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This manga is basically the definition of a seven out of ten.

The artwork? Pretty lame but not distracting.

The plot? Just interesting enough to get me to read all the way through and not regret it.

The characters? Totally generic, but "literally me" anti-hero-esque enough that listless youths like yours truly will fawn over them like the abused little dogs we are.

Overall? An equally enjoyable and flagrant waste of valuable time that I will never ever get back.

Big picture? The world would be better off if this manga and manga like it did not exist. (Shokuryu Jinrui, Gyakusatsu no Happiendo, I'm looking at you). They are totally ... vapid, superficial "thrillers" that exist to exploit a pandemic of teenage (I'm almost 22) male ennui. Will I continue to read them? Absolutely.

Man, what a ride. Seven? years and 281 chapters later, one of the most important pieces of literature in my young life has come to a close. This story was hugely influential for me in becoming who I am, and I don't think I can really adequately tell my life story without mentioning it. That, however, is not what reviews are for, so I'm going to actually analyze the manga.

For those of you who don't know, this manga explores a student council in a fictional exclusive Japanese private school. The president and vice-president, are, as the first and second ranked students in the year, the ... male and female "top dogs". They mutually like each other, but are too proud to confess, and this dynamic is the fulcrum of the story.

This manga is primarily driven by the characters, who are fantastic. The deuteragonists are a spin on the popular rich girl - poor guy paring - which has been done to death - executed in a beautifully silly, self-aware fashion. The side characters are pretty innovative: I don't know if I've seen isomorphs of Iino, Ishigami, Fujiwara before or since.

This is a slice-of-life manga, so while the plot isn't really important, the middle of the story had some genuinely stirring scenes as a sort of inverted interlude from the whimsy du-jour.

The artwork is good, although it gets sloppy towards the end. At that point of the magna, you don't care. It's a gag manga so the art isn't important, except insofar as it conveys facial expressions effectively (an art Akasaka has mastered).

Overall enjoyment: ten out of ten. This manga is genuinely hilarious, I laughed out loud dozens of times while reading it. I can't even begin to express enough how enjoyable these charismatic and relatable (fictional) people are, you just need to read it. It combines humor, tongue-in-cheek social commentary on pop culture and relationships, genuinely serious and dramatic moments, and overall provides a wonderful little examination of life as it is lived - day-by-day.

Please read this manga! It changed my life for the better, but most importantly it was fun!

I've been following this manga for several months and I guess only 20 chapters have been translated into English (although all 55 are translated into Russian) so far. I'm basing my review on those first few chapters.

I am someone who likes edgy manga. When I say "edgy", I mean a manga that unites two things: originality and transgression. A manga that merely violates taboos is not "edgy", it's just offensive. In this sense, my application of the word "edgy" to a manga is a compliment of the highest order.

Gyakusatsu happiendo is a very, very edgy manga. It's plot is a combination of two very popular ... devices - death games and time loops - that I don't think I've ever seen before. The main character is not a moralizer and is not afraid to kill to get what he wants. In fact, none of the characters are really "good" people, something my cynical, misanthropic self is very satisfied with.

I would absolutely recommend this manga to anybody who likes gritty shonen thrillers like Ajin, Bokutachi ga Yarimashita, Fire Punch, Mahou Shoujo Site, etc.

I have been waiting to read this book for a while now, and since I stumbled upon vgperson's translation, I have read it and will write a review for you all.

In this reviewer's favorite book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, this reviewer's favorite writer, Oscar Wilde, characterized literature in his characteristically glib manner: "A book is good because it is well written. Nothing more and nothing less."

I'll start out with the positives: Miaki-sensei (by way of vgperson) is a wonderful writer!

Parasites in Love isn't as good as Three Days of Happiness. It reads like an exceptionally fluid C-tier romance novel. The plot is so predictable ... that it borders on fanservice. Where Mikkakan no Koufuku surprises and intrigues, Koisuru Kiseichuu bores and annoys. The draw of these stories is in how they present a romance, and more broadly an interpersonal connection, that is genuinely unexpected or unlikely -- star-crossed, if you will. This one is anything but, and its predictability was nearly to the point where, once the two main characters meet, I could have written it myself. Lonely mentally-ill NEET is asked to befriend misanthropic alt-JK? And they fall in love? WHAAAAT??!! The central plot device, which I won't reveal, is extremely neat and cool but I'm pretty sure I've actually seen this specific device used better on at least one occasion.

The milquetoast plot belies very engaging characters. The main character, Kousaka, is a fascinating specimen and I would love to see him in another setting. Sanagi is another interesting character but she would be much more interesting if her quirks (scopophobia, hobbies, literary interests, fashion) were SPOILER innate instead of learned /SPOILER. The supporting characters are lame.

What made Three Days of Happiness so brilliant was that, in addition to the romance aspect, the major questions surrounding the value of life are inextricably connected to the human experience. The central motif of Parasites in Love? Not so much. While the fundamental questions are pretty profound in themselves, they cannot really be explored in the context of a romance novel. This would have had real potential as a science fiction/psychological horror novel.

That being said, Subaru Miaki-sensei is a wonderful writer! It's hard to tell how much of the prose is lost in translation (vgperson did an amazing job and would probably be a great writer in their own right) but his books are always a joy to read.

Edit: I wrote this immediately after I read the manga so I am writing this disclaimer to say that I have tempered my opinion a little, but not too much. I'm not sure if this is the best work of fiction ever, but I think it's one of the best manga I've read and was genuinely a flawless reading experience.

Now for the review.

I just finished this about ~90 seconds ago and I can already tell you that this is the best manga I have ever read, and maybe the best work in any medium.

This story is utterly concise, simple, and beautiful. Each character, place, person, ... thought, expression, and event is wonderfully developed to give the reader a sense of attachment to the setting and characters, which is so outstanding for such a short work. You should read this manga ASAP, unless you are able to somehow get your hands on a hard copy. In that case, it's worth the wait, because you're going to want to hold this single volume tight to your bosom once you've finished.

So, they finally added this to the website.

This book is incredibly painful, for all of the right reasons.

It is relatable in a cathartic and fire-starting way. The reader - typically a young man - will inevitably project all of their failings onto Kusunoki. In my case, Three Days of Happiness spurred me to take my own life a little more seriously.

That being said, it is also incredibly beautiful. Brilliantly written, it generates powerful images at every critical point of the novel. The author, Sugaru Miaki, manages to catch you completely off guard on a number of occasions. Especially in the final third of the book, ... Miaki mixes bitter and sweet deftly, creating a dark chocolatey miasma you can't help but read again and again.

This is one of only a handful of books I have ever bought and I am probably going to buy it in Japanese at some point. I number it among a select few that genuinely changed my life.

Sasaki-kun ga Juudan Tometa

This is my favorite manga ever. It's so incredible, it's honestly hard to even describe. Literally every line is either an insane and hilarious plot twist or an insane and hilarious philosophical aphorism. It's the perfect post-modern vignette.

Niwa ni wa Niwa Niwatori ga Ita

This manga is incredibly original. I can't comprehend the mind that comes up with something so insane. Fujimoto's work has a way of making you think what he makes is really deep and profound, even though it's hard to tell whether that is true or not.

This manga is very unusually composed, because there is just barely enough information presented ... for the reader to have any kind of idea what is going on. At some junctures there isn't enough information and it's hard to follow. That being said, the plot progression is so scintillating that I can't dock him too much for that; you can easily extrapolate a satisfying explanation for yourself.

The plot is very clever but the concept is a little too out there. Originality is a torus where something too original bleeds into randomness. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it, so I gave it an 8. The art is pretty bad but he was only 17 so I gave him a 6 for that aspect.

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Me wo Sametara Onnanoko ni Natteita Yamai (109436) and has subsequently been merged into 22-26: Fujimoto Tatsuki Tanpenshuu (141294).

Another in a litany of Fujimoto one-shots.

This story presents a more critical and acute examination of the gender-bender trope - a deconstruction, if you will - while at the same time being charmingly unrealistic.

The story qualitatively transforms at least twice before it finishes, and while I'm not going to describe it for you because that would spoil it, it touches on themes of sexual predation, primitive emotions, young love and friendship in original ways.

It is extremely interesting, comedic, and ... a little bit touching towards the end.

The art isn't quite as cutting edge as Chainsaw Man but if you're reading a Fujimoto one-shot that probably isn't an issue for you. I highly recommend this, it's an 8/10 and requires very little effort to read.