Four women in their late 20s are roommates in Tokyo. Picture Sex and the City, but with less manhattans and less sex.
This review contains minor spoilers for You Can’t Live All on Your Own Vol. 1
Shuuko
Shuuko, the main character, is slightly lackluster; she isn’t passionate about her career, and doesn’t have much of a romantic life or a social life beyond her roommates. At 28 years old, she has never seriously dated anyone besides a college situationship, so she decides to join a dating app. Even though she has a cute arc in this volume, she isn’t interesting enough to me at this point.
Eika
Eika is very much a Miranda: workaholic to a fault and fiercely independent. She also has some Samantha elements in the way she carries herself, her values, and her drinking habits. She’s definitely my favorite out of the four girls. Even if watching her sacrifice her sanity to prove herself at work is so frustrating.
Misaki
Misaki is a musician and absolute hopeless romantic—clearly a Charlotte. Even though she’s very sweet, I’m not really drawn to the character archetype where romance is everything to them and they bend over backwards for mediocre and emotionally immature men. In her particular case, Misaki has been seeing another musician (Kida, or Kii-chan) for about two years. But while she was thinking they’d get married soon, he says they’re not even dating. While the other girls (correctly) deemed this unacceptable, Misaki has now made it her goal to act like “the perfect girlfriend” and make Kida want to marry her. I hope she realizes it’s not worth it, or her friends snap her out of it.
Shio
Shio is like a more innocent Carrie. She quit her office job a year ago to do freelance work from home and has a bit of an online shopping addiction. She is also very blunt and slightly aloof. Which creates a funny dynamic between her and the other girls (and a possible romantic interest). She’s the least explored of the four girls in this volume, but her personality has charmed me enough to want to watch her story unfold.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this is a sweet story. It’s about women supporting each other through their differences and the challenges they face in Japanese society. I think it needs a little more excitement. But I like what I have read so far enough to recommend it and to want to read more.
LoveLove released Volume 1 of You Can’t Live All on Your Own on July 8th, 2025.
