By REBECCA P.

“Ayumu Shiiba is studying for the all-important high school entrance exams. She is struggling to get by, but thankfully has help from her best friend Shii-chan, who is at the top of their class. But when the test results come back, their friendship falls apart — Ayumu surpasses Shii-chan’s scores and gets into her high school of choice while Shii-chan doesn’t!

Losing Shii-chan is so painful for Ayumu that she starts cutting her wrists for comfort. Hoping for a fresh start, Ayumu arrives at her new high school and finally opens up to a new friend, Manami. But will Manami prove to be the friend that Ayumu truly needs or send her further in a downward spiral?”

My thoughts
Life focuses on Ayumu who is studying for her high school entrance exams. She isn’t the best student, but her best friend, Shii-chan, offers to help when she learns Ayumu wants to get into the elite school she’s applying for. While Ayumu gets in, and Shii-chan doesn’t, Shii-chan is devastated and breaks her friendship with Ayumu. This has a devastating effect on the young Ayumu who begins cutting herself to ease the pain. When she arrives at her new school she has difficulty fitting in until Manami befriends her. This is one manga not for the faint of heart.

Life falls into one of those manga categories where it’s good to read when you’re young and naïve, but once you grow older you find yourself shaking your head at the characters. If you’re an older reader, the first volume of life will feel exactly like that, at least in the attitudes and thoughts of the characters. Due to the context (cutting and depression) it’s aimed for an older audience, but it’s a series that you either like or don’t.

The artwork is average at best and the character models and lines are very simple. The author wanted to make a statement about a serious social issue in Japan as well as raise awareness, and as a result that is the core of the manga’s heart, at least for the first volume. The characters are dull and lacking in effort except for the main character. Ayumu is likable, but when reading through, I spotted a few instances where she made easy mistakes, but by the same token regained them. She’s a typical teenager with a serious problem.

All that being said, Life is a very dark manga that gets darker. The characters and artwork are bland, but the dialogue is fresh and moves the story along at a good pace. However, it suffers the unfortunate fate of having a terrible first volume while the rest of the volumes get better (similar to Chrono Crusade). I can’t say that I would recommend Life vol. 1 as a good read, but it’s a decent read. If you like dark, depressing stories about teenage life then it’s a great book to pick up. Otherwise, pass and skip to later volumes.