The CEO Is Mine

First, I must warn you that this review may contain spoilers. Don't say you weren't told.  

If I were to describe this manga in one word, it would be SAD. It is the saddest manga I have ever read, yet at the same time, it is also the most touching and heart-warming. I'm not someone who cries easily, but this manga brought tears to my eyes more than once. It is labeled as a Tragedy, and I truly agree with that. Being the tragic tale of a puppy named Pao, of course, it tells of the hardships that Pao has to face, but they don't feel forced or overly dramatic. Instead, they seem very real—things that could happen in real life—and they make you empathize with him, as well as the other characters who deserve sympathy.  

The story begins with two sisters finding a female dog with a "cut neck." They take her to a vet and then bring her home, promising to care for her until the end. Less than a year later, the dog gives birth to three puppies, the youngest being Pao. Unfortunately, the family suddenly goes bankrupt and has to leave, unable to look after the dogs anymore. The dogs are abandoned, and this is where the tragic story begins. Not long after, Pao has to separate from his siblings. He starts wandering the city, hoping to find some happiness. He encounters hardships and sadness on his journey, but he also manages to find happiness and small bits of hope. He doesn't always find a large bowl of food; instead, he finds families and kind people who care for him.  

Unfortunately, these small bits of hope don't last long. Sooner than expected, Pao is faced with more pain and sadness, encountering the harsh realities of life. Yes, that's how it is. Life isn't always sweet; sometimes it's bitter, and poor Pao has to learn that the hard way. Some people are kind, while others are bad and will hurt you even if you haven't done anything wrong—sometimes for money, sometimes out of revenge, or sometimes out of pure cruelty. Pao has to survive, but survival isn't always easy. In a world where money makes the rules, if you don't have money—or, in Pao's case, if you don't have a wealthy owner—life is tough. Not only for you, but also for your master, and the lack of money can turn even the kindest people cruel.  

The characters in this manga are simply amazing. They represent both the good and the bad people in society. Many of the good ones die, but they die bringing a little light of happiness to Pao, just as Pao did for them. They die, but they die with thoughts of happiness in their minds. Their hearts are filled with the joy of being able to bring happiness to others, and that's what makes them happy in their final moments. Pao, the main character, is a puppy trying to survive in this harsh world. He wants nothing more than a family and someone who loves him, yet he faces pain and suffering because of human cruelty. He seeks love, but instead finds sorrow. He meets his lost brother and sister and watches them die, even though they did nothing wrong. He meets his former masters, but they lose all hope in life and commit suicide.  

But despite all the suffering he has endured, Pao still manages to trust humans. He learns to distinguish them by their eyes and finds it in his heart to bring them happiness, to repay them for the hope they gave him.  

The other characters are there to bring the little hope and happiness Pao experiences. They give him new hope and teach him that not all humans are bad and that he shouldn't lose his hope. The bad and cruel people Pao encounters teach him the harshness of life, the cruelty of humans, and the power of money. But they make Pao stronger, and without knowing or intending to, they enable him to survive.  

The art, like the characters, is fantastic. It vividly portrays the feelings of the characters. Since Pao distinguishes humans by their eyes, the art focuses on them, making them expressive and reflecting their personalities and emotions.  

In the end, this manga is a real and touching story about life. It shows its cruelty, its harshness, its corruption. Life isn't perfect, and only the strong survive. Humans can be very cruel, and in their actions, it doesn't matter whether they hurt humans or animals.  

It also tells us that animals, like us humans, have hearts and can feel joy or sadness just like we do. This manga is a story that combines the tragic tales of both humans and animals. It's a heart-warming tale where tragedies and sufferings come together. It's a tragedy that brings tears to the eyes and sympathy to the heart.

This manga is genuinely heart-touching. If you're searching for a manga that can bring you to tears, this one should definitely be on your list :')  

At first, I thought this manga might just elicit a few teardrops since it's about a dog's life, but as I read it, the tears kept rolling down again and again.  

In this manga, you witness the various sides of people and how the world isn't perfect. Most of the characters are individuals who have been abandoned by others and are going through tough times. Even amidst all their hardships, they always manage to smile.  

Pao (the dog) is the main character, born into a family of kind people who had rescued his mother when she was mistreated and roamed the streets. Pao is the youngest of three puppies. He lived a happy life until the family that raised him and his siblings fell on hard times and had to leave. Unable to care for Pao, his siblings, and his mother, they left them at the house with some food, water, and a sign saying "Someone please take care of these puppies." That's when Pao's life becomes challenging...

I truly adore this manga. It had been such a long time since I last cried until I read this one, including its earlier sequels, which signify deep love like "AYU NO MONOGATARI," and so on. This manga has shown me all the dark and sorrowful aspects of the world. It reveals just how cruel people can be, but it also teaches that no matter how much pain you endure in life, you must keep moving forward. There is always a light somewhere out there for you. Pao experienced the worst pain anyone could possibly imagine, yet he still persevered. If I were in Pao's position, I would have ended my life right then and there, but he didn't. One of the most inspiring things I've ever encountered in my entire life. It's a MUST-READ manga for all of you.  

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Even if I experienced profound sadness, as long as there is trust, there is happiness.  

The manga portrays a harsh yet somewhat hopeful world. It follows the journey of a dog named Pao, who navigates a society that leaves much to be desired. In this world, natural selection prevails, allowing only the powerful to do as they please. Here, trust and companionship are paramount, and through Pao's perspective, we learn valuable and sometimes difficult lessons.  

The artwork and characters were exceptional. The art style perfectly complemented the manga, offering a delightful visual experience. While some characters lacked extensive development, their actions left a significant impact. The antagonists, true to their roles, were despicable, effectively intensifying the drama, while the protagonists were endearing and likable.  

The enjoyment derived from this manga surpassed my expectations. I truly cherished it for its unflinching portrayal of tragedy, which reached heart-wrenching heights.  

Overall, the manga was incredibly dramatic, yet the pacing never felt awkward. A realistic story is often more engaging as readers can relate to the challenges presented in this world.  

If given the choice, I would opt to trust someone rather than remain distrustful, as it allows me to feel at peace and genuinely happy.  

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A truly challenging story to get through, this one continues the equally heart-wrenching series of Deep Love with Ayu. It highlights the dark and cruel aspects of human nature while contrasting it with fleeting moments of happiness. I winced at every page and experienced nightmares about my dogs for weeks afterward, yet I don't regret reading it—it's that compelling.  
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I strongly recommend it, but be warned: this story will leave you shattered. <p>

Pao no Monogatari stands as a rather significant second part of the Deep Love manga series. There was a period when I intensely disliked Ayu no Monogatari (the first installment) for its excessive attempts to create tragedy out of every situation, where everything that could go wrong invariably did so under Yoshi's direction. I once believed that Yoshi's characters had endured their fair share of suffering, tears, and afflictions, and that the subsequent manga in the series would usher in a heartwarming and hopeful narrative of healing and reconciliation. Pao no Monogatari surprised me in several ways: it made me somewhat appreciate Ayu no Monogatari, and it established clear expectations regarding Yoshi's writing skills and the future trajectory of the Deep Love series.

Let's tackle my first point. Ayu no Monogatari excelled in maintaining an excellent mood through its character design and detail. The main character, Ayu, consistently exuded an uncomfortably sad, empty aura, and even as the plot unfolded harshly, it felt powerful and hurtful. Witnessing the characters' suffering and understanding Ayu's almost defeatist outlook on life was painful. This would not have been possible without the evocative detail in character expression, particularly how Ayu is depicted. You'd recognize it if you've seen it.

Now, can you guess how Pao no Monogatari made me realize this unique strength of Ayu no Monogatari? To save suspense, it's by being a completely, utterly inane and worthless shell of what Ayu no Monogatari was. The art that happened to be the saving grace for Ayu no Monogatari's otherwise suffocating narrative was entirely discarded in Pao no Monogatari. Ayu now resembles a generic blonde shoujo heroine who could easily fit into a silly romantic comedy without any design changes. In fact, all the characters have different designs from the original, and the quality has mostly deteriorated, severely undermining the visual impact of the work.

Surely, I can't critique a work solely based on its subpar visuals, can I? What about the story? Pao no Monogatari is divided into two volumes: the first volume narrates Pao's life as he grows up with his family and endures hardships, and the second volume retells the events of Ayu no Monogatari from Pao's perspective. Keep in mind, Pao is a dog. With a dog as the narrator and 'voice' of the story, it's a challenge for the mangaka to use expression and realistically limited comprehension to craft set pieces. After all, a dog neither knows human language nor can fully grasp human interactions and society. But a dog's perspective can be portrayed well! Unfortunately, Yoshi opts for the laziest approach by having the dog characters literally converse with each other, think in Japanese, and exhibit the exact same intellectual capabilities and social dynamics as humans. Simply put, Pao and the other dogs are portrayed as humans, making deeply profound philosophical statements like "Why were these dogs born if they're just going to die?" and showing beyond-impressive emotional insight. This horribly cheesy method of providing emotional cues is an insult to everyone's intelligence and breaks immersion, as Deep Love is meant to be a dead-serious and sentimental realistic fiction.

Of course, the above is minor compared to the central issue with Deep Love storytelling: how the tragedies are forcibly contrived, unnatural, and nauseatingly repetitive. Without specifying particular events, it's quite common within every single Pao chapter for some character to commit suicide from grief, die from the cruelty of those around them, have their entire family killed, or be physically and emotionally mutilated by...something. Every. Single. Chapter. There are only angels and demons in this cast, and Yoshi takes the cynical phrase 'no good deed goes unpunished' to an entirely new level: anything positive that happens is bound to turn into something grossly depressing. How dare anyone help our beleaguered protagonists in a Yoshi story? And since the first half of Pao no Monogatari is about dogs, you get a hefty dose of puppy-kicking cranked up to max level. Puppy kicking! Can it get any more clichéd? Maybe it's Pao's fault for being a living magnet to the dirty soles of despicable humans.

I won't delve into how the second half of the story deviates horribly from the original and thematically undermines everything Ayu no Monogatari aimed to achieve, because it's pointless to gripe about such minor offenses given what I've already said about Pao no Monogatari. As a heads up, Host (the third installment) and Reina no Unmei (the fourth installment) revert to Ayu no Monogatari's more competent art style, but they don't fix most of the storytelling issues I mentioned above because, well, the entire Deep Love series is characterized by Yoshi's brilliant prose and construction.

Restraint and subtlety are two qualities of storytelling often botched by many anime. For most of those works, however, they don't need to be strictly subtle due to their stories' nature. For instance, generally speaking, shounens focus on showcasing their badass protagonists. That's acceptable. But for a work tackling heavy subjects like morality, prostitution, and coming-of-age, the average standard is no longer sufficient. Nothing, NOTHING I've ever experienced has simultaneously lacked and needed these two qualities as much as the Deep Love series. Handling such mature subject matter with such juvenile writing is both insulting and utterly shameless.

For one of the most appalling works I've ever read, I present my first hate review.

This is the second installment in the Deep Love Series, with the first being AYU NO MONOGATARI. This story follows the dog she encounters, POA.  

It is both heart-wrenching and heart-warming, as it portrays that even though life is hard and incredibly depressing (I'll explain this later), we should find comfort in any small happiness we can gather through it.  

We follow Poa from conception to... well, death. His tale in life is one of hardship, survival, and ultimately, the will to never lose hope in people.  

Now, my main issue with this INCREDIBLY DEPRESSING tale is that either Poa has NO LUCK or is an EXTREMELY CURSED dog (he must have committed some terrible acts in his past life). From conception, he started experiencing the hardships of life. Blessed or cursed with petiteness, he had little to no defense against any physical abuse, and my GOD was he abused.  

This pup was MENTALLY SCREWED, PHYSICALLY SCREWED, and even SPIRITUALLY SCREWED. If I'm honest, if I had been dealt his cards, I would have probably thrown in the hand and left the table.  

STORY  
At first glance, this is an extremely morbid tale, but when read with a sense of detachment, you'll see that most of the events seem too forced. For example, his owners conveniently commit mass suicide just as things start looking up for the CURSED pup. There's also a NEEDLESS amount of violence committed against Poa and his siblings, and every one of Poa's owners meets an untimely and DEPRESSING demise (please tell me I'm not the only one who noticed this crap).  

Secondly, much of the second volume of Poa's story is essentially Ayu no Monogatari, told from Poa's point of view. This didn't bother me too much because I LOVED that manga (I still CRIED at Ayu's death scene in this version too).  

ART  
The art style is clear, neat, and precise. Panels are very easy to distinguish and interpret, so good that I personally finished this entire manga in half an hour (on a 2mbps internet connection). There's a lot of attention to characters' eyes, as these are mainly how Poa differentiates between a friend or foe.  

CHARACTER  
I somehow can't relate to Poa for obvious reasons—not because he's a dog, but if the cosmos had chosen to embed me with such terrible luck, I would have probably died in my crib from suffocation since the mobile (the thing that hangs over the crib and spins) would more than likely have dislodged itself and gotten stuck in the back of my throat while my mom was probably occupied elsewhere and my dad was watching some sports channel with the volume turned up loud.  

OVERALL  
This manga gets a 7 in all categories. It was good but completely unrealistic in some aspects. I was still depressed and deep in thought upon completion (this review is proof).  

KUDOS POA for outliving all your owners; I hope you're enjoying doggy heaven.  

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There are a few skipped chapters around 239 can you tell if it is resolved later or if entire book is like that