Orange Yane no Chiisana Ie - Manga Review

This manga makes me hate women. And I am one. Troublesome, indeed. Shotarou is a hard worker with a great family. That is, until his wife gets tired of the fact that he never comes home and asks for a divorce. He buys a new house hoping to win her over again, but when he gets there he finds a beautiful woman and her two daughters there. The woman, Natchi recently divorced her husband for cheating on her. She bought a new house to start a new life, but as it turns out, Shotarou and Natchi were subject to a real estate scam, both conned into buying the same house. Now Shotarou and his sons must life in the same house as Natchi and her daughters. Dramatic complications ensue.

I don't know why I keep reading this. It started out interesting, but I will be the first to say that the females in this story are terrible obnoxious. They're gossips, they assume the worst of well-meaning guys, and to top it off they accuse innocent Shotarou of sexual harrassment on a regular basis. Sometimes it's a misunderstanding (that they should honestly take more time to think about), and sometimes it's just for the mere fun of it with no basis whatsoever. I despise women like that, and it seems like nearly every female in this is like that. I have nothing against self-empowered and strong women (I like to think that I'm one myself), but I have a lot against women who try to play the "sexual harrassment" card at the drop of a hat. AAAARGGHAHAHGAAAAHHHHH. Okay, now that that's out of my system...this is actually a pretty cute story. Not all the girls are SO bad, and if you can manage to hang in there long enough, some women actually become reasonable as time goes on. Gasp. The artwork is simple, but incredibly cute. It has a very warm feeling to it that makes you feel at home. Definitely one of the things that keeps me coming back for more. There's not really a huge surprise as to who the final couple will be, but watching how they get there and overcome their own misgivings is quite a tale indeed. Only the lead characters really receive much attention, with the supporting cast getting very little character development. The story moves like a quiet slice of life, but it doesn't slow down. A timeskip later on give the plot a much needed push.

If you like cute, innocent romance, and you have a tolerance for sitting through a frustrating beginning, you will be rewarded for your patience with this cute, and warm little tale.

--Ou-bento