Imagine this. You’re sitting at the back of the class, just right beside a window. Your teacher’s lecture is just passing above your head as your mind wanders outside. The warm ray of sunlight and the gentle breeze of the wind brushes your face. That’s a scene befitting of an anime, but it's also a scene that usually prompts the question like “How much does a human’s life cost?” It’s a question that is both shallow and heavy at the same time. It seems non-sensical, yet it also posits an answer. What if there really is a place that buys life spans? Not just illegal selling of organs or the like, but legitimate life spans?

Discussion Time

Three Days of Happiness answers that question. Well, it least has an acceptable answer. The story revolves around an elementary boy who thinks he’s a cut above the rest. But as he grows up, he realizes that he’s not special. In fact, he’s not even average. The only thing he’s holding on is a promise he has made with a classmate during elementary. That is if they still are leftovers after ten years, they will be with each other. Being a leftover is indeed what he’s reduced to. However, his worthless life is about to take a drastic turn after learning of a place that will buy years of your life.

1. Unique Plot

The real story starts when Kusunoki, the protagonist, sells thirty years of his life span for a mere ten thousand yen a year. What’s interesting is that the facility that buys lifespan weighs a person’s worth on how the people will live their lives. Miyagi, the person who has transacted and eventually becomes Kusnoki’s monitor, tells him that he is to live a worthless life, and his life is only priced at the lowest possible one. Kusunoki then bites the offer and sells his entire lifespan except for three months.

2. Unpredictable Ending

Kusunoki then roams around trying to figure out what he’s to do with the remaining time he has. He has created a bucket list. But as he ticks more of it, the more he realizes how worthless of a human being he is. Even halfway into the story, the ending still doesn’t make itself clear. There are a lot of ways the story could have ended, and it’s interesting to see it unveil. What’s more is that even though the ending is covered in fog, the story is too gripping to care about it.

3. Melancholic Read

Reading someone spends his last three months on this world isn’t something you should expect to be full of glee. At least, that’s not what you should expect when reading Three Days of Happiness. Kusunoki’s actions are interesting but somewhat inherently sad. Even though he does find good times here and there, just thinking that it’s his last spurt to live his life to the fullest is something that grabs your feet from being happy for him.

Final Thoughts

We don’t want to spoil much, but Three Days of Happiness is a masterpiece. The plot and the writing style are both top-notch and do the premise justice. It’s perfect for a goodnight read or a read while listening to the drops of rain hitting your window. Definitely, it’s a story that you should check out.

Writer

Author: Christian Markle

I am a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. I love watching anime, reading manga, and writing my own stories. Watch out in the future as you may see one of my works one day. Manga and anime were big parts of my childhood. I grew up watching Yu Yu Hakusho, Slam Dunk, One Piece, and Dragon Ball Z. Those were probably one of the happiest and most carefree days of my life. In fact, most of my values are probably molded by manga. No, that's not an exaggeration.

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