Happy Sugar Life Vol. 9 Review – A Nightmare You Can’t Look Away From

The mental rollercoaster of Happy Sugar Life is coming to a head, and my racing heart at the end of Happy Sugar Life Vol. 9 proves that I’m not prepared for what’s about to happen. The series takes love to an entirely new level of toxicity, and readers are forced to endure as several characters meet. With the way the series has gone so far, no one is safe, and the pacing of Happy Sugar Life Vol. 9 brilliantly keeps you on edge.

Happy Sugar Life Vol. 9 opens with Taiyou, who just can’t catch a break. He desires the pure nature of Shio but only finds himself entangled in a wave of lies and even more pain. The sadness in his words transcend the panels themselves, and I winced at his fate. Sadly, it doesn’t get much better for everyone else as Satou and Shio prepare to leave and cover-up Satou and her aunt’s crimes. Asahi also appears and finally confronts what he’s believed to be true this entire time, but it only makes the final volume that much more of a mystery.

The panels move fast here. Nothing is wasted on unnecessary dialogue, and the broken way of communication between Satou and her aunt is at an all-time high. You visually see Satou’s aunt fall further into the dark, which conflicted with my hatred for her as I sympathized with her during a particular scene. This volume will have your emotions in fifth gear as it feels like we’re racing against an invisible clock. The meeting that we wanted to happen doesn’t go as we’d hope, and the fate of these characters isn’t clear at this point.

I’ll be honest; Happy Sugar Life Vol. 9 is scary. It depicts the aftermath of some scenes, and the emotion these characters show towards them is psychotic. You want something to snap for them as you hope that they will act rationally, but they’re all blinded by their desire, and it’s painful to watch. However, I really loved the quick transitions of yandere Satou and romantic Satou in this entry because she’s forced to switch almost instantly in many scenes.

The illustrations from Tomiyaki Kagisora only heighten these nightmarish scenes. The soulless eyes of the characters are still burning in my memory, and I reluctantly read through the volume twice because I couldn’t help but want to experience the illustrations again, even if they were sad.

Like the rest of the series, Happy Sugar Life Vol. 9 isn’t for everyone. Its depiction of love is horrific, and this volume puts several characters fact-to-face for the first time. The state the final volume is left off at is a complete mystery because I’ve learned not to trust my instincts with this series. I can only say that I am scared of what will happen, but I can’t seem to look away.