LifE

LifE / Seizon -LifE- / Whatever other names exist for this manga is a hidden gem. Sprung from the brains of Noboyuki Fukumoto (Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji) and Kaiji Kawaguchi (Eagle), this is a short but sweet story of avenging your loved ones in a race against the clock(s). With an intense (if a bit fantastical) plot, engaging artwork, and solid characterization, this makes for a solid weekend read.

[Story - 8]

The story follows Masao Takeda's journey to finding the killer of his daughter from 14 years ago as he deals with the effects of cancer. This is admittedly a simple premise in itself, but the way it's told is rather captivating - Takeda goes out of his way to find evidence of the crime and the killer's identity both with/without the help of law enforcement. Along the way, he's met with barriers such as the Statute of Limitations and the inevitable passing of time. While he does overcome them in unbelievable ways sometimes, I found that the way the story was being told allowed for suspension of disbelief to be done easily. The pacing is rather tight due to the small volume/chapter count, which makes the story all the more heart-pounding as there are no sluggish parts whatsoever + both the clock and the chapters tick down to a predictable, but nonetheless well-told and heartwarming, finale.

[Art - 9]

The artwork is rather stylish (late 90's manga), which helps the character designs stand out even more. They each have their own distinctive facial/body features and wardrobe, and the various expressions they make convey multiple layers of depth successfully.

The background/setting details are INCREDIBLE - perhaps I should have expected this because this is a crime/mystery drama, but it was pleasant regardless. These settings are all distinguishable from each other, and have many details crammed in, both for narrative and flavor text.

[Character - 9]

The characters can be a bit cliché, but are easy to immerse yourself in. Takeda's grief over the loss of his family + the cancer diagnosis makes his desperation to solve the crime even more enthralling - he may be a bit more brainy than expected, but again, I found that suspending disbelief was easy with the way he was characterized.

There aren't many other notable characters in this story, unfortunately. Detective Murai is a Good Cop who has his AHA moments, but he isn't as noteworthy as Takeda - the rest of the police department is barely worth mentioning. Sawako (Takeda's daughter) doesn't get fleshed out a lot, but you can definitely feel her absence with how many people knew her even 14 years later, along with her intellect and internal struggle. The antagonist is.....weirdly characterized - while he is a bit of a surprise, and is rather intelligent himself, his motive for the murder is really hard to decipher. Whether it was out of vengeance towards Takeda or a curiosity of what it's like to kill or something else may never be known (at least to me).

[Enjoyment/Overall - 10/9]

Nonetheless, this was a fun read! It's well executed in spite of its nitpicky flaws, and makes for a good weekend read thanks to its short span and narrative. I'd recommend reading this if you like mystery thrillers, especially ones that don't drag!

It’s rare for a manga to elicit such strong feelings from me, but Seizon-Life succeeds with its ruminations of filial responsibility, love, and the search for truth and understanding, for redemption.

Redemption even if you've only got six months left to live. Takeda is told this and is wracked with fear and guilt. Guilt because his wife died of the same illness in the past and he realises he wasn’t there for her enough at the time. Now that he feels the same unrelenting fear of impending death, he feels disgusted with himself, with his past behaviour to his family, his deceased wife and his deceased daughter.

His long-lost daughter has not given up on him however, as once her corpse is found buried under a parking area in Nagano prefecture, the police phone Takeda to inform him, just as he's about to hang himself in despair.

In bearing witness to her skeletal remains and facing head on the shame of his previous inability to be a decent husband and father, Takeda takes it upon himself to use up what little time he has left to find his daughter's killer. There is irony and fate at play, with there being six months left till the statute of limitations on the crime being lifted, the limit being 15 years.

Takeda can’t rely on the police who don’t have the motivation to go all out on a case almost 15 years old with no leads. He begins the long and arduous journey himself by starting in the untouched bedroom of a daughter he never really knew as well as he should have, for clues as to where she disappeared to one day 14 years ago.

During the story, a cop in charge of the soon-to-be closed case serves as a foil to Takeda. Not being an irritable barrier but more like a voice of cool logic that only a seasoned and tired detective could have, he plays devil's advocate to Takeda's discoveries, forcing him to wake up to the idea that simply identifying the killer won’t be enough, he will need concrete proof in order to avenge his daughter. Another cop, Murai, joins Takeda’s mission and provides a good partner as they navigate their way through procedural details to dig underneath clues, lies and red herrings.

Seizon is so brilliant because not only is it another example of the manga form’s wide range of variety by exploring an interesting and worthy theme from the viewpoint of an ordinary character with no cynical manga-selling abilities or traits, but because it’s a great race-against-time thriller. With Takeda's condition deteriorating rapidly, time is crucial, being hospitalised is unacceptable, he must catch the killer before the legal deadline and before he becomes unable to function coherently.

So Takeda in a sense becomes the lead investigator for the most part of the story, retracing his daughter’s steps 14 years ago, following small leads, persisting, following the path she took, to see everything she saw and feel everything she felt.

Takeda's mission to find his daughter's killer is more about getting to know his daughter for the first time in a long while, and in that to find redemption for his neglect of his family in the past. When he begins to interview people about his daughter in the beginning, he feels that they're talking about a stranger, but chapter by chapter he reconnects with her.

So it’s only in the prolonged aftermath of her death that he truly understands who she was. It’s too late naturally, but in a sense it’s not, because dealing with deceased people, giving them funerals and discovering the truth behind their deaths is more to benefit the living. The dead are dead. The living have to live with that. Funerals aren’t for dead people; they're for the ones who are still alive.

Takeda's vengeance is not for his daughter's sake, but for his soul, it’s his final duty as a husband and father. The manga isn’t utterly perfect, as there is an air of predictability about it, which is both fine on one hand and unwanted on the other.

On one hand you can understand one outcome of the story, and on the other you might wish the author had written another outcome a different way. Regardless it’s not enough to detract from the story and it’s consistent with the theme of striving to survive and to keep on living no matter what the odds, as demonstrated courageously by Takeda and his daughter.

The art of the manga is reminiscent of Katsuhiro Otomo in the clean and detailed designs of background settings and characters, none of which look overly cute or beautiful but are grounded in more realistic tones. The main protagonist is just a regular middle-aged man and the story is populated by more characters in their thirties, forties; a wide variety of types overall.

It also feels like a Naoki Urasawa effort, although unlike that excellent author's epic thrillers, Seizon isn’t too convoluted to keep up with, at a lean 3 volumes it proceeds at a good pace and wraps up before becoming too over the top with twists and revelations.

The only revelation you need to know about is Seizon the manga itself.

I honestly really liked how the mystery surrounding the main character who's trying to find his daughter's killer 14 years later after her death. Worse of all going through that, the dude is going through cancer and the wife passes away.

Like bruh, it literally is a sad and heavy story to take in but you instantly will get hooked into it from the first chapter. Of course this manga isn't that perfect like the English translation in some of the earlier scenes weren't clear enough for me to understand what's going on. However it was only a minor problem so it was no biggie really. At least it wasn't all scenes in all due respect, I was glad to understand whats going on lol.

Also the ending dude is literally a woooooah moment and I meant it. I'm not gonna spoil what happened but it is something you should take a look at it you're planning to read this hidden gem manga!

I’m a sucker for emotional farewells, revenge stories, and mystery solving. Is it any wonder then that I like Seizon-Life? It hits all the points.

Takeda is a man who succeeded greatly at his career, but he lost just about everything else. He lost his daughter over a decade ago, he then lost his wife to a disease, and now he himself seems on the verge of losing his own life to cancer in six months. He admits, though, that even before he lost those things, he didn’t really care for them. All he ever cared for was his job.

Just when he was about to give up and throw even his life away, he receives news that his daughter’s corpse had been found and that the statue of limitations on her murder will expire in six months. Believing that this is a heavenly signal from his daughter, he decides to go look for her murderer when even the police had given up. In the process, he might learn more than just about the murder.

Seizon-Life’s strongest point is that it’s an exciting read made all the stronger by its short length – meaning it doesn’t drag on and the progress moves at a steady pace which easily keeps readers’ interest.

It does require a significant suspension of disbelief, especially when you consider that the crime was committed 14 years ago yet the primary method Takeda used to search is to ask people for information from their memories.

Nonetheless, the story’s mystery aspect helps to keep you interest and Takeda does come to be endearing and one sympathizes with him. Thanks to that, an already short but exciting story becomes that much more short and exciting because I found that, by the end, I didn't really wanted it to end just yet.

"In my heart...it's always raining."

I literally ran into this manga while searching for something...interesting. I can honestly say this manga creeped me out a little bit and made me angry an awful lot all while keeping me interested.

The main thing it was about was learning how to deal with your sadness and anger. All of life's curve balls. It gives you a look at what a person feels and what drives someone to hurt themselves. What they're willing to do in order to ease their pain, even if it's for a little while.

Summary:
Getting into high school is important for best friends Ayumu and Shii. Getting into Nishidate High School is Shii's dream. Ayumu wants to be by her best friends side and decides to enroll in the same school. Only problem is Ayumu is not known for her brains, but that doesn't stop them from making a promise to study their best in order to pass the entrance exam. She cuts herself to stay awake, it "helps" she heard. Life had other plans, only one girl gets in, Ayumu. Shii hates her for getting in and their friendship shatters. Ayumu is all alone. Her chance is to start fresh in high school.

Manami's life is great, perfect boyfriend, popular and super nice, she befriends Ayumu in a second. Manami is perfect, right? It all started with one cut, but know bleeding is the only thing that brings her comfort..

The Characters- [MILS SPOILERS]
That is this manga magic. I haven't read a manga before that had so many hateful and perverse people.
Ayumu is a victim, of everyone. Her only fault is that she's not strong enough and cuts herself to deal with the pain. The pain of her best friend hating her, her family ignoring her, her friends bullying her... She's gullible and sweet. Weaknesses in the world of this manga.

Manami was very good at her role of being the evil bitch. She played the good girl like no ones business but when the cat got out of the bag, there was no going back. She betrays and bullies and has no scruples. she is the lowest person you will ever imagine. She is evil personified. And I won't lie, all throughout my reading I was hoping she died, painfully.

Miki Hatori is the breath of fresh air. Though she is portrayed at first as a delinquent, that proves to be false. Her character, to me, was the worlds redeeming quality for Ayumu. To believe that people were good, some of them anyway.

I don't want to spoil anything by having to dissect the characters/story (which is what I truly want/need) but I will tell you this, LIFE's characters give the story that extra push to Great. They show hatred, selfishness, jealousy, betrayal and deceitfulness like no one's business, all at once to the same person. They are that "good." The make you want to scream and get angry, and you don't even feel bad when karma meets them around the corner. And it always does.

Though not always realistic, I mean where are the grownups/teachers?? The teachers that are there are illustrated originally in their inability to help. Not to offend but some of them wanted to help but they just made things worse. It might as well have been real LIFE.

The Art- I started reading this in the dead of the night and at the beginning the art scared me. Not anything gory or anything, just the characters expressions. You could see their evilness. But it's an ordinary style art. Nothing beautiful or memorable in it.

The really sad part was that while I was reading I kept asking myself why I was still reading. But I couldn't stop. It was like watching a train wreck.

The story is about a girl who is bullied with so many insane characters. I didn't have any doubt giving this manga a 10/10 rating.

The most appealing factor of this manga is it's story since it's unique and interesting. It even has notes on the psychologists. The main character relies on other people's thoughts about her too much that she can't do anything without getting stressed about getting disliked. It captures her anxiety, fear of not fitting in, self hatred well. In one of the first chapters, she asks herself, wouldn't it be better to be alone instead of being friends with people that will only care about themselves, who will turn their back towards you in your slightest mistake without paying attention to what you're saying. Ayumu, the main character, concludes on having friends is better despite the consequences. Then there is Hatori, who is a great role mode, in contrast to Ayumu, she is a strong girl who doesn't care about her classmates even though they ignore her and exclude her from everything. The manga displays how school life is for the girls with all the jealousy and meaningless drama, I know things like this happen since I saw it happen and this manga does a great job of displaying the truth without sugar coating it.

The art and the characters are another strong point. The poses, action scenes are so greatly drawn and it is so detailed. Even in a crowded scene, I could see the faces and bodies clearly. Also the use of tones is so professionally done that it helps giving the emotion powerfully. The expressions in some parts blew my mind by how terrifyingly accurate the faces are drawn. The characters are also very unique, every single character have depth and you understand their reasoning, I wouldn't think there would be a better way than concluding the way it did since it was so much like what the characters would do.

To put everything together, I thought that it would be about a girl who self harms but it was more about the psychological drama, learning the way of coping and fighting back against bullying. I'm so glad I read it and recommend it without doubt. Only exception would be if anyone would get triggered by bullying and self harm but I believe this would help you getting stronger. Thanks to the mangaka for creating such a great story and art.

LIFE is basically the best manga I've ever read. The story is deep, impactful, emotional, and realistic at the same time. A lot of people may think that it is exaggerated, but in real life acts of extreme bullying DO happen and people are ignoring it so blatantly. The manga also successfully depicts how school life is like especially for girls. It is hard to fit in and girls would do anything to fit in and feel like they belong in the class. Moreover, the aspect I love most about this manga is about the character's relationship with her mother. Honestly it's VERY difficult to find any manga who shows the fact that parents care a lot about their children's performance at school. The realistic pressure that Asians, especially Japanese, have to face is that they are expected to do so well at school regardless of what happens. This manga, unlike any other, is truly a masterpiece.

LIFE is a drama set in high school that deals with suicide, bullying, depression and self-mutliation.

I liked how LIFE took an interesting turn after the beginning of the story. But the twist in the plot is brutal, and this is not a happy story by far. It is a heavy drama, that deals with the emotional pain and suffering of a girl who has been betrayed by her closest friend (being rejected for having a higher exam score is pretty harsh), and only gets a worse hell after that.

The key reason why I gave my score of 7/10 for LIFE, despite how the author daringly took on writing an entire manga around bullying and self-harm, is because of the drama itself. At times the drama is very much contrived, or else something is compromised so the mangaka can put the heroine Ayumu, who is constantly bullied and sometimes cuts as a result, in any situation to move the plot along. I had some questions throughout the series that needed to be addressed but even by the 40th chapter I felt they'd never be answered.

1. Why in God's name does Ayumu's mother know nothing of her suffering and pain? Usually mothers are more receptive to these types of things, and although in one chapter she half-heartedly calls Ayumu crazy, her mom doesn't seem like a witchy woman who wouldn't notice what's going on with her daughter. Maybe Ayumu is extremely good at hiding this problem? I suppose it's that... but still. I also wonder why the hell Ayuuu doesn't attempt to transfer schools during the bullying. Even if she *tried* to do so and never could, it would have made the plot better. If I were ever in such a school I'd try to transfer out of there right away!

2. Why is Ayumu a target for danger wherever she goes? This is where the plot fails. And you can immediately sense the mangaka is forcing her character into beyond realistic situations so she can develop her character further. Even when Ayumu is hanging out with her first genuine friend since jr. high named Hatori, she /slips on a bottle/ near a group of rude teenage guys, which proceeds to them /eventually kidnapping her and putting her in an abandoned hospital which blows up/. Yes, for a shoujo the plot itself is pretty good and miraculously - I enjoyed it anyway. That's the weird part. I think the mangaka saved herself from failing with this story because Ayumu and Hatori are two strong characters with good character development. I loved Hatori especially. She's a wonderful friend to Ayumu and not typical for a shoujo story.

3. I hate how every. single. person in Ayumu's life save a few people seem to think she is delusional or psycho for being bullied, or hurt by someone, including her mom. Why does this happen? I'm relieved that eventually the mangaka added some minor characters who call out the psycho band of girls for bullying Ayumu. But God, the things that happen to her are beyond nightmarish, and if the school had a normal administration the girls who did such a thing would have been instantly expelled in just one instance. What bothers me about the bullying is that it seems near-constant to the point of ridiculousness, and it actually happens on school grounds, and in such a way where SOMEONE should have seen it first-hand. The mangaka sometimes sacrifices the quality of the story to provide incidences of bullying that should get the evil girls expelled, but they never do.

I'm half-way finished LIFE. I've enjoyed it despite a few of its pit falls, like how Ayumu got a one-way ticket to Psychoville just from graduating jr. high. It's a genuinely interesting manga that takes on an extremely heavy subject, which it can overdo sometimes, but nonetheless the art is pretty good and the characters will make you want to continue on.

I personally think LIFE is a really good Manga. Its about this Girl named Ayumu Shiiba and she's not the brightest student. But, lucky for her, she "was" friends with a another girl named Shii-chan. (well, thats what she called her in the story. I don't know her name) Shii-chans dream was to go to Nishidate High School. Later, Ayumu realizes she doesn't want to be apart from Shii-chan, Just because they'll most likely go to different high schools. So, She studys hard (using Shii-chan's notes; making it hard on Shii-chan to study for herself) and makes it into Nishidate without Shii-chan (who failed her test and let her grades slip because she didn't speak up for her notes back from Ayumu.) You'll sound realize Ayumu's really slow and doesn't get things fast enough. And thats what happened, She didn't get the clues that Shii-chan was failing until it was to later. And now Ayumu has lost her best friend and goes into high school alone; just to make worster friends.
When Ayumu gets to Nishidate, She means a preppy girl named Manami Anzai. Manami likes to be the center of attention and doesn't care as to how she does it. (Like, if she has to lie, blackmail, or really anything) Manami has a boyfriend; Katsumi Sako, who has a fetish for bondage and keeps a scrapbook of the girls he has raped. Sako breaks up with Manami for unknown reasons. Manami then, asks Ayumu to get them back to together. Ayumu tries to be the good friend and works to try and get them together again, only to come across this book, he molests her and makes her his slave. However, his evil plans for her are thwarted because he has an abusive father who beats him to ensure his future relationship with Manami (both of their fathers are rich CEO's of famous companies). Around large groups of people he acts polite and sweet; but when it suits him to show his real self, that self is manipulative and abusive. He stalksAyumu, tries to make her call him "Master" for blackmail purposes, and even completely tricks Ayumu's mother into thinking he is a nice person. (Ayumu's mother was worried she wasn't doing well in school got her a home teacher.) After, the first rape attack on Ayumu, Sako promised to get back with Manami for Ayumu.
Manami then, follows Sako to Ayumu's house for "study" (Eariler, that same day Manami's other friends told her that they saw Ayumu going into a house with Sako. And they stated that Ayumu was trying to steal Sako away from her. Manami didn't believe it, because she asked Ayumu to talk to Sako for her.) But, before going to Ayumu, Sako bought some flowers. And Manami though the flowers were for Ayumu. (Sako's never given Manami flowers.) So, then Manami's starts believing what her friends were saying about Ayumu; She then get the whole class (later the whole school) to start bullying Ayumu (At first Manami was bullying a other girl named Miki Hatori, who laters becomes friends with Ayumu.) Then, last Manami get the teachers to do nothing about the bullying going on in the class.
So, now Ayumu and Miki are stuck at the hands of Manami. Until they find proof, That Manami and Sako aren't the angel, They've got the school to believe.

The drama isn't too exaggerated so it protrays what a high school girl would be likely to go through in her time. Making friends, getting stabbed in the back, exiled and tortured. The main character is mentally weak till she meets a true friend that lifts her up out of the she's in. She helps the main character believe in herself and enables the main character to stand up to the bullies. It sends a message that all you really need is ONE good friend to get you through the bad times rather than a whole bunch of fair weather friends. It's an excellent read. Every time I finish a new volume im left craving more!

Although she goes through MANY struggles, Ayuma Shiba definitely shows what it means to be a true heroin. Although weak in the begining, she learns through her hardships and life changing experiences, good and bad, that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and stand up for what you believe in. Excellent story line. Pulls you in the moment you read it. Definite read for those who enjoy dark and slightly sadistic story lines. Characters were created very well, and they carried the plot all the way to the end.

I added this manga to my plan to read list so long ago, i was hesitant at first to read it because I tend not to read plots that have to do with high school because they tend to all be the same exact plot. Bullying is a common plot for many high school related manga and Life is one of them. Life's characters were sometimes over the top and way too unrealistic but it didnt take me out of the plot that much. The story touched me personally because I and many other friends are anxiety filled depressed teens. And that's who the main character is. Her inner monologue is rather accurate when it comes to how she feels about what she is doing when it comes to her self harm. The characters were heartwarming and sometimes very scary. The art is very nice, the style is what it is and some people may find problems with the female's eyes but this manga was something that I really did enjoy reading. The whole time I was wondering what sad thing will happen to this poor child next and the chapters seemed to fly by. This is one of the few manga with this sort of plot that I would tell people to read, after making sure that they would be okay around this sort of plot line and issues that are shown in this manga.

Just finished reading Life and I acknowledge it's an amazing story that gets extremely dark. The no holds barred take on bullying in school...didn't pull back any punches at all, was very uncompromising and actually left me very unsettled by the end.

I thought this era of ultraviolence, tension and psychological thrillers had desensitized me to so much but kudos to Keiko Suenobu for helping me remember exactly how damaging bullying can be and the many facets it can take. Took me way back around 10 years of being caught up in that cycle at times...despite being in another country with a totally different culture the similarities were eerie. Personal relationships, cliques, petty triggers, senseless violence. This is life, the school life most of us remain oblivious to despite either seeing it or actually having been part of it. The ugly side that we use 'out of sight out of mind' logic for. The author nailed this.

As well written as Life was though, after the halfway point I felt Minami (the main antagonist) because a bit too cartoonish with her scheming and being able to sidestep every obstacle, all she was missing was a monocle from being a stereotypical villain. The emotional impact was still there but it's the inverse of having a hero who's perfect. In retrospect I guess the escalation of the bullying in the story went further than it needed to despite already having established enough pieces to work with. I feel most series have a moment in the middle where things drag out somewhat and this is where Life took that hit.

Art is good, clean, simple yet easy to make out with good layouts. Nothing groundbreaking but solid stuff.

To conclude, if you're looking for a grounded story that doesn't shy away from topic of bullying and doesn't sugarcoat anything give this a shot.

Help me out here, guys. I have no idea how to write a review for this story. While it's definitely one of my top shoujo of all time, this entire review will be a guy arguing with himself for several paragraphs in a row. Your problem, not mine. I'm not sorry. On one hand, it's pretty amazing. Not a lot of manga can have me blitz it in two sittings. Not sure if I recommend it though.

On the other hand, it's quite a lot to get through. 80 shoujo chapters isn't a short story by any means, and there's a lot of stuff that happens. A lot of pretty emotionally charged stuff, in fact. It doesn't dawdle. I think that's the best part of the story. Things move quickly, characters develop, and the pace works with the story.

The story has a girl get abandoned by her only friend after they don't attend the same high school, and she starts cutting herself to cope with the emotions. She tries to make friends in her new school. And with that, I'll stop describing it. Obviously there are many themes in the story, and a lot of bleak, and depressing things that happen. Obviously I could go on, but I won't spoil anything. The story does handle the idea of self-inflicted pain to be something we shouldn't aspire to be, rather than glorify it. That's a big plus. As a whole, the story's one of the better ones I've read in shoujo.

Art is great at drawing out emotions. While the phrase "roller coaster of emotions" is pretty cliche, I suspect it was coined for stories like this. Our hero goes through a lot, and all of it is expressed through the art and framing of the panels. You have to remember: almost all coherent, human emotions are present in this story, and the art has to support all those feelings. And it definitely does!

The characters were all great. I don't know if any of them were likeable, but they were all amazing for the kind of story that we have. Every character given a name and a voice fits with the rest of the story, because it plot simply explores their choices, and ultimately, the consequences. A lot of horrible things happen to our cast, and an important question is: did this change a person for the better? How do we find strength in a world where there exist burdens that we didn't choose? What, ultimately, does it mean to grow up? I like that it's not just the students who experience this, but again, I'll do my best to not spoil stuff.

I also like how the main character isn't just some princess that needs a handsome prince to be a character. She takes matters into her own hands. Sure, someone helps her a lot in that process, but they're framed as friends first, and then equals later on. It's a sticking point for me, because a helpless shoujo protagonist getting her life turned around by some hot guy, really doesn't work with the rest of the story since it's about.. well, I'll save the major themes because they'll be too spoilery.

Was it enjoyable? Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. No. Absolutely. Absolutely not. It depends. That's a better answer. It's definitely a super heavy story with some bits and pieces of levity, but you have to remember: its enjoyability is through the absolute spectrum of very real, and visceral emotions, rather than being fun shoujo.

Maybe I'll just finish my review with: it's an amazingly told, drawn, and characterized story, and drains you for all you have. Take this one slow.

From first chapter, I already liked it. The story and the charachters development are good. It made mecried on the some chapters. It touched you and make you realize how is the real world.

For me, this manga is really great! It is so relatable. Very relatable. Almost every scene from first until last chapter I had been already experienced it.

I really recommend this manga and for every people who want to read it, please read with open mind. It can change your perspective about bullying. I hope this manga makes you realize how is you living your life.


Please read

Story: 9/10
Some parts are a bit unrealistic. For exampel: Manami is almost ready to kill herself after she is dumped, but when her best friend "theoretically" betrays her she is determinated to desttroy her. And about the part when she is dumped, in the end we see that she can actually control her boyfriend very well. She didn't have to go through all that drama for it. Ayumu is not weak, she just needs somebody that's all. You can see that she changes completly after she becomes Miki Hatori's friend. It's hart to fight only for yourself. But when you fight for someone you love [for example a friend] you become unstoppable.
Even if at the begining the charachter is pretty much alone, people around her start to notice that she is not week and that the girls in her clas are really exagerating.
SPOILER
The boys in her class will try to help her and in the end the entire school will turn against Manami and her gang because they will really go overboard.
[/SPOILER]
So even if at the begining this story looks sadic, you'll see that it hase a much deeper meaning. It's about going down, so hard to the buttom that it becomes unbearable, but also about the things you need to go up again.

Art: 10/10
I really like the mangaka's drawing style. Beautiful eyes and beautiful charachters. She has no unnecessary details. Clean and simple are the works that describe the art best.

Character: 10/10
Very extreme characters.
Minami is the perfect bitch: she is selfish, a liar and thinks that nobody besides her deservs to be happy [unlist not happier]. In the end we descover that she is mentally unstable, just like her boyfriend.
Hatori: is the strong willed girl. She hides her pain and decides to live her life to the fulest. She is kinde and determinated. I finde her to be extreme because in a way she is too perfect. Still, I loved her character
Ayumu: our main charachter is the shy quiet type that doesn't want to fight with anybody. Life is not so good with her because, except for Hatori, she discovers to be surrounded by mean, egoistic people. Because she doesn't want to be the same she is cast aside and in the end tormented till the point of no returning back. After she descovers her first true friend she becomes stronger.

Enjoyment: 10/10
I've felt every feeling that Ayumu had. I've hated Minami to the point of wanting to kill the mangaka that made her, I've loved Hatori. I even cried when she saved Ayumu and gaved her confidence. She was so wise. This manga made me cry, made me laugh, scream... everything. I finde it very complex and very catchy.

Overall 10/10
I don't have enough words to describe this series, maybe because I can't tell the exact feeling that it sends you. You'll finde yoursel traped betwen the carachters feelings. You'll love them and hate them. I personaly enjoyed every chapter of it.

Conclusion:
It's a greate drama. I personaly recomand this. It's currently in my top 5. I just hope tokyopop releases all the volumes so I can have this story completed ^^.

The first chapter was the best , it was moving , relatable and overwhelmingly emotional with full of potential . But Iater on it became so frustrating to read it , the weakness of mc was unbelievably painful for me . I waited but yhe story didnt portray her weakness as wrong thing but just weakness . Ofcourse people are there with a similar level of weakness and even the mjsfortune which is also why i saw so much potential and wanted the message to be clear . Characters and all good even the mc but develop it the way a way thats lacking the most crucial part .

The story is about running from darkness , rather than finding a light . Yes she did found light but it was inside the story of running . The way she handle her first painful experiece to the way she handles actual danger has a philosophical flaw which is never pointed out. She still to the end never was able to realize humans are mostly stupid to point of harming us and people that are hard to keep up with can be removed from her priortise , like for example she didnt need curry favor from her classmates that are known to be worse . We can put aside what she cpulgve done , but the way she perceives and think . She groups her best friend and a picture of an ideal friend into the same category as the trash bullies , the worse shitty dudes and classmate that she has to smile to , and bear pain for . She's not offensive in mindset even with sexual assaults (defenseive sometimes though) , she runs from darkness but towards poison and chase after it but never able to chase after any of the lights in front of her .

Lastly it was painful becuz its beautiful , the drama is good . Short i love what the writer create but hate how he thinks . If only she was portrayed to chase after the actual thing she should've at some point .

I found Life when saw a cap of it on Google images. It looked interesting, so I looked up what manga it was from and found out that it was called Life. I read reviews and decided to read it... and here I am, a few days later.

STORY: 10/10
Life's plotline is amazing. Seriously!! It's interesting, satisfying, intense, and really, it will teach you life lessons. (Well, it did to me.) It explains all the character's development, motivations, and everything without ever being vague or uninteresting. It is an amazing story of bullying, manipulation, and learning to be happy and strong no matter what. At it's core, I guess you could say it is the story of a person who gains the courage to triumph over all the hardships in her way. But it has so many more themes in it. It shows how people learn that being a good friend is to be honest and not let your friend hurt people. It shows the value of friendship and having a strong friend. It covers things like bullying (obviously), self harm, jealousy, manipulation, friendship, the power of money, peer pressure, and many many more.
Also, another thing: I think that the author is writing from their experiences here, which is a reason that Life is so realistic - things like this, though not always to this extent, are real issues in many people's lives.

ART: 10/10
The art was beautiful!!! At first I wasn't really sold on it but by the end I loved it. The EYES are always beautiful. The expressions of the characters really are amazing and always show how the characters feel. The body proportions are all accurate, the frames are set out well, the backgrounds are all drawn well, the story is easy to follow, the art is never confusing, and in every situation the art helps to emphasise the atmosphere.

CHARACTERS: 10/10
Wow, the characters. Well, I don't know what Life would be without its characters, so really they are why this manga is so great. Every character is dynamic, and none of the characters fall into tired tropes or stereotypes. They are all realistic and succeed at what they're supposed to make you feel; bad characters make you feel angry, the victimised characters you sympathise with, etc.. Ayumu is such a great character, and throughout the manga, we can watch her strong character development. Really, pretty much every character in this manga develops so hard, man.

ENJOYMENT: 10/10
One thing that seems to be a common theme amongst readers is how this manga hooks you in. I only started reading it a day or two ago, and through this time I couldn't stop reading it. Every chapter hooked me in. So it is definitely compelling.
When I read Life, one of its strongest points was its ability to make you feel how the characters felt. So when Ayumu, or anyone else, was in a stressful situation, I felt really stressed. Some moments when characters were in trouble were quite scary, also.
One of my favourite things about this manga, though, may just be how the characters change and grow and learn, and how we kind of learn at the same time, just by reading. There are so many important life lessons in here.

OVERALL: 10/10
I think it's obvious by now that I love this manga, haha. I may have a headache from reading it through the night, but it was worth it...!
I haven't read many mangas, but I know that this will be one of my favourites. The themes of this manga actually reminded me slightly of Evangelion, as they both tackled issues with depression etc..
LIFE was an emotional rollercoaster. It was sad, inspirational, rage-inducing, scary, satisfying, sweet, action-filled, and more.

I recommend this manga to anyone. Just be careful if you get depressed easily :)

I finished this manga a few months ago, and I found it brilliant. The story is touching, yet it has it's funny and easygoing chapters too.

The characters are awesome even the evil ones too. They are just perfectly made and I found not even one chapter boring.

I was always waiting for the next chapter's english translation to come out. And when I finished the manga, I was a little bit sad that I can never wait for continution to come.

This is one of the BEST shoujo mangas I ever read! I can only recommand it to everyone who loves interesting stories with strong main characters.

I started reading this series yesterday and ended at 3:30 am today. I seriously couldn't put this series down for 20 minutes at a time without being bothered by what was going to happen next. In the series, this is what the Slice of Life genre should be like, rather than happy go lucking anime that put Otaku in a non bullied light.

The series was amazing, I found the plot to be well written with conflict being added in that didn't quite make the series feel like it was dragging on for a longer time that it was welcome, while giving you a really good amount of time to get this feeling of what it's like to be bullied in a Japanese High School. I looked it up and the rates for this sort of violent bullying has increased, a good portion of the time the "Alpha Bitch" is quite attractive, but at the same time they show signs of sociopathic behavior. A lot of other people will just follow behind and do what they "Alpha" tells them to. And this series portrays all that very well whether it's through a change of art style or the plain beautiful visualizations of the character's psyche. I don't want to spoil anything else for it. I will do a spoilers review on my blog tomorrow talking about each thing in the series for anybody who is interested.

I do have to say the only thing I didn't like about it was the ending, compared to the rest of the series the ending was kind of lacking in quality.

My final score for this series is a 9.6/10