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W dzieciństwie Kusunoki i Himeno marzyli o sławie i pieniądzach – nie mieli wątpliwości, że czeka na nich świetlana przyszłość. Obiecali sobie wtedy, że jeśli za dziesięć lat żadne z nich nie znajdzie drugiej połówki, wezmą ze sobą ślub. Lata mijały, ich drogi rozeszły się, a dwudziestoletni Kusunoki nie mógł bardziej oddalić się od realizacji ambitnych planów z dzieciństwa. Pozbawiony perspektyw, pieniędzy i chęci do działania, postanawia sprzedać część swoich rzeczy, aby móc przeżyć kolejne dni. W antykwariacie napotyka na starszego mężczyznę, który widząc jego trudne położenie, opowiada mu o pewnym sklepie, w którym można sprzedać długość swojego życia, czas lub zdrowie. Mimo początkowego sceptycyzmu, wiedziony ciekawością Kusunoki udaje się we wskazane miejsce i dokonuje niezwykłej transakcji...

200 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2017

44 people are currently reading
1087 people want to read

About the author

Shouichi Taguchi

31 books8 followers
TAGUCHI Shōichi
Name (in native language): 田口囁一

Zodiac: Libra

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5 stars
810 (36%)
4 stars
876 (38%)
3 stars
448 (19%)
2 stars
93 (4%)
1 star
20 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
Profile Image for Elysian.
232 reviews71 followers
March 20, 2021
5 stars. (I read all volumes of the story instead of only the first.)

I really loved this one. I really I have not read anything that made me think about the value of life so much than this one.

Synopsis

A twenty- year old man with little hope for the future discovers a shop that buys lifespan, time and health. This is a story dealing with the ensuring consequences.

Characters

I liked the MC. He was reasonable in his own ways and I cheered for him through the whole story. I could relate and connect with him and that made it really interesting to follow his journey of life, searching for hope.

Pretty early in the story he gets introduced to a girl, a so called "Watcher".

World

I think the world building in this manga was so good. It was not explained how the shop suddenly came from, but the system behind that made a lot of sense and has a lot of potential to dive deeper into it.
Profile Image for Sarah ♡ (let’s interact!).
717 reviews321 followers
January 3, 2024
This is one of those times where I wish I could read Japanese because the plotline is so deep and intriguing, but this English translation I’m reading on mangareader.to is not the best 😭 idk if it’s because it’s an Italian translation of the original Japanese text translated back into English?

tw:// thoughts of suicide, talk of death, intrusive thoughts
Profile Image for Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎.
1,267 reviews187 followers
January 1, 2022
Unputdownable. Remarkable. Just simply amazing.

Wow, Shounen Manga never ceases to amaze me. I mean, what a crazy plot! I love how full of gloom and misery this series is. I just really like dwelling on painful things. I'm totally going for volume two next. I can't wait to see how this series ends. But I'm still hoping that these two lonely souls find happiness in the end. I like it so much! And the art is sooo good too, they really spark loneliness and helplessness in that unruly black hair, restless and expressionless eyes.

And dang, I was stunned. I always think about what the future holds for me... but not that I care. I just always shrug it off, but, I think I'm more afraid now. This series make you really feel things. And all the "buts" and "ifs"!!
Profile Image for Katherine.
512 reviews3 followers
November 21, 2022
3.5

La idea está interesante, diferentes planteamientos dan un poco de espacio a la reflexión.
La atmósfera que genera, el mensaje, la perspectiva del valor, la crudeza de la realidad, entre otros son elementos que destaco.

Pero por otro lado, el protagonista no me ha gustado del todo, sus características no me terminaron de convencer y varias veces me sacó de la lectura.

Este es mi primer acercamiento a la historia, no he leído la novela.
Profile Image for MaguiWorld.
1,132 reviews68 followers
August 2, 2021
Una historia bastante particular. Y a la vez original. No había leído algo así más allá de un libro de fantasía (el cual no me gustó y solo leí uno, Everless o algo así se llamaba).

Creo que es interesante lo que nos presenta el libro. Esto se vender tu tiempo, tu salud o tu vida. Creo que a fin de cuentas es algo similar no?

Sin embargo, nos encontramos con un personaje sin aspiraciones, sin sueños, sin nada por delante que decide vender una de esas tres debido a que no tiene dinero. Y comenzamos a conocer la vida, tanto el presente como el pasado de este joven y su observadora.

Veremos cómo sigue.
Profile Image for Donatella Principi.
244 reviews517 followers
July 24, 2019
Recensione su Chibiistheway
Una storia molto forte che parla di vita e di morte. Mi ha ferita vedere un ragazzo così giovane in una condizione di disperazione totale ma ho trovato molto interessante il suo percorso di crescita e realizzazione. Anche se vengono trattati temi molto cupi la lettura non risulta affatto pesante, è anzi molto piacevole e scorrevole. Caldamente consigliato
Profile Image for Maram.
166 reviews64 followers
October 9, 2021
Who allowed the author to publish such a long title??! 😭

I flew through this, interesting premise.
Profile Image for daph pink ♡ .
1,301 reviews3,283 followers
February 1, 2022
A fascinating notion that is nicely realised in the first volume. I have an idea where this narrative is headed, but you can never trust JP lit. Japanese authors write most brilliant characters who are sophisticated(in a way I like) and cut off from the rest of the world.

So, let's see where this story goes from here.
Profile Image for blank.
196 reviews
May 24, 2019
(for whole manga)

Has a slow plotline, puts an emphasis on thoughts and such, is prettily drawn, etc. etc.

It's the good stuff.
Profile Image for Giulia (la.perfa_).
277 reviews198 followers
July 1, 2020
Disegni minimali e davvero semplici. La storia però è emozionante e tratta temi quali il valore della propria vita, la felicità e la morte. Ho quasi pianto.
Profile Image for sophia.
31 reviews35 followers
September 24, 2022
if murakami’s novel was turned into manga, it would definitely look like this
Profile Image for Leila ✨.
1,781 reviews483 followers
July 3, 2022
Chicos me están jodiendo jsjsjs para ser un manga que te tiene que hacer sentir y reemplantearte qué es lo que nos da felicidad en la vida, este manga no me pudo haber hecho sentir menos. Una decepción.

¿Y a la persona que lo comparó con 나 혼자만 레벨업 1 y hasta tuvo el descaro de insinuar que esta historia era mejor? Pena de muerte.

2 de 5 estrellas.
Profile Image for Luana.
1,674 reviews59 followers
March 1, 2020
4,5

"Come può una persona che non riuscirà a combinare nulla in trent'anni...cambiare qualcosa in soli tre mesi?"

Solo, senza un soldo, senza amici e senza alcuna prospettiva concreta per il futuro, Kusunoki si decide a vendere libri e CD per poter guadagnare qualcosa e sopravvivere. Perché in fondo è quello che il ragazzo sta facendo da anni: sopravvivere, nella vana speranza che le cose si aggiustino e tutto vada per il meglio. Ma lui concretamente non fa nulla per cambiare la situazione, aggrappato ad una promessa fatta dieci anni prima, incapace di stringere un qualsivoglia rapporto di affetto con un'altra persona e di liberarsi della sua apatia.
Comunque, i gestori dei due negozi in cui si reca gli parlano di uno strano posto dove è possibile vendere tre cose e guadagnarci dei soldi: la propria vita, il proprio tempo e la propria salute. Quasi per ridere, Kusunoki decide di andarci e scopre che non solo è tutto vero, ma trova pure la risposta alla fantomatica domanda "quanto vale la vita di un uomo?". Beh, la sua vale davvero una miseria, visto che non ha mai combinato nulla, non ha mai dato un contributo alla società, e il maiunagioia è il suo mantra. Visto che gli restano da vivere trent'anni e tre mesi, il ragazzo decide di vendere tutto tranne gli ultimi tre mesi.
Da quel momento, gli viene affiancata Miyagi, la sua sorvegliate, il cui incarico è quello di stargli vicino e verificare che lui non crei alcun problema. Il rapporto tra i due è decisamente interessante, destinato ad evolversi capitolo dopo capitolo: dopo il fastidio iniziale, i due sembrano trovare una certa intesa, tanto che la ragazza gli racconterà come si è ritrovata a fare quel lavoro particolare (a differenza di Kusunoki, Miyagi ha venduto il suo tempo per saldare il debito lasciato dalla madre, anche lei sorvegliante). E così, Kusunoki scopre quale sarebbe stato il suo destino se non avesse venduto i suoi trent'anni di vita (spoiler, una schifezza) e si lancia alla disperata ricerca di qualcosa che possa dare un senso ai prossimi tre mesi. Diciamo che i primi tentativi non vanno proprio a buon fine...

Questo primo volume mi è piaciuto molto, non fosse altro perché ti fa riflettere: se andassimo noi in un posto del genere a vendere la nostra vita, quale sarebbe la valutazione? Sarebbe una vita degna di essere vissuta o meno?
Profile Image for Hans Christian.
191 reviews45 followers
January 19, 2019
I read the novel five years ago. I liked it so much that I made the Goodreads page for it - I was the first person to rate with a gap of more than a year. I didn't expect much from what's essentially a 2chan story but there it was - insightful and, somehow, philosophical. College freshman Hans swallowed that right up.

Five years later, reading it at 5am as a working man, it's as good as ever - maybe even better now. I feel like this is the kind of story that changes as the reader does.
Profile Image for Booksofswarley.
154 reviews1 follower
November 15, 2022
Très bon début de manga ! Le concept est original. Ce n'est pas une lecture très gaie mais elle a le mérite de faire réfléchir le lecteur sur le sens de la vie et sur la façon d'on il nous est possible d'utiliser le temps dont nous disposons.
Profile Image for Neil.
168 reviews6 followers
January 8, 2024
ooh wow! This was really great! Quite a lot deeper than I expected, and might result in some awkward introspection. Very nice and comfy mostly tho!
Profile Image for Somnium.
130 reviews5 followers
January 18, 2024
Koliko zaista vredi naš život?

Da li ovoj mangi fali nešto? Pa fali više toga, ali za početak:
- kako je uopšte moguća trampa koja se u njoj pominje?
- malo razrađeniji likovi
- malo više saznanja o prošlosti glavnog lika, njegovoj porodici, njegovim odnosima sa drugim ljudima
itd.

Da li mi je sve ovo na kraju bitno? Pa nije, jer mi je ideja, koliko god užasavajuća, zapravo fenomenalna i emocija koju budi takođe. I to mi je dovoljno da mi nedostaci ne budu toliko bitni. Ovde je emocija pobedila.

Prvi tankobon je šamar otrežnjenja, kako za glavnog lika Kusunokia, tako i za svakog od nas. Koliko zapravo vredi naš život?! Da li smo u nekom tripu da vredi više od nečijeg drugog? Koliko i zašto? Koju jedinicu mere bismo upotrebili za šta? Mnogo je pitanja. Sve ovo muči i samog Kusunokia, ali mu Miyagi ne odgovara na ovo pitanje detaljno, jer nije sigurna ni ona. Nema uvid u veliku mašineriju iza iako je trenutno deo nje. No, čoveku koji je sateran u ćošak (nije nam otkriveno skroz kako i zašto) i koji je "one of people left on the shelf" takvi detalji i ne pomažu mnogo. Kusunoki prodaje gotovo sve što ima u stanu ne bi li imao da jede i preživi. Kako knjige i CD-ovi ne mogu da se jedu, a i ne vrede mnogo, Kusunoki pristaje da proda preostalih 30 godina svog života. Ostaju mu 3 meseca. I konačno počinje njegov život.





Evaluacija njegovog života traje svega tri sata. Koliko je depresivno saznanje da se kroz 20 godina nečijeg života može proći kroz tri sata i sve izvrednovati! Pa i procenitelji nekretnina ostanu duže da nalepe cenu na kuću i nameštaj u njoj. Misao od koje se čovek strese i zamisli. A u školi su nas učili kako je svačiji život neprocenjiv! Toga se prvo setio i Kusunoki.



Kusunoki pravi "to do" listu. Vrlo kratku. No, nije problem u njenoj kratkoći, već u njenoj površnosti i bezličnosti. Prazan čovek = isprazna lista, tako nekako.



Momenti u kojima mu ona kaže "let's compare answers" su mi svaki put odlični, jer pokušava da ga suoči sa stvarnošću i da mu zaista pomogne da preostali svoj život utroši kvalitetno radeći ono što mu stvarno prija i što stvarno želi, a ne po nekoj inerciji, besmisleno trošeći to malo dragocenih dana.





Malo pripit Kusunoki kaže Miyagi da će za preostala tri meseca ipak nešto da promeni. No, Miyagi će ga i ovde klepiti teškom istinom da ne očekuje nikakvu promenu, jer je imao toliko vremena za istu, a nije uradio apsolutno ništa, pa zašto bi se išta sad promenilo.





Neverovatna je navika i zabluda čovekova da uvek i za sve ima vremena. Jednog dana ću uraditi ovo, jednog ono... I što više vremena ima, čini se da zapravo sve manje dela.

Miyagi - You begin to consider going to your last resort, but... "Even so maybe something good will still happen." Unable to let go that sliver of hope, you can't take the final plunge. This false hope carries you to fifty, until ultimately, you die alone, in shambles and with nothing. Loved by no one, remembered by no one. To your last, grieving that it should not have been this way.

Kusunoki spoznaje gorku istinu, ali se i dalje nada da će se sve nekako samo od sebe popraviti, srediti, bez njegovog aktivnog učešća. I tako je verovatno bilo celog života - As close as I was to death, the world wouldn't suddenly get nicer. That should have been clear, but it seemed I was still hoping deep down.

Još jedna neverovatna zabluda čovekova, a često i prokletstvo - nada. Čekanje i nada. Uh, ovo me podsetilo malo i na Čekajući Godoa. Besmislen i tužan je onaj život koji prođe u čekanju.
Profile Image for Alicia.
148 reviews
August 21, 2024
Me ha gustado mucho este libro. Da para pensar muchas cosas. Porque y si vendieras tu tiempo de vida? Cuanto te darían a cambio? También podrías vender salud o tiempo. Todo esto se basa en que tanto puedes a portar al mundo a las personas y que tan feliz seas tú.
Cuando vendes tiempo de vida te ponen un vigilante para que no produzcas ningún altercado(mucha gente se ve acorralada cuando le queda poco tiempo de vida). Y así es como comienza esta historia de Kusunoki y Miyagi. Ella como vigilante el como vendedor de tiempo de su vida quedándole solo 3 meses y 3 días...
El final me hizo soltar alguna lágrima. Pero termina acorde a como debería. Me gustó mucho en definitiva ❤️‍🩹
Profile Image for recenzjebook Nikosia.
190 reviews
Read
December 28, 2023
Po pierwsze: Kto wymyślił taki długi tytuł ja się pytam? 😳
Po drugie: Nie polecam osobom, które zaczynają z mangami! Sama historia jest bardzo ciekawa, ale też bardzo smutna i melancholijna, powolna.
Będę kontynuować!
Profile Image for Papież  Avery.
60 reviews1 follower
January 29, 2024
Ja już wiem, że będę ryczeć. Bardzo depresyjne, ale też fajne!
Profile Image for Pancake..
48 reviews
March 13, 2025
This was definitely NOT for me, but there were few moments I really liked. It's one of those work which will be more enjoyable in a form of movie rather than manga I believe.
Profile Image for Jon Ureña.
Author 3 books123 followers
February 6, 2019
It's a short series, so I'm reviewing the whole thing.

The title translates to "I sold my life for ten thousand yen per year". If you take "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and change erasing people's memories for selling their lifespan, their time or their health, you'll get the general vibe of this story. The protagonist is a twenty year old who has always felt alienated, who finds himself starting his adult life broke and knowing already that he'll amount to nothing. The only significant memory that he holds on to is a promise that he made to the girl he was in love with when he was ten: if they found themselves at twenty, they'd marry each other. The protagonist used to be passionate about drawing, but he abandoned it along the way, and his life hasn't turned at all how he expected it to. Also, it's been years since he last saw that girl he loved.

When the protagonist learns about the shady business involved in the concept, he finds out that they'll pay the minimum amount: 10,000 yens per year for the remaining thirty years and three months of his meaningless life. Having nothing to look forward to, he sells everything but those three months. That's when the other part of the deal comes in: he'll constantly be accompanied by an observer, an apparently normal girl around his age that can only be seen by the person who sold part of his life (this story doesn't attempt to make it sound scientific, like "Eternal Sunshine" did). Knowing that he only has three months left to live forces him to look at society, his past relationships, his former dreams, his desires, etc., in a whole new way.

This is not the kind of series you can read in public. However, its haunting effect was dampened by the simple drawings (except for whatever standard technique most mangakas use to show buildings and some existing objects in a photorealistic way) and by a lack of subtlety at times. Still, I'm happy I got to read it and ruin my mood.
Profile Image for Irene ➰.
972 reviews89 followers
August 3, 2023
4/5

This will definitely be an interesting and especially reflective journey.
Probably not a read for everyone. This first volume is a sort of intro of this whole thing even if there's already a dark atmosphere around both our characters.

Honestly before continuing I will read other things in between, just to light it up a little.
Let's say that death is not the lightest topic to read about, even in manga form.
Profile Image for Romane.
316 reviews9 followers
April 1, 2020
Alternative Title: "I sold my life for ten thousand yen per year."

Wholesome manga.

The story gives off some sad narrative at the beginning, but it still achieved happy ending in its own way.

Profile Image for Ondra Král.
1,451 reviews122 followers
July 10, 2022
Náhodou jsem o této manze viděl YT video a zaujala mě premisa. Navíc by se můj život dal v některých aspektech přirovnat k hlavní postavě. Na základě nadšení od youtubera jsem čekal emoční jízdu a nějaké přehodnocování vlastních hodnot, dostal jsem akorát nudu okořeněnou klišé "kamarádka z dětství - jediná pravá láska". Má to jen 16 kapitol, takže to asi dočtu, ale zatím not impressed.
Profile Image for ele.
190 reviews
July 15, 2020
I’ve read all 3 volumes but I’m only rating one for simplicity.

I don’t think a story has made me openly sob like this in a long, long time. I can’t tell if this worsened or relieved my depression. But my heart hurts all the same.
Profile Image for Acetorfina .
145 reviews9 followers
March 24, 2022
Bardzo przyjemna historia. Można z niej dużo wynieść, czy to przemyśleń na temat wartości ludzkiego życia czy samotności. Końcowka pozytywnie mnie zaskoczyła, także nie mogę się doczekać następnego tomu. Kreska świetna, tak samo jak okładka. Polecam!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews

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