LifE

Seizon - LifE – Spoiler Free – Recommended TLDR Story – 8/10 – 8 x 0.275 = 2,2 Art – 8/10 – 8 x 0.2 = 1,6 Characters – 7/10 – 7 x 0.225 = 1,575 Enjoyment – 8/10 – 8 x 0.3 = 2,4 Total: 7,775 -> 8 Story – 8/10Seizon – LifE (or LifE, for short) is a hidden gem. It is not that well known, and it certainly packs a punch. The premise of the story is anything but light, as it mentions cancer, loss of loved ones, hopelessness, and suicide. It is a manga that, from the get-going, proposes to tell a heavy story – although not complex –, and it succeeds in doing so. Verily, we feel the despair of Takeda (the main character), we feel that time is running out for justice to be served, and we feel lost (in a good sense) in trying to fit the puzzle in. This manga certainly does a great job when it comes to telling an emotional story, as the sorrow of a grieving father who has nothing to lose is all too real. His emotions are conveyed precisely as they should, and they help tell the story and add a sense of urgency. Through small hints, Takeda uncovers more and more elements of the crime. Nevertheless, it suffers from an illness that is all too common in this type of story: the last-minute-necessary-proof that changes everything. This happens more than once in a three-volume manga. It is, nevertheless, a great thriller. There is also a discussion in the late stage of the manga that drags on for more than it should. There is also the ending, which is unnecessarily happy for some unknown reason (when it comes to a specific plot point I won’t spoil). The rest of the story is comprehensible and fulfils readers' expectations, although predictable. Art – 8/10 The art style of LifE is highly functional. It tells a good story with the precise emotional elements that it needs: emotions are depicted very well, and it definitely helps as a tool in storytelling. The cadence of the panels is also pristine, making it very easy to follow along LifE. The character design is good enough for characters to be easily told apart. The backgrounds and the landscapes are detailed enough and quite good. There are no awe-inspiring panels, but the base art is enjoyable. Characters – 7/10 There aren’t many characters in LifE, for it is a three-volume manga. Other than the antagonist and Takeda, the rest are almost only filling up the cast to make the story work, although they are well done and fulfil their purpose. However, the aforementioned characters are very well depicted, have firm personalities and motives, and act according to logic. Characters are also very believable: we empathise with them – especially Takeda – in his efforts to avenge his daughter and to die in peace. Enjoyment – 8/10 Enjoyment can only be high for LifE: it is a thriller packed with emotions in a setting that makes anyone feel the desperation in the air. It is a page-turner that doesn’t let anyone down. Moreover, it is a quick read and truly a hidden gem. The fact that it is short also prevents it from dragging that much. Definitely deserving of a recommendation.

LifE / Seizon -LifE- / Whatever other names exist for this manga is a hidden gem. Sprung from the brains of Noboyuki Fukumoto (Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji) and Kaiji Kawaguchi (Eagle), this is a short but sweet story of avenging your loved ones in a race against the clock(s). With an intense (if a bit fantastical) plot, engaging artwork, and solid characterization, this makes for a solid weekend read. [Story - 8] The story follows Masao Takeda's journey to finding the killer of his daughter from 14 years ago as he deals with the effects of cancer. This is admittedly a simple premise in itself, but the wayit's told is rather captivating - Takeda goes out of his way to find evidence of the crime and the killer's identity both with/without the help of law enforcement. Along the way, he's met with barriers such as the Statute of Limitations and the inevitable passing of time. While he does overcome them in unbelievable ways sometimes, I found that the way the story was being told allowed for suspension of disbelief to be done easily. The pacing is rather tight due to the small volume/chapter count, which makes the story all the more heart-pounding as there are no sluggish parts whatsoever + both the clock and the chapters tick down to a predictable, but nonetheless well-told and heartwarming, finale. [Art - 9] The artwork is rather stylish (late 90's manga), which helps the character designs stand out even more. They each have their own distinctive facial/body features and wardrobe, and the various expressions they make convey multiple layers of depth successfully. The background/setting details are INCREDIBLE - perhaps I should have expected this because this is a crime/mystery drama, but it was pleasant regardless. These settings are all distinguishable from each other, and have many details crammed in, both for narrative and flavor text. [Character - 9] The characters can be a bit cliché, but are easy to immerse yourself in. Takeda's grief over the loss of his family + the cancer diagnosis makes his desperation to solve the crime even more enthralling - he may be a bit more brainy than expected, but again, I found that suspending disbelief was easy with the way he was characterized. There aren't many other notable characters in this story, unfortunately. Detective Murai is a Good Cop who has his AHA moments, but he isn't as noteworthy as Takeda - the rest of the police department is barely worth mentioning. Sawako (Takeda's daughter) doesn't get fleshed out a lot, but you can definitely feel her absence with how many people knew her even 14 years later, along with her intellect and internal struggle. The antagonist is.....weirdly characterized - while he is a bit of a surprise, and is rather intelligent himself, his motive for the murder is really hard to decipher. Whether it was out of vengeance towards Takeda or a curiosity of what it's like to kill or something else may never be known (at least to me). [Enjoyment/Overall - 10/9] Nonetheless, this was a fun read! It's well executed in spite of its nitpicky flaws, and makes for a good weekend read thanks to its short span and narrative. I'd recommend reading this if you like mystery thrillers, especially ones that don't drag!

Seizon LifE is a pretty good manga. It's fairly simple, but it also allows for a lot of tension. An old man who's dying of cancer tries to investigate his daughter's death before the statute of limitations runs out, which coincides with his estimated time of death. As he investigates, he learns more about his daughter that he neglected long ago. The paper trail is seemingly so sparse, but seeing Takeda always find that next clue is extremely satisfying. The story ramps up the tension smoothly near the end as well. Overall, the plot is great aside from a few conveniences. The characters are alsosolid, but they're pretty basic. The story does a solid job of characterizing Takeda and his daughter, but most other characters are pretty shallow. Granted, the story is pretty short so most characters can't be given a comprehensive backstory. The point is, the important characters are pretty good, and the others are serviceable. My main issue with the story is that the whole 'cancer' thing isn't really well-integrated into the story. We don't really see Takeda's condition worsening in a way that could've upped the tension even more. In terms of the art, it's pretty good. The artstyle is pretty old-fashioned, and I think that works well for the story. The composition is pretty basic, but there were some effective uses of techniques like page turns that elevated the experience. This review was pretty short, but so is the manga at the end of the day. 7/10 for now, a really good manga. It's a short read too, so I could easily recommend this to about anyone.

In the story we put ourselves in the shoes of the protagonist Takeda who, finding himself alone without his wife, who died recently from the beginning of the story and his daughter, who disappeared in 1985 and after he himself discovered that he had the same tumor that his wife had, decides suicide but when he was about to do the deed a phone call arrives from Nagato prefecture, his daughter Sawako was found dead buried in a golf course and above all killed by someone unknown. The only thing that stops the father from the reckless act, from that moment on, Mr. Takeda willdecide to investigate the disappearance of his daughter and discover sides that he did not know due to too much work or to not know due to his too much work and perhaps also out of shyness towards her daughter who had forcefully entered the age of puberty. It almost seems that the daughter, with the actions described in the diary, in the drawings and in the memories of her, wants to lead her father towards the last day before his disappearance. Sawako is the undisputed protagonist of the three volumes together with her father and she not only ferries him but she admonishes him if she is wrong even if she is invisible. The psychological game played on both sides is very interesting, both on the part of the killer and on the part of the detective and then the final scene made me speechless which not even detective Conan was able to do. For me, cancer is the sense of guilt of this father who has neglected his family for work. The drawing is evocative, that is, it evokes memories of life in the reader and in the protagonist himself with this realistic trait. My vote for the story is 9, for the drawing 10