Jumyou wo Kaitotte Moratta. Ichinen ni Tsuki, Ichimanen de.
I sold my life for ten thousand yen per year.

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Have you ever randomly searched for a manga by scrolling down the top manga list... Well I can tell you that you can find beautiful hidden gems like this. Currently ranked in the top 50s, at first I thought it was “overrated” like many others. I was wrong. Completely.

This manga is probably one of the best presentations of the harsh world we live in. The expectations from people for someone to achieve certain goals. The false hope that "something good" may happen at some point. The realization of the hidden thoughts of those around you.

Although it is relatively short, this is a very unique manga, ... exploring the value of one's life in real money. Intricately planned, it shows how predicting one's life's value can change greatly. The protagonist has lost everything, including friends, money, hobby... And by selling 30 years of his life, he gets 30,000 yen to spend for the 3 months remaining in his life.

Usually you would expect the protagonist in a story to improve from how he/she was at the start, to realize and learn his/her mistakes. Or something along those lines. But this is different. Our protagonist has already lost all meaning in life. What he expected to be a rich, vibrant future from when he was 10 years old has turned into a complete disaster. With a boring part-time job and no money... What does he have left to lose when he gets this chance to sell his lifetime and end it early?

"You've all been told that it's something that can't be replaced, and that it's more valuable than anything. But if a human life were given a monetary value, how much do you think it would be worth?"

This question is basically what the manga is about. It's not whether putting a value is right or not. Rather, it's about how each person would perceive this question depending on what point in their life they are in. It all depends on who you're asking. I think this is the most intriguing part of this work.

So why is his "value of life" so low? Borrowing words from the manga, is it really something that depends on "how happy a life it is, how it makes others happy, how many dreams are achieved, how much it contributes to society..."? Another question which is hard to answer. Again, it depends on who you ask. The ambiguity of the value of life can sometimes lead to shocking results. Perhaps it is a warning for us to look at ourselves first, instead of pitying or being annoyed by the protagonist’s nihilistic personality.

Overall, the development is very good, perfectly paced throughout the manga and every scene seems to have a deep meaning within.

While I read this, I felt as if you could put almost any value to life. The manga wasn't detailed enough in terms of how they give an exact value for one's life. Maybe it's just me but the shop buying lifespan in itself really was a very disturbing existence. How could you put a number just by knowing some info about a person's life? I guess that depends on how you see life, whether every moment should be cherished or only certain moments should.

I just can't say how amazing this is... And yet so few people have read it. This is beyond a masterpiece, there's a lot to take in and it really goes in to the basic meaning of life itself. Although for some people this may be boring, with a simple change to make selling lifespan real, the author comes up with this great work. An obvious 10 out of 10.

A spoiler-free review, don't worry.

This could be a hit-or-miss for certain readers and honestly I didn't have high expectation of this manga when I read the first chapter.

Well, what do you expect if the synopsis itself tells you that this MC has sold his lifespan for a few bucks and waiting for his life to end?

I expected it to be a downer piece but as I went along the chapters, I had this sense of dread reading it, knowing that the end will surely come.

Oh boy, it was a ride - feeling of dread, disgust, hope, love, warmth, happiness, hate, et cetera...all of them wrapped ... in an unassuming manga, with a lengthy title.

Art-wise, it's a simple one.

As for the story, it managed to turn me from "meh" at 1st chapter, then it built up the story until the end - it managed to make me to cry my hearts out.

Kudos to the author who kept me engrossed from start till the finish in one sitting.

Once again, some might love this, some might not. Give it a try.

Tales of simplicity have always pursued a universal theme, trying to evoke sentiments of genuineness and the empathy of the reader. “I sold my life for ten thousand yen per year” ultimately ends with a transparent attempt of capturing a message, but the means it uses to get to this point completely deny any sense of authenticity this might have pretended to transmit.

Youth is a complicated age. Time to make decisions, to face a myriad of risks and to move on, it usually never comes in the way one was expecting it. Overall, what mostly matters is trying. This manga introduces us to a fairly ... forgettable male lead who has already surrendered. His whole characterization being made around the fact he is broke and dejected, which is depicted by a constant exhibition of supposedly depressing thoughts and platitudes.

Is in this context where this story makes an extravagant move towards novelty, by introducing a ridiculously contrived premise. What if selling your lifespan was possible? Considering this is the cornerstone of the whole work, the approach it receives is at the very least underwhelming. Instead of placing the focus on whether this is a morally correct decision or not, all the attention is set on the actual monetary value of the main character’s life. He takes it instantly even if both surprised and disappointed at the low amount he is offered (300 000 yen, or a bit more than 2 000€ if you want a reference without having to search for it). And thus, we are left with our boring main dude, 300K yen and 3 months left of existence.

It is also mentioned that he had two other options. To sell his time, instead of lifespan (others call it working) or his health (money to pay for your own treatment?). This latter option is obviously never mentioned again, and the former is what pushes the story forward. And that is because to make sure our protagonist doesn’t become a threat for society with his considerably shortened lifetime, he is assigned a girl who only him can see, whose mission is to make sure he behaves. And thus, we are left with our boring main dude, 300K yen, 3 months left of existence and a girl he says to hate… But not without admitting she is his type.

There is another girl to this story, sort of a childhood friend, the bonds between them are completely broken yet he fondly remembers a promise they made 10 years ago about marrying each other. As corny as this might sound, it is actually used as a source for some shock value later on, and to further isolate our character into his world of personal nihilism.

Barely anything is worth mentioning about the later revelations and events, as the plot stumbles around and only further concentrates in building the fantasy bond between our two only characters. An example could be his longevity being only worth 30 yen in reality, a fact that is assimilated without barely any concern by the characters and the story itself, since the narrative has exhaustively established that he is worthless. Or perhaps the fascination our protagonist feels for... Vending machines. And while we are at it, why does he own a motorbike despite being in such dire need of money he sold his own lifespan?

The main issue is that is truly hard to trust in a dishonest and arguably offensive failed effort at self-contemplation. Particularly when instead of that all you get is an endless stream of indolence and self-pity. Is our life really only worth a few days of happiness, or aren't we actually supposed to try to address our situation and change things for the better?