May 17, 2014
I really recommend Oyasumi Punpun for any of you manga readers out there that are able to take it on.
Its long (147 chapters) so you wont have to worry about finishing it in a day. It is not a light read, or anything regular manga readers are used to reading. Starts off slow (and I mean SLOW, but its for a good reason, as I'll state later on) but takes a dark turn later in the story. Its heavily psychology based. A good 90% or so of the story is the thoughts and emotions of whichever character you're following. However, that 10% of
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actual action that you do get is jaw dropping. Definitely not for the faint of heart. Theres also quite a bit of complicated symbolism, so you have to watch for that. The art is phenomenal. Its raw and realistic, just like the story.
There are only two thing I can criticize about it. One: the side stories piss me off. I'm trying to figure out what happens between Punpun and Aiko, and it keep alternating between Punpun's pathetic self pity (which is surprisingly interesting since its mixed in w/ his realizations of life and God's completely outlandish suggestions to fixing his problems) and the lives of people who have crossed paths w/ Punpun.
Which leads into my second criticism. Dont get me wrong, Im ecstatic that the story takes time to thoroughly develop both the characters and plot, but did it really have to take 147 chapters to do so?
The stories are all concentrated on how stress and situations build up over time and then in 100s, BAM! That 10% of action hits you out of nowhere when the situations finally boil over. Like I said, its not a major criticism b/c thats how human psyche itself work (people in reality also keep things bottled up and proceed as normal until the straw break the camels back). Its just a reflection of real life. But it is worth noting, b/c we readers have lives that need to be lived and we ain't got time to sit around and read every damn detail of the characterss' demises.
It's a complex read. Its one of those workings that doesnt try to please everyone. Really, the one character I can kind of say I like is Aiko, and I dont like her by much. Everyone else I dislike, even Punpun. The characters are just malicious and selfish enough for me to dislike them, yet why they act the way they do is so well explained that I cant hate them b/c I understand why they'd act such a way.
Theres a lot of harsh realities and slaps to the face in this story, but it manages to keep you hooked.
If it sounds like your kind of story, be sure to message me. I'd really like to see the story from another perspective to make sure I'm not missing anything.
PS: If you bitch about how Punpun is presented to the readers as a poorly drawn bird, you might as well just put the book down entirely. Don't get offended. Its not you, its the story. Its not meant for everyone.
His change in appearances represent what stage of Punpun's life you're in. And in my honest opinion, it also acts as a marker to when you reach the interesting parts.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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