Three Days of Happiness
at a mere 10k yen a day…a manga? Or a philosophy unto itself?
Have you ever had one of those awful days recently…one of those fleeting days when you are painfully aware of the place you are at but can do nothing to move forward? When you know know you have a literal ton of drudgery to go through but no idea as to why…
So i was lounging around on such a day when i came across the line “i sold my life for 10,000 yen” somewhere on the net. I must confess this one line had me hooked from the get go, and on a bit of exploring i came across this novel by Sugaru Miaki titled “Three Days of Happiness”. A bit more more trawling and I was busy reading the first chapter of this manga adaptation i found for the same. And to be honest i have never read something more fitting to the exact mood of the situation.
The premise seemed simple. You get to sell either your lifespan, time or health for a certain sum of money. Three inestimable entities which can have no possible value affixed to them being traded for a quantitative sum? Sure, why ever not. After all, we live in society where we consciously want to evaluate everything we see by numbers. And the judging parameters this transaction hinges on also seem believable. Your ‘achievements’, ‘impact on other humans and society’ and ‘future prospects’…to be honest, this sounds a like a pretty good model for a startup…
But i wont bore you with the specifics. All in all, our protagonist ends up selling up his lifespan save for 3 months…I bet you didn’t see this one coming did you…who reads the title after all….but not to digress, the majority of the plot centers around these last 3 months. His dreams, his idiosyncrasies and his justifications for the step taken.
You basically spend 16 chapters reading about life from the perspective of a person who does not have anything to live for anymore. A person who is eking out an existence just for the sake of it. And the best part? This whole viewpoint seems oddly realistic. No, rather, it is too damn realistic. The words hit home like a truck. The sinking realization that not everything in the world has a silver lining jarred me like nothing else had in a long long time.
But but but, despite this seemingly dark and depressing tone, and trust me, it gets really dark, you cant help but notice the small glimmers of light when you read between the lines. I don’t know if the author intended for this or not, but the entire work seemed to be challenging me to re-evaluate it. To go back and reread what i just went over. Each new chapter seems to be offering contradictory reasoning even though they form a perfectly linear storyline on the face of it.
By the end of the story, you will have formed a definite opinion on the entire situation. You will either love it, or you will hate it. No in between, no vague opinions. Regardless, you will be left with a bittersweet taste which will linger for a good few days. That light which was peeping through will finally burst out in the open. And here the comes the final chapter. A chapter which has no connections to the story presented. Going through the first few panels, it gives of the vibes of a separate one-shot set in the same universe. And then it goes on to pour buckets and buckets of ice cold water on the entire emotional rollercoaster you have been through.
Going back to what i said previously, if you ‘loved’ the whole thing, the last chapter will go on to cast you into utter confusion. All your reasoning will fall apart as you seek to look for clarification. And if you ‘hated’ it, again, you will have to rethink everything you felt and though for yourself as you worked your way to the end.
To put it simply, the art isn't the best. The characters are definitely flawed, which adds to their charm, but they are not memorable. They wont stand out. In fact, they are as normal, as un-unique as manga protagonists go. But the story will force you to sit back and think. After all the manga deals with topics no human can say they don't relate to. But that’s the thing. That such a bland everyday tone can lead to such an off beat topic, and the story that follows is extraordinarily charming.
This work does such a bloody wonderful job of putting across that happiness is relative. Different people are free to interpret their circumstances and have their feelings about it. Using a common benchmark to judge people’s lives is as simply futile. Though to be honest, this seems to be a pretty logical reasoning which doesn’t need a manga to explain it. But just take a look at todays society…actually, no need to become a philosopher, just take a tour around twitter and you will see what I am trying to drive home at. The very way we interact with each other is flawed. I painfully realize that human interaction is by no means a small feat, but that doesn’t mean we cant take a step back and actually look at where we are going wrong.
If this manga makes you consider the world at large even for a second, id say its been very successful of a manga. That being said, this is after all a form of entertainment, not a critical analysis on humanity by Nietzsche. Just give it a try, and you may come away pleasantly surprised…or saddened…that doesn’t really matter. Just trust me and go and give it a try.
Until next time then…..Adieu
