Content Warning: Happy Crappy Life is a manga that contains mature, explicit content and imagery. There are also references to sexual assault. None of which will be discussed in this post.
If there’s one thing I think is a requirement in a true love story, it’s authenticity. I can’t stand a character who’s changing themselves to fit into the lives of another. Don’t get me wrong- becoming a better person can be a good thing. But loving someone for exactly who they are? Especially when they aren’t society’s definition of ‘good enough’? That’s devotion.
Which leads me to Kuzuya Yoshiyuki and Kasuya Kyotaro, the stars of Harada’s Happy Crappy Life.
Kasuya and Kuzuya are complete and utter imbeciles- and I say this with love. Kasuya’s hell-bent on keeping up appearances, whereas Kuzuya appears to be a disappointment to himself and others. Despite this, once they enter each other’s orbit, they quickly discover that despite being total strangers, they have a bond they already share- a mutual love of anal sex. Only problem is they both wanna bottom.
I’ve read volumes 1-4 (waiting SO impatiently for volume 5 to release) so I’m caught up on the shenanigans of these boys, and let me tell you, the anticipation is not will they hook up- it’s “WHEN WILL THESE IDIOTS REALIZE THEY’RE IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER?”
Harada has this talent when it comes to her art, where she’s able to keep both story and visuals light and comedic while the story rolls along (yes, even during sex scenes), but create these panels when the intimacy tips deeper than the physical. The result is such a vivid experience of what’s being exchanged between characters on the page. This makes it IMPOSSIBLE to not recognize when an emotional exchange is happening between Kasuya and Kuzuya (even if their dicks are out).
It’s refreshing to read both of these characters that are so distinctly written, and interact with the world around them, as well as the rest of the cast, in ways that are true to themselves through and through. I’m also enamored with the explicit griping they each manage to do to each other, about each other without trying to change the other. Not to mention the ways they manage to indulge each other’s wildest fantasies- though it’s usually a learning experience for the both of them (not that they retain much, bwahaha.)
I’m a sucker for a slowburn, and it feels like Harada gives the term a whole new meaning with the comedic interruptions that end setups to golden opportunities for our boys to address what they may be feeling. Rather than convey it through dialogue, Harada uses her art to show readers the feelings that Kasuya and Kuzuya themselves are struggling to realize. Truly a talent. One that’s left me gnawing on my copies.
At the end of the day, what makes these two work isn’t that they’re miraculously becoming better people by being in each other’s orbit (arguably they’re both becoming objectively worse). It’s that- for what seems like the first time in both their lives- they’re seeing themselves reflected in another person, and they aren’t being shamed for it.
While this is the first series by Harada I’ve gotten my hands on, I can truly say that it’s one for the history books. All the characters are memorable, the pacing is IMMACULATE, and the ease of immersion has convinced me I could start a cult in regards to this story. I’ve laughed so hard I’ve cried, I’ve cried so hard I’ve laughed, and I don’t want this one to end.
Here’s to looking forward to volume 5!
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