Manga Match 23 Love So Life

It's ya girl coming at you after calculating her winter quarter GPA and turning into a potato during her spring break. Honestly after looking at all of the L's I've taken this quarter it really makes me rethink how I spend my time. On one hand I don't want to be socially dead, but on the other I don't want to have a bad GPA. But what's the point of keeping up good grades besides getting a job? Life after childhood is based on getting good grades to get a good job and have a good life. And we've all bought into that mentality. I wonder what it looks like on the other side of that mentality. I wonder if I'd be happier on the other side. But I'm not quite sure if I'm brave enough to try. So for now I'll strengthen my resolve to work harder.

On another note, I've just made a really simple chocolate tart and it's setting up nicely in the fridge I think. The crust hasn't turned out the greatest, but I think it was a strong effort. Since I'm home for a week I'm trying my hardest to do a lot of nice things for my parents because I live away from home for three fourths of the year so I want to try and make up for all the chores I'm missing. And this is kind of the only way I can make up right now for being such a huge financial burden on my parents. I'm trying to live in the moment more and just revel in how blessed of a life I live in order to find more happiness in day to day life. There's no reason to be so down about everything. But at the same time I feel like living in the moment sometimes leads to a place of comfort and complacency. And once you reach that spot you stop wanting to strive for something beyond. I'm still looking for that sweet spot in between. Sometimes I think these blog posts are the only times I truly reflect, my little diary entries alongside my blog posts if you will.

Now into the manga review!

{Spoilers}

To be honest, at the beginning of this manga I found all of the characters to be a bit too much. Shiharu was a bit too perfect. The twins were so young and when they originally began to talk it was just too childish and they were too emotional. But that was probably because I was just irritated at everything in my sleep deprived state. Once I was back to normal and rested I was able to see this manga for what it really was. It was super heartwarming and beyond cute and pure.

Some parts of this manga were a little bit questionable. For example when Akane and Aoi went to their grandparents house and they met their cousin Riku there it was lowkey incestuous. And we have to also think about the main ship of Shiharu and Matsunaga and the huge age gap between the two. But if you've got different morals than me or are willing to overlook the questionable morals into the story beyond it's great.

Shiharu is a hardworking high schooler who has dreams to become a professional day care worker. She's super good with children and mature beyond her years because of the experiences from her youth. When she was young her mom died, leaving her alone, which forced her into an orphanage. When this part of her story was revealed, it showed how resistant Shiharu was to the traumatic turn her life took. She couldn't accept that her mom had left her and had a hard time coping with the loss. However, she found her passion for child care in the orphanage and that gave her the strength to do well in the orphanage and try her best every day. Once you get that part of Shiharu's life and her underlying motivation it's hard not to root for her.

She's not the only one with a tragic backstory. The other main character Matsunaga also had an unfortunate family dynamic. His parents were basically separated for his entire life and he spent most of his days alone. The only one he could really go to was his older brother. His family life certainly was not ideal and that forced him to try doubly hard to be a successful and proper adult. Despite that he was able to grow up into a fine adult. This strong sense of morality as well as the yearning for the family life he was never able to experience led him to taking care of his infantile niece and nephew when his older brother went MIA and his sister in law tragically died. However, even though he strengthened his resolve to create a safe environment for the baby twins while waiting for his older brother to return home, he had a hard time until Shiharu entered their lives.

With Shiharu there they were able to live a happy and peaceful life. The story follows this little family unit as they explore the familial dynamic they weren't able to really discover in the proper and traditional sense until then. It wasn't just about creating a good environment for Akane and Aoi, but also for Shiharu and Matsunaga to experience what having a family and a loving home feel like as well.

It was all rainbows and sunshine until the inevitable moment when this little familial unit was broken apart so Akane and Aoi could live in a more steady environment with their maternal grandparents and eventually with their dad who came back. When Shiharu and Matsunaga were parted with Akane and Aoi my heart broke a little bit. It was good for everyone, but goodbyes are the worst. I wanted to cheer for them and say that it could've worked out with everyone just living in Matsunaga's family home, but it might have turned out differently if everyone were to be selfish like that. I know it was all for the best, and that everyone grew up to be fine people, but it's just the thought of what could've been that kills me.

Also speaking of what could've been is all the relationships in this manga. It definitely is shoujo with all of the romance. Like Nao's unrequited love for Shiharu.

Look how this sad boi is so sad inside but has to pretend like he's ok he needs to be protected

Honestly if you've got a manga or anime where the unrequited love is returned and the childhood friends actually end up together please tell me because I'm tired of rooting for the people that don't end up together. I love the childhood friend trope and I love all of the unrequited loves and I just need more of them because they make my heart hurt. But if we look past Nao's sad love story, the blossoming relationship between Rio and Takeru was really cute. They were such pure and endearing supporting characters. I wouldn't have minded a spin-off of their relationship to be honest.

All in all it's a touching story of people finding home and love. It's got endless heartwarming scenes. It really feels like you're growing up alongside these characters. Honestly I've learned what it means to be a good parent at least a little bit through this manga. The connections that they made and the kindness and maturity of everyone in the manga is what I strive to be apart of. Ahaha I kind of ran out of gas towards the end. It's been a long day. Sorry if the quality hasn't been that good. These are mostly for me in any case, just as kind of a bookmark of sorts that says "you've read/watched this already don't do this again" because sometimes I forget hehe.

Look at these precious faces I can't get over them

Honestly the way Shiharu is so strong and tries her hardest to make sure no one sees her weaknesses makes me sad, but at the same time makes me admire her that much more

The real lady killer is Aoi confirmed

V was telling me how if I were to be proposed to this would be me and honestly where is the lie because yeah it would be

My favorite part of this manga actually might be how Akane and Aoi has matured. Aoi is so mature for a little kid and Akane is so carefree and their dynamic is so cute, but at the same time realistic. 

They've gotten so big :') Catch me next time reading the sequel Love So Happy~