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NG Life

NG Life is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Mizuho Kusanagi. It was serialized in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume from December 2005 to March 2009. The individual chapters were then encapsulated and released in nine tankōbon volumes. The series was licensed for an English-language release in North America by Tokyopop between 2008 up to 2011 when Tokyopop's North American publishing company was closed down.

Plot
Keidai Saeki is a high school student with memories of his past life as Sirix Lucretius Fronto, a gladiator in Pompeii who lost his wife Serena in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. In the present, he is reunited with Loleus, Sirix's male best friend who reincarnated as a girl named Mii Serizawa, and with Serena, who has reincarnated as a male middle school student named Yuuma Ujoh. When Keidai falls into a coma, he is able to relive the last moments of Pompeii where his actions put Sirix's suffering to rest, allowing him to move on with his life and confess his love to Mii. Characters ; Keidai is a high school student with memories of his past life as , a Pompeiian gladiator. He is unaware of Mii's feelings toward him and his own feelings for her. As the series progresses, Keidai's feelings for Mii grow as he starts to distance himself from Sirix's memories. ; Yuuma is the reincarnation of Sirix's wife , a maiden who captured the hearts of men with her beauty and kindness. It is revealed that Serena was reborn as a boy because in her final moments, she felt that had she been a man, she could have been at Sirix's side in the final days of Pompeii, rather than be left behind waiting for him. She has a crush on Keidai but remains silent about it, fearing it would ruin their friendship. In her past life, Loleus helped Sirix meet Serena. Kusanagi reveals Mii's name comes from Serizawa Kamo. Like Keidai, he retains memories of his past life, and hates Keidai for abandoning Serena during the volcanic eruption. He has an aversion to hot weather because of his strong memories of that day. He began working as a student teacher at Keidai's high school after Yuuma's family moved to town. Shinogu despises males except for Yuuma, and is a womanizer. Shinogu holds a grudge against Souichi Mikage because in his past life as Delos, he betrayed Aglaia. Shuna is a kind-hearted young woman willing to help anyone in need. At the age of 10, Shuna meets Souichi Mikage, who also retains his memories of Pompeii, where he served as her bodyguard henceforth. Shuna initially hates Souichi due to his past betrayal, but her feelings for him grow over time and she falls in love with him. ; Reina is Shuna's younger sister who closely resembles Serena and dresses in gothic Lolita-style clothing. She grew up hearing stories of Pompeii and developed a crush on Souichi. After Reina has her confession rejected by Souichi, she runs away and happens upon Keidai and the others. After framing Aglaia for murder, Delos sought revenge against the House of Britius and murdered every member of the family. ==Publication and conception==
Publication and conception
NG Life, written and illustrated by Mizuho Kusanagi, had its first chapter published in The Hana to Yume on December 26, 2005. It was then serialized in Hana to Yume beginning with the second chapter on March 20, 2006, and ended its run on March 5, 2009. The first tankōbon volume was released by Hakusensha on November 19, 2006, and the ninth on June 19, 2009. During the planning of NG Life, Mizuho Kusanagi discussed with her editor about having a female lead protagonist allowing the readers to relate more to the protagonist. However, a male lead was settled for and the story was written in a romantic-panic comedy style. Kusanagi planned to end the series in its fourth volume, but wanted to add more to the story as it progressed resulting in more volumes. She also commented that even though she struggled with the plot, she enjoyed drawing the characters in the end. Volume list ==Reception==
Reception
The sixth volume of NG Life was ranked 25th on the Tohan charts between January 20 and 26, 2009. Erin Jones of Mania.com commented on the unoriginal plot and typical shōjo art but praised the characters' distinctive designs and the art sense used to convey a dramatic scenes. He concludes that the character relationships are the "selling point" of the series. GraphicNovelReporter.com's Courtney Kraft comments that the art style is adequate but criticizes the "kookyness" citing the drama at the end of volume one was necessary to balance it. Comics Worth Reading's Johanna Draper Carlson heavily panned the manga for its art and "two-dimensional characters that are predictable and uninteresting." ==References==
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