Specifically, it reads like less of an attempt to construct a good story, and more like a thinly-veiled warning to young girls, with Ayu only used as a puppet rather than a proper character. Which has a dark humor to it, considering how she is "used" not only by the men who buy her, but also the author, only to be discarded after she's served her purpose. And if the author himself treats his own main character like this, how am I supposed to see her as anything more?

Thus, all these bad things that happen to Ayu in such a short amount of time don't feel organic, but like the universe has it out for her. Literally every plot point is predictable, and the story loses any tension or interest because you know that anytime something good is given to Ayu, it will be yanked away from her eventually and leave her in deeper despair — which, in turn, makes the story melodramatic instead of somber.

And this is the main problem: the story lacks sympathy for Ayu. Sure, her life is plenty sad, but there is no attempt made to explain how she got to this point. She serves no purpose other than to be The Girl Whom Bad Things Happen To; who, despite feeling dirty, still sacrifices herself for everyone around her to the point of her own demise. She is not a realistic character, but a punching bag, a doll to be pointed at when saying "don't be like this".

That's not even getting into the saccharine moments, like the dog magically knowing where to find everyone, or the homeless man comparing Ayu to an angel (wow, so deep).

While the art was OK, the black text boxes were annoying, in that they only reiterated the obvious. As if the message isn't blatantly clear, the author feels that he must spell it out for the reader, as if they were some small child incapable of figuring it out on their own. Considering the mature themes of the manga, this comes across as belittling.

All in all, this manga was a disappointment. I expected a sad story that didn't pull punches, with a somber tone and depictions of real situations. Instead of that, I got a melodramatic mess that reads like it was plotted in an hour by someone who wanted to scare teenage girls away from prostitution.

... Last updated on January 11th, 2024, 7:19am

This manga is reality for lots of misguided kids who lost their way early on and had no one but manipulative adults that wanted to take advantage of their vulnerability. Terrible terrible reality. Child prostitution is possibly one of the worst things in every country... Pregnancy from rape is a tragedy. I wish we all lived in a better world.

I think the takeaway is to extend a hand to those who could use a little kindness in their lives; you never know the stories of the people you walk past every day.

... Last updated on May 21st, 2020, 8:53am

This is one of the worst I ever read. I really hate what the author was thinking and planning. Despite some characters are ok, I am against pregnancy from rape, so it’s the author’s fault. With that, this story is so dark and triggering. Never recommended.

... Last updated on April 8th, 2020, 10:38am

There is no happiness, there is no good ending. Only sadness. If you're looking for beautiful things, turn back now. This series is filled with negativity, more so than any other manga i've read up to date.

As one of those who like to immerse themselves in the world a manga draws before us, I'll never re-read this series again. The FEELS are too much.

I have to say that I usually don´t read tragedies. But this one is beautiflul. It has a strong plot. And the female lead is beautiful. Not in classical sense. She has her own problems. But compared with other female leads in other storys she has a goal and isn´t wishy washy. She cares for other people and tries her hardest. I really recomend this story.

It had a very lasting strong ending. I was hoping for it to have more depth as to the story though. Artistry was okay. Very fictional even in the details of the "customers".

Ok, the manga was good. Drawing and plot line are nice, and the story is interesting.

But I do think that it is a bit too much in certain aspects:

But the message is a good one, and I like the fact the the author says that there is probably an Ayu in everyone of us. I do agree, eveyone has self-destructive thoughts and actions, even if very little, and you have to learn to tame them to move forward. And I do agree that our generation is self-destructive, but I am sure that the previous ones were exactly the same, they just had different means to destruct themselves... Anyways, I guess no one wants to read my inner thoughts!

So to conclude: This is a good self-reflective manga, short enough that you don't get entangled in the story, but long enough to leave you with something to brood on. It is dark, very dark, so keep clear if you are already depressed!

... Last updated on February 22nd, 2014, 1:03pm

This manga isn't exactly for the fainthearted as there are quite a bit of mature content. Its also really, really sad and full of sad plot twists. As soon as you think "Finally, things are going to be alright now." You get proved wrong...

I read this one first
then Host
then Reina
And Pao

I think I found Reina the brightest story out of the lot. The others can get a bit too depressing and boringly so as there seem to be no highlights, so I suppose I may have enjoyed Reina's story the most, except that one was sad as well.

I dont think the reading order of them matters that much but it took me a while to realise that the stories after Host aren't exactly related. Like the events are similiar and so are the characters but the author has tweaked some bits, so things might not add up from one story to another. I prefer this artist as it was the first one I got used to and as I read Pao afterwards I just couldn't stop going "thats wrong" "she doesn't look like that" "the drawings have degraded" in my head. I didnt realise that the artists had changed although I did notice the art style had, so I thought Pao was written first when the authors art wasnt so good then. I just couldnt get used to the art style so I didnt enjoy the story as much. As for Host, that's probably the Sequal while Reina is like an Alternate Ending to the sequal from a different characters perspective or something? I'm not sure. Either way Great Sad Series that might not be appreciated by everyone but has earned my appreciation for the wonderful plot and characters.

This was a good manga.

To be honest, I read this thinking that I will definitely not cry... But on the last chapter I wasn't even thinking and the tears just fell out of nowhere. Honestly, I was a bit surprised that they did.. I wasn't even aware that I was sad enough to cry.

It wasn't about getting attached to the character. It was about how her character was easy to relate to and how money corrupts society. As someone previously mentioned, it is sad because these things... they seem too tragic sometimes, but it DOES happen. Everyday. We just all live in blissful ignorance. Not because we want to, but because it either has nothing to do with us and we all have our own lives to live.

Like I said, it was easy to relate to her character. Even though I didn't become a prostitute or go through all the serious shit she went through, there was definitely a time in my life that I was 'alive', yet I wasn't living. I didn't really give a second thought about avoiding a car if it ever went my way and killed me. I'm sure many people have dark times in their lives. Though it may not have been as tragic as this manga, there were definitely times in our lives that we could all relate to her feelings.



This manga is definitely recommended, but it absolutely not for the light-hearted.

... Last updated on May 4th, 2013, 11:52am

This manga is very very veeeerrrrrrryyyy sad. But I loved how it was kinda like a PSA. It just completely dripped of the tragedy genre. It was pretty gloomy of course but it wasnt way too over done.

Recommended read though! Just be prepared to be slightly depressed.

... Last updated on January 13th, 2013, 5:35pm