Love So Life
Love So Life, abbreviated as, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaede Kōchi. It was serialized in The Hana to Yume and Hana to Yume from 2008 to 2015. The story follows the daily life of high school student Shiharu Nakamura as she babysits the twin niece and nephew of local TV announcer Seiji Matsunaga. In April 2016, Kōchi launched a short sequel titled Life So Happy which follows the twins as they go into the fifth grade. A new special one-shot was published on April 26, 2023.
Premise
Shiharu Nakamura is a high school girl who works at a daycare where twins Aoi and Akane Matsunaga go. The twins are cared by their uncle, Seiji, because their father abandoned them after his wife suddenly died. When Seiji goes to pick up the twins from daycare one day, he notices that they are particularly attached to Shiharu compared to the other workers. Seiji hires Shiharu as their personal babysitter as he is very busy with work.Characters
;Shiharu Nakamura;Seiji Matsunaga
;Akane Matsunaga & Aoi Matsunaga
;Rio Yoshī
;Takeru Miyagawa
;Kōichi Matsunaga
;Misaki Matsunaga
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Kaede Kōchi, Love So Life began publishing in Hakusensha's The Hana to Yume magazine in 2008. The series transferred to Hana to Yume magazine in 2009, ending on July 18, 2015. Hakusensha collected the individual chapters into seventeen published under the Hana to Yume Comics imprint.A sequel, Life So Happy, began publishing in Hana to Yume on April 5, 2016, transferring to The Hana to Yume on January 25, 2018. The first three volumes were published under the Hana to Yume Comics imprint from December 20, 2016, to April 19, 2019. A fourth volume was published on June 20, 2023.
Drama CDs
Love So Life was adapted into two audio drama CDs. The first, produced by Marine Entertainment, was released in Japan on March 25, 2010. It starred Mamiko Noto as Shiharu, Daisuke Ono as Seiji, and Miyuki Sawashiro as Akane and Aoi. The second, produced by Hakusensha, was released in Japan on October 4, 2013, bundled with an issue of Hana to Yume magazine. The original voice cast reprised their roles.Light novel
A spin-off light novel written by Yue Mochizuki and illustrated by the creator of the original, Kaede Kōchi, was published by Hakusensha on May 20, 2015. The novel was titled Love So Life: Sakura no Hana no Saku Koro ni.Manga sales
Volumes of the series have ranked in listings of top selling manga in Japan:| Volume No. | Peak rank | Notes and refs |
| 4 | 23 | |
| 5 | 13 | |
| 6 | 6 | |
| 7 | 13 | |
| 8 | 15 | |
| 9 | 10 | |
| 11 | 12 | |
| 12 | 12 | |
| 13 | 18 | |
| 14 | 16 | |
| 15 | 16 | |
| 16 | 6 | |
| 17 | 15 |