| NG Life | |
First English volume release of NG Life, published by Tokyopop on March 17, 2009 |
|
| NG ライフ (NG Raifu) |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Romantic comedy, Supernatural |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Mizuho Kusanagi |
| Published by | Hakusensha |
| English publisher | Tokyopop (North America) 2008–2011 |
| Demographic | Shōjo |
| Magazine | Hana to Yume |
| Original run | December 26, 2005[1] – March 5, 2009[2] |
| Volumes | 9 |
NG Life (NGライフ NG Raifu) is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Mizuho Kusanagi. It was serialized in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume from December 2005 to March 2009.[1][2] Hakusensha has released the series in nine tankōbon volumes. The series was licensed for an English-language release in North America by Tokyopop in 2008.[3] In 2011, Tokyopop's North American publishing company closed down and returned the series' license to Hakusensha.[4] The story follows Keidai Saeki, a teenager who retains memories of his past life as a gladiator in Pompeii. In the present, Keidai is reunited with his past life wife who has reincarnated as a male; meanwhile his male best friend is reincarnated as a female with feelings for Keidai. Reviews have been mixed about the series with reviewers praising or panning the art style and characters. In Japan, the sixth volume of NG Life was ranked 25th on the Tohan charts.
Contents |
Keidai Saeki is a high school student with memories of his past life as Sirix Lucretius Fronto, a gladiator in Pompeii who lost his wife Serena in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.[5] In the present, he is reunited with Loleus, Sirix's male best friend who reincarnated as a girl named Mii Serizawa, and with Serena, who has reincarnated as a male middle school student named Yuuma Ujoh.[5] Keidai has to deal with the feelings he has for Mii and his past love for Serena. As the series progresses, Keidai meets other people who retain memories of Pompeii and discovers that Sirix's guilt in failing to save his friends is the reason why he retains his memories.[6][7] When Keidai falls into a coma, he is able to relive the last moments of Pompeii where his actions put Sirix's suffering to rest, allowing him to move on with his life and confess his love to Mii.[8]
Keidai is a high school student with memories of his past life as Sirix Lucretius Fronto (シリクス ルクレティウス フロント Shirikusu Rukuretiusu Furonto), a Pompeiian gladiator.[5] His life is thrown into turmoil after he meets Yuuma Ujoh, the reincarnation of Sirix's wife. Keidai is linked to his family's incarnations as well; his mother, Renka Saeki (冴木 蓮香 Saeki Renka), was Sirix's younger sister, Aria (アリア), while his father, Shuugo Saeki (冴木 秀吾 Saeki Shuugo), was Sirix's rival Raoul Lucius Verus (ラウル・ルスティウス・ウェルス Rauru Rusutiusu Werusu).[5] He is friends with Mii Serizawa, the reincarnation of Sirix's close friend. Keidai, despite his calm nature, is prone to having fits, particularly when confused or around Yuuma.[5] He is both intelligent and dense, not noticing that Mii had fallen in love with him.[5][9] As the series progresses, Keidai's feelings for Mii grow as he slowly recognizes her for who she is.[10]
Yuuma is the reincarnation of Sirix's wife Serena (セレナ), a maiden who captured the hearts of men with her beauty and kindness.[5] He is an arrogant yet good-natured middle school boy. Yuuma retains Serena's feminine face and is often mistaken for a female. As a result, he dreams of becoming more masculine to stop the confusion.[5] He possesses incredible strength and attacks those who mistake him for a female.[5] Yuuma develops a secret crush on Mii early in the series, but his feelings are not reciprocated.[5] He decides to give up on those feelings believing Keidai and Mii belong together and tries to push them together in order to help Keidai move on from Serena.[11] It is revealed that Serena was reborn as a boy because in her final moments she felt that had she been a man, she could have been at Sirix's side in the final days of Pompeii, rather than be left behind waiting for him.[7]
Mii is the reincarnation of Sirix's best friend Loleus (ロレイウス Roreiusu).[5] Serizawa met Keidai in seventh grade when they helped a trapped bird and was the first to learn about his past life.[5][12] She has a crush on Keidai but remains silent about it, fearing it would ruin their friendship.[12] She enjoys mischievously teasing Keidai and finds his fits humorous. Serizawa is very popular with boys, though they do not make advances, believing she and Keidai are a couple.[13] Her upbeat and positive personality contributes to her popularity. In her past life, Loleus helped Sirix meet Serena.[14] Mizuho reveals Mii's name comes from Serizawa Kamo.[12]
Shinogu, Yuuma's older male cousin, is the reincarnation of Serena's overprotective older sister Smyrna (スミルナ Sumiruna).[15] Like Keidai, he retains memories of his past life, and hates Keidai for abandoning Serena during the volcanic eruption.[16] He has an aversion to hot weather because of his strong and vivid memories of the destruction of Pompeii.[17] He began working as a student teacher at Keidai's high school after Yuuma's family moved to town. Shinogu despises males except for Yuuma, and is a womanizer who is unfailingly nice to girls. As Smyrna was best friends with Lady Aglaia, Shinogu was extremely happy to meet Aglaia's reincarnation, Shuna.[18] Shinogu holds a grudge against Souichi Mikage because in his past life as Delos, he betrayed Aglaia.[17]
The reincarnation of a noblewoman named Aglaia Felix (アグライヤ フェリクス Ferikkusu Aguraiya), Shuna was reborn into a wealthy family and retains memories of Pompeii. She loses them at seventeen when she wishes to move on from her past.[18] Shuna is a kind-hearted young woman willing to help anyone in need.[18] When she was two years old, she called her newborn sister Serena due to their physical resemblance; her parents, misheard and named the child Reina.[19] At the age of 10, Shuna meets Souichi Mikage, who also retains his memories of Pompeii, where he served as her bodyguard henceforth. Shuna initially hates Souichi due to his past betrayal, but her feelings for him grow over time and she falls in love with him.[20]
Reina is Shuna's younger sister who closely resembles Serena and dresses in gothic Lolita-style clothing. She grew up hearing stories of Pompeii and developed a crush on Souichi. After Reina has her confession rejected by Souichi, she runs away and happens upon Keidai and the others.[18] She discovers that he also have memories of Pompeii and returns to Shuna with them in hopes of bringing back her memories.[19] She is in the same class as Yuuma. Their classmates occasionally refer to them as twins, though they are aware the two share no blood relation. Reina and Yuuma grow close as friends and begin to speak to each other about their problems. They connect over their predicament of having romantic feelings for those who only see them as a younger sibling. Reina is later revealed to be the reincarnation of a girl named Tina (ティナ), a friend of Serena. Her appearance of resembling Serena is explained as Tina's wish to experience the same love Serena has.[8]
Souichi is the reincarnation of a hired mercenary named Delos (ディロス Dirosu), who served as a bodyguard to Lady Aglaia in Pompeii but later betrayed her.[19] He retains all of his memories of his life in Pompeii and encounters Reina and Shuna when he is fifteen.[19] After discovering that Shuna still has her memories of being Lady Aglaia, he begins working to regain her trust. Souichi blames himself for the disappearance of her memories, claiming that her hatred of him caused Aglaia to figuratively die again.[19] Later in the series, it is revealed that Delos fell in love with Lady Aglaia even though he was mercenary hired by the House of Britius to betray her.[21] After framing Aglaia for murder, Delos sought revenge against the House of Britius and murdered every member of the family.[21]
NG Life, written and illustrated by Mizuho Kusanagi, had its first chapter published in The Hana to Yume on December 26, 2005.[1] It was then serialized in Hana to Yume beginning with the second chapter on March 20, 2006 and ended its run on March 5, 2009.[22][2] The first tankōbon volume was released by Hakusensha on November 19, 2006 and the ninth on June 19, 2009.[23][24] Tokyopop licensed the series in 2008 and released the English adapted tankōbons between March 17, 2009 and April 12, 2011.[3][25][26] After Tokyopop was shut down, the license was returned to Hakusensha.[4]
During the planning of NG Life, Mizuho Kusanagi discussed with her editor about having a female lead protagonist allowing the readers to relate more to the protagonist. However, a male lead was settled for and the story was written in a romantic-panic comedy style.[27] Mizuho planned to end the series in its fourth volume, but wanted to add more to the story as it progressed resulting in more volumes.[28] She also commented that even though she struggled with the plot, she enjoyed drawing the characters in the end.[28] In the final chapter, the author revealed since production began, she had planned to pair Keidai with Mii.[29]
| No. | Japan | North America | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Release date | ISBN | Release date | ISBN | ||
| 1 | November 19, 2006[23] | ISBN 978-4-59-218423-2 | March 17, 2009[25] | ISBN 978-1-42781-445-6 | |
|
|||||
| Keidai Saeki is a seventeen year old Japanese male who retains memories of his past life as a Pompeian gladiator named Sirix. A boy named Yuuma Ujoh moves in next door and Keidai realizes it as a male reincarnation of Serena, Sirix's wife. Keidai is conflicted with his feelings for Serena and Yuuma's gender and his feelings for his female best friend Mii Serizawa, who was Sirix's male friend in her past life. At school, Mii decides to host a play based on Keidai's past life and has him star as Sirix while Yuuma stars as Serena. Yuuma, who notices Mii's romantic affection for Keidai, tricks her into playing Serena instead. Keidai breaks down while reacting the scene where Sirix leaves Serena and is comforted by Mii. | |||||
| 2 | April 19, 2007[30] | ISBN 978-4-59-218424-9 | July 6, 2009[25] | ISBN 978-1-42781-446-3 | |
|
|||||
| Yuuma decides to show off to his friends by asking Mii out on a date, and coaxes Keidai to follow them. Later, Keidai's family and friends go to an onsen and a ghost attempts to seduce Keidai by possessing Yuuma, then Mii. The ghost is rejected from Mii's body when it attempted to confess its love to Keidai. Mii does not appear at school the next day, prompting Keidai and Yuuma to look for her at home. Before entering the house, they dress up as girls to get past Mii's overly protective father, and discover Mii is bedridden with a cold. At school, Keidai gets a male trainee teacher, Shinogu Kagami, who is Yuuma's cousin and the reincarnation of Serena's elder sister, Smyrna. | |||||
| 3 | September 19, 2007[31] | ISBN 978-4-59-218425-6 | November 3, 2009[25] | ISBN 978-1-42781-447-0 | |
|
|||||
| Keidai and his family and friends are cherry blossom viewing. There, Keidai meets a girl named Reina Sakakibara who bears a strong resemblance to Serena. Before the girl leaves, she tells Keidai goodbye, while addressing him as Sirix. Mii later asks Keidai and Yuuma to help her parents finish their manga before the deadline. Keidai's school hosts a sports tournament with Keidai and Yuuma playing volleyball. Yuuma swears that he will confess his feelings to Mii if he defeats Keida in the tournament and declares the end of their friendship if he does. Yuuma collapses mid-game and meets Serena in a dream. When he wakes up, he is only able to recall Serena's advice, reminding him how much he values his friendship with Keidai and Mii. | |||||
| 4 | January 18, 2008[32] | ISBN 978-4-59-218494-2 | February 2, 2010[25] | ISBN 978-1-42781-448-7 | |
|
|||||
| Reina transfers to Keidai's school which causes tension between him and his classmates. On the way home, Keidai runs into Shuna Sakakibara, the reincarnation of Aglaia. Reina reveals that Shuna is her older sister and had forgotten her memories of Pompeii two weeks ago. They are brought to the Sakakibara household where they meet Souichi Mikage, the reincarnation of Delos, a mercenary who betrayed Aglaia. Together, they attempt to restore Shuna's memories of Pompeii causing her to angrily rebuke their efforts. Keidai shares his insecurities about losing his memories with Mii who promises to retell Keidai's stories of Pompeii if he ever forgets. After Yuuma and Reina fail a test, Keidai and Shinogu offer to tutor them. The next day, Keidai and his friends go to the pool and Shinogu meets Souichi. | |||||
| 5 | June 19, 2008[33] | ISBN 978-4-59-218585-7 | April 27, 2010[25] | ISBN 978-1-42781-692-4 | |
|
|||||
| Reina reveals her unrequited feelings towards Shouichi and is comforted by Mii. Next, Keidai and his friends re-stage the Pompeii play for a charity fundraiser. Yuuma begins to wonder what Keidai and his friends are hiding from him so he accepts Reina's proposal to a hypnosis that will allow him to discover his past life. Serena's memories takes over and Reina forces him to take her role as Serena in the play. In Yuuma's mind, Serena convinces Yuuma to stop pursuing the memories he does not need and he regains consciousness shortly after. | |||||
| 6 | September 9, 2008[34] | ISBN 978-4-59-218586-4 | June 29, 2010[25] | ISBN 978-1-42781-693-1 | |
|
|||||
| Keidai goes with Mii to an amusement park and is secretly tailed by her father. He reveals he can not give Mii away to someone who does not treasure her; Keidai disagrees exclaiming he would treasure Mii forever. The next day, Keidai and his friends gather at the Sakakibara household to deduce how Shuna lost her memories of Pompeii. Souichi reminisces about his first meeting with Shuna and concludes she lost her memories because she wants to forget him. Shuna and Yuuma are missing from the party prompting Keidai and his friends to search for the two. Souichi finds them and sends Yuuma off to speak with Shuna privately. He proclaims he no longer belongs to Aglaia but to Shuna before kissing her. | |||||
| 7 | January 19, 2009[35] | ISBN 978-4-59-218587-1 | December 12, 2010[36] | ISBN 978-1-42781-763-1 | |
|
|||||
| Keidai, Mii, and Yuuma, take Reina with them to a recreational center to help her get over Souichi. Keidai and Reina both agree they must move on with their lives before; Keidai passes out from his cold shortly after. Keidai dreams about the river of Styx where the ferryman tells him to move on from his past prompting Keidai to acknowledge his feelings for Mii. Later, Keidai's mother, Saeki, runs away from home when she hears Keidai's father, Shuugo, say Aria's name in his sleep. He remedies the misunderstanding by explaining the named belonged to his cat. Mii meanwhile reminisces about the time she first met Keidai. At school Kiyohiko Kotomiya, Mii's middle school friend, enrolls into her class. While the two bond, Kiyohiko kisses Mii as Keidai watches in shock. | |||||
| 8 | March 19, 2009[37] | ISBN 978-4-59-218588-8 | December 28, 2010[38] | ISBN 978-1-42781-764-8 | |
|
|||||
| Keidai begins to avoid Mii while suppressing his feelings towards her. His friends force him to attend a trip with Mii's drama club on the beach to remedy their relationship. As Mii confronts him on the issue, Keidai kisses her causing her to avoid him for the rest of the day. Keidai confesses to his friends about his feelings for Mii and opts to move on from the past. However, he realizes his memories begin to fade if he attempts to move on and decides he must retain his memories for failing to protect Serena. Keidai reminisces about his past life as Sirix during the last days of Pompeii. Agalia is framed by Delos for murder under the orders of the House of Britius. As Sirix discovers this, he attempts to free Agalia but Mount Vesuvius erupts along the way. | |||||
| 9 | June 19, 2009[24] | ISBN 978-4-59-218589-5 | April 12, 2011[26] | ISBN 1-4278-1836-3 | |
|
|||||
| Sirix leaves Serena in the midst of the eruption in order to save Aglaia and Loleus. As his friends begin to die one by one, Sirix swears to never forgive himself for failing to protect them before dying in the eruption. In the present, Yuuma demands Keidai to forgo his attachments to Pompeii. Keidai refuses and is put into a coma when a prop falls on top of him. In the coma, Keidai is able to become Sirix and is given the choice to stay with Serena or re-attempt to save his friends. He asks Tina, Reina's past incarnation, to stay by Serena's side and returns control to Sirix. Keidai's actions allows Serena to find Sirix in the final moments of Pompeii putting Sirix's memories to rest. Keidai awakens from the coma, acknowledging his past is settled, confesses his feelings to Mii and begins a relationship with her. | |||||
The sixth volume of NG Life was ranked 25th on the Tohan charts between January 20 and 26, 2009.[39] Erin Jones of Mania.com commented on the unoriginal plot and typical shōjo art but praised the characters' distinctive designs and the art sense used to convey a dramatic scenes. He concludes that the character relationships are the "selling point" of the series.[40] GraphicNovelReporter.com's Courtney Kraft comments that the art style is adequate but criticizes the "kookyness" citing the drama at the end of volume one was necessary to balance it.[41] Comics Worth Reading's Johanna Draper Carlson heavily panned the manga for its art and "two-dimensional characters that are predictable and uninteresting."[42]