Shi ni Itaru Yamai
Sickness Unto Death

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"A person can't exist alone. What makes a person is the relationships they have with others... Those people reflect your true nature. It means that a person alone can't prove they exist.

That's why people hurt themselves, and hurt others just to prove that they exist. Screaming "Someone please notice me! I'm right here!" They're all running away, trying not to be swallowed up by the dark nothingness."

Shi ni Itaru Yamai, which roughly translates as Sickness Unto Death, is a 2 volume long psychological manga that started in 2009. The story is about a young man who has just started college, studying clinical psychology. He stays ... in a mansion under the condition that he must tend to an ill person when necessary. This person is a girl with hair turned white suffering from a very serious psychological disease. This disease is slowly killing her, not only psychologically but physically as well. According to her, she's suffering from a terminal illness of the heart called despair. Our main character ends up involving himself with this girl while trying to save her from her own mind and maybe even her true self.

First thing that must be said - this is not realistic, as you probably got from the part where the disease caused her hair to turn completely white. It is a manga that blends real but exaggerated psychological problems with philosophic matters (to be precise existentialism).

It has pretty good dialogue. It raises some interesting questions and the main plot point is very interesting. But I can understand that it'd be easy to see it as pretentious. It tries to juggle complicated questions and issues, but never actually manages to explore them completely or efficiently. On the other hand, it strives to make the reader think and question himself about the true meaning of existence. Not physical existence, but existence as a whole. To do this the author used a couple of psychological diseases (such as Dissociative Identity Disorder and Depression).

The search for something that confirms our existence as a singular unique entity in this planet. The goal of existing in someone else forever as a memory. I can't say any more or I'll be giving away the twist of the story.

Should you read this manga? Well it depends. I definitely think it isn't something everyone will enjoy. I think you shouldn't go in with too many expectations as it isn't an overwhelming piece. But if you want a simple and short psychological manga that poses some philosophic questions, I think this won't be a waste of time. Try and think about the points it raises and the threads they leave hanging. Reflect a bit about the true meaning of existence.

Thank you for reading and I hope I've helped. I didn't feel like such a simple manga with just 2 volumes required a bigger review so I'll leave it at that.

Following a young man as he studies to become a Psychologist and his attempts to cure a beautiful young girl of her crippling depression, Shi ni Itaru Yamai is a Psychological drama with mild horror undertones. Be warned, it's a sappy romance.

As any Psychological series should, it gets you thinking about society, humanity and your own moral values. While it has it's errors (for one, the heroine's hair is whitish blue because she's stressed by her life), for some the manga may serve as educational on the topic of mental disorders, as the Protagonist explains each of the disorders the woman he is treating is ... afflicted by. Most of these facts are true.

Most of them.

I can't say I definitely recommend Shi ni Itaru Yamai for just anyone, because quite frankly it's cheesy, unrealistic at times, and reading it made me feel it lacked substance. I also must add that there are a few controversies following the hero's actions throughout the series, though I can't say what since they're so crucial to the story.

However, if you're a big fan of the Psychological genre (like me), I recommend at least checking it out. I have to say it was a decently pleasant experience, especially since there are not many series which don't paint therapy in an antagonizing manner.

tldr: A manga that is truly interesting when it gets to its actual substance, but it takes too long to get there and is rushed past it after it arrives. 

The main story isn't fully revealed until pretty far into the manga, and it's not really possible to talk about it without discussing that, so this will have spoilers, be warned.

This manga ultimately leads into a story centered around what value alternate personalities have, whether they're people, and how they should be treated, as well as the effects such treatment would have on those around them. I don't know much about dissociative identity disorder, so I'm not sure how realistic it is, ... but it was certainly an interesting topic. However, the way the story is portrayed in terms of pacing and structure leaves much to be desire. It has a structure with going back and forth between the past and present, but I don't feel it added anything, wherein it feels like it misleads the reader not in such a way so as to make the twists more interesting, but rather in a way that just makes the truth feel awkward and inconsistent. It really doesn't feel like going back and forth dancing around the issue trying to be mysterious added to the manga in any way. In terms of pacing, it takes far too long to get to the core story regarding alternate personalities, and when it gets there it is far too rushed, barely touching on what it brings up. The two main characters are interesting within this context, but the actual relationship development between the two isn't fleshed out at all and seems to be really abrupt. Ultimately, this leads to an ending that was satisfying in concept, although very bittersweet, but because of it being rushed into incredibly fast with what feels like essential scenes completely missing, how satisfying it is is greatly diminished. The art was okay.