Reviews for Happiness

Happiness' first few volumes are great; Aku no Hana with vampires, what's not to like? Unfortunately, things spiral out of control pretty quickly, as this spooky Let the Right One In-esque romance-horror becomes a Tokyo Ghoul/Ajin wannabe around chapter 15 or so. We're left with 35 chapters of shady government agencies, cultists, a villain straight out of a Dean Koontz bargain bin book, two semi-interesting characters getting sidelined for what feels like forever, one uninteresting character getting mutilated for what feels like forever, and time skips. Lots and lots of time skips. It's all so...typical. A damn shame considering the manga's early promise and themangaka's track record for non-commercial weirdness. I guess if there's a lesson to be learned it's this: selling out may lead to large amounts of cash, women and fame, but you're gonna get a lukewarm internet review from an unemployed thirty year old who still reads comic books, and to win him back you'll have to write incest-horror (see the excellent Chi no Wadachi).

A final note: the art is fantastic. Just look at that cover. There's also quite a bit of Van Gogh and Edvard Munch inspired panels scattered throughout. Alas, the rest of the material is not nearly up to the art's high standard; you're probably better off doing a google image search for the best bits and skipping the rest.

The manga is now complete, and well, it was kinda rushed in the last couple of chapters :( Happiness is a horror manga, tackles the subject of vampires and psychological in a master way. Initially in a school setting the characters are realistic, they act like normal students in front of the dangers and have their own personalities, wills, ways of acting, without being cliché. The story follows Okazaki, a young man who accidentally turns into a vampire, a shower of tragedy falls in this manga in almost every chapter, with cliff hangers taking your breath away and making you marathon several chapters in a row withouteven wanting to. Read at your own risk, all the characters who enter the story are ready for a terrible end.

Art is an incredible extra point, it is unique, sinister, it is totally adequate for the climate of this narrative. Do not believe? Go back to this review when Okazaki the vampire look at the night sky. The author is the same as Aku in Hana, Chi in Wadachi and other artistically incredible works with high psychological content.

Happiness was what i would consider the pinnacle of good manga. It had a story that was short,sweet, and most of all pack with content. Each chapter asked as many questions as it answered and left me with a vague sense of wonder. To put it simply, it was an incredible experience. Warning: very minor spoilers Story 7/10 : I felt that the story was quite short featuring few real conflicts. However, it was great seeing the world develop as you slowly see the world become affected by the main character. You see the world shift due to their actions and how the world bites (heh) back.Overall, the story could have been longer and built upon more things. But it was still enjoyable and pretty easy to digest.

Art 10/10: Wow...just wow. While the characters themselves have very realistic proportions and the blood is drawn very well, the real beauty is in the backgrounds. During one of the MC's many points of hysteria, you can see the background is similar to the famous artist Vincent van Gogh. This creates an amazing feeling of loss and confusion for the reader that helps emulate how the MC is perceiving the outside world.

Character 8/10: The manga goes through many time skips especially near the end. It gives us a good sense of conclusion for each major character and allows us to feel some closure that would have not gotten under usual circumstances. Every surviving character has come to terms with their situation and is trying to live their best life. They are living each day trying to find happiness(heh) in some form or another.

Overall 9/10: I would highly recommend this manga to anyone who has the time

Happiness. Vampires. Let's start with the plot. This story and MC are not very original at all. Young timid boy in a town where there are monsters (vampires) come out at night and kill people. The boy meets a girl who's not really interested in anyone but him and boom. Turns out she's a vampire But with that said its still entertaining and keeps you on edge (9chaps in the plots score may change with time) Art: the art for this manga is about average, maybe slightly above nothing you haven't seen. Has a realistic touch to it. Character: MC is the typical shy,timid,frail guy. Hasn't beenlong enough for him to get possible development. There are some interesting supporting characters who may turn out great

As unoriginal the plot and characters are I'm still enjoying this story. It has everything that would make for a pretty popular anime. It's not at the top of my must read but I will finish it

I give it a strong 6

If you liked Tokyo ghoul or parasyte definitely give it a read

This a fairly new manga, and at the time of reviewing, it is only 16 chapters in. Warning: there may be slight general setting spoilers for the first 16 chapters. If this manga keeps going on its current path, it could be a truly great piece of work, one that I have waiting for years to finally happen. The setup is extremely promising, and has my extremely excited to see where it goes. I'm going to start by saying that this seems to be rather shallowly tagged and summarized. It's about as Shounen as Ajin and Tokyo Ghoul are, which is to say, not at all. They arenot shy about the bloodshed as well. If you are familiar with Ajin, the setup is very similar: a seemingly normal boy is suddenly not so human anymore, and they have to struggle through the psychological turmoil and run away from home. In this sense, it is only "school-life" for the first couple chapters. At this point, I do not expect it to go back to the school setting.

There's also the thing about the MC being a closet pervert. What? The closest thing that comes to it is when his best friend points out a cute girl, and the MC just gives him a thumbs up. Otherwise, the MC is rather mature and down to earth. I mean, he faps once, but he's a high school boy. Waddaya expect? Honestly, it just makes it even more down to earth.

Let's get on to the actual review now.

Story: 8/10

As you may notice, the setup is rather run of the mill, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. This specific setup is right up my personal alley, and I think it lays a great groundwork for a good, mature plot line, and some great character development. Because there are not many chapters, we only have a taste of what's to come. Is there an organization chasing them? What are the laws among the vampires that we're getting glimpses of? What's going to happen to the MC's friend? What about the MC's family? There's a lot to explore, and I hope to see the world continue to grow.

Art: 9/10

I think the art is perfect for the series. It's no frills, and beautiful at the same time. It's decently realistic, and never awkward looking. The characters' emotions are very easy to perceive, and the characters are easy to distinguish. The way the artist paints the skies through "vampire vision" (for lack of a better phrase) reminds me of Van Gogh's Starry Nights. This creates an abstract beauty that really brings the world to life. The art is slightly sketchy, and has a lot of personality. It's just really nice to look at overall.

Characters: 9/10

As I stated before, the groundwork for the characters is VERY solid. The characters feel exceedingly real, and you can really feel their emotions through their interaction and the art. I expect this to be a very psychological manga, with a LOT of character development. From what we've seen so far, the main character isn't some puny kid, but very normal. He is confused and terrified of himself, trying to understand what his life is going through. He is torn between staying home and running away. He is trying to juggle his humanity with this terrible beast within him. It's an absolute joy to watch him struggle. The other characters are also very vivid as well, and I expect to see more background on them, especially a certain someone who may or may not be the antagonist (sorry, my lips are sealed!). The development of the characters and how their psychological state shifts is what is currently keeping the plot going, while government(?) institutions are brewing in the background.

Enjoyment: 10/10

If you're like me, seeing a character be psychologically torn apart while becoming something inhuman is an absolute pleasure to read. I love how they're setting up vampires as being decently traditional, with a strong thirst for blood. The way the creator depicts these urges as well as any instabilities is very original, and great to read. It's a primal pleasure to watch the MC squirm in agony, confusion and thirst. One that is far too often left out in vampire manga. It's gruesome and intriguing. Paired with a blooming plot, this could easily be a manga that I'll be on the tips of my toes for.

Overall: 9/10

If this manga keeps going like it is, it's going to be one of my all time faves. I just hope and pray the manga-ka doesn't mess it up *cough*tokyoghoul*cough*

If you like Ajin, Tokyo Ghoul and/or Parasyte, this manga is sure to please. If you're looking for a vampire manga with actual vampires, you'll surely love this.

I'm extremely excited to see where this manga takes us!

I found the initial premise for Happiness intriguing. It starts out exploring how the humans-turned-vampires cope with their new lives. How they handle this new state (e.g., the thirst for blood), how it affects their relationships with others, and the struggle they face to remain "normal." I was pleasantly surprised to find an absence of overt revenge or power fantasy elements. While this type of story isn't anything novel, I liked the dark, gritty take on the underground lives of vampires. Approximately halfway through the story takes a turn for the worse. It starts to branch out into different arcs, some of which take the storyin what I thought were very ill-thought-out directions. The first half has what I consider to be a much better composition (i.e., it was put together better; more compelling and coherent) than the latter, which was haphazard and shallow. Even ignoring the questionable direction, I don't think there was enough time, given the length of the series, to develop these new arcs adequately. While I genuinely enjoyed the beginning of this story, it had almost completely lost me by the end.

The main cast is interesting, and I liked the different ways in which they are initially developed and brought together. As mentioned by the mangaka (in his note at the end of volume 10), he tried to explore the psychology of multiple characters (while maintaining character quality) as opposed to focusing on just one. In this respect, I think he was mostly successful, and I generally enjoyed the different character narratives and perspectives.

One area of weakness in Happiness which really detracted from my enjoyment was the failure to development some of the more significant supporting characters. The only one who really gets proper attention is Nao. Saku appears at multiple points over the course of the story, including some important events. He has significant impact on the outcome of some characters' lives, but he doesn't even get a short backstory (or anything else really). I think Nora was the biggest failure. She is the catalyst for Makoto's vampiric transformation, a guide for his new state of existence, and his love interest. Despite this, her backstory is introduced shockingly late in the story, her motivations are barely explained, and no romantic development is allocated to her relationship with Makoto.

I really like the art and think the quality is objectively good. Things like the way the mangaka drew the sky and other perceptive differences for the vampires added an interesting character to the visuals. This is the one element of quality that remains consistent throughout the series.

Story doesn't really go anywhere and the character pale in comparison to Shuzo's other works. Replace the psychological drama and horror of his previous and future works with uncomfortable body horror and you already know the extent of what Happiness has to offer. It's really unfortunate cuz some of the art is a real treat. I love how the vampires of this world see the night sky as if it were a Van Gogh. It's their home and thus they find beauty and comfort in it, so it works in tandem with the story as well as looks good. The problem here for me, wasthe characters. They're all so one note and none are given any back story or real attention except for the main antagonist and at the point where his origins are shown, which is done in a very well illustrated sequence of paintings, you have already seen him do some really fucked up shit. Because of this his back story honestly serves no purpose. You already hate the dude its not gonna make you hate him more to see him do more fucked up shit to characters you've never even seen before. I feel like there was a lot of wasted potential here and if more time was put into character development rather than torture porn, I think this could have been something great. Ultimately it stumbles in almost every way and is a slog to get through. I kept pushing through hoping at the end of the grotesque violence there would be some deep, captivating moment but it never came.

Happiness is easily one of the most disturbing, vile, and addictive manga I’ve ever read. At first, it feels like something right out of Tokyo Ghoul. The art, the characters, the initial premise, everything pulls you in fast. It’s slick, atmospheric, and surprisingly easy to get attached to. The early chapters are fast-paced and exciting in that same horror-action way, and for a moment I thought I knew what kind of story I was in for. But I was wrong. It becomes something darker. Much darker. Not just in tone, but in emotion. It takes all that early energy and drags it through a slow, intense descent intosomething absolutely twisted. This isn’t just horror. It’s psychological and emotional torment. And yet I couldn’t stop. The manga is genuinely addictive. I burned through the entire thing in a single day because it kept digging deeper and deeper into something raw and ugly and mesmerizing.

The characters are deeply flawed, messy, and painfully human. The relationships feel real, even when the story twists them into impossible places. The art is wild, sometimes gritty and chaotic, sometimes quiet and heavy, and there are moments that strongly reminded me of Naoki Urasawa in how expressive and emotionally loaded the visuals are. It carries the weight of the story in ways words couldn’t.

There are chapters that made me feel physically sick. It’s that disturbing. But it ALMOST never felt cheap. The horror is meaningful. There’s a strange beauty underneath it all. A lingering sense that maybe, just maybe, this broken world still holds space for hope, or healing, or something close to peace.

Happiness is not for everyone. It’s brutal, emotionally exhausting, and absolutely messed up. But it’s also unforgettable. A haunting, tragic, violently beautiful story that doesn’t leave you once you’ve finished it.

It’s a very strong 9/10. If it wasn’t so disgustingly dark at times, I might have given it a perfect score. But even with that, it’s a manga I’ll remember for a long time.

If nothing else, this manga was extremely sensible. Usually, when ending a manga, you will think "Yeah, that's a good stopping point", "What the fuck? Where's the rest of it?", or "Yeah you should've ended this 50 chapters ago". This one was an "Oh, okay" ending. Everything in the manga was extremely clear, every action every character took made perfect sense within the context of the motifs of the manga, the small romance subplot made sense, the budding friendship made sense, the motivation of the guru made sense, and the conclusion of the arc with Nora made perfect sense. This series is incredibly well thoughtout and well planned in terms of the characters.

You might then wonder why I rated this a 4. The reason is simply that there is NOTHING good about this series beyond what I listed above. In the first few chapters, the series is actually very fun to read and the characters are really compelling and you can really get immersed into the thoughts and feelings of our main characters. Their dynamics are fun, and their relationships are enjoyable. You can kind of tell when things are about to go south from the atomsphere. The artstyle tells you this is not going to be a happy story. When things start to go south, everything is compelling, but then there is this blurry part in the middle, where while every action in the story makes sense, the events themselves don't feel congruent to the beginning. Then, there's essentially a cut and we read almost an entirely different story which is totally irrelevant to the original story besides the fact that these characters know each other.

Happiness is like reading two really good stories forcibly glued together, except when you get to the second good story, it feels like a slap in the face because you were hoping to actually finish the first one. So everything after that point feels like another slap in the face, because even though all of the character arcs are resolved in a way that makes sense, their resolution almost feels disconnected from the first story.

This book is honestly leagues better than most other manga I've read in terms of story, plot, characters, and introspection. However, in terms of manga ABOUT story, plot, characters, and introspection, it's just abysmal. It's just a ginormous disappointment when you compare it to greats like Koe no Katachi, Distant Sky, The Horizon, etc.

What we have here is a stylistic version of a trite plotline of monsters vs humans and the questions of good and evil. To me though this is the problem, the story was never interesting enough that there was a payoff. The whole thing was luke warm providing plot points that didn't escalate tensions, there were repeated moments where out comes were just erased in order to preserve certain characters. Miraculous victories for the MC and his group of friends for no reason. I had this problem with Aku no Hana as well where I felt like the author doesn't understand human emotion, perhapshe is cripplingly autistic and only experiences interpersonal relationships through media and stories, none of his own. As such the relationships of the characters don't come across as genuine and its hard to develop any emotional bond as the reader, which translates into the events that effect them not having the impact the author desired. Further the author blows his load in the beginning by localizing all the intensive action into the first arcs and he just bubbles out goo for the latter half and by the end he is curled in the fetal position still inside of you sleep farting at you.

We have several characters here whose motivations do not make sense in the context of the story, and we also have the case of a rule change for the vampires rendering the events of the first half null and void. It was like the author was backed into a corner or one day his editor who wanted to write a story herself called him drunk scream crying for a favor and he did it.

What saved it for me was the art, which was drawn incredibly well especially since the reference material for many of the panels in the book were non existent and had to be derived from the authors mind. Other influences that were clear are Starry Night by Van Gogh which made me keep turning the pages.

In conclusion, it was completely unoffensive like elevator music, didn't leave a lasting impact, didn't really excite me or make me feel anything, and overstayed its welcome after a while.

This is a review counting 21 Chapters. Warning, minor profanity included. I have read Aku no Hana and I remember being entranced by the story like it haunted me in a way. It had a captivating drive that I could not understand. With Happiness, it's less, but that captivating essence is still there. There is no central plot or story. There is no final goal, there is no happy ending. This is a story where different characters collide and shit goes to hell. There is no good or evil, there is no 'hero' and there is no 'villain'. There is no superhero. Everyone just lives theirs lives as like anyoneelse would, but when shit starts blowing up, there is no return.

That is the charm, the essence of this story that captivates me. Most stories have a sense of security, where you know the characters will be okay. But here, no one is safe. It's dark and gruesome, there is no room for empathy, only fear. Past, present and future all destroyed in a blink of an eye, there is no more happiness.

That fear of complete destruction to the point of no return, with every action leading to a series of never ending consequences, knowing you will never be the same ever again. This is the type of mental and psychological fear that entrances you to read more and more.

This is no average shounen manga, the main character is no super hero, just an average everyday loser, a loser that continues to lose.

tl;dr: A good execution of a somewhat interesting though not terribly original concept that completely loses its ways as it goes on. This manga starts off as pretty standard teen angst plus vampires. That certainly isn’t an original concept, especially if you’re familiar with modern western young adult fiction, but this is the first Japanese take I’ve read on that concept and this was a pretty strong execution which shouldn’t be surprising considering that it’s from the author of Aku no Hana. It was especially good at having characters that were easy to empathize with and get invested in. So how this manga began was quitegripping and I think had a lot of potential.

Unfortunately, I feel it wastes all of that completely. It’s hard to pick an exact point where things go wrong. The obvious point would be the time skip about halfway through, but I think it actually went off the rails a bit before that in the lead up to that time skip. And after said time skip it goes off the rails completely into becoming pretty much complete nonsense. While what it was trying to convey during the beginning wasn’t particularly unique, it was at least trying to convey something and it was clear what it was trying to say and how it was using the building blocks in the story to convey it. After the story goes off the rails it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to say anything. I’m still going to assume it had some sort of point, but it’s conveyed so badly I can barely even guess what it was. Something about searching for happiness regardless of one’s past maybe. At best it’s probably something superficial.

What happens with the characters feels random. The plot is all over the place. Any investment I had in the characters or plot was pretty much lost completely. And in the end I felt absolutely nothing in regards to what happened or how it ended. The art was decent enough when it tried, but it didn’t feel like it was trying most of the time. It also felt like it was doing too few panels per page during the later portions so though it may be 10 volumes it certainly doesn’t feel like it contains as much story as 10 volumes usually do.

I'm not fond of reviewing with numbers, but this series is what I would consider a solid 6. I'm a huge fan of the author's work, and while this manga has his distinct style, it's one of his worst ones. Art: I don't know the context with its creation, but Happiness is nothing special. Its style is very sketchy, different but not special. Nothing follows right perspective or right anatomy, but it doesn't bother much, at least it's consistent. Story and characters: Simple, mildly entertaining but nothing special. The normal "adolescent turning vampire" trope is presented without being corny, although brings nothing new to the table. "Shigahime", another similar manga inconcept but completely different in presentation, demonstrates how you can create a distinct and modern vampire story full of life and emotion, with complex and beautifully written young characters (and with way less chapters, too).

While it's a good read for an afternoon, it's forgettable. I recommend passing this one and going straight for Oshimi's other works, like Aku no Hana (Flowers of Evil) and Chi no Wadachi (A Trail of Blood).

In case the reader knows or has heard about other manga written by Shuuzou Oshimi, such as "Aku no Hana" or "Chi no Wadachi", it is easy to foresee how the connection between themes and narrative will occur in "Happiness": by using a visceral approach about the psychological processes of the human being and how these internal conditions express themselves and conflict with the external environment, the author intends to argue that the human psyche is an almost instinctive condition, natural and, therefore, uncontrollable to a certain degree. To present his vision on these themes, Shuuzou Oshimi chose to tell a suspenseful horror story aboutvampires through a "post-impressionist" artistic composition that values abstract sensations and emotions through efficient techniques of contrast and detail.

But how did the author execute his work? Did he manage to convey his ideals? The main problem of "Happiness" is not the quality of its arguments or visual presentation but the author's inability to transmit his ideas.

DO YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY?

In response to the above questions, the author provides the following afterword in Volume 10:

(The following excerpt is a translation of the text present in the Brazilian version):

"I started it [the manga] with the desire to make an 'ensemble cast'; where instead of focusing on the psychological development of the protagonist, I sought to portray different psyches of different characters and the complex interactions between them.

As the story progressed, I feel that the theme changed from 'illness and death' to 'isolation from society'. And with that came the question: what is happiness for those who have been excluded? Or more: what is happiness for those who were born with socially unfavorable conditions, being innocent victims of unjustly caused wounds?"

In the initial stages of building the scenarios and interactions involving the main characters, the reader follows the physical and emotional intimacy of Makoto (the protagonist) during a series of physiological and sensory changes arising from his encounter with Nora. There is a progressive structuring of the protagonist's interests and material conditions while the author presents a sense of hopelessness about his main character's new desires and possible psychosocial consequences of his actions.

The first four volumes of the work are consistent in working through a series of events that gradually build up a complex tangle of relationships between different cores of characters. Even if the reader follows Makoto's experiences more closely, there is room to introduce different environments and characters. At the same time and due to this diversity of scenes, the author manages to include brief personal comments on some overarching themes such as perversity, sexuality, violence, sociability, affection, empathy, and self-acceptance that echo throughout the manga, in internal plot events, and dramatic approaches and character arcs.

For instance, Oshimi efficiently presents Makoto's uncomfortable situation in the first chapter and, besides offering a palpable dramatic context, provides allusions that will be addressed later. In this sense, I find it interesting how the author handled this discomfort of the protagonist with his family configuration: if at home he suffered constant comparisons with his brother, giving a sense of not belonging that is reinforced by the plot's events, it is nice to observe a continuous and syncretic process between self-determination and family welcoming, with emphasis on the stagnant and "melancholic hope" feelings evoked around Ms. Ozakai (the protagonist's mother). This thematic approach is by far the most solid in the manga - it is even present in other characters, such as Yuki and Nao.

Ironically with the name "Happiness", the work is filled with, among other feelings, an irremediable melancholy, intrinsic to the unsatisfied nature of human beings. Therefore, there is a uniform tone between the events, even if they are joyful and hopeful moments concerning the characters' conditions. This melancholic tone is well incorporated into the manga so that the narrative situations, motivations, and consequences are fluid and natural within the internal systematics of the work, this tonal approach being adequate to the themes proposed by the author.

However, as the first half of the manga progresses, the reader can see the following picture: even though there is an efficient integration between the narrative and literary arguments, the author tends to position his themes as tangential to the plot. While the reader follows a cool story about a boy learning to connect with his new self, subtle themes like death, social discomfort, incompatibilities, and self-acceptance gradually lose strength in favor of running only the objective text of the plot, which demonstrates an unpolished structure and inability to tie interesting events together.

As a result, the subtext of the work weakens and the author focuses his efforts on creating interesting situations focused on suspense. So how did he do in this transition process?

HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY?

The aforementioned transition from a contemplative and thematically organized story to a suspenseful plot could work - being a very short work, the author has handled his themes in a purposefully vague manner, which allows him to put more effort into building intricate events while leaving it to the subjectivity of each reader to interpret his thesis. And indeed, the first half of the manga operates this way, turning the work into a much more sensory experience.

However, and as can be observed if you read other reviews, Oshimi chooses to abruptly interrupt the chain of events and imposes on the reader a new point of view within the story. This transition could be cool to revamp the plot, which had a big climax and was in the process of concluding for certain characters. However, the author accomplishes this process in such an abrupt and clueless manner that the reader has the impression that there was a lack of planning; as if Oshimi realized the exhaustion of the plot and decided to extend it at the last minute.

Again, this transition could work and renew the series into a thriller with moments of horror and action, but unfortunately, it fails to provide reasonable justifications for the new events and conflicts. Since this review has no spoilers, the examples below will be described vaguely and broadly.

For example, the reader follows Yuki's dramatic arc. At first, the author correlates Yuki's dissatisfaction with Makoto's discomfort and produces a good contrast between the intimate and social conditions of each. Another effect of this contrast is the set of choices and consequences endured by each character. These and other arrangements are conveyed to the reader with an artistic composition that oozes sensoriality, with good notions of volume, lighting, and sound (yes). However, in the second half of the manga, all this structure is lost and gives way to a very uninteresting plot concerning what was developing before.

Another example is Makoto himself. As much as the construction of his character is only reasonable and his motivations are acceptable to a certain degree until the first half of the manga, the reader observes a complete crystallization of Makoto's development. Of course, there is an internal justification for this, which is only challenged in the final stretch of the manga. But due to the order of events after the second half of the work, this narrative method has generated such a great distancing between reader and character that all the events involving Makoto lose a lot of importance and even charisma. These aspects of stagnation and perpetuity speak to the ending of the work, but at what cost? To transform the character into just a possible concept to be interpreted?

In this perspective, the author presents great indecision in working with "concept-characters" or "character-characters", a great example being the character Nora. Certainly, she is only an instrument, like a MacGuffin, who breaks the plot's inertia and motivates the central character, but is absent most of the time. In a more contemplative story, it would not be a problem for Nora to exist in this way - however, and in a misplaced chapter, to say the least, Oshimi imposes on himself the need to explain the character as if the work needed this, and has failed to produce any internal results within the manga in the process.

This doubt of the author in which concepts and justifications he will present is completely dysfunctional: Oshimi chooses to explain a character that does not demand it but ignores the need to substantiate certain central events and contexts. It is not a matter of demanding internal logic in a vampire tale, but rather the expectation that the author will organize the plot's events in a fluid and concatenated manner that will not alienate the reader from the manga.

Even though it still features beautiful art, the manga suffers from this thematic hollowing out in favor of telling a tepid and tedious story that fails to convey the author's comments on the issues mentioned in the afterword.

OTHER NOTES

- I LOVE Yukiko Gosho, being by far the most charismatic character in the entire manga.

- The art techniques are beautiful and indispensable to the enjoyment of the story, but the frame's composition is not that diverse and there is considerable repetition of the same structure.

- As much as I enjoy the last few pages of the final chapter, the penultimate chapter is my favorite because of its narrative rhythm. The final chapter is completely out of place with the events that were unfolding.

- I enjoy the beginning of the second half of the manga, even if afterward there are many problems in the unfolding of the plot.

- There are other comments to be made regarding the themes of the first half, but I intended to make a shorter review.

CONCLUSION

Even with a reasonable and charming beginning that has a great capacity to generate interesting discussions with a stunning artistic approach, "Happiness" becomes just a lukewarm suspense story without major themes or comments efficiently conducted by the author. In general, because it is a condensed work, it is up to each person to read this manga. Certainly, the reader will have a much more sensorial and contemplative experience, without major reflections or new perspectives on any subject whatsoever. In case you are bored and have no other manga on your list, it is worth checking it out without any expectations.

Ok, note that i rarely write reviews. I got this manga recommended afrer reading hitsuji no uta. I did not expect anything good, for two reasons. 1)I had read the authors two previus works, aku no hana and mari. While aku no hana ranked as mediocrite to me, mari ranked better in my opinion. 2)It was a vampire manga. Not that i have anything against the gender, simple i dont consider it the best medium for masterpieces. Alas i was wrong. This manga is a masterpiece. From the characters, to the story, adn at some cases even the drawing. SPOILERS ALERT FROM HERE ON So, lets start from theart. The art of the manga is not tight, and it gives a van gogh feeling, at least in the backround. There are also the scenes when gusho enters the church, very good playing with the black and white there. In general, the art is kinda messy at some points, but it makes it a masterpiece due to how good the author ties this messiness with artistic position of people, shadows, and the look of maddnes.

For example, you can feel when someone is calm or in rage just by the way the author draws it. When someone is calm or serius, the art is in line, realistic e.t.c. When he is anger or in madness or in pain, the art gets surreal. Another thing i appreciate in the art (which i think is getting lost in mangas of the recent) is the limited use of tones. The author draws and gives the feeling of the gray by actually drawing small lines or dots e.t.c

So in general, i am more of the realistic art, but in this case, the author executes this art at a rate which would grant it a 10.

Also, the caracters look actually japanese (most of the times), which is good.

Now on caracters. All caracters were fine to great, from makoto, to guso, to sudo, to yuko e.t.c.

In my opinion the main caracter makoto can by divided by two people. One before chapter 15-20 and one after. You can see a clear transition from a cry baby mama's boy to a serius person who actually perchives and evaluates the shitty situation he is in. I was worried of this manga being a shit, but after the middle of it i knew it was going to be a masterpiece.

On story. Ah the story....

One of the best stories i have read. Yes, i did not except it either. The story did not degenarate to a petty teen drama, it was kept relativelly in "realistic" lines (if vapmpires were "real"). Or at least realistic compared to the genre. I thought i was to read another stupit teen drama about some dude who just wants to get laid but i was mistaken. The story can be divided by two parts. The first 25 chapters where it is the present, eveyone is in highschool e.t.c, and the main protagonist is definetelly makoto and yuki, and the second, after chapter 25, where the main protagonist becomes guso and yuki, with makoto and yuki just being the finishing caracters, and makoto returning to being the protagonist again in the last 3-4 chapters.

This story deserves a 10, becuase it is not boring, not a cliche, and does not play fan favors. The main caracter does not get saved, he gets to be tortured, and even after he regains the limited freedom he could regain, we can only watch from afar his family and friends die, and in top of that, waiting for love partner and "maker" to regain her body. I suspect it took about 100-200 years for that, as in the story we witness the death of makoto's family, of guso e.t.c

The other main caracters, makoto's family and guso and sude e.t.c also die, but die old and happy with a family and grandkids. Another good aspect is that yuki was not spared. He kild his girlfriend (another main caracter) and her family and his own mother. In the end he just wanted to die but he could not die as he would regenarate. I think that the end of yuki was perfect. He could not be saved from madness, and when he died he was neither sad nor happy of it. He just took it as his punishment.

Plus, we dont see the stupitidy of people playing stupit ethics for the sake of being ethic. Makoto kills at the end of the story(not average people if he haves the chance), the vampires are not chased by an individual, but by the state (so they can analyse them), which is what would indeed happen if vampires were to exist.

In short, people, read this manga. Is only 50 chapters, you will not regret it.

This is what Tokyo Ghoul should be, but never tried. When I say this affirmation, I'm stating that Tokyo Ghoul has narrative lack of concerning by their own script, thing that doesn't happen in Happiness. The manga is well structured in the beginning and shows us a narrative interesting, self centered (which means that other characters or even the protagonist aren't bigger than the story itself) and with good motivation by every character. The only problem is the lack of pace in the final volumes, leading to a rush story but still is a great conclusion, focusing on what should be focused all the time,showing us a great narrative command and write by the author

Here's my take after reading 33 chapters of the psychological vampire drama Happiness by Shuuzou Oshimi. The story is about the timorous high-schooler Makoto Okazaki who's the favorite target of the school bullies until one fateful day when he was bitten by the "vampire" Nora who uncharacteristically left him to decide his fate; "living" or dying. Nowadays, every media is saturated with vampires and it has already reached a point that people got tired of the concept. However, you should not let that turn you down with Happiness. My first impression on reading this was "It feels similar to Tokyo Ghoul."; however, reading further, Happiness is noTokyo Ghoul and vice versa.

Happiness focuses on the characters' motivation and action rather than what can the vampire aspect can provide to progress the story.

Characters, especially Makoto and Gosho still have a long way to develop their characters but after the time skip that opened the recent volume, I can say that I am slowly being more connected to each of them.

The art is good for the presentation of the story it's dark, gloomy, and has that nostalgic feel even though you have not been to the location, setting, and experiences of each of the characters.

It has still yet to develop at this point so I could not say more for the story although I am enjoying every chapter I have read so far.

So with that said at this point, I would give Happiness 8 bloody corpses out of 10.

Another manga finished by Oshimi Shuuzō!! He is definitely one of my favorite authors, always with different works and all great. I love how he can turn reading into something very enjoyable with the 3-panel layout per page... You float through an extremely captivating, mysterious, and interesting story, and the layout makes this even easier. It's no wonder that I finish most of his works on the same day I start reading them. And this one, even though I didn't finish it in a day, I read very quickly... I always feel sad when I finish a manga by this author because I know I'm getting closer andcloser to finishing reading all of his works.

Happiness is probably his most well-known work (but not my favorite), and I can understand why. The mysterious setting of vampires and the main character's quest to adapt to his new life and find happiness in it really grabs the reader's attention.

However, I would say that this is one of his first works where, for me, the main character loses total focus to the second main character haha. Gosho is simply fantastic, and she serves to connect all the past and present events within the story in a magnificent way.

I won't deny that I was extremely nervous about the plot twist that happened in the middle of the story (those who read it will know what I'm talking about)... This kind of plot twist is very common in Oshimi-sensei's works and is always elaborated fantastically.

Happiness, unlike the author's other mangas, doesn't cling too much to puberty issues and goes for a more mysterious and eerie side (just like Chi no Wadachi), but I thought he managed to work this story very consistently. It's much more "simple" and straightforward but very well done.

The ending is also very good... another one for the author's recipe book of endings...

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Pt/Br

Mais um manga finalizado de Oshimi Shuuzō!!

Ele definitivamente é um dos meus autores favoritos, sempre com obras diferentes e todas ótimas. Eu adoro a forma como ele consegue transformar a leitura em algo muito gostoso de aproveitar com a quadrinização de 3 quadros por página... Você flutua por uma história extremamente cativante, misteriosa e interessante, e a quadrinização facilita esse trabalho ainda mais.

Não é atoa que a maioria de suas obras eu termino no mesmo dia que começo a ler. E essa, mesmo não tendo terminado em um dia, eu li muito rápido...

Fico triste sempre que acabo um manga desse autor pois sei que estou cada vez mais próximo de terminar de ler todas as obras dele.

Happiness é provavelmente seu trabalho mais conhecido (mas não o meu preferido), e consigo entender o motivo. A ambientação misteriosa de vampiros e a busca do personagem principal a se acostumar com sua nova vida e encontrar felicidade nela chama muito a atenção do leitor

Porém digo que essa é uma das primeiras obras dele onde para mim o personagem principal perde o foco total para o segundo personagem principal hehe. A Gosho é simplesmente fantástica e ela serve para interligar todos os acontecimentos do passado e presente dentro da história de forma magnífica.

Não vou negar que fiquei extremamente nervoso com o plot twist que teve no meio da história (quem leu vai saber do que estou falando)... Esse tipo de plot twist é muito comum nas obras do Oshimi-sensei e é sempre elaborado de forma fantástica.

Happiness, diferente dos outros mangas do autor, não se agarra muito as questões de puberdade, e vai para um lado mais misterioso e tenebroso (Assim como Chi no Wadachi), mas achei que ele conseguiu trabalhar essa história de forma muito consistente. Ela é bem mais "simples" e direta mas é muito bem feita.

O final é muito bom também... mais um para o livro de receitas dos finais do autor..

This manga had so much potential. The beginning immediately draws you in, but from the midpoint onward, it steadily declines to the point of frustration. The initial chapters are incredibly compelling, focusing on the main character’s transition from a human to a vampire. The portrayal of his personal struggles and gradual transformation was the heart of the story. The interactions among the main cast were equally captivating, and the romance subplot added depth and emotional resonance. However, a sudden time skip derails the entire narrative. The story shifts focus to an office romance between the main character’s love interest and a new character, sidelining the protagonist entirely.Every chapter centered on this subplot was infuriating to read. It’s hard to put into words how each new installment made me want to abandon the manga, but I held on, hoping it would eventually return to the main character. Unfortunately, that never happened, as this subplot drags on for 70% of the manga.

This manga is the epitome of “what was the point of all this?” By the end, it feels like the entire journey was meaningless. It’s as if the author tried to make the story deeper than it actually was, lost their way, and ultimately disrespected the audience with a convoluted mess. It truly feels like they decided halfway through to write a completely different story, leaving fans of the original premise disappointed and betrayed.

Overall, I cannot recommend this manga to anyone. Unless you’re looking for frustration and disappointment, it’s best to steer clear.

At the time I'm writing this review, I've already read 27 chapters. Despite being quite generic at the start, this manga isn't like you average "vampire-like creature living amongst humans" shounen. Yes, the protagonist is a shy student not so sociable that turns into a supernatural creature. Probably you've seen this a lot. But this manga drives to something different. It's more about interactions and relations between characters than fighting or gore, like others from the genre. "Happiness" is something that the characters don't have, for they are on fucked up situations. And this is good, since give us a feeling of danger and fear. Anyone candie at any moment. It's not bad being generic or using cliches if it works well, if its well done. Keep that in mind. The only complain I have is that, a few times, it happened to have some plot devices that doesn't were exactly needed.

The art is not generic nor that gorgeous, but it's good to see, the details and expressions are good and, sometimes, realistic.

If you like good stories were the characters feel real and don't win every conflict, this is a manga for you.