Wikipedia

Love So Life

Love So Life (ラブ・ソー・ライフ, Rabu Sō Raifu), abbreviated as Rabusora (ラブソラ),[1] is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Kaede Kōchi. It was serialized in The Hana to Yume and Hana to Yume from 2008 to 2015. The story follows the everyday life of high schooler Shiharu Nakamura as she babysits the twin niece and nephew of local TV announcer Seiji Matsunaga. In April 2016, Kōchi launched a 3 volume sequel titled Life So Happy which follows the twins as they go into the fifth grade. A new special one-shot was published on April 26, 2023.

Love So Life
Cover of the seventeenth and final volume
ラブ・ソー・ライフ
(Rabu Sō Raifu)
Manga
Written byKaede Kōchi
Published byHakusensha
ImprintHana to Yume Comics
Magazine
DemographicShōjo
Original run2008 – July 18, 2015 (2015-07-18)
Volumes17
Manga
Life So Happy
Written byKaede Kōchi
Published byHakusensha
ImprintHana to Yume Comics
Magazine
  • Hana to Yume
  • (2016–2018)
  • The Hana to Yume
  • (2018–present)
DemographicShōjo
Original runApril 5, 2016 – present
Volumes3

Premise

edit

Shiharu Nakamura is a high school girl who works at a daycare where twins Aoi and Akane Matsunaga go. The twins are in custody of their uncle, Seiji, because their father abandoned them after his wife suddenly died. One day when Seiji goes to pick up the twins from day care, he notices that they are particularly attached to Shiharu in comparison to the other workers. He hires Shiharu as their personal babysitter as he is very busy with work.

Characters

edit
Shiharu Nakamura (中村 詩春, Nakamura Shiharu)
Shiharu is a high school student who works at The Sunflower House daycare. She becomes acquainted with Akane and Aoi Matsunaga and begins babysitting them later. She is hired to babysit them by their uncle Seiji Matsunaga, who pays her double of what she makes at the daycare. Having lived in an orphanage all her life, Shiharu shows aspirations to be self-sufficient and is hard-working, and always remains cheerful, kind, and optimistic. She eventually falls in love with Seiji, but keeps it to herself, as there is a large age gap between them. At the end of the original manga, she gets together with Seiji after he kisses her at the park. She marries Seiji and has twins with him in the sequel.
Seiji Matsunaga (松永 政二, Matsunaga Seiji)
Seiji works at JX Television as a TV anchor, and thus has a busy schedule with unpredictable hours. He becomes the guardian of Akane and Aoi Matsunaga, his young niece and nephew, after they are abandoned by their father, who is Seiji's brother. It is revealed that Seiji's family as a youth was troubling, and he was often by himself: his parents divorce by the time he begins college. Because he comes from a dysfunctional family, he wishes to someday have a family of his own and to not make the same mistakes his family did. Drawn to Shiharu's kindness and warmth, he hires her as the twins' babysitter and slowly falls in love with her; seemingly unaware that she feels the same way about him, he keeps his own feelings to himself, as he is troubled by the considerable age difference between them. Shiharu and Seiji eventually confess their love for each other at different times, but Seiji asks Shiharu to hold off on them being together until she is as old as he is, although eventually they both give in and act on their feelings for each other after Shiharu finishes high school. In the sequel, they become engaged after Seiji is briefly hospitalized with a minor leg injury.
Akane Matsunaga (松永 茜, Matsunaga Akane) & Aoi Matsunaga (松永 葵, Matsunaga Aoi)
Akane and Aoi are fraternal twins who are two years old at the start of the series (Akane is the older sister, Aoi is the younger brother). They live with their uncle Seiji, whom they call Sei-tan, after the death of their mother and abandonment of their father. At the end of the series they go to live with their maternal grandparents and their father. Aoi and Akane treat Shiharu as their "mother", although it is hinted (and revealed in the sequel series) that Aoi has a crush on Shiharu.
Rio Yoshī (吉井 梨生, Yoshī Rio)
Shiharu's best friend and classmate. She ends up dating Seiji's neighbor and friend Takeru Miyagawa.
Takeru Miyagawa (宮川 健, Miyagawa Takeru)
A childhood friend of Seiji's who is a university student. He is very easygoing and childish, making him get along with the twins well. He dates Shiharu's friend Rio.
Kōichi Matsunaga (松永 浩一, Matsunaga Kōichi)
Seiji's older brother and the father of Akane and Aoi. After the sudden death of his wife, Misaki, he is grief-stricken and abandons his children. At the end of the series, he has recomposed himself and decides to live with Akane and Aoi again with the help of Misaki's parents.
Misaki Matsunaga (松永 美咲, Matsunaga Misaki)
Kōichi's wife who dies in a car accident.

Media

edit

Manga

edit

Written and illustrated by Kaede Kōchi, Love So Life premiered in Hakusensha's The Hana to Yume magazine in 2008.[2][3] The series transferred to Hana to Yume magazine in 2009,[4][5] reaching its conclusion on July 18, 2015.[2][3] Hakusensha collected the individual chapters into seventeen tankōbon (compiled volumes) published under the Hana to Yume Comics imprint.[6][7] A sequel manga series, Life So Happy, premiered in Hana to Yume on April 5, 2016,[8] transferring to The Hana to Yume on January 25, 2018.[2][9] Three tankōbon have been published under the Hana to Yume Comics imprint as of April 19, 2019.[10]

Drama CDs

edit

Love So Life inspired two audio drama CDs. The first, produced by Marine Entertainment, was released in Japan on March 25, 2010. It starred Mamiko Noto as Shiharu, Daisuke Ono as Seiji, and Miyuki Sawashiro as Akane and Aoi.[11][12] The second, produced by Hakusensha, was released in Japan on October 4, 2013, bundled with an issue of Hana to Yume magazine. The original voice cast reprised their roles.[13]

Manga sales

edit

Volumes of the series have ranked in listings of top selling manga in Japan:

Oricon Japanese comic rankings
Volume
No. 		Peak
rank 		Notes
and refs
4 23 [14]
5 13 [15]
6 6 [16]
7 13 [17]
8 15 [18]
9 10 [19][20]
11 12 [21][22]
12 12 [23][24]
13 18 [25][26]
14 16 [27][28]
15 16 [29][30]
16 6 [31][32]
17 15 [33][34]

References

edit
  1. ^ 学ベビ×ラブソラ、白泉社が癒しのちびっこフェア開催. Comic Natalie. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 28, 2018). "Julietta Suzuki Pens New Fantasy Manga in The Hana to Yume Magazine in April". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  3. ^ a b 「LOVE SO LIFE」完結、女子高生ベビーシッター詩春の恋の行方は. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). July 18, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  4. ^ 花とゆめ 2009年 表示号数4. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  5. ^ こうち楓の初サイン会、池袋のジュンク堂にて. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). May 4, 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  6. ^ "Love So Life 1". Hakusensha (in Japanese). Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  7. ^ "Love So Life 17". Hakusensha (in Japanese). Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  8. ^ 花ゆめで「ラブソラ」の双子が主役の新章、福山リョウコのWebサイン会も. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). April 5, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  9. ^ 「LIFE SO HAPPY」がザ花とゆめに、次号に鈴木ジュリエッタの新作も. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). January 25, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  10. ^ "Life So Happy 3". Hakusensha (in Japanese). Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  11. ^ 花ゆめの人気作が3カ月連続でドラマCD化. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). October 19, 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  12. ^ 「星は歌う」「LOVE SO LIFE」「ベリーベリー」の声優発表. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). November 5, 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  13. ^ 「LOVE SO LIFE」ドラマCD付録、「オムライスの歌」も. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). October 4, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  14. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, May 17–23". Anime News Network. May 26, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  15. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, October 18–24". Anime News Network. October 27, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  16. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, January 17–23". Anime News Network. January 26, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  17. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, May 16–22 (Updated)". Anime News Network. May 25, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  18. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, September 19–25". Anime News Network. September 28, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  19. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, January 16–22". Anime News Network. January 25, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  20. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, January 23–29". Anime News Network. February 1, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  21. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, November 19–25". Anime News Network. November 28, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  22. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, November 26-December 2". Anime News Network. December 5, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  23. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, April 15–21". Anime News Network. April 24, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  24. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, April 22–28". Anime News Network. May 1, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  25. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, October 14–20". Anime News Network. October 23, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  26. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, October 21–27". Anime News Network. October 30, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  27. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, April 14–20". Anime News Network. April 23, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  28. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, April 21–27". Anime News Network. April 30, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  29. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, November 17–23". Anime News Network. November 26, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  30. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, November 24–30". Anime News Network. December 3, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  31. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, May 18–24". Anime News Network. May 27, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  32. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, May 25–31". Anime News Network. June 3, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  33. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, September 14–20". Anime News Network. September 23, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  34. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, September 21–27". Anime News Network. October 1, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Love_So_Life&oldid=1251833394"