----
*Warning*: Might include minor spoilers, I tried my absolute best not to describe any concrete event out of the manga that's not included in the synopsis.

Also, fair warning, it's a long review, you can skip to the end if you want my overall thoughts on Sae-ism!
----

I'll try to describe my experience of Sae-ism as best I can.

First off, the main tags for this work's genres are Drama, School and Psychological. Although I was looking through the Shoujo Ai genre when I found this manga... I also think it's missing the Supernatural/Horror tag, since the events that take place in the story of Sae-ism are beyond the level of humanity as you and I know it...

First things first, Story: 7.

As mentionned, the story is quite unique and wasn't what I expected it to be at all. For the first few chapters, it looks like your good old regular Slice of Life/School manga and I thought that the whole premise of the story would be built around that, but boy was I wrong! If you've read the synopsis, you know that Misao, a highschooler, has been bullied ever since she transfered schools. I've never really experienced anything like that, but the depicted bullying isn't on a level that's unrealistic, so I was able to relate to Misao and understand what she must've felt like during all this time. To have nobody to turn to for help when in such a situation, it makes you feel undeniably hopeless. I thought that was very well portrayed in the beginning of the story. When Sae finally comes in and helps out Misao with her situation, I thought to myself "okay so that's when the girls love (Shoujo Ai) part comes in, right?"... and it did... kind of. But... not the way I expected it. I won't reveal anything past what's said in the synopsis, but you definitely end up understanding the "Sae's friendship becomes more and more nightmarish" part. Overall, I thought the pacing was a bit slow at first (for volume 1), but it's understandable since you kind of need time to establish to story, the main characters and try to present them to the reader in such a way that makes you relate to them and/or feel empathy towards them, so you get hooked on the story. Worry not, the pacing picks up afterwards, and you get to experience quite a lot of events within the other 3 volumes! Sometimes it may feel a bit overwhelming and confusing, although it isn't really that hard to follow at all. I felt that for those reasons, it deserved a solid 7 for the story, since it's nothing really new but it's also not your usual and simple "girl gets bullied - girl gets rescued - girl ends up with her savior and they live happily ever after" type of story.

Next up, Art: 9.

Wow. To be honest, I loved the art style for this manga. It's quite simplistic, doesn't make use of a lot of background art nor shading/details or "special effects" (like polka dots for cute moments, lightning for surprise elements, and such), but it's very well drawn and enough to want to see more and keep reading. It serves the story right and allows the reader to experience the emotions of the characters, it makes you feel as if you were part of the story. As to why I mentionned Sae-ism was missing the Supernatural/Horror tag, it is mainly because of the story in itself that uses elements that are out of the ordinary, but also because in my opinion, some panels look like they're straight out of a horror manga - which further strengthens my earlier statement - the art is absolutely amazing and outstanding, almost scary/upsetting at times. If it wasn't for the lack of background art or the fact that some panels feel a little more empty than others, I would've easily given Sae-ism a 10 for visuals. I've only read a couple dozens of mangas so far, but this one is among the mangas I found had incredible artwork. The panels aren't confusing and they make the story easy to follow, contrary to some other works I've read, where I sometimes get lost because of the overuse of double-paged panels, weirdly angled panels, overlapping/incomplete drawings and text bubbles that overlap everything... Sae-ism's Art was consistent, expressive, somewhat unique and it served a purpose, which is why I gave it a very solid 9.

Characters: 8.

The characters portrayed in Sae-ism weren't really anything new or outstanding. It consists of our two main characters:
- A bullied highschool girl, our shy and timid Misao;
- Her "friend" Sae, who's miss popular-and-good-at-everything-she-ever-does-ever.
Besides that, we're introduced to a bunch more supporting characters, namely Ran, Kakoi, The Mysterious Baron, Jin, and so on. They all serve a somewhat meaningful purpose in the events that take place in the story, and they all have unique traits and personalities that differentiate them from one another. Some are likeable, others can be kind of annoying, but the author definitely put some thought behind every character and considered what it could bring to the story and how it could unfold. There's originality within the supporting characters, even though I found Misao, the main character, to be somwhat bland and generic for being our heroine. If you consider the fact that she's timid and oppressed at her core, then I guess it's within reason to consider her a believable character nonetheless. There is definite character development when you focus on Misao and her thoughts and actions. The other characters aren't really developped as much, but they support the story and help our heroine's character progression very well in my opinion. At first, I thought Sae's character was a bit "too much" and it kinda made me feel anxious as to how it would affect the development of the story, but in the end, after reading all 17 chapters, I find that I can actually relate to Sae to a certain level. Wanting to control your "friends", how they spend their time, wanting to spend time with them, feeling the need for them, (etc.) are things that I've experienced in the past, and it resonated with me at my core (this isn't a spoiler, it's written in the synopsis, by the way). Overall, great characters, even though they're nothing groundbreaking or outstanding, I could relate to them and actually connect with them on a deeper level.

Finally, Enjoyment: 8.

If you haven't noticed yet with how I expressed my thoughts, I truly enjoyed reading Sae-ism! It brought together many genres and it did it well, in my opinion. It also covered rather common subjects (mainly highschool bullying and friendship) in its own original way, which I found refreshing. It's not the kind of manga that'll left you with a big smile on your face after completing it - rather the opposite. In my case, it got me to reflect on my past and current friendships/relationships. I wasn't really confused at the end of it all, but more in a contemplative state, lost in thought, going through past memories and the like. In other words, it - truly - got me thinking. I read Sae-ism in a couple hours, because it had an impact on me. I read and re-read some panels that I found meaning into, that I could actually relate to, and that made me feel emotions I thought I'd never experience (again). It made me laugh at times, it made my eyes teary at other times. It even made me feel uncomfortable. It was, for a lack of a better expression, a rollercoaster of emotions. Quite a read!

In conclusion, Overall: 8.

For all the reasons expressed in this review, I give Sae-ism a very solid 8. For challenging my thoughts, being mysterious as well as humorous, for the fabulous visuals, for the simple-yet-relatable main character. Definitely would recommend reading it, especially if you're not afraid of the unsettling and having your thoughts challenged by mystery and drama. This is tagged Psychological, after all!