Hello guys, and welcome to another entry.
Just to let you know, I am working in a review of The Rising of the Shield Hero, which will be ready in a few days. Until then, enjoy what I learned from someone else’s… «Love»
Where do I start?
You know… In the recent days, I think I discovered one type of horror that is really gives me goosebumps every time, in the most powerful way possible. A horror that, obviously, in is any genre, movies, tv shows. Even Anime itself. And I don’t know the correct name, but I think is the «horror drama», because it combines ordinary people, or ordinary real-life problems, and psychological thriller at its finest, convincing the audience that, in the least expected moment, what happens to the main lead can happen to them.
This is why I really love movies like Get Out, Se7en, A Quiet Place, and even The Conjuring franchise. And in anime there are solid examples, such as Erased (Boku dake ga Inai Machi)
The other one… Is Happy Sugar Life (ハッピーシュガーライフ in Japanese). And do not let the cutesy title fool you (I almost did that». This anime is… PRETTY F<C>K UP.
Based on the manga written and illustrated by Tomiyaki Kasigora, published by Square Enix, with eight volumes so far. Happy Sugar Life tells the story of high-schooler Sato Matsuzaka, who «lives» in an apartment with her «love», a young girl called Shio Kobe, who she wants to protect… by any means necessary, including kidnapping… and murder.
From the first episode, we see that Sato Matsuzaka is not precisely an example of good mental health. She is a literal Yandere (Yuno Gasai, Kotonoha Katsura and Mana Ouma for further references), but all what she wants is to live her «happy sugar life» with the person that she loves the most, while she understands what love really is, or tries to.
The problem is that everyone wishes lusts for her, because of her looks or . And I am not using the term «lust» so loosely. I mean… We want her to satisfy their deepest carnal desires, inspired by their own… «unique and precious» definition of «love» (which apparently includes sexual misconduct). And this is what makes the horror of Happy Sugar Life so effective, in two ways. The first one is that every character is twisted in his or her own way, making you feel pretty unease when you discover their true colours, and what «love» really is for them, to the point that you just want to run anyway from them. Interestingly enough, this «twisted» way of love is what make the supporting cast so interesting, Aside from Sato and Shio, the cast includes Taiyo Mitsuboshi, a handsome young man with some «preferences», Shoko Hida, Sato’s best friend, Asahi, Shio’s older brother, sensei Daichi Kitaumekawa, Sumire Miyazaki, a girl interested in Sato, and finally, Sato’s aunt.
The second way is that Happy Sugar Life deals with real-life problems (Domestic violence, kidnapping, bullying, rape, sexual misconduct, stalking, etc.). Needless to say that we have been seeing in the news cases of people like this, especially in Japan. Combine the characters and the constant plot trying to meet their «love», and the fact that you can meet people like any of these characters in real life, and you will immediately feel the same constant uneasiness that you feel when you see movies like Get Out, It follows or A Quiet Place.
Forgive me if I am not going into much detail of some of this «love» that inspires the cast, but I really do not want to spoil this experience from you, especially if you are familiar with Yuno Gasai, Kaede Fuyou, and Kotonoha Katsura. All I can say is that imagine what will happen if a Yandere lives in a terrible world, trying to beat people who is as awfuly as the Yandere herself.
Regarding the animation, I cannot say it is the best animation, but it’s pretty decent. the studio behind Happy Sugar Life is called Ezo’la. One curious detail is that, so far, Happy Sugar Life is the only production done by this studio, which would explained why none of this animation style is familiar for you. Nonetheless, I praise Ezo’la in animation in showing a balance between the happy moments and the disturbing ones. I almost forgot to mention, there is some comedy in Happy Sugar Life, with some funny faces of the characters, despite this, the tone and the pacing of the episodes is never affected, retaining its consistency until the end.
Happy Sugar Life consists in 12 episodes, which aired from July 14 to September 29, 2018. The opening «One Room Sugar Life» is performed by Akari Nanawo, known for voicing Mash Kyrielight from the mobile game Fate/Grand Order; I just want to mention this opening, because, when you watch it, you will immediately think about Puella Magi Madoka Magica, possibly evoking the darker tone of Happy Sugar Life; in addition, the ending, called «Sweet Hurt, is performed by Reona, knowing for being the singing voice of Elsa Kanzaki, in Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online.
Definitely I will recommend it for those who love horror anime, or just want to see something new from a romantic comedy, especially a yuri-themed one.
But I want to share the following morale from Happy Sugar Life with you.
«Falling in Love Makes People Crazy»
STORY – 7.5/10
CHARACTERS – 6.5/10
ANIMATION – 7/10
MUSIC – 6.5/10
Jainituos Presents 