"Orange Roof" is a heart warming story of two single parent divorcees who meet through unusual circumstances. Through some misfortune, both "half families" are forced into cohabitation with each other. Initially relations vary from friendly (the two youngest children, like all small children, just look at the situation as just having more playmates) to hostile (the two older children act like pre-teen boys and girls will) to frosty and reserved (the two parents) but over time the reader gets to see how they evolve, almost unwittingly into a some semblance of a "real family".

Of course, this is a love story, so it's almost preordained that the two parents will fall in love with each other. Unlike a lot of manga, this actually seems somewhat believable. Natsume, the mother, is a kind hearted woman who gives her all into being a mother and role model for her children, but struggles with a fear and distrust of men due to her poor treatment at the hands of her philandering husband. Shoutarou, the father, unlike a lot of male manga protagonists is a hard working, honest and diligent man who was only trying to do his best by his family by working hard, but feels he managed to drive his wife away through neglect. A great deal of the pleasure of watching their romance evolve is that they're both incredibly nice people who really deserve a "second change at love" and the mangaka makes great use of this by placing them both in situations where they need to rely on each other, further demonstrating of course how perfect they are together.

The plot of this manga is fairly straight forward since we know what direction it's heading in already and what the conclusion is going to be. However the mangaka manages to keep it somewhat fresh by dividing it up it multiple character arcs where the growing love between Shoutarou and Natsume is challenged by various people from their pasts. This is pretty much a mix of some drama bits and some comedy bits as some of the suitors or situations are serious and others are just laughably absurd. On the whole, even though it was trope ridden, it was executed nicely allowing the strength of the characters to carry it off.

On the all, the art is attractive in a cute way - the family itself is adorable and the pacing is good as the manga moves at a brisk pace, but still feels like serious development is happening and not being rushed. I really appreciated this because there didn't seem like there was endless "filler" chapters like other manga. Every chapter I read felt like it really contributed to the story.

"Orange Roof" is a sweet romance featuring a pair of endearing protagonists that you can't help but cheer for. If you're hankering for an "adult manga" that doesn't deal with whiny highschool kids then I heartily recommend it.