Dec 17, 2021
Story:
The story in this one is maybe best compared to something like Oyasumi Punpun or Welcome to the NHK: Slice of Life-ish with a lot of depression.
Conflict is rooted in character (and their realistic cirumstances) and doesn't feel forced. There is always something happening (read as constant conflict) which entertained me from start to finish. (I binged all 30 chapters currently translated.)
The content of the story basically revolves around depression and includes
-high school clique bullshit /putting up masks/ making authentic connections
-low self worth, comparison
-sex and love
...
-trauma and bullying
So typical high school stuff (minus the trauma).
As you can see this sort of heavy story might not be for everyone, especially if you consider that there is a rape scene. The manga has an overall negative outlook on life.
If you don't mind it though then this is one of best manga I've read dealing with these themes. That is because of the amount of depth and detail put into the realization of them. You can really picture in your head how the daily life of our protagonist looks like, you can really feel her dread and depression.
Still, the overall tone of the manga isn't that heavy. It has a lot of (funny) exaggaration and a lot of cute stuff.
Art:
I don't know much about art. It looks good to me. Sometimes we get a shoujo-ish art style contrasted with darker stuff which makes for a really cool aesthetic. The sexy scenes look sexy and the manga looks really cute if it wants to, too. Backgrounds don't look outstanding, but it's good.
Characters:
I really love how much depth and detail there is to the depiction of our main character and her depression. As someone who struggled with depression in high school trying to fit in, this is exactly what it feels like. We really get to experience her inner life in detail and we really get to experience what her daily life looks like (school, family, friends, hobbies).
As this manga is mostly about the depression of our main character (depression makes your thoughts mostly centered around yourself) she is the most fleshed out character. The other characters do lack depth compared to her but you can always understand why they act in the way they do and they do act consistent with their personalities and circumstances.
This isn't one of those super realistic manga though. Every character is a bit cartoonish and there are a lot of exaggerated actions and facial expressions (disturbed and cute).
Enjoyment:
If you've made it this far, you can probably tell that I really really like this manga. It resonates well with my personal experiences of depression, looks good and is just overall well excecuted. It also helps that I like these sort of slower paced stories about the lives of people.
When I didn't find the disturbing content relatable or emotionally engaging, then at least I was entertained by it because of its freshness compared to the usual feel-good or action manga that I read. Sometimes the stuff happening is also just fun because of its exaggarated ridiculousness.
There are cute and sexy scenes which I have nothing against and things do get better for our protagonist. She does make steps to improve her life which is nice to see.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
