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*Spoiler alert* - Just to be safe. :P

"To the homeless man, Ayu must have looked like an angel-one who radiates pure, deep love from inside."

If there's one word I would use to describe 'Deep Love: Ayu no Monogatari' it would be tragic. The story of Ayu's life is filled with tragedy: tragic people, tragic circumstances and tragic ways of thinking. However in this world filled with tragedy Ayu finds a light to fuel her love with certain characters she meets whom she shares some absolutely heartwarming moments with. With these characters Ayu finds a light to ignite her pure, deep love which was seemingly burnt ... out.

"Happiness? What is that? Can't you live without it?"

What happens when someone is headed in a good direction after drowning in the mud for so long? You find yourself yearning for her to find this happiness she doesn't seem to know of, happiness she feels she can live without. You're taken on a journey through Ayu's numbed, colourless life and you watch as she learns that happiness and love are possible for her which is quite a lovely journey to follow but but life isn't simple and life isn't easy and relapse in most cases is inevitable.

"Even in a dirty city they'll bloom if they try hard to."

This manga is simply a great depiction of life and I guess that's why I enjoyed it so much. It doesn't show a life where everything is sunshine and rainbows and it doesn't even show a life where things start out muddy but everything becomes clear in the end and all is well. It shows a life where if you're willing to let yourself find a way to bloom in the dirtiest of situations, then you'll find a way to smile even if it's just for a moment. Ayu finds reasons to smile, reasons to cry and this drives her to bloom and love and find something to protect... something to live for.

Now I'm not too great at rating things but I'll give it a go:

Story: 9/10
I suppose the thing with more realistic stories is that you aren't always going to complete the story and feel fulfilled because you aren't guaranteed that happy or enlightening ending which can often leave you feeling a little empty once you finish it. However I am personally okay with that. My main criticism is that there are certain panels/sentences in the manga I think were unnecessary and took away from the mood of the story, this could have easily been avoided. But overall I thought the story was really well done, tragic yet heartwarming in all the right places.

Art: 10/10
The art is terrific, perhaps a little rough and sharp but that is by no means a criticism as it definitely suits the manga perfectly. Honestly I didn't expect to rate this a 10 as this isn't really my preferred type of art for a manga but I'm not rating my personal taste here.

Character: 10/10
Another 10, what is happening to me? I'm usually not so lenient with rating 10's haha. I think the characters are portrayed exactly how the mangaka's intended and that is exactly why this comes to a 10. While I personally really loved most of the main characters there were also many minor characters I hated but I believe this hatred and love is all intentional. Whilst I usually dislike stories where I'm basically being told who to hate and who to love, that black and white type of writing works in this as your feelings towards characters doesn't feel forced at all.

Enjoyment: 9/10
I thoroughly enjoyed this manga. Most people seem to complain about this manga being to short but I find stories like this are best done when they are short so I personally think it was the perfect length, any more and it would have possible turned into a train wreck of a story seemingly directionless or just been too overwhelming. My criticism is the same as my 'story' rating.

Which comes to a 9/10 for the overall story. I'll say if you enjoy a more realistic story and aren't afraid to let yourself experience 'dem feels' then you should give this manga a go. It's short and *bitter*sweet but well worth your time. :)