Rainbow and Black, Vol. 1

Rainbow and Black #1

by Eri Takenashi

Amazing Technicolor Dream Pet

Shirahoshi Kuroe is a college student who’s tired of living in black and white—then an adorably strange creature brings all the colors of the rainbow into her life. Kuroe must learn what exactly this strange creature is as it upends her monochrome existence.

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Contemporary, Young Adult, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Manga, Animals

204 pages, Paperback

First published June 27, 2019

Reviews

[The Artisan Geek]

17/12/2020
Thank you Seven Seas for a copy of this new series :)

This was pretty good! Definitely not a total banger but I found myself smiling from time to time. Niji is a really cute animal and I like the idea of coming up with a totally new species of animal.

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[Olivia | Liv's Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️

This was cute for a quick slice of life read!

[Rereader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this volume, but ultimately the cute moments between Niji and Kuro outweighed my issues, so 4 stars it is. That, and I'm also a huge animal fan, so the series already had a lot going for it there...

To summarize my issues with this volume, I think this series would have been better off if it was a "serious young woman finds a bizarre pet and becomes more lax" story than the "young woman sees everything in black and white but a colorful new pet helps her see things in color" story it actually is. There's nothing inherently wrong with the series' premise on paper, but the execution is honestly the weakest part of the story. I would EASILY rather watch Niji do/say something cute and see Kuro's reaction than see Kuro's moments where her "everything's black and white" mentality cause her problems. Those portions feel almost shoehorned in to remind readers that this is Kuro's personality, but honestly if you took that out and just said "she's a super serious person with no social life" it would've worked just as well, if not better. This is one of the rare cases where trying to push a message in a slice-of-life series is actually detrimental to the story.

But like I said, the cute moments between Niji and Kuro made up for it, so I'm still on board for this series. I think it has a lot of potential to be a ton of fun and super fucking cute, so I'll definitely be picking up volume 2. As for whether I recommend this or not, I think it has enough fun bits to counteract the negatives, so give it a try if you like. Not saying it will necessarily be for everyone, but I enjoyed it and I think other slice-of-life fans will too.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another charmer of a book about how a pet can change your outlook and make life richer. It's been a good year for those, and lord knows we need 2020 to be good for something!

[Forthright . · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kuro (black) rescues a strange animal on her way home from work. With a little research, she and her mother realize that it's a rare pet with unique needs. She names him Niji (rainbow) for his pretty plumage. Caring for him changes her world a little at a time.

I've never seen anything quite like this before, and I'm fascinated to see where the story might go. Because Niji is intelligent (perhaps even sentient?), and he's chosen Kuro as his one-and-only partner for life.

[Aliyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art was very n i c e

[Readingwithnori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was oddly cute. It was a great read for a cloudy day, very slice of life. Kuroe is learning her way through life with a very specific mindset and niji is helping her see and experience different things. If you are looking for a cozy read, I would recommend this book.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rainbow and Black - they’re cops! Wait, no they aren’t. No, the black refers to Kuroe, a college student who sees things in terms of black and white. Rainbow refers to an incredibly bizarre pet that brings more than a little change to her existence.

There are worse ways to spend your reading time than enjoying a book that exults and revels in the joy of owning a pet. Granted, the crazy beast at the heart of this story is so anthropomorphically adorable that if it were in anything but a manga I would cynically say it had been designed by a committee for maximum cuteness.

Either way, this little parrot-hedgehog-science experiment-adjacent whozit comes into Kuroe’s life and really helps her start to see things differently. From bringing her comfort in hard times to helping her make new friends (the most implausible Twitter meet-up ever is in this very book, but it’s so cute [that word is omnipresent in this volume] that you won’t care).

The relationship between these two is the heart of the book, but I also really like how Kuroe and her Mom interact. The two go on a real voyage of discovery with the new pet and having them both learning and sharing in that joy is sweet.

I have two problems with the volume and one is in the story and the other is in how it’s presented.

Story-wise, outside of her initial interactions and sorting things during her introduction, I really don’t get Kuroe’s whole black or white perspective on things. I get that it’s to present the crazypants animal as something she can’t easily identify, but I don’t think this particular quirk of hers informs the story as much as her general shyness and trouble connecting with people.

And while I like the interesting portrayal of the dangers of social media, the most unbelievable thing in this entire book is that anybody’s ever that nice on Twitter.

Presentation-wise, I wish this book could have used a full colour palette. There’s a cliche as hell version of this in an alternate world where this critter brings true colour into Kuroe’s world and I would love to see it. You could call this Monochrome and Monochrome and it would still be apt, but such is the nature of the manga format.

3.5 stars, but rounded up because there are some real moments of contentment in here and, as I say, anything that lauds the value of pets is a solid winner in my book. Definitely looking forward to the developments coming in Volume 2.

[flora · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS THE CUTEST MANGA EVER! I LOVE THIS MANGA! I WAS SMILING THE ENTIRE TIME THROUGH. this manga resonated with me, except for thinking in black and white, i feel melancholic and dead at times. numb inside, essentially! i resonate with this, very cute, i love it. i wished the Happy Mouse exists. i usually would never want pets, but if a helpless rainbow thing wanted refuge, i would offer a shelter for it with open arms! <3 love this manga, sooo cute!

ALSO, loved the butthole shots! so cute, its little butthole :3 little anus!

[Danielle Booey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was different than I thought it would be. I thought it would be about a girl who only saw in black and white had color introduced to her vision and world. Instead it is about a girl who sees things only in black and white (like there are only two points of view). She finds a happy mouse, a parrot rodent like creature that is very intelligent. Together they slowly form a bond over the first volume and the main character begins to reach out to find other owners of happy mice.

I'll read the next volume, but only if it is free. Not my favorite manga that I have read recently. Not sure if that was due to my preconceived ideas over the plot.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely 100% loved it!!

I am so glad I saw this at the bookstore. I was just browsing and saw the cover and immediately picked it up. I flipped it over and liked what I read. Flipped through and loved the art.

The storyline is great. I love the characters and the development that has taken place. Niji is cute and reminds me of my dog in a lot of ways. I adore Kuro and her mom is great too. I want to run out and grab volume 2 and 3 right now.

[Jillian -always aspiring- · Rating 3 out of 5]

2020 Read #716

So far, I think this manga captures its themes really well about what it means to have a pet and, towards the end of this volume, what it means to be a millennial in a social media-crazed world. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens from here.

[Preethi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't expect to love this as much as I do! Slice of life with a new pet is probably my favorite manga genre tbh.

[luna xx · Rating 5 out of 5]

~4.5~
super cute and fun to read

[Samy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute. I was hooked immediately!

[Audrey JD · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was my first try at manga, and was surprisingly good. It was really funny and strange in a fun way, it’s more of a 3.5 stars

[cvtherin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute, and the art is really nice. But.

I don't quite vibe with the way the story's going to unfold with Kuro's problem of only seeing in black and white. It's more metaphorical and the scenes where this is supposed to be a problem are rather weak (e.g. Kuro punches a man she waits at when he gropes her, and is promptly fired).

Also, what is with people's obsessions with animal buttholes? So many scenes we had to see that bird-whatever-the-fuck-that-pet-is-supposed-to-be where we saw it's butthole.

Why.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this is a really weird manga for me. I don't see how this animal has helped to shift Kuroe's black and white point of view on life. The biggest problem I have, and the creepiest factor in this story for me, is that the pet is treated like a boyfriend. It has imprinted on her and even has to take baths with her. I don't know if this wears off in the following volumes but I don't really have enough of an interest to continue with the series.

[April Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quiet, sweet manga about a young woman, Kuroe, who finds an unusual creature abandoned on the street. She takes the creature home, intending only to keep it and care for it until its owner can be found, but becomes attached to it and decides to keep it, and names it Niji. Kuroe sees the world in a very black and white manner; she has trouble keeping a job or making friends because of this, but having the colorful, always surprising Niji around helps her to start loosening up, and by the end of the book, she's made a new friend. We get insights into Niji and what he is without it feeling unnatural- Kuroe looks up his species on wikipedia, talks to a zoologist, and watches a documentary to learn about him, so it feels natural within the story. This is very much an introductory volume of a series, setting up Kuroe's character as an awkward, introverted person who doesn't have much experience with human interaction outside of her home (she lives with her mother), and has a problem with seeing shades of gray in life. She doesn't get a lot of character growth in this volume, but there's a little bit, and there's potential for more. She's a bit unlikable at first, but as you get to know here, you understand her better. The interactions between her and Niji are cute, and it's fun to see Kuroe's reactions as she becomes more comfortable as a pet owner. The story and dialog are a bit repetitive at first, but flows better after that. Read this when you want something light with some sweetness.

[Charlotte D · Rating 2 out of 5]

the main character is infuriating. the info about this book was that the main character only saw in black and white, and this creature brought color into her world. this would have been better in the literal sense, but instead the main character is just seeing things black and white as in there’s only two definitive ways to view everything. and even then, she doesn’t seem to want to change. everytime this plot point is brought up it seems very random, like we mustn’t forget how she views the world. the social media freak out made zero sense, how did replying to all the comments make her feel the need to repeat the mantra “black and white, must keeps things black and white” 🤨

then, there were way too many shots of the weird little creatures asshole. definitely didn’t need to see it, it was weird. and i wasn’t crazy about the way they treated it like a boyfriend to the main character, with it emotionally mating with her?????? (especially hated the page dedicated to her fantasizing about it as a human man wrapping her in its arms 😻😻) and the bath scenes were pretty fucking weird and a strange focal point of this???

but the main characters developing relationship with nana at the end was pretty cute, and i’d pick up the second volume only to see where it’s going.

[Jordy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. (My first ever manga!) This was the perfect book to read after finishing my final trial this morning for Advanced Trial Advocacy class!
I needed some serotonin BADLY! And this totally delivered. I was at a point where I couldn’t do a regular book my mind is so fried.

It was HILARIOUS (why aren’t books funny anymore??), wholesome, cute , and so lovely.
I literally teared up at the end even tho this is such a simple, slice of life story. I laughed out loud so many times. Lol~~~ Niji is just so lovable !! 🥹🥹

I can see how there could be ENDLESS fodder to create like 1000 of this manga series bc of the whole “Tweeter” portion of the book. So fun to read but then the ending was 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭. 💕💕💕 I love it so much. I am already planning on going to my local bookstore and buying the rest of the series, which is just 2 more books.
To the author: GET DRAWING MORE INSTALLMENTS PLEASE!!!

Highly recommended! Also this was my first ever manga!

Definitely coming back to, like I do with Everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too!!

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read this to complete my library's summer reading challenge but it is SO cute and now I have to request the other books in the series. Basically, Kuro (which means Black in Japanese) is a college girl with no friends when she finds Niji (Rainbow in Japanese) abandoned by their owner. Niji is not a real animal but in the book universe they are a rare animal from a remote Pacific island. They can talk! And have feathers and lay eggs like a bird but lactate like a mammal. Throughout the book we learn more and more about Niji's species while we watch Kuro go about her life at school. Along the way, Kuro loses two different jobs as a result of seeing the world in black and white - thinking that each situation should be either right or wrong. Overall I recommend this if you're a manga fan!

[Nicholas Palmieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a few slice-of-life "person adopts pet, pet shows them how to appreciate life" manga like this, but this is BY FAR the best. The art has such dimension, it looks like a cel-shaded 3D cartoon, and the I love the use of perspective in a lot of panels. All the comedy beats land so well, too- Takenashi has such a natural feel for comedic pacing. And I can't get over how cute this mysterious creature is. The little absurdist touches, and the fact that we learn about the creature as the main character does, sets it apart from the others in this sub-genre. It's not perfect (some bits really fall flat about the main character seeing the world on black and white, and the mating ritual stuff felt a little uncomfortable in a bad way), but overall it's great stuff.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shirahoshi, who sees everything as this-or-that/black-or-white, takes in an odd little multi-colored creature.

Adorable! I love this slice of life story about how Shirahoshi learns the awesomeness of having a pet in your life. I can honestly say this is the first book I've ever read that makes a cute panel out of a feathered/bright colored/tubby animal proudly announcing that he's pooped.

The whole book made me smile - I'll definitely be back for more.

[Inas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED IT!

This was the cutest manga I've read in a while. Not to mention, this was also the first manga that I've finished in Japanese!! I'm so proud of myself hahaha.
I loved how it had furigana for all of the kanji, no matter how easy. I mean, I know a lot of kanji already, but it's still super helpful to have furigana for the few words that I don't know yet.

I'm totally reading the next ones!!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m surprised by how much manga is based on social anxiety, but maybe I shouldn’t be. All the time that we spend online has definitely had an impact on our interpersonal communication skills. In this series, Kuroe, a smart, serious, and no-nonsense college student, serendipitously finds a mysterious rainbow-hued creature. What is this creature and how will he help her to overcome the mental hurdles posed by her absolutist thinking? Only time will tell.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 really. It's definitely not the kind of manga I usually read. I like more action/fantasy manga. Read the first few pages in the store and bought it on a whim. It's cute. Nothing serious, sometimes a little cheesy, but charming nonetheless. I was debating if I was going to purchase the 2nd volume or not while I was reading it, but with the way volume 1 ended, I'm curious to see where it goes.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute, aside from one scene that was more uncomfortable than funny. I think this would work so much better as an anime, so that it could be in color. I thought the parallels between how the characters treat Niji and how owners treat their pets "in real life" was amusing and accurate. It's up in the air if I'll read the sequel, but most likely I will.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute manga. I really love Niji. Volume 2 should be coming to our library soon, and I will be reading it. I think a lot of my teens will enjoy it. My only complaint is I want it to be in color.

[Skye (Skye's Scribblings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grabbed this randomly off the library shelf. Wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but once I got past the oddness of it, main character Kuro and too-unique pet Niji grew on me until I'll be interested to see where Kuro's new human friendship goes in the next volume.