Ai no Seikatsu

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Ai no Seikatsu is about an interconnected web of characters who want desperately to love and feel loved, yet are unable to. It is filled with the same melodramatic themes as much of Okazaki's work (post-bubble unhappy teens that have been forsaken by the system, teenage pregnancy, incest, violent outbursts, etc) but doesn't pull them off as well or as intensely as her best works

Story: The plot is made of vignettes of interconnected characters' troubled love lives that mostly rejoin during the manga's climax, ranging from the comedic to the beautifully melancholic. However, it doesn't hit the same peaks as Okazaki's other works, both in ... term of greatness and in term of intensity, leading to the plot feeling a bit run of the mill

Art: I've always been a big fan of Okazaki's simplistic and expressive style, but I'll admit it's not for everyone AT ALL.

Characters: The cast is way too big for the length of the manga. The two brother and sister easily get the most development and are the most compelling characters. In comparison, the protagonist is a bit too dull to my liking. A bunch of secondary characters get a massive chunk of screentime, but the manga isnt long enough for them to individually have that lot going on

Overall, this is a b-grade, slightly generic Kyoko Okazaki manga. Which is not to say it was bad, she's my favorite mangaka and I had a great time reading it. Just, don't expect River's Edge or Helter Skelter going into this