A review of a new series that Tokyopop describes as being about real teenagers and real life in post-Columbine high school

Title: Life

Publisher: Tokyopop

Genre: Drama

Volumes: 2 so far

Age: Older Teen 16+

Violence: some scenes of self cutting

Sex/Nudity: Some

Status: New series,still being published

Shy Ayumu is an awkward junior high school student struggling with her studies and trying hard not to be noticed by the mean girls in her school. Her only friend is the outgoing Shii who helps Ayumu with her studies and tries her best to help Ayumu to break out of her shell. AS high school entrance exams approach, Shii announces that she is going to try for a well known and rather elite school,mostly because she thinks the uniforms are cute and will help her get boys. Ayumu,not wanting to be seperated from Shii tries for the same school and when the test results are announced,is surprised to learn that she has been accepted. Shii however failed to score high enough on the test and was not accepted to the school. In a fit of rage,Shii blames Ayumu for not only her failure with the test but for always holding her back in whatever they did. Shii calls her a big burden and declares that Ayumu is no longer her friend and that she wants nothing more to do with her. The guilt that Ayumu feels is so strong that she begins to cut herself with a razor, thinking that it is the only way that she can feel the kind of pain that Shii is feeling. At high school,Ayumu is reclusive and stays away from the other students until one day a girl named Manami imposes herself on Ayumu and declares that Ayumu looks like she needs a friend and that friend will be Manami. Unless of course Manami is called away by her boyfriend,at which time she totally ignores Ayumu and runs off to be with him.One night Ayumu receives a call from Manami who asks her to meet her at the train station late at night. Manami’s boyfriends has just dumped her and she asks Ayumu is she will support her in whatever she does next. When Ayumu says yes she will support her,Manami smiles and says goodbye,than steps in front of an oncoming train. At the last instant Ayumu pushes her out of the way to safety but Manami is not happy and accuses Ayumu of breaking her promise of supporting her. Ayumu says that she will support her and Manami says that she better and wanders off into the night leaving Ayumu to face a dark and uncertain path into the future

Good Points: The artwork is very good. The story is emotional

Bad Points: It may be a tad too intense for younger readers.

See overall review below

Overall Review: I’m sorry, Tokyopop is off the mark with the hype on this one. This is not,IN MY OPINION, real teens in real life. This is soap opera plain and simple, and a pretty dark and gloomy one at that. My biggest complaint with this series is this… one might be tempted to compare Ayumu with characters like Hatsumi (Hot Gimmick) or Ara (Honey Mustard) because at first glance she seems to be just like them in that she appears to be at the mercy of a fate beyond her control. But this is a mistake, because in truth in this series, Ayumu is simply a natural born victim. While Hatsumi and Ara may also be victims,they both try to make the best of what they are given,Ayumu simply lies there and waits for the next assault. Case in point (WARNING!! SPOILER AHEAD!!) When Ayumu learns that a classmate is a predator preying on the girls in the class,she allows herself to be manuvered into becoming his next victim,afterwards instead of going to the authorities to try and stop him,she wallows in self pity,taking small comfort from watching another classmate being bullied. She simply allows herself to be manipulated into one bad situation after another. I personally have yet to find one quality in her to make me feel sympathy for her. And yet,this series is a prime example of “trainwreck” media, you just cant help but to keep reading,just to see what’s going to happen next to the poor girl. While i’m not adding this one to my collection (yet) i am running down to the bookstore and reading each volume as they come out. I really hope that her luck takes a turn for the better as the series goes on, but i doubt it. But to be honest,It’s not a bad series, it’s just that in general, i’m not into dark soap opera (but i seem to like trainwrecks )

Coengar2 says if you like soap opera manga,give this one a look. But if you want a good series with real teens and real life, go read Confidential Confessions also from Tokyopop. It’s a much better series with much better material