Life's too stale. So let's spice it up by letting someone random EVERYDAY that in twenty-four hours, they will die. While that seems incredible, that's only 365 people a year. Japan's population is around 128 million, so if death rates and birth rates are about the same, it'd take a shade over 350,000 years to kill everyone. Probably wouldn't happen.

Story: 7/10

Plot drives this manga, and I love it for this. Too many manga try to get by using cool, likable characters and a lame story concept or plot. The manga consists of three chapter segments that tell the story of a person's last day on Earth. The one consistency in all the chapters is a man working for the government agency that runs ikigami, and the things he learns by working there.

It is an excellent story concept. The thing I don't like is that the mangaka focuses too much on the person going to die. While this is fine, I want to see more of how the doomed person's family, friends, etc. take it. I also want to see how a typical person living in Japan deals with the idea that tomorrow could be their last. It's very buddhist, in that the people of Japan surely must live their lives to the fullest everyday.

Art: 6/10

Very realistic drawings. The art portrays a world that is very similar to ours. This is not some futuristic society. I believe the art is drawn to look like what a Japanese citizen would see in a typical day. Every person is not attractive with a good body, for instance. Nurses are not fifteen year old girls with D-cup breasts. They are tired old women who have seen people die everyday for thirty years. Mothers do not love their children. It is very realistic; disturbingly so, and it's nice to see a world like this.

Character: 5*/10

The main characters (the ones sentenced to death) are fascinating. Love them. My problem with them is, as stated before, I want to see how the doomed person's loved ones react to it all, as well as the mindset of the society as a whole in how they live their lives. Do they treat everyday as a blessing? What is the attitude of a passerby to someone sentenced to death? Is it pity? Relief? The mangaka could have done so much more here. Don't get me wrong-- I love what he did do, just regret that he didn't do as much as he could have.

Enjoyment: 10/10

Love it. I love reading this manga, as it turns a nightmare into reality, and shows you what goes through a person's mind when they are told they are going to die. The psychological aspect is fascinating.

Overall: 7/10

Ikigami is a good manga. It's not great, but it's not bad. It's a pleasant read if you're in the mood to think. This manga is seinen with hardly any romance, ecchi, or comedy, meaning most people won't even have this manga show up when they do an advanced search for a manga. What it does is rattle your brain for a good half hour, and have you thinking, "How would I spend the last day of my life?" If you're looking for a good psychological seinen manga, I would recommend Ikigami.

(This is my fourth review. If you liked it, I'm glad to have been of service. If you did not, and still read it all up to this point, did you really not like it? XD. In all seriousness, if you feel I could improve this review in any way, please do not hesitate to leave me a comment on my profile or a personal message. Thank you for reading.)