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tl;dr fantastic manga about dealing with a toxic friendship with realistic, down to Earth drama

Time for a review from someone who has finished the series (I just finished it but MAL hasn't updated the manga as completed - the chapter number is taken from the Japanese wikipedia). This will be completely spoiler free! Promise.

We all know how romanticized and unrealistic anime/manga school can be. This one is the opposite. This is the single realest portrayal of a school that I've found. And most of all, an extremely down to Earth abusive friendship.

"Abusive friendship? How can a friendship be abusive?"

Being emotionally abused and manipulated, often guilted ... too, that's what makes an abusive friendship. A friend who makes you feel bad for speaking up against them, or following your own will. Why are you letting them do that? Because they're your friend. Because you blame yourself. And because you don't have the confidence to realize you're being toyed with.

And because your friend most likely doesn't actually mean to harm you.

Rainbow Revolution is the story of one of the most complex emotional problems a person can face: Fighting an abusive friendship. And it has no trouble picturing all of the complexity too. Everyone who knows what it's like to have low confidence will be able to relate to the main character Nana, and everyone who has experienced a friendship (or even relationship) that was toxic will find an eerie reflection of it in this story. It's not drama written for the sake of a happy ending. It's drama the way it happens in real life. I've always had a hard time finding anime and manga that depict bullying the way I experienced it at school, but this manga had scenes that could have been straight from my own memories.

All in all:
- Very well written characters
- Not black and white at all, everyone has feelings they deal with
- Down to Earth
- Realistic depiction of a toxic friendship and a manipulative person
- Good art
- Romance isn't really the focus
- An ending that hits the nail on the head

This is the first time I've found a story that understands how toxic friendships work. It didn't just "give me the feels". It made me rethink aspects of my life and experiences I've had. Don't be fooled by the cute looks and school setting. This manga is anything but adorable.