Kanae is not in education, employment or training. That means that she has a lot of time on her hands but no money and her friends are all busy. Her mother understands her but she also hopes that Kanae can find something to do. That's the story, it's nothing too deep or complicated, we just see Kanae's everyday life and how she feels about being a NEET.
We see Kanae looking for a job, preparing for a job interview, we see her thinking about what kind of job she is willing to do and what kind of job she wants to do, how she feels about being a NEET in general and what she wants to do for the rest of her life. I really liked to see her motivate herself to do the smallest things, even though she often did only 1 thing and called it a day, it's challenging to be autonomous so it's okay. She goes through a lot of "can I and do I want to" thoughts to find out what she could take as a job, asks other people how they like their work and tries to figure out what she could do, what she wants to do and what she might have to work on in order to find a job. Sometimes doing something important, sometimes doing silly things. She always stays busy one way or another, when she's not sleeping.
Sora no Shita Yane no Naka is drawn and written in a very simple manner, you won't see any really deep dialogue and you won't see some overwhelming pictures but I don't think that is a bad thing in any way. I think that this is part of the charm of Sui Hitami's works, he just lets things be simple and it makes his works very calming (probably boring if you don't enjoy them). You're very unlikely to sit at the edge of your seat but that's not a bad thing, you can relax to this manga well.
I think this is one of those mangas that (even though I loved it) most people will read and either get bored or find it "alright". There's not a lot to say about this manga, which is probably why it hasn't gotten a lot of attention.
As someone who was a NEET myself while reading it (and is still is but things are getting better) I could very well relate with her because it is mostly just that simple of a life as a NEET, you wake up with little to no obligation and that just makes it hard to finally do what you know you should be doing. The manga is at no point a lecture on why you are a failure or anything like that but it does show why it is important for YOU to not be a NEET. Not for anyone else's sake but for your own, because no matter how enjoyable your lazy everyday life may be right now, it's not a good way to live.
I think that everyone who's had similar troubles or fears to end up like that should give this manga a try and see if it can cheer them up. I hope you'll give this manga a try and if you are a NEET yourself, don't forget the words of the wise Miki-chan: "It's the ability to pull yourself together at times like this that separates the winners from the losers!".
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