Review: Rainbow! Volume 2

The second and final volume of Rainbow! by Sunny and Gloomy is an intensely emotional experience, one that will resonate with an entire spectrum of potential readers. While exploring our main character's sexuality and romance, the second volume takes an unabashed look at deep-seated homophobia and the damage it can wreak in a family.

If you haven't read the first volume already, check out our review for Rainbow!, Volume 1.

Our reviewer would like to note trigger warnings for: alcoholism and drug abuse, physical abuse, homophobia, references to conversion therapy, implied sexual abuse, and child neglect.

Rainbow! Volume 2: Into the Pastel-verse

As with the first volume, Sunny and Gloomy's pastel pinks and greens are a saccharine lens through which our main character processes her trauma and views her world. Struggling with her alcoholic and manipulative mother, Boo Meadows has sought refuge in the daring transfer student Mimi, drawn together by their alternative appearance and desire for independence.

Volume 2 doesn't pull any punches—this is an often-confronting read that gets more painful depending on how much your personal story aligns with the characters. Boo's rocky relationship with her mother disintegrates as they clash over their reversed parental roles, ingrained over years of abuse, both shown and implied. It's in these starkly depressing moments that the pink-and-green art fades into a monotonous gray that borders on authoritarian.

Mimi, at first presented merely as the rebel-without-a-cause escapist dream for Boo, becomes a stronger and more defined character in Rainbow! Volume 2. We're introduced to her extremely homophobic mother, who attempts to rule her teenage daughter with an iron fist, and views not only her activities but her sexuality as something unnatural that should be corrected. Mimi's home life is perhaps even rockier than Boo's, with a younger brother and distant father pulling her in all directions, and the looming threat of being sent to conversion therapy.

Not everything is hopeless, however. In the generous 321 pages of Rainbow!, Vol 2, Boo and Mimi's relationship blossoms in delightful, if not entirely unexpected ways. Their romance has been telegraphed since the first volume, but it's the way their relationship helps support each other during these times of upheaval that truly makes it feel genuinely magical.

Summary

Rainbow!, Volume 2 is confronting and raw, stemming from a place of emotional vulnerability that, while not necessarily unique to the queer community, is unfortunately an all-too-common tale. Through the dramatic ups and downs, the core relationship between Boo and Mimi is a reminder that family is what we make it, and that sometimes, although broken bonds can heal over time, there may be more gained by building something new.

Rainbow! Volume 2 will be available for sale May 5, 2025.

Anime Atelier received a review copy from Scholastic.