Love My Life

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Breath of fresh air to read.
The characters can be unrealistic at times, but overall they're great.
I've seen some people say that the artwork is dull but I like the simplistic design as it allows the reader to focus on the story more.
Overall, the manga is really well written and for me, personally, the queer story is what I need at this time. I would genuinely recommend this to whoever. It explores mature themes, such at the discrimination of homosexuals within Japan.
In the end, Love My Life aims to be an inspiring novel that touches on the difficulties of queerness, self-actualization, and love ... as they coexist in an unclear universe. For the story's protagonists, everything turns out perfectly. To put it another way, as a pessimistic cynic, I don't think it's entirely practical. The beginning of Ichiko's life and her family are almost amazing. The characters never truly hurt or betray one another, or even actually dispute while handling difficult situations. But I do believe that there is a need for stories that are upbeat and neatly conclude on a positive note, and this one is perfectly suited for this purpose.

Love My Life is a story that touches on the challenges of queerness, self actualization and love as they coexist in a nebulous cosmos, but that ultimately strives to be uplifting. Everything works out well for the characters in the story. In other words, in my mind as a gloomy cynic, it's not totally realistic. Ichiko's origin story and family are somewhat miraculous. The characters never really betray or hurt each other, or even really argue while navigating complex circumstances. However, I think there's certainly a need for stories that are uplifting and end tidily on a happy note, and it's quite suitably tailored toward ... this end.

Insofar as it depicts the pleasant, mildly bittersweet elements of love and growth, it is sensitive and natural. The flat, minimal art allows the reader to interpret the mood freely and impressionistically based on the words, and the equally simple narrative everything is hinged upon. The feelings and expressions of the characters, the moods of particular scenes aren't heavily implied by the art itself, despite some occasional cartoony facial expressions. The effect, for me, is a more poetic reading experience. I am largely deciding how things feel for myself.

Things like homophobia, infidelity, and lies exist here, but they do not culminate in substantial trouble for the characters. Perhaps there is enough of that elsewhere in queer fiction that it's not needed here.

I want to defend the art style somewhat, as contrary to what seems to be the prevailing opinion in other reviews I've read online, it's one of my favorite things about Yamaji Ebine's work.

First of all, it is almost unnecessary to make a connection between Yamaji Ebine and Nananan Kiriko. They are two (presumably) queer women, writing about similar subject matter, with extremely similar art styles, and both have been published in Feel Young. Indigo Blue came out about 5 years after Blue, and obviously their similarities extend beyond their titles.

Other than Nananan, Yamaji Ebine's style for me is evocative of the Franco-Belgian ligne claire comic art style, as well as pop art and art nouveau, which in and of themselves have been influenced by Japonisme, western Europe's 19th century fascination with Japanese art. Some of the other Feel Young artists like Kyoko Okazaki and Unita Yumi come to mind when looking at Yamaji Ebine's panels. Yamaji, like Nananan is taking this philosophy of flatness and equal line to an extreme, while sacrificing some of the cartoonishness and messiness of someone like Kyoko Okazaki for a more clean and empty look.

The design of the whole image, whether it be a panel or full page, is of key importance; rather than a cute, recognizably manga-style character design, or detailed, realistic background. Negative space, the emptiness between and around lines is treated as a tool. Emptiness cannot remain empty, the viewer fills it in. I also see this art style as a rejection of the assumed limits that have seemed to envelope manga's stylistic diversity over time. Manga artists are not merely in dialogue with other manga artists, and beholden to the commercialized stylistic tools of manga; manga is a part of the lineage of Japanese and world art. In one panel, Ichiko is seen holding a Wayne Thiebaud art book.

I think artists like Nananan Kiriko and Yamaji Ebine want to preserve this lineage and dialogue with broader art, rather than pigeonholing themselves as "merely mangaka." It's not to say, "this manga is not merely manga, it's art," but rather "all manga is not just manga, all manga is also art." Characters are supposed to be people, why should they need to be stylized a certain way in order to appeal to readers who are people just like them? Rather, let's focus on the image as a whole, made up of lines and of empty space, and treat a manga, visually, as a work of art.

Love My Life is pretty easily summed up in two words: sensitive & minimalistic!
(Review complete, really? I can sleep?! jk)

I really enjoyed both the content and art style of this manga, while the style of drawing faces is possibly a little inexpressive at times, Ebine Yamaji is outright masterful in how she illustrates bodies.

I wouldn't say that it's a particularly deep dive into an understanding of homophobia and Japanese LGBT lifestyles, more a slow slice of life that places you gently into the characters' lives and allows you to experience a small piece of it together with them. The focus is on love, family ... (whether that's a nuclear family, found-family, or a couple planning a future together) and sensuality/sexuality, so it's important that the main character's love for her girlfriend and her somewhat unusual family really comes through! The reflective style of the manga was a really great choice on this front.

The characters really were the strong point for me. The author does a fantastic job of very naturally providing a basic outline of character motivations without throwing the reader into chapters and chapters of exposition for exposition's sake. We're told exactly what we need to know about each character. Minimal in a very very good way!

Love My Life is a horizon-broadening manga for those familiar with yuri, and perhaps an interesting entry point to manga for those who are perhaps a little more familiar with western LGBT comics.
I highly recommend this if you're looking for a mature and relaxing LGBT-related read!