Living Game Manga Review

Written by: Karthon

Introduction

Set in the 1980s Tokyo boom era, Raizou Fuwa is your everyday office worker. As he is the youngest in the office he's relegated to the more menial tasks, such as delivering products. After having worked there for several years, he's finally earned enough money to rent a larger apartment (one of his greatest goals). Even better, the new apartment happens to be across the street from a new office building, which is where his office is relocating to.

Unfortunately, an earthquake weakens the foundation of the new office building, and it's deemed hazardous and marked for destruction. As a result, all 5 of his co-workers set up their office in his new apartment (despite his complaints). If that wasn't bad enough, a young female friend (Izumi Hiyama) of his boss runs away from home seeking work in Tokyo.

Given that she has no home, Fuwa is coerced into letter her stay at his apartment, which is now also filled with various printing equipment. Various hijinks ensue as Fuwa tries to cope with his newly invaded life.

Review

This story ranks as one of my favorite. It's about a young-man learning what's truly valuable in life, and learning that making sacrifices for others can be incredibly rewarding. The various circumstances and trials he has to face are all firmly grounded in the realm of possibility, allowing the reader to empathize greatly with the characters.

The art style for this series is very simplistic, and drawn more in the 80s style of manga rather than in the more modern form. The characters, which not highly detailed, are very expressive and the background is varies between detailed and minimalist depending on whether or not the characters in that scene are crucial to that frame.

Best of all, the pacing of the story is good. At no point is the relationship between Fuwa and Izumi rushed, but it never drags out too long either. If I had to point towards a weakness in the plot, it's that the story takes too many of twists and turns as it progresses, almost devolving into various short stories involving the two characters. I would have preferred more in-depth story arcs which allow us to interact with the characters more (I'm aware there are a couple arcs at the end which give the reader plenty of insight into their relationship, but more a better balance of these arcs vs hijinks would have been nice).

Regardless of what you think of the genre, I suggest you give this touching manga a try.