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this manga series is just so good! SO GOOD! i just loved every part of this. the little bit of plot twist at the end is something i didn't expect but it made sense. the plot itself is not very long but it's deep and complex and the emotions this series brought just hit so hard. the characters' personalities are realistic. either humans and robots, they perfectly represented the diiferent human emotions in reality. the ending is very straight to the point, with no unnecessary scenes. i do think that 8 volumes are just enough for the plot, not too long and not too short ... either. i never expected to cry when i first picked this up but i did and the impact on me is huge. i really had a wonderful reading experience. this has a really solid beginning and an equally solid ending, which you could not see in every stories and i'm glad i was able to read this.

i very much understand why this manga series is so highly acclaimed. a masterpiece, indeed! i can confidently say that this series is now included in my top manga series i've ever read. and since i'm researching things about this manga, i just discovered that netflix will soon release an anime adaptation of this series! i'm so freaking excited to see the story and the characters come to life!

i highly recommend this manga! this is such a short read but you will received more than you expected.

Just beware that this story has a lot of trigger warnings, though I won't list it down since it would possibly spoil the story

“What I really want...is to feel the warmth of the people who should be closest to me"

This one-volume manga is such a quick, but definitely not an easy read. Dark, emotional and distressing, it deals with a lot of heavy, messed up topic. Yes, this story is short but definitely a messed up one, And that depressing and tragic vibe has a such great impact, atleast to me. I didn't even realize that this little story can cause a massive heartbreak until ... I started it.

The story started out where you'll see the end of Ian's story at the prologue and you'll get to backtrack his unfortunate life leading to that moment in the succeeding chapters. Not Simple, a very befitting title, and you'll definitely know once you finish this story. In my opinion, 14 short chapters are enough content for this story to unfold. It's more impactful to me that way.

"Your life is unbelievable"

This line from Jim is the most accurate description of this manga. I don't think recommending this to everyone is an appropriate thing to do but please give it a try. Just don't forget that this has distressing topics and you should read at your own discretion.

ALSO, the art might not be for everyone and personally, it took me half the story to get used to the art style. Just so you know.

"Dont give me your stupid advice...! Just leave me alone... I’m happy, goddammit! I know there’s at least one person in this world who cares about me. Who doesn’t want anything from me. Do you have any idea what that’s like? I never did... not once in my entire life—until now. And that’s worth more to me than anything else."


I would easily have rated this series a 10, but why did I rate it 9, you say?

This is my answer: because this series didn't give Ash a freaking break!!

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Don't get me wrong. I loved this series soooo much this has actually managed to be ... on my favorite list. This series was by no means bad. Far from it, to be honest. This was absolutely great! It always gives me the anxiety about Ash's life it was supposed to deliver. But the pain and the heartbreak I personally went through reading this series, reading every suffering Ash had to go through, cut off a single score out of my rating.

How can I begin to comprehend how Ash was able to live through all the crap that was thrown at him? Trouble after trouble, which he always literally put his very life on the line every single time. When I thought he already got away from one life-threatening situation, another one still able to pull him back. Every. Single. Time. I was like "GIVE HIM A GODDAMN BREAK ALREADY! LET HIM BREATH FOR A MINUTE!! LET HIM REST!!" He has no time to let his guard down.

Eiji was the only one who was able to calm Ash down. He looked and acted his age when he was with Eiji, even felt human with him around. He was able to relax, even for a bit, because of Eiji. But that's just it! It was just A BIT OF TIME! I personally think it wasn't enough to compensate all the pain Ash had gone through. I know Ash even once said that meeting Eiji was worth more than anything else. That he was more than willing to risk his life to protect Eiji. Even showed us a lot of foreshadowing, including the time when he asked God to take his life instead of Eiji. I know that, but damn, I can't still accept his fate. If only after all the crap in his life, he get the happiness he so much deserved at the end, or even if he still meets his end, he still somehow get decent breather throughout the series despite his plenty of sufferings, I could have lived by it. Yeah, Ash did a lot of terrible things in his life to survive but who could have blamed him? He was the actual victim here. I still hate how Ash only got a tiny bit of happiness through Eiji and it didn't even last long enough. And you thought that showing us a smiling and almost fulfilling face of Ash while clutching Eiji's letter with his bloody hands, it would make up for his early demise, you're definitely wrong! It actually made it worst for my heart! Goddamn! And seeing Eiji still couldn't let go of Ash even after 7 years, that was pretty depressing and tragic.

I know this review ended up as a rant. But nevertheless, it's just not possible to rate this series less than 9. This is still absolutely one of the best!

PS: I don't like the old art of this series. I honestly don't see why Ash was called a pretty boy in the manga because the old art ruined it. But then, when the art style improved I guess around volume 6 or 7, damn! Ash was indeed a beautiful life force! And knowing that his final character design was inspired by the late River Phoenix, I can't think of any other way to portray his physical appearance.

EDIT: Okay, after a month of not getting over this series, I decided to change my rating from 9 to 10. I mean, after gathering my thoughts all this time, the ending was freaking sad and devastating but it was actually fitting for this series. I realized how this kind of series couldn't have the happy ending every one of us wanted for Ash and Eiji. I now believe that the ending, as depressing as it was portrayed, was still a suitable ending for this masterpiece.

I just finished this series. The conclusion at the end was a bit rushed in my opinion but it doesn't mean it wasn't good. This series was actually great and very enjoyable. I just wished there were more of Sen and Soji at the last few volumes because they're my favorite characters. I also loved the art style so much. It was very solid and clean and I think it suited the story well.


*A BIT SPOILER*

**Sealing the adorable Chushinmaru at the end and Yoshimori creating a version of himself and Gen in the world he created, those actually made me emotional and sad.**

Nevertheless, I still ... highly recommend this series for those shounen readers out there. It was a shame the anime only adapted this only until the Kokuboro arc. I just wished they adapted it to the end.