Synopsis
Rainbow and Black is a Slice-of-Life manga about a college student named Shirahoshi Kuroe who loves everything in black and white and struggles with making friends. This all changes when Kuroe finds a colorful parrot-like creature aka “happy mouse” who has been abandoned. Kuroe decides to take him in and name him Niji. Kuroe finds out that these happy mice are difficult to care for and are pretty rare. The happy mice also talk, perform mating dances and do other strange things. Kuroe then finds a network of happy mouse owners which leads to Kuroe finding more friends.
Karoue lamenting about having a bad day.
Niji abandoned. (Rainbow and Black, pg. 57, 194).
Art
Overall this manga was visually enjoyable. I personally liked the character designs, especially Kuroe’s design since it fits her personality, considering she is the “black” in the title. Niji is really adorable but I am uncertain why they call him a parrot when he is not built like a parrot except for having feathers. There is almost no fan service in this manga and they do a great job with designing the backgrounds.
Niji being cute.
Niji is trying to jump. (Rainbow and Black, pg. 94, 100)
Plot
The plot of this manga tends to move slowly but not slow enough to seem boring. Kuroe does not meet a friend until the end of the manga and most of the book is her trying to get used to Niji. There is a good amount of mystery surrounding Niji. Kuroe also spends a good amount of time trying to research him, which ends up being interesting. My favorite scenes are just Niji being cute. Niji has a lot of weird habits and can speak/sing which he does randomly. This provides a good amount of the humor in the series. The end of the manga is rather heartwarming as Kuro meets Nana, a fellow happy mouse owner.
Kuroe meeting Nana, a fellow rainbow mouse owner.
Niji doing his poop dance. (Rainbow and Black, pg. 64, 7).
Conclusion
I would say this manga is a good read for any slice-of-life fan who likes a good story about the struggles of college and female friendship. The characters are relatable and there are some humorous moments throughout. Overall this manga was relaxing, uplifting and can put a smile on your face.
To end this post, I want you to look at how cute Niji is. (Rainbow and Black, pg. 91)
Rainbow and Black
Rainbow and Black Manga Volume 1 features story and art by Eri Takenashi. 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.
Add to CartLearn More