems to happen, and Rui’s loneliness resonates in this volume.  She’s lost her parents and is trying to take care of herself, but it’s hard without any steady parental figures in her life. When Eisuke moved in, things were rough at first, but she finally had a guiding presence to help steer her along with her decisions.  Admittedly, Eisuke isn’t an ideal role model, but he is compassionate and caring.

While I am gradually warming up to Orange Planet, I think the series will be much more appealing to younger girls.  I had a hard time setting aside reality and just going with the flow of the story.  There are some fun moments in the series, and my curiosity has been piqued about the mysterious boy from Rui’s past, but the tsunami of emotions can be exhausting. Despite how busy and crowded the panels can be, the art easily conveys the wellspring of feelings that pour from the pages from beginning to end.

Grade: B-

Review copy provided by Del Rey