Life

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This Manga really touched me. I can't express enough gratitude to the Mangaka.

Story 10/10
This story contains so many mixed vibes, but i mean that in a good way. There is Bulling,suicide,friendship,true friends,cutting,self harm,sexual assault, and so much more. *may contain mild spoiler* We find Ayumu our main protagonist making a new friend at her new high school named Manami, she is seemingly nice and ayumu is really starting to think things are going very good. Manami's boyfriend breaks up with her, she trys to commit suicide by jumping infront of a train. Ayumu saves her and manami makes her help her get katsumi(bf) back because ... of a promise they had made. Things go wrong and everyone starts miss interpreting what ayumu was doing and then Manami thinks Ayumu has betrayed her. She thus becomes the victim of an on-slot of bullying, lead by manami.

Art 10/10
Can you say beautiful art that you tremble over? Thats how good the art is. I mean i seriously felt every corresponding emotion i saw in the manga. Such as Ayumus sad; crying face i felt it in my own heart. When you saw smiles they made me feel like the sun had come out from behind the clouds. Scared faces really showed fear, blank stares held no emotion, determination really made you hope she would win. The eyes are one the most beautiful aspects of this mangas art.

Characters 10/10
I felt that the characters were dramatic but were portrayed wonderfully.
Ayumu: weak at first, cared to much of what others thought, Cutt her self to relieve her own pain.
Manami: Your basic popular person, she is like the cheerleader in this type of manga, she had the perfect boy friend, stood out in the class, a big liar, and hated when other people seemed more popular then her.
Miki: The Strong lone wolf, she doesn't care what others say and just does her own thing; providing strength for ayumu when she needed it.
Katsumi: Seemingly the Nice jock type guy. But a sadism loving bastard. He liked tieing girls up/ In other words bondage. He was bound to manami because of both of their fathers businesses.

Enjoyment 10/10
I Really enjoyed This manga to my hearts content. I read each volume as fast as i had could get my hands on it. I enjoyed it so much that when i found out that its publishing company that was translating it into english was stopping at 9...i was so hurt...i had to finish it. I ordered the next 3 in Japanese from ebay and slowly ordered all of them and i learned how to read Japanese because of that. ^__^

Overall 10/10
If i coud give this Manga a high grade i would. It was so epically amazing, beautiful and heart warming. I even after ordering the remaining volumes in japanese i also got 1-9 in japanese as well so now i have 1-20 In Japanese and 1-9 in English.

I recommend this to anyone who needs there heart to be touched. The story is filled with heart crushing disasters but heart warming happiness as well.

"In my heart...it's always raining."

I literally ran into this manga while searching for something...interesting. I can honestly say this manga creeped me out a little bit and made me angry an awful lot all while keeping me interested.

The main thing it was about was learning how to deal with your sadness and anger. All of life's curve balls. It gives you a look at what a person feels and what drives someone to hurt themselves. What they're willing to do in order to ease their pain, even if it's for a little while.

Summary:
Getting into high school is important for best friends Ayumu and Shii. Getting ... into Nishidate High School is Shii's dream. Ayumu wants to be by her best friends side and decides to enroll in the same school. Only problem is Ayumu is not known for her brains, but that doesn't stop them from making a promise to study their best in order to pass the entrance exam. She cuts herself to stay awake, it "helps" she heard. Life had other plans, only one girl gets in, Ayumu. Shii hates her for getting in and their friendship shatters. Ayumu is all alone. Her chance is to start fresh in high school.

Manami's life is great, perfect boyfriend, popular and super nice, she befriends Ayumu in a second. Manami is perfect, right? It all started with one cut, but know bleeding is the only thing that brings her comfort..

The Characters- [MILS SPOILERS]
That is this manga magic. I haven't read a manga before that had so many hateful and perverse people.
Ayumu is a victim, of everyone. Her only fault is that she's not strong enough and cuts herself to deal with the pain. The pain of her best friend hating her, her family ignoring her, her friends bullying her... She's gullible and sweet. Weaknesses in the world of this manga.

Manami was very good at her role of being the evil bitch. She played the good girl like no ones business but when the cat got out of the bag, there was no going back. She betrays and bullies and has no scruples. she is the lowest person you will ever imagine. She is evil personified. And I won't lie, all throughout my reading I was hoping she died, painfully.

Miki Hatori is the breath of fresh air. Though she is portrayed at first as a delinquent, that proves to be false. Her character, to me, was the worlds redeeming quality for Ayumu. To believe that people were good, some of them anyway.

I don't want to spoil anything by having to dissect the characters/story (which is what I truly want/need) but I will tell you this, LIFE's characters give the story that extra push to Great. They show hatred, selfishness, jealousy, betrayal and deceitfulness like no one's business, all at once to the same person. They are that "good." The make you want to scream and get angry, and you don't even feel bad when karma meets them around the corner. And it always does.

Though not always realistic, I mean where are the grownups/teachers?? The teachers that are there are illustrated originally in their inability to help. Not to offend but some of them wanted to help but they just made things worse. It might as well have been real LIFE.

The Art- I started reading this in the dead of the night and at the beginning the art scared me. Not anything gory or anything, just the characters expressions. You could see their evilness. But it's an ordinary style art. Nothing beautiful or memorable in it.

The really sad part was that while I was reading I kept asking myself why I was still reading. But I couldn't stop. It was like watching a train wreck.

The drama isn't too exaggerated so it protrays what a high school girl would be likely to go through in her time. Making friends, getting stabbed in the back, exiled and tortured. The main character is mentally weak till she meets a true friend that lifts her up out of the she's in. She helps the main character believe in herself and enables the main character to stand up to the bullies. It sends a message that all you really need is ONE good friend to get you through the bad times rather than a whole bunch of fair weather friends. It's an excellent read. ... Every time I finish a new volume im left craving more!

Although she goes through MANY struggles, Ayuma Shiba definitely shows what it means to be a true heroin. Although weak in the begining, she learns through her hardships and life changing experiences, good and bad, that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and stand up for what you believe in. Excellent story line. Pulls you in the moment you read it. Definite read for those who enjoy dark and slightly sadistic story lines. Characters were created very well, and they carried the plot all the way to the end.

Story: 6/10
UNBELIEVABLE. This story is harsh. The mangaka must've enjoyed tormenting her characters, especially Ayumu. This story is harsh and sadistic to the point where the plot is almost unbelievable. I didn't cry for her nor did I pity her. The story is just that unbelievable. Still, I like the way that the mangaka didn't
provide a hero for Ayumu. Most shoujo fantasies have heroes, it's overrated.

Art: 8/10
The art isn't bad. I'll give this manga that much. The mangaka's drawing style really fits the plot, so if you must read this manga, you will enjoy that fact. The drawings are probably the only part ... I enjoyed in this manga.

Character: 7/10
Very harsh characters. I dislike Ayumu's weaknesses, but I understand that there are girls out there like her. The thing is, there will always be at least one person who takes notice (even if they don't help immediately.) The guys in this story are almost nonexistent, they don't notice the suffering and bullying of the girls.I found this part the most unbelievable. Still, if you like sadism, this manga is for you.

Enjoyment: 6/10
I had to drop it. I couldn't stand such a sadistic manga. That's probably the one word that describes it the most.

Overall 6/10
I couldn't handle the depression, but perhaps you will like the bitterness of it. It's perfect for those who enjoy watching people suffer...wait that sounds a little off. No, it's perfect for those who enjoy an exaggeration of reality. A story that shows pain and suffering with no end in sight. If you love those kinds of stories (which I normally do), then you may try this manga at your own risk.

Story: This manga follows a girl, Ayumu, who falls into a lot of drama through high school. I have no complaints for the story. situations and problems the main character go through - they really pull you in and make you want more. the plot is quite unpredictable and the pacing is fast.

Art: The art is explicitly drawn to invoke the deep emotions that Ayumu experiences. It goes in favour with this manga - destructive and full of emotion.

Character: The tough moments that ayumu has to go through are moving and you might be able to relate to it if you had similar experiences. ... there are many 'evil' people in this manga, it's quite surprising actually. all of the characters are very realistic, like i said you can probably relate to her situations; the characters of this manga are the main complication of the storyline. the author portrayed many of them to have a terrible, evil mind on the outside, but we get to see why they have their bad personality later on. The characters are the main attraction of this manga. i have never been bullied to the extent that ayumu had, and i have never seen it like this before. This bully situation is what really hooks you in this manga.

Enjoyment: Life shows how great high school drama can go up to, and how harsh bullying affects a person. We develop a sense of compassion for the main character throughout the manga, and a sense of hate towards her classmates. I'm sure anyone who picks this up will not stop reading. This is a wonderful manga, I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to read a dramatic and fast paced series.

2015 Edit: The manga is finally fully translated for anyone to enjoy. Overall a great series, tons of relatable characters & relationships.

LIFE is basically the best manga I've ever read. The story is deep, impactful, emotional, and realistic at the same time. A lot of people may think that it is exaggerated, but in real life acts of extreme bullying DO happen and people are ignoring it so blatantly. The manga also successfully depicts how school life is like especially for girls. It is hard to fit in and girls would do anything to fit in and feel like they belong in the class. Moreover, the aspect I love most about this manga is about the character's relationship with her mother. Honestly it's VERY difficult to ... find any manga who shows the fact that parents care a lot about their children's performance at school. The realistic pressure that Asians, especially Japanese, have to face is that they are expected to do so well at school regardless of what happens. This manga, unlike any other, is truly a masterpiece.

LIFE is a drama set in high school that deals with suicide, bullying, depression and self-mutliation.

I liked how LIFE took an interesting turn after the beginning of the story. But the twist in the plot is brutal, and this is not a happy story by far. It is a heavy drama, that deals with the emotional pain and suffering of a girl who has been betrayed by her closest friend (being rejected for having a higher exam score is pretty harsh), and only gets a worse hell after that.

The key reason why I gave my score of 7/10 for LIFE, despite how the author ... daringly took on writing an entire manga around bullying and self-harm, is because of the drama itself. At times the drama is very much contrived, or else something is compromised so the mangaka can put the heroine Ayumu, who is constantly bullied and sometimes cuts as a result, in any situation to move the plot along. I had some questions throughout the series that needed to be addressed but even by the 40th chapter I felt they'd never be answered.

1. Why in God's name does Ayumu's mother know nothing of her suffering and pain? Usually mothers are more receptive to these types of things, and although in one chapter she half-heartedly calls Ayumu crazy, her mom doesn't seem like a witchy woman who wouldn't notice what's going on with her daughter. Maybe Ayumu is extremely good at hiding this problem? I suppose it's that... but still. I also wonder why the hell Ayuuu doesn't attempt to transfer schools during the bullying. Even if she *tried* to do so and never could, it would have made the plot better. If I were ever in such a school I'd try to transfer out of there right away!

2. Why is Ayumu a target for danger wherever she goes? This is where the plot fails. And you can immediately sense the mangaka is forcing her character into beyond realistic situations so she can develop her character further. Even when Ayumu is hanging out with her first genuine friend since jr. high named Hatori, she /slips on a bottle/ near a group of rude teenage guys, which proceeds to them /eventually kidnapping her and putting her in an abandoned hospital which blows up/. Yes, for a shoujo the plot itself is pretty good and miraculously - I enjoyed it anyway. That's the weird part. I think the mangaka saved herself from failing with this story because Ayumu and Hatori are two strong characters with good character development. I loved Hatori especially. She's a wonderful friend to Ayumu and not typical for a shoujo story.

3. I hate how every. single. person in Ayumu's life save a few people seem to think she is delusional or psycho for being bullied, or hurt by someone, including her mom. Why does this happen? I'm relieved that eventually the mangaka added some minor characters who call out the psycho band of girls for bullying Ayumu. But God, the things that happen to her are beyond nightmarish, and if the school had a normal administration the girls who did such a thing would have been instantly expelled in just one instance. What bothers me about the bullying is that it seems near-constant to the point of ridiculousness, and it actually happens on school grounds, and in such a way where SOMEONE should have seen it first-hand. The mangaka sometimes sacrifices the quality of the story to provide incidences of bullying that should get the evil girls expelled, but they never do.

I'm half-way finished LIFE. I've enjoyed it despite a few of its pit falls, like how Ayumu got a one-way ticket to Psychoville just from graduating jr. high. It's a genuinely interesting manga that takes on an extremely heavy subject, which it can overdo sometimes, but nonetheless the art is pretty good and the characters will make you want to continue on.

Story: 9/10
Some parts are a bit unrealistic. For exampel: Manami is almost ready to kill herself after she is dumped, but when her best friend "theoretically" betrays her she is determinated to desttroy her. And about the part when she is dumped, in the end we see that she can actually control her boyfriend very well. She didn't have to go through all that drama for it. Ayumu is not weak, she just needs somebody that's all. You can see that she changes completly after she becomes Miki Hatori's friend. It's hart to fight only for yourself. But when you fight for someone you love ... [for example a friend] you become unstoppable.
Even if at the begining the charachter is pretty much alone, people around her start to notice that she is not week and that the girls in her clas are really exagerating.
SPOILER
The boys in her class will try to help her and in the end the entire school will turn against Manami and her gang because they will really go overboard.
[/SPOILER]
So even if at the begining this story looks sadic, you'll see that it hase a much deeper meaning. It's about going down, so hard to the buttom that it becomes unbearable, but also about the things you need to go up again.

Art: 10/10
I really like the mangaka's drawing style. Beautiful eyes and beautiful charachters. She has no unnecessary details. Clean and simple are the works that describe the art best.

Character: 10/10
Very extreme characters.
Minami is the perfect bitch: she is selfish, a liar and thinks that nobody besides her deservs to be happy [unlist not happier]. In the end we descover that she is mentally unstable, just like her boyfriend.
Hatori: is the strong willed girl. She hides her pain and decides to live her life to the fulest. She is kinde and determinated. I finde her to be extreme because in a way she is too perfect. Still, I loved her character
Ayumu: our main charachter is the shy quiet type that doesn't want to fight with anybody. Life is not so good with her because, except for Hatori, she discovers to be surrounded by mean, egoistic people. Because she doesn't want to be the same she is cast aside and in the end tormented till the point of no returning back. After she descovers her first true friend she becomes stronger.

Enjoyment: 10/10
I've felt every feeling that Ayumu had. I've hated Minami to the point of wanting to kill the mangaka that made her, I've loved Hatori. I even cried when she saved Ayumu and gaved her confidence. She was so wise. This manga made me cry, made me laugh, scream... everything. I finde it very complex and very catchy.

Overall 10/10
I don't have enough words to describe this series, maybe because I can't tell the exact feeling that it sends you. You'll finde yoursel traped betwen the carachters feelings. You'll love them and hate them. I personaly enjoyed every chapter of it.

Conclusion:
It's a greate drama. I personaly recomand this. It's currently in my top 5. I just hope tokyopop releases all the volumes so I can have this story completed ^^.

Just finished reading Life and I acknowledge it's an amazing story that gets extremely dark. The no holds barred take on bullying in school...didn't pull back any punches at all, was very uncompromising and actually left me very unsettled by the end.

I thought this era of ultraviolence, tension and psychological thrillers had desensitized me to so much but kudos to Keiko Suenobu for helping me remember exactly how damaging bullying can be and the many facets it can take. Took me way back around 10 years of being caught up in that cycle at times...despite being in another country with a totally different culture the ... similarities were eerie. Personal relationships, cliques, petty triggers, senseless violence. This is life, the school life most of us remain oblivious to despite either seeing it or actually having been part of it. The ugly side that we use 'out of sight out of mind' logic for. The author nailed this.

As well written as Life was though, after the halfway point I felt Minami (the main antagonist) because a bit too cartoonish with her scheming and being able to sidestep every obstacle, all she was missing was a monocle from being a stereotypical villain. The emotional impact was still there but it's the inverse of having a hero who's perfect. In retrospect I guess the escalation of the bullying in the story went further than it needed to despite already having established enough pieces to work with. I feel most series have a moment in the middle where things drag out somewhat and this is where Life took that hit.

Art is good, clean, simple yet easy to make out with good layouts. Nothing groundbreaking but solid stuff.

To conclude, if you're looking for a grounded story that doesn't shy away from topic of bullying and doesn't sugarcoat anything give this a shot.

When reading the description of this manga, I was curious but also worried that I would be reading something far too edgy to take seriously. I was pleasantly surprised that the story had a mature, fleshed out take on the topics discussed. I ended up hooked and binge read this in one sitting. I was near tears at some of the low points (although I am admittedly an emotional sucker for most plots similar to this, like the opening to the Kotoura-san anime).

A few warnings: this story isn't for the faint of heart. It doesn't shy away from the topics it discusses, which include bullying, ... self-harm, suicidal thoughts, suicide, assault, and rape. While it generally takes these topics seriously they can become pretty graphic. If these are sensitive topics for you, then I recommend that you pass on this one for now.

Also, the art in this series can be pretty damn good in its shining moments. I don't want to spoil anything, but some of the expressions on the characters can be intense.

Overall, I ended up really getting into this one. Maybe it felt a teeny bit dramatic at times but I still read it to the end and enjoyed it a lot.

Summary:

Without exaggeration I will start this review with this: Life is one of the best stories I've ever read/watched. That's a big statement. Not only was it realistic and serious, it was heart-touching, and focuses on an issue that is already important in the US, but even more important in Japan where it was published.

The frightening thing about this manga is that it is not fantasy. In this story the enemy is not magical in nature and the challenge isn't to defeat some opponent in battle. The conflict Ayumu goes through are what many children unfortunately go through every day throughout the world, especially young ... girls.

The manga has some great and subtle social commentary on bullying, self-mutilation, suicide, the perception of child mental health, rape and sexual assault and what it truly means to be a friend. There is also some great commentary on the negative aspects of Japanese society.

This story, as corny as it sounds, made me go through a range of emotions, mostly anger, and the ending is beautifully done. I dare say if every young person were to read this manga, they may be more prepared to face the difficulties they face in their teenage years and understand that what it all comes down to is knowing when to ask for help. It would also be a great example to teachers, administrators, parents and society as a whole.

If you are wondering how I can talk so much praise about a comic, I invite you to pick up this book and go into it without expectations. Although it is a shojou, its story is something that can be related to by both sexes of all ages.


Story:

As said above, this story is amazing. It was human, and although it may some times feel exaggerated becuase of the inaction of the bystanders and adults involved, it is precisely that why the author wrote the story. The inaction of the issues that face young people today is precisely what this book is meant to bring to attention, and it does so very well. This story is frightening, sad, but also sweet and beautiful, especially the ending.

Art:

As a guy who's a sucker for the moe manga and ecchi, I am usually turned off by the girly art style of shoujos; yet although the art style is very similar to a lot of shoujo, the art in this story is beautiful. It is not so exaggerated and girlish that it becomes a bother. all the characters look well drawn and unique. The scenes where a character is crying or screaming or hurt, the author fills the entire page with ink with a plethora of lines that make you seee the emotion; you will see what I mean when you first encounter such a scene. It's great when an author uses art to express emotions that can't be easily felt through description in a book.

Character:

Also very well done. All the characters in this story are not only unique but important. The interaction between all teh characters in way you dont expect make it very enticing ot keep reading. And the characters you hate and want to find and beat to a pulp, even they come to grow on the reader because the author does not portray characters one-dimensionally. There is no "good guy" and "bad guy" in this manga. There's only characters who through one form or the other are victims of other people's, usually adult's mistreatment and disinterest. Even the antagonists who do the most horrible things to the main girl are soon shown to have a number of terrible problems of their own. The characters aren't there to fulfill a role and be ridiculed or glorified, they are there to represent real people who go through complex issues such as those in this manga.

Definitely try this one out, you will not regret it.

I started reading this series yesterday and ended at 3:30 am today. I seriously couldn't put this series down for 20 minutes at a time without being bothered by what was going to happen next. In the series, this is what the Slice of Life genre should be like, rather than happy go lucking anime that put Otaku in a non bullied light.

The series was amazing, I found the plot to be well written with conflict being added in that didn't quite make the series feel like it was dragging on for a longer time that it was welcome, while giving you a really good ... amount of time to get this feeling of what it's like to be bullied in a Japanese High School. I looked it up and the rates for this sort of violent bullying has increased, a good portion of the time the "Alpha Bitch" is quite attractive, but at the same time they show signs of sociopathic behavior. A lot of other people will just follow behind and do what they "Alpha" tells them to. And this series portrays all that very well whether it's through a change of art style or the plain beautiful visualizations of the character's psyche. I don't want to spoil anything else for it. I will do a spoilers review on my blog tomorrow talking about each thing in the series for anybody who is interested.

I do have to say the only thing I didn't like about it was the ending, compared to the rest of the series the ending was kind of lacking in quality.

My final score for this series is a 9.6/10

I added this manga to my plan to read list so long ago, i was hesitant at first to read it because I tend not to read plots that have to do with high school because they tend to all be the same exact plot. Bullying is a common plot for many high school related manga and Life is one of them. Life's characters were sometimes over the top and way too unrealistic but it didnt take me out of the plot that much. The story touched me personally because I and many other friends are anxiety filled depressed teens. And that's who the main ... character is. Her inner monologue is rather accurate when it comes to how she feels about what she is doing when it comes to her self harm. The characters were heartwarming and sometimes very scary. The art is very nice, the style is what it is and some people may find problems with the female's eyes but this manga was something that I really did enjoy reading. The whole time I was wondering what sad thing will happen to this poor child next and the chapters seemed to fly by. This is one of the few manga with this sort of plot that I would tell people to read, after making sure that they would be okay around this sort of plot line and issues that are shown in this manga.

The first chapter was the best , it was moving , relatable and overwhelmingly emotional with full of potential . But Iater on it became so frustrating to read it , the weakness of mc was unbelievably painful for me . I waited but yhe story didnt portray her weakness as wrong thing but just weakness . Ofcourse people are there with a similar level of weakness and even the mjsfortune which is also why i saw so much potential and wanted the message to be clear . Characters and all good even the mc but develop it the way a way thats lacking the ... most crucial part .

The story is about running from darkness , rather than finding a light . Yes she did found light but it was inside the story of running . The way she handle her first painful experiece to the way she handles actual danger has a philosophical flaw which is never pointed out. She still to the end never was able to realize humans are mostly stupid to point of harming us and people that are hard to keep up with can be removed from her priortise , like for example she didnt need curry favor from her classmates that are known to be worse . We can put aside what she cpulgve done , but the way she perceives and think . She groups her best friend and a picture of an ideal friend into the same category as the trash bullies , the worse shitty dudes and classmate that she has to smile to , and bear pain for . She's not offensive in mindset even with sexual assaults (defenseive sometimes though) , she runs from darkness but towards poison and chase after it but never able to chase after any of the lights in front of her .

Lastly it was painful becuz its beautiful , the drama is good . Short i love what the writer create but hate how he thinks . If only she was portrayed to chase after the actual thing she should've at some point .

I personally think LIFE is a really good Manga. Its about this Girl named Ayumu Shiiba and she's not the brightest student. But, lucky for her, she "was" friends with a another girl named Shii-chan. (well, thats what she called her in the story. I don't know her name) Shii-chans dream was to go to Nishidate High School. Later, Ayumu realizes she doesn't want to be apart from Shii-chan, Just because they'll most likely go to different high schools. So, She studys hard (using Shii-chan's notes; making it hard on Shii-chan to study for herself) and makes it into Nishidate without Shii-chan (who failed her ... test and let her grades slip because she didn't speak up for her notes back from Ayumu.) You'll sound realize Ayumu's really slow and doesn't get things fast enough. And thats what happened, She didn't get the clues that Shii-chan was failing until it was to later. And now Ayumu has lost her best friend and goes into high school alone; just to make worster friends.
When Ayumu gets to Nishidate, She means a preppy girl named Manami Anzai. Manami likes to be the center of attention and doesn't care as to how she does it. (Like, if she has to lie, blackmail, or really anything) Manami has a boyfriend; Katsumi Sako, who has a fetish for bondage and keeps a scrapbook of the girls he has raped. Sako breaks up with Manami for unknown reasons. Manami then, asks Ayumu to get them back to together. Ayumu tries to be the good friend and works to try and get them together again, only to come across this book, he molests her and makes her his slave. However, his evil plans for her are thwarted because he has an abusive father who beats him to ensure his future relationship with Manami (both of their fathers are rich CEO's of famous companies). Around large groups of people he acts polite and sweet; but when it suits him to show his real self, that self is manipulative and abusive. He stalksAyumu, tries to make her call him "Master" for blackmail purposes, and even completely tricks Ayumu's mother into thinking he is a nice person. (Ayumu's mother was worried she wasn't doing well in school got her a home teacher.) After, the first rape attack on Ayumu, Sako promised to get back with Manami for Ayumu.
Manami then, follows Sako to Ayumu's house for "study" (Eariler, that same day Manami's other friends told her that they saw Ayumu going into a house with Sako. And they stated that Ayumu was trying to steal Sako away from her. Manami didn't believe it, because she asked Ayumu to talk to Sako for her.) But, before going to Ayumu, Sako bought some flowers. And Manami though the flowers were for Ayumu. (Sako's never given Manami flowers.) So, then Manami's starts believing what her friends were saying about Ayumu; She then get the whole class (later the whole school) to start bullying Ayumu (At first Manami was bullying a other girl named Miki Hatori, who laters becomes friends with Ayumu.) Then, last Manami get the teachers to do nothing about the bullying going on in the class.
So, now Ayumu and Miki are stuck at the hands of Manami. Until they find proof, That Manami and Sako aren't the angel, They've got the school to believe.

This story is about a girl, who just wants to fit in but she gets bullied by the people whom she thought were her friend. It is terribly heart wrenching and if you're easy to cry you may shed a few tears for the main character. Ayumu's struggle is what many children have to deal with on a day to day basis and I believe that many feel the exact same way she does.

Suenobu-sensei's works about bullying and how the main characters pull through it, I believe, are really inspirational. LIFE over all is a story I enjoyed reading and if you are feeling ... up to it I'd give this manga or the manga called 'Vitamin' (also by Suenobu, Keiko) a read.

I found Life when saw a cap of it on Google images. It looked interesting, so I looked up what manga it was from and found out that it was called Life. I read reviews and decided to read it... and here I am, a few days later.

STORY: 10/10
Life's plotline is amazing. Seriously!! It's interesting, satisfying, intense, and really, it will teach you life lessons. (Well, it did to me.) It explains all the character's development, motivations, and everything without ever being vague or uninteresting. It is an amazing story of bullying, manipulation, and learning to be happy and strong no matter what. At it's ... core, I guess you could say it is the story of a person who gains the courage to triumph over all the hardships in her way. But it has so many more themes in it. It shows how people learn that being a good friend is to be honest and not let your friend hurt people. It shows the value of friendship and having a strong friend. It covers things like bullying (obviously), self harm, jealousy, manipulation, friendship, the power of money, peer pressure, and many many more.
Also, another thing: I think that the author is writing from their experiences here, which is a reason that Life is so realistic - things like this, though not always to this extent, are real issues in many people's lives.

ART: 10/10
The art was beautiful!!! At first I wasn't really sold on it but by the end I loved it. The EYES are always beautiful. The expressions of the characters really are amazing and always show how the characters feel. The body proportions are all accurate, the frames are set out well, the backgrounds are all drawn well, the story is easy to follow, the art is never confusing, and in every situation the art helps to emphasise the atmosphere.

CHARACTERS: 10/10
Wow, the characters. Well, I don't know what Life would be without its characters, so really they are why this manga is so great. Every character is dynamic, and none of the characters fall into tired tropes or stereotypes. They are all realistic and succeed at what they're supposed to make you feel; bad characters make you feel angry, the victimised characters you sympathise with, etc.. Ayumu is such a great character, and throughout the manga, we can watch her strong character development. Really, pretty much every character in this manga develops so hard, man.

ENJOYMENT: 10/10
One thing that seems to be a common theme amongst readers is how this manga hooks you in. I only started reading it a day or two ago, and through this time I couldn't stop reading it. Every chapter hooked me in. So it is definitely compelling.
When I read Life, one of its strongest points was its ability to make you feel how the characters felt. So when Ayumu, or anyone else, was in a stressful situation, I felt really stressed. Some moments when characters were in trouble were quite scary, also.
One of my favourite things about this manga, though, may just be how the characters change and grow and learn, and how we kind of learn at the same time, just by reading. There are so many important life lessons in here.

OVERALL: 10/10
I think it's obvious by now that I love this manga, haha. I may have a headache from reading it through the night, but it was worth it...!
I haven't read many mangas, but I know that this will be one of my favourites. The themes of this manga actually reminded me slightly of Evangelion, as they both tackled issues with depression etc..
LIFE was an emotional rollercoaster. It was sad, inspirational, rage-inducing, scary, satisfying, sweet, action-filled, and more.

I recommend this manga to anyone. Just be careful if you get depressed easily :)

From first chapter, I already liked it. The story and the charachters development are good. It made mecried on the some chapters. It touched you and make you realize how is the real world.

For me, this manga is really great! It is so relatable. Very relatable. Almost every scene from first until last chapter I had been already experienced it.

I really recommend this manga and for every people who want to read it, please read with open mind. It can change your perspective about bullying. I hope this manga makes you realize how is you living your life.


Please read

The story is about a girl who is bullied with so many insane characters. I didn't have any doubt giving this manga a 10/10 rating.

The most appealing factor of this manga is it's story since it's unique and interesting. It even has notes on the psychologists. The main character relies on other people's thoughts about her too much that she can't do anything without getting stressed about getting disliked. It captures her anxiety, fear of not fitting in, self hatred well. In one of the first chapters, she asks herself, wouldn't it be better to be alone instead of being friends with people that will ... only care about themselves, who will turn their back towards you in your slightest mistake without paying attention to what you're saying. Ayumu, the main character, concludes on having friends is better despite the consequences. Then there is Hatori, who is a great role mode, in contrast to Ayumu, she is a strong girl who doesn't care about her classmates even though they ignore her and exclude her from everything. The manga displays how school life is for the girls with all the jealousy and meaningless drama, I know things like this happen since I saw it happen and this manga does a great job of displaying the truth without sugar coating it.

The art and the characters are another strong point. The poses, action scenes are so greatly drawn and it is so detailed. Even in a crowded scene, I could see the faces and bodies clearly. Also the use of tones is so professionally done that it helps giving the emotion powerfully. The expressions in some parts blew my mind by how terrifyingly accurate the faces are drawn. The characters are also very unique, every single character have depth and you understand their reasoning, I wouldn't think there would be a better way than concluding the way it did since it was so much like what the characters would do.

To put everything together, I thought that it would be about a girl who self harms but it was more about the psychological drama, learning the way of coping and fighting back against bullying. I'm so glad I read it and recommend it without doubt. Only exception would be if anyone would get triggered by bullying and self harm but I believe this would help you getting stronger. Thanks to the mangaka for creating such a great story and art.