Ani no Yome to Kurashiteimasu.
Living with My Brother's Wife

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tl;dr: must read IF you like slice of life, character studies, and the theme of grief.

A couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon this while looking for some standard slice of life junkfood. I expected the usual for this genre:
1) wholesome home life of the 2 protags for the first five chapters
2) new characters introduced after that point
3) my interest being lost by chapter 10 as it's stretched too thin
The beginning of the story went exactly how I expected- stereotypical sickeningly sweet and wholesome homelife (not an issue- that's what I came for). But, as I expected my interest to wane, it just grew more ... and more with each chapter. Instead of a story stretched too thin, it dug deeper and deeper into an amazing, introspective work revolving around its central ideas. It grabbed my emotions and took me through the peace, desolation, yearnings, and tenseness of its characters for a whopping 142 chapters.

I'm going to be straightforward- this story does a fantastic job at slowly but consistently building its characters, their growth, and their relationships in a genuine, lovely way. No side characters or their stories ever felt like they took away my experience- they all felt like a necessary addition to further reflect the greater ideas and growth of our dual protagonists.

The artwork in the first chapter is honestly kind of shoddy in an Attack-on-Titan-chapter-1 way, so that wasn't great. But then it quickly improved and stayed good, so it kind of became a plus to watch that unfold.
There's also yuribait... which is cool I guess.

It took me three different sites to read all the chapters, but it was 100% worth it. It's clear we're reaching the conclusion, and I am definitely going to enjoy it as it releases. This story is an extremely rich and poignant display of grief from two interwoven perspectives; moreso, this builds into a greater narrative regarding relationships built on exterior forces like grief. It's not for everyone, but it's amazing if you like what you've heard from me.

*Review in english and spanish

Pues miren, te lo venden como un manga YURI de amor entre una niña de prepa que se supone va a tener un romance con su cuñada,su hermano se murió así que no es infidelidad jaja, se desarrolla muy lento pero es pasable. Si te gusta el yuri y quieres leer algo sin tanto misterio te lo recomiendo 7/10

OK look, they sell it to you like a YURI love manga between a high school girl who is supposed to have an affair with her sister-in-law, her brother died so it's not infidelity haha, it develops very slowly but it is passable. ... If you like yuri and want to read something without so much mystery, I recommend it 7/10

I'm really not sure whether to be happy or sad reading this manga...

Living with My Brother's Wife is a story about two women who live together after the death of their brother/husband. It's a slice of life manga where the two just go about their normal lives at school/work, and come together at night at their home. The manga has a sort of stilted mood to it, acting happy on the outside but having an air of sadness behind it. The mood mirrors the characters and how they feel, and it makes for an uncomfortable, yet refreshing feel.

The two main characters and their struggles are ... the driving point of the story. As we get further along in the manga, we see bits and pieces of their lives with the brother/husband before, and feel the impact of his death in their lives now. Both of them desperately want to move on, yet cannot help but cling to the happy past they once had. In the beginning, they both feel drawn to each other because they can see bits and pieces of their loved one in one another, but this brings out the very real feeling of trying to use someone else to cope with one's own feelings. The manga feels very realistic in the way it portrays people getting over loss of a loved one: it's not something that you get over quickly, but rather the sadness comes in like waves. Sometimes you feel like everything is fine and you can make it through, and other times you're reminded of the overwhelming weight of it all.

That all being said, it is not only a sad manga. You start to see the two girls relying on each other and becoming closer, despite the loss that they face. They support each other, learn to help one another, and try to understand what it means to be a family. They learn to put away their embarrassment and ask for help to become stronger. So this manga is able to show the good and the bad of dealing with familial death.

Overall this manga was a real treat to read, though it usually made me really sad by the end of each chapter. It's interesting to see what it's like to deal with death and the trials that come after it, and it's encouraging to see how death isn't the end of everything. It's a subtle manga that I would definitely recommend if you're looking for a light yet deep read.