Aug 8, 2019
She Doesn't Know Why She Lives is a short story following Sumi Izumi, a 25 year old part timer struggling with anxieties over the uncertainty, and seeming unsuccessful life she has come to live in. Originally I started reading this manga expecting to drop it, but was surprised by how much it was able to suck me in and make me care for Sumi and her coworkers over the course of its 28 chapters.
=Story 6/10=
The story is simple, following how Sumi deals with various day to day interactions. Most of the time Sumi struggles to follow through with even everyday activities, such as cleaning
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or preparing food. While it may be frustrating to read at first, it quickly becomes charming and even relatable seeing how she deals with everyday life. Almost every panel features thought-bubbles that convey to the reader how Sumi is processing the situation; These range from being funny to depressingly relatable.
=Art 7/10=
I found the art to be a fun highlight of this manga. There was nothing astoundingly amazing, but every panel was drawn with purpose and attention to express Sumi as a character.
Every character’s eyes are drawn large, and stylized depending on the character’s traits (For example, Sumi having tired bags underneath her eyes). Special attention has also been paid to background items, the end of chapters often featuring a more detailed picture of one of Sumi’s personal items, or something she enjoys. The backgrounds are also pleasant to look at, and not noticeably jarring compared to the rest of the art.
=Character 7/10=
There are 3 characters prominently featured: Sumi, her coworker, and her manager, as well as a handful of side characters. Given that the manga is only 28 chapters long most of the side characters only served to characterize the main 3. I wouldn’t say this is a negative however. Since the focus is on Sumi, departures with side characters are not often, and help to improve the readers insight of the interactions between the main 3. As mentioned in the previous category, objects are also used to provide further insight into Sumi - the end of chapter pictures also featuring a blurb explaining the relevance of the item to her.
I was able to enjoy the main characters a lot, as I found elements of all of them to be or have been relatable throughout my life. The use of side characters and objects to characterize Sumi and her coworkers was surprisingly effective, tugging at my heart strings and making me care about them in a short amount of time.
=Enjoyment 9/10=
As someone who has been in situations where I felt or did exactly as Sumi did, my enjoyment of the manga was high. It plays off of common anxieties in life in a unique way to capture your heart and make you care for the cast. The art and characters further serve to amplify that, everything flowing nicely together to suck you in even if it is lacking in punch story-wise.
Overall, I found the manga to be quite a pleasant read. I would recommend it to anyone in a similar age bracket to Sumi (late teens, twenties). It blends its elements well to hit all the right feelings, whether they be comical, sad, or bittersweet.
8/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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