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This review might contain character spoilers. It's impossible to review Punpun without mentioning some changes in tone that might somehow spoil the fun of finding it out for yourself. Be warned.

Supporting character Sashi wanted to write a manga that was not about escaping real life, but about learning how to fight it. This is such story.

If there was one flaw to this manga was the overbearing darkness that enveloped it. There was never a sense that all was well and would end well. It kept you on edge the whole read. There are plenty of manga and books I've read fearing a the ... back cover showed up when I next flipped the next page. This one I just wished it would end already so I would be released of the tension.

That said, this manga combines magnificent characters with magnificent storytelling. You're always feeling what Punpun is feeling. You won't particularly like Punpun, in fact, you'll probably grow to hate him. But the mangaka somehow forces you to feel his pain.

That said, even if you won't LIKE Punpun, you'll probably identify with some aspect of him, in fact, saying you don't identify at all with Punpun would be quite conceited. He's like a younger version of Nobuyuki's Kurosawa, he's just an average teenager, leaving a troubled life. His life IS troubled. But in the end, is own faults are what sends him a downwards spiral. It's his the choice to ignore his childhood dream. It's his is choice to leave a common and mediocre life. And we recent him for it. Want him to change. To chase his dreams. But then we remember we're just like Punpun. We all had weird childhood dreams. I wanted to be an medic astronaut that also played soccer. And most of us think they were stupid and childish.

My initial reaction to this manga was 'wtf most pretentious piece of shit I've ever read,' but in the end, every bit of pretentious symbolism fits like a glove. Some dialogue comes out as beautiful preaching you could post on your facebook status, but it's okay. This is that kind of story.

I wish it didn't force so many bad things to happen. This manga wouldn't lose anything if Punpun's life was just a little bit happier, and I, as a reader, wouldn't feel as if I just went in a 10 hour long emotional roller-coster. Some of the later happenings just felt unnecessary. And the same message could be covered with happier turns in the story. But then, trve art is dark and angsty. That's what cost this manga the perfect 10 in enjoyment.

In the end, this manga is but a reminder that our life is our own. And depends on our actions more than anything else. Blaming others, or life itself for every bad thing that happens to us might make us feel better, but it won't make anything better. In the end it's up to us to change our lives. To make them better. But it is okay to ask for help.