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I think there are goods and bads, but ultimately I am indifferent how the series develops.

pros:::You follow the perspective of a chef in a mercenary group, and the effects the chef has upon each character. The story is structured in a very methodical way where the chapters are allocated to each members from the mercenary group. Usually within these sectioned off chapters, there is an introduction of a character, and it follows up with a problem these characters have (usually about some creative stagnation). The main character with his foreign/ modern perspective steps into these characters' problems and somehow solves it. Usually, the propagation of ... his perspective/experience leads to an enlightenment, which helps characters overcome stagnation. This is why I believe the author is exploring the incubation aspect of creativity; a stage where a new revelation is inspired by experiencing or exploring something foreign from your main goal/ objective (stimulated from the re-evaluation of your problems in a different perspective--foreign).

cons:::This exploration is nice and unique, but the story is way too rigid. The way the characters are introduced is very unnature and how their problems pan out are just as unnature; Although the story is purely fictional, the fact that the author is trying to incorporate a humanistic theme into his story is why the unnaturalistic aspect is a problem (artificial and humanistic is contradictory). Not only that, the author has a tendency to show the future effects of the main character's intervention (which is mostly a prosperous future), which feels contradictory from the main focus on growth and character development. In real life, boggling about how successful you want to be never helps (because you gain success by working towards it), and not only that but being very creative and experienced (or good at your profession) does not always guarantee getting what is conventionally successful: a renowned, rich person that is highly regarded. Creativity and growth is also something that you can't really control or should be controlled; It's like saying that we can control which personalities we have and that we should.

I haven't finished it yet, but based off of what I have read, it is a book worth buying physically to stash in my own personal library. This author like many other Japanese writers tries to capture essence of an uncertain eeriness had within deranged people. The main antagonist reminds me of Asami Yamazaki in Audition (1999) (check it out, a great movie that may be even better than this).

SPOILERS: I basically spoil everything, so don't read past this point if you wanna give this manga a shot. It is more of an analysis than a synopsis.

The Miu's tendency towards stutters with spaced speeches, reservation ... and scratching all have an eerie sensation that comes from (what I assume to be) her tension. In rare moments when she is by herself or is herself, she speaks with clarity (no signs of the aforementioned). This complementary juxtaposition creates even more uncertainty than what was established before opening up more (especially negative) possibilities. The normality of the stalker's handsiness in juxtaposition to who was initially assumed to be reserved & tense, breaches open the main character's sense of security; We the readers can observe earlier on the eerie uncertainty within Miu, but especially after this event, Ai more explicitly questions her surrounding (in general, we assume a certain level of trust [not complete trust] when talking to strangers/ going out, since without it we restrict ourselves and we can come off very rude [Ai doing the same at the beginning]).

We know Miu is deranged with glimpses of by herself crawling around the floor like some maniac sniffing periods off pads, but there is never a reason accompanying it; rather, more uncertainties are created. As the story progresses, who Miu is get more ambiguous. I assuming that's the message the author's trying to convey--that we will never truly understand these deranged people. (I would like to describe Miu as an obsessive person, but there is too many questions. Why would sniffing Ai's period make her an equal?)

If I were to give my personal opinion based on what I've gathered, I would say I agree and disagree with the author's opinions on murders/ stalkers. I don't think it is sound to assume that these people are outside of our understanding (we may be able to somewhat understand their reasons and motives), but there is an implication that they all will fully cooperate. Even with their full cooperation, who can say if they even fully know themselves.

This manga will make you uncomfortable, but that is the aspect that makes this manga great in my opinion. It sheds light into a rare glimpse of Japanese society in a very real, depressing perspective. Many others have also confronted so and so problems as well, but it is hard to take most seriously. Most stories have a black and white setting with a defined good & bad, but this manga is set up in a way where we make up our own decision. This story reflects reality more because it is in a grey area and everything is more complex and we don't know ... everything.

Although this manga isn't entirely about this, it is partially about the instability and toxicity of blindly following a loosely but legible definition of a conventional healthy relationship/ happiness. It is a commentary of the faults of certain Japanese social structure: tendency towards un-confrontations, conformity (defining/ comparing your life off conventions), lack of openness (unwillingness to communicate & listen to others). This manga has a tendency to exaggerate everything. Although the exaggeration makes the story seem more fictitious, it puts what would normally be too meager to become a problem a very visible problem, which leads (at least) me to think/ contemplate about it; Very rarely will what conspired in this manga happen in reality, but it shows that there is a haze of toxicity and instability within this environment (a haze because the effects of its translucency is visible but you can't defined when it starts & ends, and it's in the background). There is no clear good or bad people in this manga, and it is just people doing bad things (not bad people); Who is good or bad will vary depending on what you personally think is worse, but everybody does bad things and somebody shouldn't be excused from their bads just because comparatively there is worse. This grey area makes the manga more believable despite its hyperbole because it has authenticity (something many manga rarely has).

(Major spoilers, don't read this if you don't want to be spoiled)
Most of the problems in this story could've been alleviated had the family been open to communicate and listen to each other, but they all dug themselves a deep hole where nothing is solved. The main family never got around to form some sort of resolution, instead they all saw the problem at face value (in their own perspective) without thinking. The father never got around to realize that the family was unstable to begin with. Everything was pushed onto him, and although he had his own problems, nobody was willing to listen or acknowledge it because he's supposed to take it like a man or father (and he never challenges this). Because of the aloofness and loneliness he felt, he started inching towards infidelity and he foolishly assumed that the pedophilic intimacy was the solution (sprout in reminiscent of simpler times when things were good with his wife). The mother wasn't any better because she pushed the man towards pedophilia, and she assumed faulty entirely on the guy without ever hearing him out; She is just as closed minded start to end. She talks about how she changed as a person because she got more healthy, but she hasn't changed at all. The daughter was frustrated by how aloof her father was not realizing that she's the reason why. Everybody is an idiot in this story, and this fact makes this story even more realistic because it shows how blindsided people can be from their person's tie to the cultural/societal structure that define them. To abbreviate, everybody is stupid, and nobody knows jack shit.

I think it was the right choice to contain this story within a few volumes, but the end felt very rushed. I think they could've added a chapter or two more for the mother, since the focus on her was very sudden but brief. Throughout the entire story, she was a background character, but within a couple panels in the last chapter, the author/ artist tried to fit her perspective. This makes the mother seem like a character brought up in the spur of the moment, and the briefness makes her much more hollow in comparison to everybody else when she is a big aspect of the story.