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What an incredible show - (it's 2am right now and I've watched the entire thing through from the beginning to end in one full gulp). Just to give a gist of it, Zankyou no Terror is an honestly intriguing and moving story about four teenage boys and girls (Nine, Twelve, Lisa and Five) who struggle to verify their existence in the world.

Yet, I do have many conflicting perspectives about the series. For instance, it has used terrorism as a plot device during a time when it has become quite a sensitive topic (in light of ISIS and what they're doing around the world right now). ... Nevertheless, this show is clearly not about terrorism and is definitely not justifying it either. It really looks at one reason of the many reasons why youth join terrorist groups: to make their mark in history.

But I cannot forgive one thing in this series, and that lies in its gender ideology. The character of Lisa Mashima is the most frustrating female lead that I have ever encountered in light of all the shoujo manga that I've read in the past 6 years. The constant crying, sobbing and asking "What should I do?" to Twelve and Nine is hugely problematic to say the least, and offended me at many points throughout the series as a female. Of course, this series was clearly aimed for men, but with the villain also being a female, and the way that both major female characters are over-sexualized was taking it too far.

There was also an issue with the depiction of America. The incorporation of English was daring and admirable, I will admit. But the series didn't have to go as far as depicting the United States as the ultimate villains; the finale was also taking things too far in this respect.

Though, I suppose that you could also interpret there to be a parallel storyline, in which Japan tries to reassert its identity throughout the series. The police are constantly battling against the power of the USA offscreen; and you could also see Nine and Twelve as symbols of Japan instead, the city of Tokyo being an alias for 'the outside world'.

Now this is why the series, despite all of its glaring flaws, is still considered to be one of the best I've ever seen. The number of layers of interpretation of this series grows as you reflect and think about it more and more - it's as if each one is like a single soundwave of an echo that keeps going through your head.

And it is this echo - this resonance - that's running through my mind at the moment; I'm still buzzing from finishing the last episode of the series. Altogether, it is heavy, powerful and telling; it makes you truly reflect on experiences that have past in a critical manner. I encourage everyone that is willing to go on both an intellectual and emotional journey to engage with these films as soon as you can. Don't be afraid of the title - which is named "Resonance of Terror"; it's quite a misnomer actually. Instead, cover the "of Terror", because this series will impact you one way or another, and you will be able to hear the echoes of these characters for a long time to come.

STORY
I think to the readers of Love So Life, my rating for its story may be slightly strange. Yes, although the story may be truly sweet and extremely cuddly, if you're looking at a more professional perspective, I would say that this story is currently being repeated many times in many other manga as well.

However I do think that the story is very original in the sense that the story delivers quite a new taste of cuddliness and true familial love from the graphics and characters - this is not found in many forms of Shojo manga (at least of those I have read), and ... what I find very unique about Love So Life. That unique familial love that is introduced in the very beginning of the manga, and the growing relationship between the two main leads, Nakamura Shiharu and Matsunaga Seiji. Of course, there's also the regular, unclear mystery behind the male lead. :)
I also think that some people may find that this manga is going to be quite slow-paced; you will get frustrated at times because the manga, no matter how cute the twins are, will focus on them for about two whole chapters and not mention a single thing about the main leads' romance. Which, made me quite irritated at times, but I did enjoy the little twins' stories at the same time.

So, now again I say: for the story I give a 7 - for its unique taste, sweet story, but because of its lack of originality and slow progression, that took away some of the points I would've liked to give.

ART
Now I have almost complaints on this one. I will admit that I'm not one for the really quickly, scribbled ink drawings of many Shojo manga; nor am I the one to go for the simplistic Shonen types like the early forms of Dragonball Z. But this particular manga, oh - it was delicious eye candy.
The mangaka really designed the characters and environment very well for this manga. I can believe that Matsunaga Seiji is an exceptionally hot man, and Nakamura Shiharu a beautiful young girl. The twins speak for themselves, they are definitely one of the cutest things that you'll ever feast your eyes upon in this manga!
What the mangaka does is make the line art for the characters quite simplistic; however because the eyes are always drawn extremely well and varies distinctively depending on the situation, and because often times the background environment accompanies the situation well the manga's art is definitely quite moving.
However, there is some flaw to this beautifully illustrated piece of work. Although very minor, I did have some confusion between some of the characters due to their similarity in appearance - such as Matsunaga Seiji and Miyagawa Takeru. In the beginning when the two characters are introduced, you might find that these two are incredibly similar and can be mixed up often, but that's a minor problem that is solved as you progress through the manga.

So, 9/10. :)

CHARACTER
I think that the characters speak for themselves. Please keep in mind that this is NOT a smut Shojo manga, therefore you will not get an incredibly hot guy trying to get into another girl's pants in every chapter. Instead, you will see an incredibly hot guy in a cute dilemma about whether to even lay a finger on the girl. Through this manga you will see slight character development, but much is focused on the character being static as the mangaka seems to want to represent many messages about life - with the characters being static, it makes them easier to be symbolic of things in reality, and help the mangaka deliver the intended message.

And so, definitely 9 out of 10. Again, because of my pickiness about individuality, I think that a 10 is deserving of the mangaka who can come up with a unique character that stands out from all other mangas out there as of now. So, 9. :)

OVERALL
I think Love So Life is one of the most cutest, sweetest, mangas I have ever read - legit. Once you pick it up, I guarantee you if you are a cutie-lover you will not be able to put this manga down. It is definitely delicious eyecandy and sweets for thought. It's a bit similar to Faster than a Kiss in terms of the 'girl staying in an older man's home; student-teacher relationship' storyline. However it does have a more unique taste to it compared to many, many Shojo manga I've read, so please take your time to consider this manga as your next treat for the following weeks (or days!) to come. ;)

I found this manga quite enjoyable. I'm quite surprised that it's not very high ranking, and has received little attention. I found this manga on mangafox, and started reading it because it was counted as one of the top 13 for quite a while. I checked it out, thinking that reading this was a total waste of time, but I soon regretted it!

Story: 9

The story's your typical, "Boy meets girl-falls in love, Girl meets boy-not sure about her own feelings" type of manga. At first, it might seem a bit weird, but keep reading on! It's just like Bleach, it seems that it's a bit ... boring in the beginning, but once you keep reading on it gets more interesting by each chapter. This story is short, but full of suspense. It has a LOT of ups and downs, so it gets really interesting. I truly recommend this if you want a suspenseful but short love story! :)

Art: 9

I just love the art for this manga. It's not that detailed, but I can really use the words "handsome" and "cute" and "pretty" for the art used. The scenery is also nicely done. I like the way that the artist was very skilled at drawing the kimono patterns. I also LOVE the chibis that the author drew. They're so cute!!! Overall, I think the art in this manga is splendid, but I didn't rank it as 10 because I still prefer a bit more realistic faces for the characters.

Character: 7

Okay, don't get me wrong, I really like the manga, but I just don't think that the characters are too strong. I understand that Kazuki is very protective of Sumire, I can feel that, but something about the characters is not making me very sure of their personalities. Looking at an actor's point of view, I would think that they're not sticking to their character's personality too much, but instead just following the script. I'm a bit disappointed in the character development too. But I still think that they're quite well-designed, and at least "spirited".

Enjoyment: 10

I enjoyed this manga very much! It was very suspenseful and unpredictable, unlike some other manga I've read. It's funny, it's moving, it's just wonderful. I was a bit disappointed by the fact that it was so short, but it was worth it. I guarantee that it is going to be enjoyable manga to read, even though it DOES get a bit weird sometimes.

Overall: 8

I really liked this manga, and enjoyed it a lot too. I like the fact that the manga-ka was traditional by including Japanese dance into the story. I also liked the ups and downs, and the character's personalities. I think that this is a really good manga if you like the traditional love story kind. =]