Holiday Review: HAPPY SUGAR LIFE

It's good that we've had such interesting manga to counter the steady stream of media that seems to confuse edginess for quality, like this one.

HAPPY SUGAR LIFE (Happi Shuga Raifu), by Tomiyaki Kagisora.  First published in 2015 and first published in North America in 2019.

PLOT:

Satou used to have a reputation for sleeping around, but lately she seems to be settling down.  Her new partner is sweet, innocent...and also a little girl.  Satou would endure anything to stay with little Shio. She would work multiple part-time jobs.  She would endure all sorts of bullying.  She might even go so far as a little murder to maintain what she belives is their happy sugar life.

STORY:

It's possible to make an edgy story good.  You can have a protagonist whose girlish facade hides the soul of a cold murderer.  You have a plot full of things like murder, kidnapping, sexual abuse, and more.  To do so, though, you have to tread carefully.  You have to have a keen understanding of mood, of good taste, and the limits of both your characters and audience, or else you run the risk of going overboard and making the whole thing ridiculous.

Kagisora clearly has no understanding of any of this, and Happy Sugar Life suffers for it.

Happy Sugar Life is trying so very hard to scandalize its readers.  Every adult that crosses Satou's path is a predator.  Every teen who shows up long enough to get a name is shown to be twisted from trauma.  Satou is only barely keeping her sociopathy at bay.  Even Shio is a victim, kidnapped and kept prisoner as Satou treats her like her own personal woobie.  It's trying so hard to shock that it can't be bothered to give anyone the slightest bit of depth.  Without that, the whole series comes off as ridiculous, tasteless, and hopelessly juvenile.

ART:

Kagisora's art wouldn't look out of place in a shojo magazine.  While their character designs aren't particularly unique, it's all done in a very cutesy style that's clearly meant to contrast with all the dark goings-on.  This is dialed up to 11 whenever Satou interacts or thinks about Shio, as the frames drip with screentones and sparkles.  Visually this manga leans a lot on vertical panels and blank black ones whenever Satou's madness truly takes hold.  Overall it's kind of jumbled-looking, but this might be one of the few times where such a look is actually a good fit for the story.

RATING:

Happy Sugar Life wants to shock, but all it's capable of doing is boring its readers and possibly making them laugh at its excesses.  Give this one a pass.

This series is published by Yen Press.  This series is complete in Japan with 10 volumes available.  3 volumes have been released and are currently in print.

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