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You Can't Live All on Your Own! (ひとりで生きるはままならぬ) #3
You Can't Live All on Your Own!, Volume 3
Shuuko, Eika, Misaki, and Shio are roommates and friends making their way in the busy world of Tokyo, Japan!
Though they share an apartment and a friendship, each faces her own unique problems. Shuuko is feeling the pressure of those around her getting married and has no idea whether she'll truly be happy on her own for the rest of her life. Eika, a hardworking career woman, wants to prove herself to the judgmental men in her office. Romantic and idealistic Misaki is spurred into action when it turns out her "boyfriend" of two years didn't know she thought they were dating. Nurturing and good-spirited Shio struggles to set a work–life balance while paying her many bills.
Join these four roommates as they navigate the biggest question of their late twenties: What does happiness really mean?
Though they share an apartment and a friendship, each faces her own unique problems. Shuuko is feeling the pressure of those around her getting married and has no idea whether she'll truly be happy on her own for the rest of her life. Eika, a hardworking career woman, wants to prove herself to the judgmental men in her office. Romantic and idealistic Misaki is spurred into action when it turns out her "boyfriend" of two years didn't know she thought they were dating. Nurturing and good-spirited Shio struggles to set a work–life balance while paying her many bills.
Join these four roommates as they navigate the biggest question of their late twenties: What does happiness really mean?
- GenresManga
178 pages, Paperback
First published August 15, 2023
32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 18, 2025
The manga series that wraps up well in three volumes is rarer than hen’s teeth it feels at times, so I was thrilled that this not only ended, but ended well. It never budged from its intentions and did a lot with its premise.
Growing old often means growing apart, but it did sort of look like we were going to pair off every woman in the household and that would be the end of them all living together. Mercifully, that is not exactly what happens.
No, this is actually a series about finding your own happiness and answers in the world. It has a lot more to say than I even suspected originally. It’s a quiet yet powerful examination of getting older and figuring things out. Or not, and having that still be okay.
I loved how these four ended up following very different dreams in very different directions and appreciate the way it tackles these sorts of options. So many romance manga beat the drum of having kids and let’s go, but this is not primarily a romance story.
Misaki has the most traditional story as described above, but the way it tackled her ex-boyfriend and its study of two people on very different pages was really well done. It isn’t like her outcome wasn’t what she wanted either.
Eika remains unsatisfied at work and ignorant of the clear signals her coworker is shooting her way, but, refreshingly, she ends up finding a true passion for herself and arguably sets the entire climax in motion.
It’s not explicitly stated and seems to get poo-poo’d in the brief epilogue, but there’s a real queer coding of Eika towards the end of this such that you could totally take her as being a lesbian the whole time. Her relationship with Misaki and where she ends up both hint at it.
The arc that I really loved, however, was Shuu’s story and her relationship with the guy she keeps eating dango with (not just because dango is one of my favourite Japanese foods). It’s an especially great take on an unconventional relationship.
It eschews sexual desire in terms of being with somebody who just makes you happy. There are all sorts of loves in the world and watching them come to desire one another’s company so much, yet be fully invested in the companionship, was such a refreshing change from the normal.
Shio is probably the weakest of the four, very content with nothing changing, but also buried under her work and her finances. Things nudge her in a new direction and at least illustrate that sometimes a change is as good as a rest.
In these four women we see very different approaches to adulthood and the quiet message that your way isn’t wrong if it works for you. That’s something a lot of people could stand to hear more often when they feel they’re not fitting into society’s usual holes.
It’s not perfect, of course, dropping a couple of its balls with not addressing Shio’s excessive spending habits and her editor who seemed to be into her, but it’s both fun and poignant the whole way, which I enjoyed.
4 stars - my ideal manga series tends to go for 8-10 volumes, I think, but this one really showed that my generalizations about three volume ones are, in fact, generalizations and not absolutes. An enjoyable slice of life.
Growing old often means growing apart, but it did sort of look like we were going to pair off every woman in the household and that would be the end of them all living together. Mercifully, that is not exactly what happens.
No, this is actually a series about finding your own happiness and answers in the world. It has a lot more to say than I even suspected originally. It’s a quiet yet powerful examination of getting older and figuring things out. Or not, and having that still be okay.
I loved how these four ended up following very different dreams in very different directions and appreciate the way it tackles these sorts of options. So many romance manga beat the drum of having kids and let’s go, but this is not primarily a romance story.
Misaki has the most traditional story as described above, but the way it tackled her ex-boyfriend and its study of two people on very different pages was really well done. It isn’t like her outcome wasn’t what she wanted either.
Eika remains unsatisfied at work and ignorant of the clear signals her coworker is shooting her way, but, refreshingly, she ends up finding a true passion for herself and arguably sets the entire climax in motion.
It’s not explicitly stated and seems to get poo-poo’d in the brief epilogue, but there’s a real queer coding of Eika towards the end of this such that you could totally take her as being a lesbian the whole time. Her relationship with Misaki and where she ends up both hint at it.
The arc that I really loved, however, was Shuu’s story and her relationship with the guy she keeps eating dango with (not just because dango is one of my favourite Japanese foods). It’s an especially great take on an unconventional relationship.
It eschews sexual desire in terms of being with somebody who just makes you happy. There are all sorts of loves in the world and watching them come to desire one another’s company so much, yet be fully invested in the companionship, was such a refreshing change from the normal.
Shio is probably the weakest of the four, very content with nothing changing, but also buried under her work and her finances. Things nudge her in a new direction and at least illustrate that sometimes a change is as good as a rest.
In these four women we see very different approaches to adulthood and the quiet message that your way isn’t wrong if it works for you. That’s something a lot of people could stand to hear more often when they feel they’re not fitting into society’s usual holes.
It’s not perfect, of course, dropping a couple of its balls with not addressing Shio’s excessive spending habits and her editor who seemed to be into her, but it’s both fun and poignant the whole way, which I enjoyed.
4 stars - my ideal manga series tends to go for 8-10 volumes, I think, but this one really showed that my generalizations about three volume ones are, in fact, generalizations and not absolutes. An enjoyable slice of life.
November 11, 2025
More of a 3.5 star rating;
I really love that all of the women got their happy endings and managed to stay friends despite their very different paths in life. However, I am a bit sad that this manga was first advertised as a story about independent women but is read morphed into women looking for love while still being independent.
It was still a lovely story to read though, and I wish each woman got an entire volume to themselves to show off their lives after everyone moved out.
I really love that all of the women got their happy endings and managed to stay friends despite their very different paths in life. However, I am a bit sad that this manga was first advertised as a story about independent women but is read morphed into women looking for love while still being independent.
It was still a lovely story to read though, and I wish each woman got an entire volume to themselves to show off their lives after everyone moved out.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews