Life (manga)

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For other uses, see Life (disambiguation).

Life

ライフ (Raifu)
Genre	Drama, Shoujo
Manga
Authored by	Keiko Suenobu
Publisher	Kodansha Tokyopop Heyne
Serialized in	Bessatsu Friend
Original run	2002 –
No. of volumes	13

Life (ライフ, Raifu^?) is a shoujo manga series created by Japanese writer Keiko Suenobu, well known for her work on Vitamin and Happy Tomorrow. Life deals with many controversial subjects such as self mutilation, rape, suicide, and manipulation.

1 Plot
2 Characters
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Characters

Some character profiles include details from the Japan release of Life.

Ayumu Shiiba: A High school student who always struggles with her tests. She's a cutter. She lives with her single middle-class mom and younger sister, Akane, in a company house.
Manami Anzai: Ayumu's first friend at her new high school. She's obsessed with her boyfriend, and becomes suicidal when they break up. Manami was once teased when she was younger, but is now the bully towards anyone who she feels deserves it (as Miki was teased because of an incident at camp). She is a very sexual girl and uses that to her advantage, getting boys to do some of her dirty work.
Shii-chan: Ayumu's ex-best friend who excelled in academics. However, when Ayumu scores higher on the entrance exams than she does and lies about it, Shii-chan feels devastated and betrayed.
Miki Hatori: A bullied girl in Ayumu's class. She empathizes Ayumu. She is the victim of Manami and her gang's teasings. Not much is known about her life, but it appears that she lives alone with her mother. Her father's job keeps him from seeing his family.
Katsumi Sako: Manami's boyfriend. He has a fetish for bondage and keeps a scrapbook of people he's raped. When Ayumu comes across this book, he molests her and makes her his 'slave'. Katsumi is later shown having a relationship with his teacher, Ms. Toda.
Ms. Toda (Toda Sensei): Ayumu's Homeroom teacher. She's has a "Peace at any price" principle, leading her to question and even ignore Ayumu's declaration of teasing. She is shown as very sympathetic to Katsumi and Manami.