I’m glad there’s a split in people who think it’s good and people who think this story sucks. In a lot of ways it reminds me of the last of us 2 where the author took high risk but it fell on its face
That was a good read, it was a nice break from all the fluffy yuri series I read. Time to go back to those series and cleanse my soul cause damn was this story tragic. Glad I checked the tags before starting.
This was all sort of messed up. The only normal person in this hell is Satou's friend. But besides all the mess up shit this was a good manga. Gave me good ounce of depresso.
@jalopi shoujo is basically for young girls where the genre is slice of life and romance and shounen is for a older audience 16+. This manga isn't really a romance,slice of life.
Half of the people like this manga and the other half can't understand it, to be fair it's not the easiest to understand for people with a normal life I guess.
To me this manga is one of my favourites, probably because of how closely I can relate to it, I really wished for a happy ending for Satou and Shio, but I guess it wasn't allowed to happen, being supposed to be a drama after all.
That's basically the only critique I have, and something that bugs me with a lot of series with the "drama" tag, that they "have to" end a certain way, and because of that it's made to be, even if the reasons that lead up to the ending don't make much sense.
In this case it doesn't quiet fit how they go back because of the ring, thinking they still had time, when in fact they didn't, they planned it so well, it's a bit hard to imagine that they made such a miscalculation, but well, it had to be that way I guess.
Some people might not be able to see this but Satou was an amazing person. Unlike the side characters around the two, she was strong and fought for her and Shio's life, what did the other characters do?
Half of them were selfish perverts, then there were Shoko and the brother that had a little more depth than that,
but for some reason the brother's first thought when seeing Satou together with Shio was that Satou must hold her against her will, and he even knew that their mother has abanoned Shio outside, so shouldn't his first thought be that Satou is just a kind person taking care of a lost child? He should approach her, thank her for taking care of Shio and explain his own situation, instead he immediately gets violent towards her, that's more of a yandere than Satou is, at least Satou only gets violent towards people that pose a direct threat to Shio.
And Shoko... I really liked her, but as she realised herself, she was too shallow, she thought she cared about Satou, but when she learned about her aunt she realised that she only made herself believe that and wasn't able to accept Satou after that.
And then she betrayed her a second time by immediately sending the photo of Satou and Shio to the brother before even asking what was going on in the first place. Didn't she say she loved Satou? Didn't she say she would accept her, listen to her, help her?
Betraying your friend before even giving them the chance to explain their situation doesn't look like that to me.
What's so funny about this entire series though is that Shoko, as the character least involved in all of this, she was also the character that held the future of 4 lives in her hands,.. and then chose to destroy them all.
Because of Shoko betraying Satou, she caused her own death, she caused Satou's death, she destroyed Shio's life since she is unable to live on as "Shio" after all of this and instead becomes a vessel for the hearts of herself and Satou to live on, always being defined by the past, never being able to move forward anymore. And with that she also destroyed the brother's reason of existence, according to him, his only purpose was to be reunited with Shio again, but since the real Shio is gone, that now can't happen either (see Ch48 when he realises that and drops the flowers).
But I suppose that makes a good drama as well, she never wanted anything bad, she never wanted for her best friend to suffer, and despite that, that's exactly what she caused, great suffering for everyone involved.
@Voodoo11 I assume you finished the manga, then it should be clear why what you're saying is unrealistic. For one, take a look at the life of Shio and Satou, they are happy and they both are healing the scars from the other's past.
Read Ch48 again, Shio isn't complete anymore without Satou, to be honest it would've been better for her if she didn't survive this, cause now she will go on forever, living this life where every moment of her existence is pain, because Satou told her to live.
The saddest part about this story isn't Satou dying, it's Shio having to live on without her. In a way, Shio died together with Satou, what remains now is Satou's and Shio's love, living on inside of her, forever in pain.
"My love.. My happiness.. exists only inside of me" is what she said in the end. Eventually, with time she may be able to live normally again, but her true self will never come back, because a part of her already died. And worst of all, no one besides her can understand her, because no one other than her can see her love, her happiness, or call it "her soul" inside of her.
Half of the people like this manga and the other half can't understand it, to be fair it's not the easiest to understand for people with a normal life I guess.
To me this manga is one of my favourites, probably because of how closely I can relate to it...
A heartbreaking story about the ways trauma is passed from generation to generation and how attempting to escape from that cycle can inadvertently lead to perpetuating it. Satou Matsuzaka is an incredible protagonist. I'm not normally a fan of the "yandere" trope, but I think it worked here because the story took it to its logical extreme and examined what a "yandere" would be like in real life. It definitely stumbles along the way (the teacher plotline was AWFUL) but it's a very memorable and disturbing story. Well worth a read.
Heavy aint it. Story about broken people breaking people, with no one happy in the end. A tragedy, hitting hard because the characters are sympathetic if not likable (some exceptions apply) 9/10
Happy Sugar Life is genuinely one of my most favorite pieces of media ever. The fact that the fandom is so divided and that people constantly misinterpret what happens just really goes to show how much of a mind-bending psychological horror it is. Even if it is quite upsetting to see people justify Satou and to see it marked as gl/yuri on manga and anime websites, I have to say I find it personally to be extremely good. Reading the comments is an absolute flashbang of terrible people who want to see "yuri loli" lmao so hi to all the normal people who like psychological stuff? I wanted to add more but my brain is fried from reading these comments soooo yeah
Half of the people like this manga and the other half can't understand it, to be fair it's not the easiest to understand for people with a normal life I guess.
To me this manga is one of my favourites, probably because of how closely I can relate to it, I really wished for a happy ending for Satou and Shio, but I guess it wasn't allowed to happen, being supposed to be a drama after all.
That's basically the only critique I have, and something that bugs me with a lot of series with the "drama" tag, that they "have to" end a certain way, and because of that it's made to be, even if the reasons that lead up to the ending don't make much sense.
In this case it doesn't quiet fit how they go back because of the ring, thinking they still had time, when in fact they didn't, they planned it so well, it's a bit hard to imagine that they made such a miscalculation, but well, it had to be that way I guess.
Some people might not be able to see this but Satou was an amazing person. Unlike the side characters around the two, she was strong and fought for her and Shio's life, what did the other characters do?
Half of them were selfish perverts, then there were Shoko and the brother that had a little more depth than that,
but for some reason the brother's first thought when seeing Satou together with Shio was that Satou must hold her against her will, and he even knew that their mother has abanoned Shio outside, so shouldn't his first thought be that Satou is just a kind person taking care of a lost child? He should approach her, thank her for taking care of Shio and explain his own situation, instead he immediately gets violent towards her, that's more of a yandere than Satou is, at least Satou only gets violent towards people that pose a direct threat to Shio.
And Shoko... I really liked her, but as she realised herself, she was too shallow, she thought she cared about Satou, but when she learned about her aunt she realised that she only made herself believe that and wasn't able to accept Satou after that.
And then she betrayed her a second time by immediately sending the photo of Satou and Shio to the brother before even asking what was going on in the first place. Didn't she say she loved Satou? Didn't she say she would accept her, listen to her, help her?
Betraying your friend before even giving them the chance to explain their situation doesn't look like that to me.
What's so funny about this entire series though is that Shoko, as the character least involved in all of this, she was also the character that held the future of 4 lives in her hands,.. and then chose to destroy them all.
Because of Shoko betraying Satou, she caused her own death, she caused Satou's death, she destroyed Shio's life since she is unable to live on as "Shio" after all of this and instead becomes a vessel for the hearts of herself and Satou to live on, always being defined by the past, never being able to move forward anymore. And with that she also destroyed the brother's reason of existence, according to him, his only purpose was to be reunited with Shio again, but since the real Shio is gone, that now can't happen either (see Ch48 when he realises that and drops the flowers).
But I suppose that makes a good drama as well, she never wanted anything bad, she never wanted for her best friend to suffer, and despite that, that's exactly what she caused, great suffering for everyone involved.
@Voodoo11 I assume you finished the manga, then it should be clear why what you're saying is unrealistic. For one, take a look at the life of Shio and Satou, they are happy and they both are healing the scars from the other's past.
Read Ch48 again, Shio isn't complete anymore without Satou, to be honest it would've been better for her if she didn't survive this, cause now she will go on forever, living this life where every moment of her existence is pain, because Satou told her to live.
The saddest part about this story isn't Satou dying, it's Shio having to live on without her. In a way, Shio died together with Satou, what remains now is Satou's and Shio's love, living on inside of her, forever in pain.
"My love.. My happiness.. exists only inside of me" is what she said in the end. Eventually, with time she may be able to live normally again, but her true self will never come back, because a part of her already died. And worst of all, no one besides her can understand her, because no one other than her can see her love, her happiness, or call it "her soul" inside of her.
You’re missing the part where Satou was committing a serious crime by detaining a vulnerable minor child much younger than her without legal guardianship rights (and Shio is preadolescent, possibly not even 10). She knows it’s both legally AND morally wrong. She knows she’s taking advantage of Shios innocence and vulnerability to satisfy her own emotional emptiness/needs. Shes not actually thinking about Shios real needs or future at all. That’s why she hides it, she knows she’s in the wrong.
Shoko was in the right every step of the way. And she was killed for it because Satou is insane and past the point of being able to actively feel guilt for her choices or anything but pure selfishness. Shoko almost made her feel it. Almost. But only after Satou killed her. Other than Shio’s brother, Shoko‘s pure platonic love for Satou, her desire to try to set her on the right path, was the only real love - platonic as it was - on display in this entire manga. Every other form of love displayed (again, other than Shios brother Asahi) was corrupt and abusive, including the type between Satou and Shio. Shoko and Asahi are the only two major recurring characters in this manga who show real love for anyone. And I guess Shios mom, to a degree, though that is a more broken love. All of this is by design of the author.
The fact you let this manga trick you into oversympathizing with Satou is hilarious. Even more so hilarious that you call her an “amazing person.” Were we even reading the same story?
The whole point of this story is showing that what Satou felt was not really love. It was obsession. Shio willingly going with her doesn’t make it ok - it was legally and morally a kidnapping from the beginning. And she damaged Shio even more, did nothing to truly help her. Shio was a perpetual victim. For a normal reader, it’s impossible to see Satou as anything other than a broken abused child herself who never got help. That doesn’t excuse her actions. You can sympathize with her status as a victim of childhood abuse, but saying that she deserved to be able to escape with Shio and live happily ever after is deranged.
Also the manga doesn’t show it, but of course she is living with her brother and mother in the end. That’s how it would work out legally as they are her closest relatives. Or rather, her brother at least, since mom has to go to jail for murder. Realistically under Japanese law, mom would be released within just a few years due to the mitigating circumstances of severe domestic abuse. So Shio at 17 (her age in the final chapter) would almost certainly be reconnected with her somehow. In reality she would be in intensive mental health therapy also starting from her rescue, but that doesn’t make for good dramatic manga, so the author doesn’t show that years-long therapy process or the slow process of reconnecting with family.
