Happy Sugar Life

 

Recently I have decided to read the Manga series 'Happy Sugar Life'. I have heard about this series for a while now but I just never really had a chance to really get into it. I have heard and seen where there is an Anime version out now and that it is on Amazon Prime Video, but I also noticed that it is currently only Subbed, and as a person that likes Dubbed I haven't heard if or when they will be releasing it on Dub. So it may be something that won't happen so my only option was to read the Manga at this time. 

Currently at the time of this post I have read 4 of the 5 volumes I have. I have the other 5 volumes on order and they should be here next week. In total there is only 10 Volumes to the series. There have been rumors of a continuation of the story but at this time it is only rumor. I will share what I can without actually spoiling all of it so I'll cover the basics of what I've read so far and give some impressions on the overall story.

For those that have either read it already or have seen the anime, you already know that his story is dark, filled with twists and turns and can be a bit sordid. Despite the name and the great looking characters this story is actually not as happy or go lucky as you may think. I kind of knew this going in, but I can say I didn't realize how dark it could get until reading through the first few volumes.

The story revolves around two central characters, however the main character would be the girl named Satou. She is a high school student that at an early age lost both of her parents in a tragic accident. Since then she has lived with her aunt in an apartment. Satou growing up with her aunt was greatly influenced by her aunts unusual and unique mental stances. Because of this Sato would gain a reputation as being 'easy'. 

Satou is a girl that views life and love differently than most, she expresses this by finding herself going out with different boys and usually ends up sleeping with them before she moves on. Sometimes they won't even be dating but she'll make her move on them and most won't turn her down. She has the looks to back up her unique lifestyle and in fact she even has a best friend that does the same thing but not as much as Sato does. 

This lifestyle changes however when Satou meets Shio, an elementary school student who apparently has ran away from home. Satou takes her back to her place and soon she becomes emotionally attached to Shio and a unique and sadistic love forms between the two.

Shio is an elementary school girl that has ran away from home and was living on the streets of sorts. At least she was when Satou found her. Shio instantly got attached to Satou and the two share a unique relationship.

Shio isn't world wise, though this is due to her young age. She is on the outside a very happy girl who adores Satou and expresses this often through their interactions. She doesn't talk about her previous home or what her parents are like. In some cases it is as if she has blocked out those interactions all together.

However, Shio has some unique circumstances of her own, while I won't go into great detail, we'll say that the home situation is and was less than idea, due to witnessing several horrific events and years of coping with other issues Shio has formed a schizophrenic mental state in which in extreme cases of distress she will see shadow figures and hear voices. 

After Shio meets and moves in with Satou, Satou deciding that she doesn't want Shio to be around her aunt decides to take up some part time jobs and with the money she earns she gets her own place that her and Shio can live in. It isn't easy going to school and working only to return late to take care of Shio, but Satou doesn't mind and enjoys every second of it. 

It is during this time that Satou in her own twisted way finds love for the first time even though she knows deep down that it is sordid and morally questionable at best. But despite that she's the happiest she has ever been. She tells her friends she has a boyfriend and that she's settling down and won't be going out with other men anymore. This catches her friend off guard, but her friend is happy at least she found someone.

However, this love is not just sordid...its deadly. Satou while working stumbles into a situation between her and her boss, a woman who feels she's having her beauty and position threatened by Satou. Sato is then taken advantage of by the boss, but only for a short time before Satou retaliates. Satou makes herself a promise, she will anything and everything she has to, to keep her life with Shio intact and happy. 

There have been a few other characters that have appeared, a teacher that even though he's married is an adrenaline junky and enjoys putting himself into positions that he can get his fix. This even includes have sex with students or random women. He finds a target with Satou, but in doing so he soon realizes he's playing with fire and eventually backs off. 

Enter a coworker who has a thing for Satou and she turned him down. However, after an incident with their boss that led him to leave their workplace he's also obtained a bit of complex. After seeing a missing person poster of Shio he see's her as an angel sent to bring him out of the darkness of his life, though that means he also wants her for himself which puts him at odds with Satou.

Other characters come into the picture...some of them don't make it out alive. While I am not done with the manga yet I can see where all of it is going. With Sato protecting her growing happiness and relationship with Shio, she's willing to use any tricks she knows to keep that from ending. 

The Manga is full of suspense, horror, intrigue, murder, and darkness, it is a good read and one that I recommend to anyone that is into the more...dark side of humanity. There are quiet a few people in the manga that have different types of disorder...honestly I feel like there are less people that are "normal" than those with some sort of mental complex.

That said, I will do an updated review once I have gone through all of the manga's. And I will keep my eye out to see if the anime gets dubbed or not.