Fukanzen na Hito no Tame ni
For imperfect people

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For a short story like this, describing it in much details is not that easy without spoiling the story. So, I will try to keep it as subtle as possible, trying my best to not spoil anything.

Fukanzen na Hito no Tame ni aka For Imperfect People was an unexpected surprise. When I first came across it, the cover image and the title gave off a melancholic vibe for some reason despite the cute character designs. When I delved into the story, it was exactly how I expected it would be. The story is about our protagonist and his senior, who we only know as senpai ... for the vast majority of the story.

Senpai is introduced as an eccentric and incredibly cheerful person, but we quickly learn that her outward demeanor hides a sadness that she doesn't want to show the world, the reason for which is constant bullying. But, her interaction with the protagonist helps her to both open up and gain the courage to confront her problems. In turn, our protagonist also grows from this interaction, changing his own ways in a positive manner.

The story itself doesn't have a ton of depth to it, and often times we are only left to assume what may have happened at a given time in senpai's past. There are things that I wish were explored more, but in the end I suppose the fact that this is overall positive story takes over the overall negative themes of bullying and social isolation. The main characters are charming and to see them grow is a heartwarming experience. There is a romance element to the story as well, which generally takes a backseat throughout.

Overall, this manga provided with a short charming and positive experience, with a cute art-style.

There's an episode of an old 90s cartoon called Rugrats where the grandpa character is putting his infant grandson to bed. However, the grandpa is in such a hurry that he's doing everything as quickly as possible. When it's time for the bed time story he flips through a picture book and rambles:

"Once upon a time there was a rabbit who had no friends then he found some friends and they all lived happily ever after the end."

That's kind of what this manga is like. The first chapter or two hints at some intrigue. The protagonist meets a strange girl who acts blissfully ignorant of ... her own torment at the hands of bullies. Teachers warn him to stay away from her. He meets up with her late at night where she starts defacing her old middle school, a place she was miserable. She is literally painting over her own trauma. The protagonist's own insecurities are what pulled him into her orbit, and now he's starting to fall for her. The title is "For Imperfect People"

Doesn't that sound like a great set up for an adolescent psychological thriller? Maybe a bittesrweet tragedy steeped in melancholia? Or an amazing story of perseverance?

Well it's not. Instead nothing really happens. The girl is bullied, then she's not bullied, and they all live happily ever after. The end.

A short but sweet manga, that managed to pack a suprising amount of characterization and character development into it's 12 chapters.
I definitely reccomend giving it a read, especially if you enjoy character-based stories.

The main girl has a suprising amount of depth and feels quite realistic, which is something you don't often see with 'quirky female lead' characters; especially in romance series. She has agency outside of her relationship with the main character, and isn't written as though she is 'for' him, but for herself.

The artstyle is so cute--I added it to my list because of the cover art, which is so colourful and dynamic I ... just had to give it a try! Lots of pretty panels, and consistent in the character models and style. I particularly liked how the darker haired characters would sometimes have a lineless gradient style for the back of their hair, it looked so pretty.