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Aug 14, 2016
I have a strange relationship with this work. There are many things I understand about it, and there are many things I do not. Once in a while I will come back and peruse -- flip to a random page, read on, and see what new meanings I unearth. I never leave empty-handed.
Much in this manga does not seem to make sense. Often the characters will make an offhand remark or do something (there is one thing in particular) that at first is confusing. There is even an arc, a thread running throughout the story, that seems out of place and at odds with
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the rest of the manga. But there is nothing in this manga that is not written in for a purpose. Whenever I ruminate upon some cryptic line, or one of the character's hidden, meaningful gazes, I discover exactly what emotion is invested in each word, and the character is given extra dimensions, added subtleties; nothing is wasted.
Oyasumi Punpun is rich in meaning. In the span of 147 chapters, 13 volumes, it touches upon countless themes and explores them in painful depth. What does it mean to completely understand another human being? What ideals might one be creating in and expecting from another person? How deep does obsession run, and how strongly do the angels and demons of our past reach out and seize hold of us? This, and so much more.
There is so much that is real, both in who they are and all the things that they do. Ultimately, however, Oyasumi Punpun is a consummate fairy tale. There are events -- and I do not mean with Pegasus -- that would never feasibly happen here in reality. But the manga succeeds in giving us characters that feel as real as any character can feel, and giving them complex, tumultuous emotions, wrought so convincingly in this beautiful black-and-white medium, that there really is nothing notable in the manga that reeks of disingenuousness or contrivance.
Asano Inio has a phenomenal cinematic sense for subtlety and emotion, and he wrings out every ounce of feeling that the manga format has to offer. When juxtaposed with the rather cartoonish characters, the backgrounds, created with actual photographs, evoke the grittiness of reality, the tenderness of the flesh and the air and of being alive, and the devastating sense of stillness that some moments require to properly impart what they were designed to impart. It's a beautifully rendered world, populated with real people in real places, and all the complex matters of their hearts. All to deliver a darkly tragic modern day fairy tale, wrought with stirring pathos and a gentle, resigned humanism.
There are vast worlds of nuance and meaning left unsaid in this short review of mine. I don't have the time or patience to say all that I have to say about this manga (and I only continue to discover more). Much of the premise and other basic ground is covered in other reviews. If you are reading this to decide whether or not you yourself are going to read it, then please, give it a shot, especially if any of the above sounded even remotely interesting. Even if you end up disliking it, it is still 100% worth the try; it's that kind of a manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 1, 2016
What a great first episode! A brief introduction to the world, the characters, and the main thematic and emotional elements of the story, all ensconced in decent art and pretty great animation -- that's fantastic. Oh, what's that? That wasn't the first episode, it was the ONLY episode?
Story 6/10: If UtD was a 26 episode series like it was meant to be, then the story would no doubt have been fantastic, but we only got about one-and-a-half episodes' worth of material, so it's not. All we get is a cursory glimpse at a fully conceived world, and then, before we have time to appreciate what
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we've seen, the curtains are drawn.
Art 8/10: Shading isn't fantastic, but the animation and all the characters' little movements are well done. The art style itself is very mature, befitting the show's tone. Nothing at all to complain about here.
Sound 7/10: Music was literally not memorable. I don't remember any of it, which means that it didn't do a great job but it didn't do a terrible one either; it provided the appropriate emotional cues at the appropriate moments. The voice acting was good, though.
Character 5/10: The characters were ones I believed would have been good, had I been given the chance and the time to observe them. But I was not, so they were not. The main character here (and by extension, the rest of the Flowers) I did come to sympathize with a bit, so I guess the show was successful in that regard.
Enjoyment/overall 6/10: It was okay. As I've said, it needed to be longer. This detailed, fleshed-out world we've been granted a glance at needs time and space to settle into our bones, so that we can really live in it and feel what the characters feel. Despite the show's failure in that regard, I did still find it to be a fairly enjoyable 28 minutes of action. Hopefully, more Under the Dog somehow makes it out into the world for our viewing pleasure.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 28, 2016
9 all across the board, hey! What's not to like? Couple of characters you don't like? A little bit boring sometimes?
Character:
Very well developed. They're consistent in what they say and do, so by the end of it you have a very good feel of who they are and what they're like. Many of them harbor strange philosophies, but it should be remembered that these philosophies belong only to the characters, not the show. They change subtly at a micro level and drastically at a macro level, and it's quite nice to see these characters adapt themselves to the things and people that begin to surround
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them.
Story:
Much more dramatic than the first season, be warned. It's still funny, but not as often and not as much. Things that have only just begun to simmer in season 1 will here burst to a boil. The story details the three main characters' relationships with each other and observes their slowly changing group dynamic. As you know, many of the characters in the series are very self aware about themselves and the rules governing their friendships, which adds an extra, very complicating dimension to the way in which they interact with one another. The story investigates what happens when these self-aware, awkward, philosophizing people begin to collide and form relationships. It's quite charming to watch. And above all, the show investigates this single question: what makes a relationship genuine?
Art:
Animation is a big step up from season 1, and the lighting adds so much to the show. People often underestimate the power of visuals, editing, pacing. This new art style and quality allows for so much depth of emotion. And the way the whole show is put together is enchanting. Time is given where time is required. There is a shot where the main character walks alongside a girl under the fading, egg-yolk sun, glowing just above the horizon. There's no swelling music or anything, just them walking. He reaches over and holds her grocery bags for her, and the whole thing takes perhaps 20 seconds, and I felt contentment just watching it. It's exactly the show it tries to be.
Sound:
Great voice acting, pleasant music. Fits the show perfectly.
Overall:
Fantastic show. It's deep, and it asks big questions not for the sake of asking them but in service of the characters. Everything is in service of the characters, and their changing eyes as they slowly adjust to the world around them. I really loved the show. For some reason I gave it an 8, because that's how it feels to me now, I'll probably change it to a 9 soon. Not only is the story great, the animation, the directing, the editing and sound -- it all fits together like pieces of a puzzle.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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