Love So Life

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TL:DR
I know what you're thinking, an adult and the babysitter, but it takes a surprisingly healthy turn. It's not creepy honest! It is however, absolutely adorable, the focus is on the kids who are very realistically childish. The drama is rather shallow and the other characters are rather archetypical but it's never really the focus so that's fine with me. Not really a romance in my opinion, so much of the focus is on the children that every one else falls to the way side.

Story: 7/10
The manga handles things in a surprising way. It really was not like the stereotypical "older-guy and high school ... girl" thing that happens in shoujo manga. Honestly, I'm not sure why I picked this one up considering this usually isn't my thing. There was some random drama that felt a little pointless, and points that were dropped without resolution (e.g. Nao-kun's relationship). Without spoilers though, I can say that the author took the complicated situation presented here and resolved it in a very health way rather than the easy, idealistic route. Instead of everyone getting the perfect fantasy happy ending, the author creates a realistic ending while avoiding the rather creepy end you may have thought this was going.

There are surprisingly poignant moments

The twins are the main focus of this manga and their development is great. The seeds of a personality are laid from the start, where they very similar as twins are but you can see them subtly differentiate and grow up.

Despite the synopsis, the main character doesn't constantly bring up her mother, initially yes but she becomes more independent after a while.

Art: subjective/10
Cuuuuuuute. Ahem, it's rather cute, both the twins and the main characters.

Also Matsunaga-san has yaoi hands.

Characters: 6/10
As mentioned previously, the children are well-written and feel appropriately childish yet clearly maturing. Everyone else however…

Shiharu grows up somewhat but I couldn't tell you how she's meaningfully different at the end than how she started.

Seiji doesn't develop at all. To be fair he is an adult so that's not too unrealistic. Also, he avoids being a (mostly) creep to an underage Nakamura so that's a plus

Overall: 8/10
A wonderful experience, it's not so much a romance as a coming-of-age for the adorable twins. Wholesome, cute and light-hearted with a little drama to spice it up, with the occasional gut-punch. I whole-heartedly recommend this to anyone who wants their heart warmed.

Love So Life is an original manga after my opinion. There is not usual for a manga to have younger children as a part of the main characters, however this manga succeed in having an interesting story even with younger children as such a huge part of the plot line

What i find very amusing about this manga is the characters. Shiharu is a good feel character with a strong spirit. She has been through a lot but is not depressed and a character which need support from those around her. In one way she is quite mature, but emotional immature. The twins are amazing characters ... and are really my favorites and the drive in the manga. They are so cute and lovable, I think for myself that if I ever get children I would love them to be acting like Akane and Aoi. They show a lot of compassion and still they are very childish and come into disagreements with others in a way which is very usual for children. I find it that the strongest point of the manga is the characters even though there is a few irritating traits with some of them.

When it comes to the story it is as I said original. It also succeeds in the unusual story. However in my opinion it is still not among the best. We only get the insight in Shiharu's life as a babysitter, I understand that the manga is about this part of her life. But it gets easily annoying watching her problems with liking Seiji, and also feeling that my point of view easily gets affected by this. If I got to know about other part of her life would I then be able to rather cheer for Shiharo and Nao as a couple? I feel that I have to want her to be with Seiji, but on the other hand I don't really feel like they are fit for each other.

The romance between Shiharu and Seiji is probably the part I dislike. I am sad to say that I don't like the age difference of 9 years, I have read other mangas with the same age difference between the characters without blinking. But somehow it annoys me in this one. I believe that Siharu's immature part makes me against it, she doesn't understand love and is close to a person who is already been in the field for several years. There has also been shown that Seiji has the thoughts of an adult and probably is ready for a more adult relationship right away than Shiharu. I do not think things will go too fast, but the vibe between them is not the same, and therefore I don't find them that fit for each other. On the other hand the twins makes me want them to be together as a family.

The slow development is probably another reason why I don't find the story that great. They are not moving forward, and it is a slice of life manga following a life with a repeating daily routine, there is sometimes some progress and some sidetracks from this routine. But in the end it is always back into the circle. These sidetracks often show Shiharu's immature side where she is acting childish, and even though she is shown as a mother figure for many in the manga you are not able to imagine her as an actual mature mother.

The art is so-so, it was quite usual and nothing special. I like the art though, but I don't find it especially good, and I believe it to be quite average.

You should not be scared because of the criticism I have given the manga, I enjoy reading it, and am still reading it. I just don't see it as my favorite manga, and I don't believe it to a masterpiece. But it is enjoyable and cute, and worth reading.

I've read up to the fiftieth chapter and the main coupling is not cannon yet. They show signs like "what is this feeling" or denies it at times but the romance seems to be going absolutely no where. The mangaka focuses more on the main character taking care of the twins and comparing it to her past, which gets annoying.