Oyasumi Punpun was one of the most unique experiences I've ever had. The entire construction of the story was absolutely magical, everything has a purpose and even though some randomness may seem very allegorical, I still think that Inio Asano thinks of it as something that perhaps only he understands. And the story begins in a way that at first hadn't captivated me so much, I was just waiting for the moment when it shocked me like everyone says when they read the manga. But even though it has a "slower" pace at the beginning, that's what makes the work so wonderful!
The beginning of
...
Punpun's life until the end is a spectacle, you connect with the character because you saw him grow and become who he is, you understand why he became that and all his changes related to his change of design in head. And well, Punpun is one of the most complex characters I've ever seen, he's realistic and deep. Their pains and traumas are relatable to me and I think every "incel" boy can understand more about Punpun because, in addition to the manga, his thoughts are also correlative to our own interior. Punpun's childhood shows how he has gradually shaped himself since he was a child, emotional neglect from a dysfunctional family means that he does not develop a way of dealing with his emotions. This is one of the worst things to do to someone and I say this from personal experience... Furthermore, after childhood, Punpun finds himself in adolescence and he wants to have sex. Currently in my life, as ridiculous as it may seem, this is the part that I identify with the most. Punpun, in addition to having had a lack of emotional development, now receives a lack emotional validation from parents and girls. Even though he has a not so bad relationship socially with friends, he is also not someone special, he no longer has Aiko and he still has to deal with his sexual desires arising. A part that demonstrates Punpun's frustration and how much he hates himself for not understanding what he feels and consequently what others feel, is when he tries to rape Azusa. This shows the cluelessness that has been lost throughout his life since his negligent parents. After failing to have sex with Azusa Punpun lies in the rain alone and masturbates, this scene is sad to see because he does this trying to prove that he is disgusting, inferior and worthless (similar to Shinji in Evangelion).
Another interesting scene to analyze is how Punpun reacts to his mother's death. Even though she showed some empathy for her son, he still didn't love her, and even after her death he didn't care. In short, this is what she created by not being a present mother for her own son and how there is nothing worse than being too late.
After all this comes one of Punpun's deepest phases, when he begins his adult life living alone, working to support himself, looking for Aiko and with the promise that if he didn't change anything in 2 years he would kill himself. In a way, I feel like I'm at that stage too, with an aimless void where I only exist having to deal with society alone even though no one taught me that. So each chapter takes place more casually and without a big plot, but still maintaining that mentality of Punpun's inferiority and how he is passive about everything. He doesn't say anything, doesn't take any action and the main thing is that he doesn't open up emotionally, again a consequence of his entire life being denied. This empty and aimless life where he only lives to kill himself in two years is a cycle of despair that he maintains, the only thing that could change this is finding Aiko. Which he ends up finding, but first there are some very interesting parts. When the 2 years pass and he realizes that the time has come, he simply breaks down. He just wanders around and in certain sections of the manga there is a part where he is judged for simply existing, they say that "it's normal to be shy, but Onodera is very strange" even being passive without bothering anyone he is rejected. Another scene shows how his mind is distorted by his own vision where he sees a girl in a store and thinks about having sex with her, but he knows he wouldn't be able to since she must have a boyfriend and why would she go out with someone like him? All of this makes him break even more, to the point where he starts to imitate his neighbor "chad" who has a girlfriend, gets along well with people and has a happy life. Then comes the face change that I like most about him, where he changes his face to a black creature with 4 eyes, this comes after he starts to question who he really is. And then comes one of the pages that marked me the most where he looks in the mirror and asks himself "has my face always been like this?"
After several events that I will not comment on here. Punpun changes his face again, to a completely dark face with no eyes and horns. This is very interesting, because it is when he finally breaks the indifference, he comments further on about this, breaking this indifference, so many people hurt each other and no one does anything. Coming from someone who has always been withdrawn and restrained, this means a lot, after he killed Aiko's mother it shows how much he freed himself from that and all that conformity that he hated for years and always let himself get carried away with. Running away with Aiko he has several interesting dialogues, even the way they are expressed changes, appearing on his face and not on a black board. Punpun changes his thinking to a type of hedonistic Nietzscheanism, a scene that presents this change is when even though he loves Aiko he keeps looking at some girls on the street. Now he only lives for pleasure, disconnects from the idea of living for others and starts living for himself.
Even with all this Punpun ends the manga completely differently. With a normal appearance but with an emptiness inside him that, unlike before, does not corrode him in the same way. He became light and without worries, without goals but not being lost but because he no longer cares. It's as if he did the Buddhist "ego death". And so he just lets go of everything, even his own will, finishing the best manga I've ever read.
Well, this wasn't a critical review or anything like that, I wrote this more because I simply wanted to comment on some points that I was most interested in in the mengá. I stopped talking about countless things and characters, I left aside several reflections that I could have talked about. I focused on the most perfect thing about Oyasumi Punpun, which is Punpun himself. You connect with him by following his entire life path until the end. In the end I just wanted to say that after a few days I'm still processing everything I read, but I can say with certainty that this is one of the best pieces of art I've ever come across.
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Oct 5, 2024
Oyasumi Punpun
(Manga)
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Oyasumi Punpun was one of the most unique experiences I've ever had. The entire construction of the story was absolutely magical, everything has a purpose and even though some randomness may seem very allegorical, I still think that Inio Asano thinks of it as something that perhaps only he understands. And the story begins in a way that at first hadn't captivated me so much, I was just waiting for the moment when it shocked me like everyone says when they read the manga. But even though it has a "slower" pace at the beginning, that's what makes the work so wonderful!
The beginning of ... 
Jun 30, 2024
Mirai Nikki (TV)
(Anime)
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I was surprised how bad this anime is. Come on, the main problem is Yukki, he has no development, he acts the same from episode 1 to 26, you could even say that he gets worse compared to the beginning of the anime. As a result, the other characters become more fun to follow than Yukki, such as Yuno, Minene and Akise.
But it's not just Yuki's fault, the script in the final part is very full of things that didn't need it, the climax of Yuno's discovery happens in episode 23, and the anime has 3 more long and tedious episodes with a lot ... 
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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
(Anime)
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The first arc was perfect, the psychological fear is very well done, the tension created by the atmosphere that makes this my favorite arc. The confusion of not knowing what's going on, and everyone acting weird sometimes, along with a protagonist who's like you, doesn't know anything (even if the world is already happening).
The second arc starts breaking all expectations with Keichi starting alive, and the world doing a "reboot". Then the sisters are introduced, and the arc is much slower than the first, and its well done because it explodes when you least expect it. And when we go to the third arc, ... 
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Toradora is the first romance anime I've seen that i really enjoyed.
The whole comical and sometimes dramatic atmosphere is what makes it for me. I just don't give it a 10 because I still think some characters are a little misused, even if they're not the main ones, they could have been more explored in the relationship with the protagonist and with themselves. Although it bothers me a little, still the best rom-com anime I've seen so far. So if you like romance comedy with a teen drama, or you've never seen anything like that, toradora is the way to start it. |
