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おやすみプンプン [Oyasumi Punpun] #1-13
おやすみプンプン コミック 全13巻完結セット
おやすみプンプン コミック 全13巻完結セット (ヤングサンデーコミックス)
Punpun is an ordinary young boy growing up in Japan whose age of innocence has reached its end after his father is arrested for spousal abuse and putting his mother in the hospital. With his uncle looking after him, Punpun grows into adulthood facing a series of events which change him, for better or worse, forcing him to contemplate just what it means to be an adult.
Punpun is an ordinary young boy growing up in Japan whose age of innocence has reached its end after his father is arrested for spousal abuse and putting his mother in the hospital. With his uncle looking after him, Punpun grows into adulthood facing a series of events which change him, for better or worse, forcing him to contemplate just what it means to be an adult.
First published March 15, 2007
375 people are currently reading
2814 people want to read
About the author
Inio Asano
102 books2,553 followersInio Asano (浅野いにお, Asano Inio) is a Japanese cartoonist. He is known for his character-driven stories and his detailed art-style, making him one of the most influential manga author of his generation.
Asano was born in 1980 and produced his first amateur comics as a teenager. His professional debut happened in 2000 in the pages of the magazine Big Comic Spirits. Since then, he has collaborated with most of the major Japanese magazines of seinen manga (comics for a mature audience). Among Asano's internationally acclaimed works are: the psychological horror Nijigahara Holograph (2003-2005); the drama Solanin (2005-2006); the existentialistic slice-of-life Goodnight Punpun (2007-2013); the erotic A Girl on the Shore (2009-2013); the sci-fi Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction (2014-2022).
Asano was born in 1980 and produced his first amateur comics as a teenager. His professional debut happened in 2000 in the pages of the magazine Big Comic Spirits. Since then, he has collaborated with most of the major Japanese magazines of seinen manga (comics for a mature audience). Among Asano's internationally acclaimed works are: the psychological horror Nijigahara Holograph (2003-2005); the drama Solanin (2005-2006); the existentialistic slice-of-life Goodnight Punpun (2007-2013); the erotic A Girl on the Shore (2009-2013); the sci-fi Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction (2014-2022).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 573 reviews
March 6, 2014
This isn't the best manga of the decade
it's not the best comic of the decade
it's one of the best pieces of literature published so far this decade, bar none
it's not the best comic of the decade
it's one of the best pieces of literature published so far this decade, bar none
January 7, 2021
"Masterpiece" is not a word often associated with the manga medium, but "Oyasumi Punpun" deserves to be called nothing less. Author Asano Inio has taken the comic story-telling format to its utmost potential with this 147 chapter powerhouse of despair. Asano's decision to depict Punpun Onodera--a day-dreaming, sensitive, innocent young boy who's exposed to despondent and abusive parents--as a simple, cute line drawing of a little bird, is a genius act of characterization. As we watch Punpun fumble through young life with the best intentions, only to have his spirits and hope crushed in the worst way imaginable, the audience is helplessly endeared to the adorable spindly bird. Unfortunately, Punpun's life isn't as simple as his line drawings, and he'll have to keep learning the hard way to hopefully find a shred of meaning in the cruel, unrelenting realm of morbid reality. Never have I felt such hopelessness reading a manga, or have I felt such pain for a particular character. The reader, much like many people in Punpun's life, stands by and cheers him on and hopes he'll pull through, but in the end, we're disappointed again and again. Our poor Punpun is a slave to his demons, and any reader will have a horrifying time as he tries his best to escape them.
The art in Oyasumi Punpun is wonderful. The contrast of Punpun as the little bird against a hyper realistic, gritty background and lovingly drawn supporting cast is effective in portraying his alienation. The quality of the art never fluctuates either, it's always consistent and gorgeous. The story is something I'd imagine Lars Von Trier would come up with if he set out to produce a gorgeous manga. The lives of Asano's characters are ruthless, unforgiving, and by the time you reach the mid point you'll wonder how much more horror can one boy suffer--but there's always that shred of hope. Or so you'd like to believe.
The art in Oyasumi Punpun is wonderful. The contrast of Punpun as the little bird against a hyper realistic, gritty background and lovingly drawn supporting cast is effective in portraying his alienation. The quality of the art never fluctuates either, it's always consistent and gorgeous. The story is something I'd imagine Lars Von Trier would come up with if he set out to produce a gorgeous manga. The lives of Asano's characters are ruthless, unforgiving, and by the time you reach the mid point you'll wonder how much more horror can one boy suffer--but there's always that shred of hope. Or so you'd like to believe.
August 26, 2016
If you think Welcome to the NHK is too positive when it comes to depressed people, Oyasumi Punpun is the same thing only super negative. Partially photorealistic and partially cartoony, it stands out from everything else. The protagonist and his family are depicted as doodles, which can be interpreted in a dozen different ways, from lack of identity, alienation, depiction of emotions and so on.
While the plot was about the protagonist and his anxieties, I was loving it. Everything was an internal monologue full of symbolisms around sexual frustration and insecurities about the future. It was more funny and creative than depressing.
But when the plot was not about the protagonist, I hated it. Everybody was depressed and did all sorts of shit which border edgelord material. His uncle for example gets seduced by an underage girl, right before he had sex with a different woman, while the girl was hiding right next to them and saw everything. Her mother was a 1 dimensional bitch who loved to torture children, so the girl gave a guy a blowjob to kick the crap out of her before burning himself in a furnace. His uncle gets depressed, fucks around with different women, one of which gets so fed up with him to the point she had sex with the still underage protagonist.
That was terrible. It was edge 101 and don’t want any excuses of the sort “But Snob, these things are real and happen all the time.” They do not happen all the time, to such extremes, and so close to each other. Stop trying to defend this crap as anything more than overdramatic nonsense. You were saying the same crap about the mother in Erased, which was the exact same thing.
I know the mangaka was doing a social commentary on the fucked up lifestyle of Japan, but it’s not like the majority is living like that. There is no commentary you can take seriously when you have innocent victimized children being treated like shit by asshole parents just because. This is not grey to feel somewhat plausible, it’s a pitch black hyperbole.
Punpun’s parents seemed to be going through marital problems at first, caused by the father being unemployed, lacking the money to support his family, and appear useful in the eyes of a workaholic society. I could understand that; I even liked it since it was excusing why the protagonist was depressed in the first place. But as the plot was going on, I liked them less and less, since they were just there so the story will be more miserable, than to try fixing their problems. The mother was obsessed with sex and hated the world, constantly trying to kill herself, until she ironically dies of cancer while yelling she doesn’t want to die. Just keep hammering the edge.
There is a part where Punpun is trying to make a manga based on his life, and I really liked the 4th wall breaking when the editor said the story is too depressing for no real reason. This over here was the point where the plot could finally go for some catharsis, and instead it turns to c grade hentai. Punpun is fucking half the women in the story and it’s always in the most artificial ways imaginable. You can call it pity sex all you like, I call it porn game excuses. Oh look, a girl has a problem. Fuck her and it’s all ok! Boy, if only women were that easy.
There is a part where some characters are seeing god appearing out of nowhere and talking to them. You figure out early on that he is actually an imaginary friend they created to seek hope in their desperation. Whatever god was telling them was always what they wanted to hear. I loved this part, if it could expand to religion and how a big part of faith has to do with hope, it would be a wonderful form of catharsis.
And instead of that, all you get is an eccentric dude spewing non-stop pretentious dribble about vibrations and shit, and how he can offer happiness with mystic powers or some nonsense. A bunch of chuunis join his cult in order to find happiness and then commit mass suicide. That’s the social commentary the mangaka had to say about religions. Pretentiousness, death, and endless teasing about a beautiful ending that was eventually a troll.
If you are wondering where did all that eventually lead to, the protagonist finds his no1 waifu whom he’s trying to deflower since elementary school, abandons his former girlfriend who was pregnant with his child, kills a fucked in the brain mother while dressed as a school girl and masturbating with vibrators, they bury her in the woods, have pity sex for days, and then commit suicide. That’s how the manga ends. They try to make it seem like those who are still alive got over their depression, but fuck you, we all know they didn’t.
That was bad. Welcome to the NHK is a masterpiece of catharsis, this is torture porn. You read it so you can jerk off to people self loathing and having pity sex. And yes, I did mention how there is no catharsis when that was never the point, but no catharsis is for me the same thing as no ending. If that is what anime fans consider a masterpiece, they might as well be reading Tokyo Ghoul for even more depth and maturity.
While the plot was about the protagonist and his anxieties, I was loving it. Everything was an internal monologue full of symbolisms around sexual frustration and insecurities about the future. It was more funny and creative than depressing.
But when the plot was not about the protagonist, I hated it. Everybody was depressed and did all sorts of shit which border edgelord material. His uncle for example gets seduced by an underage girl, right before he had sex with a different woman, while the girl was hiding right next to them and saw everything. Her mother was a 1 dimensional bitch who loved to torture children, so the girl gave a guy a blowjob to kick the crap out of her before burning himself in a furnace. His uncle gets depressed, fucks around with different women, one of which gets so fed up with him to the point she had sex with the still underage protagonist.
That was terrible. It was edge 101 and don’t want any excuses of the sort “But Snob, these things are real and happen all the time.” They do not happen all the time, to such extremes, and so close to each other. Stop trying to defend this crap as anything more than overdramatic nonsense. You were saying the same crap about the mother in Erased, which was the exact same thing.
I know the mangaka was doing a social commentary on the fucked up lifestyle of Japan, but it’s not like the majority is living like that. There is no commentary you can take seriously when you have innocent victimized children being treated like shit by asshole parents just because. This is not grey to feel somewhat plausible, it’s a pitch black hyperbole.
Punpun’s parents seemed to be going through marital problems at first, caused by the father being unemployed, lacking the money to support his family, and appear useful in the eyes of a workaholic society. I could understand that; I even liked it since it was excusing why the protagonist was depressed in the first place. But as the plot was going on, I liked them less and less, since they were just there so the story will be more miserable, than to try fixing their problems. The mother was obsessed with sex and hated the world, constantly trying to kill herself, until she ironically dies of cancer while yelling she doesn’t want to die. Just keep hammering the edge.
There is a part where Punpun is trying to make a manga based on his life, and I really liked the 4th wall breaking when the editor said the story is too depressing for no real reason. This over here was the point where the plot could finally go for some catharsis, and instead it turns to c grade hentai. Punpun is fucking half the women in the story and it’s always in the most artificial ways imaginable. You can call it pity sex all you like, I call it porn game excuses. Oh look, a girl has a problem. Fuck her and it’s all ok! Boy, if only women were that easy.
There is a part where some characters are seeing god appearing out of nowhere and talking to them. You figure out early on that he is actually an imaginary friend they created to seek hope in their desperation. Whatever god was telling them was always what they wanted to hear. I loved this part, if it could expand to religion and how a big part of faith has to do with hope, it would be a wonderful form of catharsis.
And instead of that, all you get is an eccentric dude spewing non-stop pretentious dribble about vibrations and shit, and how he can offer happiness with mystic powers or some nonsense. A bunch of chuunis join his cult in order to find happiness and then commit mass suicide. That’s the social commentary the mangaka had to say about religions. Pretentiousness, death, and endless teasing about a beautiful ending that was eventually a troll.
If you are wondering where did all that eventually lead to, the protagonist finds his no1 waifu whom he’s trying to deflower since elementary school, abandons his former girlfriend who was pregnant with his child, kills a fucked in the brain mother while dressed as a school girl and masturbating with vibrators, they bury her in the woods, have pity sex for days, and then commit suicide. That’s how the manga ends. They try to make it seem like those who are still alive got over their depression, but fuck you, we all know they didn’t.
That was bad. Welcome to the NHK is a masterpiece of catharsis, this is torture porn. You read it so you can jerk off to people self loathing and having pity sex. And yes, I did mention how there is no catharsis when that was never the point, but no catharsis is for me the same thing as no ending. If that is what anime fans consider a masterpiece, they might as well be reading Tokyo Ghoul for even more depth and maturity.
May 29, 2014
What can I say about this series?
It was funny. And weird. And insane. Impossible. Realistic. And completely heartbreaking.
This is one of those stories where it starts off a bit nonsensical; but as you continue reading, it becomes obvious there is a darkness lurking within. And hell, the darkness was really overpowering here.
With this in mind, I wouldn't recommend this manga to just anybody. I usually try not to let stories get to me too much, but this one ended up getting in too far. Before I started reading, I was a generally optimistic person; after reading, I couldn't help but notice the optimism I felt before had faded away. I'm not saying this manga was solely responsible for my change in perspective; there are other major reasons. However, I cannot help but feel the experience with this manga added some elements.
Needless to say, I don't regret reading Oyasumi Punpun. I love this manga series with all my heart. I loved the characters, despite every one of them having so many flaws. And once you overlook the bleakness in the narrative, you notice that there is a message of hope, although it may not appear in the way you imagined it.
It was funny. And weird. And insane. Impossible. Realistic. And completely heartbreaking.
This is one of those stories where it starts off a bit nonsensical; but as you continue reading, it becomes obvious there is a darkness lurking within. And hell, the darkness was really overpowering here.
With this in mind, I wouldn't recommend this manga to just anybody. I usually try not to let stories get to me too much, but this one ended up getting in too far. Before I started reading, I was a generally optimistic person; after reading, I couldn't help but notice the optimism I felt before had faded away. I'm not saying this manga was solely responsible for my change in perspective; there are other major reasons. However, I cannot help but feel the experience with this manga added some elements.
Needless to say, I don't regret reading Oyasumi Punpun. I love this manga series with all my heart. I loved the characters, despite every one of them having so many flaws. And once you overlook the bleakness in the narrative, you notice that there is a message of hope, although it may not appear in the way you imagined it.
October 29, 2015
Like others, I'm posting this review as one for the whole series because getting too deep into each individual volume of Goodnight Punpun would be quite a feat.
Wow. Like, wow. I had to lay back and just be flabbergasted for about half an hour after finishing volume 12 the other night. I'm definitely not a manga reader of any regularity, but I can definitely say Goodnight Punpun has immediately become one of, if not, my favourite graphic series of all time. It perfectly mixes innocent and fun quirkiness, harsh and painful reality and complete emotional honesty in a surreal life journey that follows a faceless, "symbolic" protagonist.
I was attracted to Goodnight Punpun because of its titular character, Punpun, a small bird like creature wandering around a highly realistic world, dealing with an abusive family, depressed uncle and childhood love. Punpun is the centre of this world, and the character that I think most readers will empathise with most and want to follow, if not for his character, but for his visual appeal. The choice to represent the stories main character as a bird, a triangle, a horn headed monster, that constantly changes form is an interesting one, allowing the reader to infuse him with their own interpretations. It also reflects his own development and struggles.
The other important characters, Aiko and Nanjou, are both incredibly complex and unique individuals, being the shy but determined daughter of an insane cultist and struggling but determined manga artist respectively. It's easy to fall in love with both of them for different reasons. All of the other characters in this series, from Mama Punpun to Seki and Shimizu to Yuichi are similarly complex, real and honest portrayals. There is no hero, no exemplar of the authors values, in Goodnight Punpun. This is a world of reality, real pain, real love, real mess and real sex.
Of course, on the other side of things, this is also a wholly unreal world, a construction that is unraveling apart as Punpun changes form. The mad preacher, Pegasus, is a representative of this surreal side of things, a madman who holds seemingly godly power. Pegasus is the exact type of shamanic lunatic I like to see.
Goodnight Punpun might not be as literally complex or utterly indecipherable as other animes or mangas (I'm looking at you, Neon Genesis Evangelion), but it is a multi-layered, thick and sublimely organised fictional creation. Visual symbols are rife throughout, representing everything from gods to childish worries. As said before, even Punpun is a symbol. He is every depressed and troubled young man, while he is also every one who has ever struggled with guilt, anger or confusing psycho-sexual thoughts. Of course, he is also a small cartoon bird, adding to his charm.
Don't expect to be happy after reading this story though. It is utterly heartbreaking throughout, and soul-destroying in the end. We can, however, reconcile ourselves through its more lighthearted and charming moments. There may be a lot of darkness, but characters like Nanjou, Shimizu and Pegasus bring light into the text. It is these confident or naive characters who face the same abyss as Punpun without falling in.
Nothing much need be said about Asano's art, which is, in two words, absolutely incredible. His technique of transforming photos and 3D images into realistic backgrounds before adding hand-drawn and near-photorealistic (but also grotesque) characters makes Goodnight Punpun incredibly visually interesting. You could spend hours on a single page, pouring over every detail, but it's excellent pacing allows us to move through the story with minimal difficulty.
Goodnight Punpun is amazing. Really. I couldn't recommend it enough, even to non-manga readers. Some of the references may go over the heads of many, and to those not accustomed to a distinctly Japanese style of personal drama it may be even more confronting (or perhaps they'll just find it confusing and bizarre) but, overall, I think the struggles faced by the characters are universal enough to be understood by anyone. There's demons inside of everyone, monsters we must face and overcome, and it is these monsters that Goodnight Punpun lovingly embraces, resulting in a totally unique, beautiful, sad, horrifying story.
Absolutely five stars!
Wow. Like, wow. I had to lay back and just be flabbergasted for about half an hour after finishing volume 12 the other night. I'm definitely not a manga reader of any regularity, but I can definitely say Goodnight Punpun has immediately become one of, if not, my favourite graphic series of all time. It perfectly mixes innocent and fun quirkiness, harsh and painful reality and complete emotional honesty in a surreal life journey that follows a faceless, "symbolic" protagonist.
I was attracted to Goodnight Punpun because of its titular character, Punpun, a small bird like creature wandering around a highly realistic world, dealing with an abusive family, depressed uncle and childhood love. Punpun is the centre of this world, and the character that I think most readers will empathise with most and want to follow, if not for his character, but for his visual appeal. The choice to represent the stories main character as a bird, a triangle, a horn headed monster, that constantly changes form is an interesting one, allowing the reader to infuse him with their own interpretations. It also reflects his own development and struggles.
The other important characters, Aiko and Nanjou, are both incredibly complex and unique individuals, being the shy but determined daughter of an insane cultist and struggling but determined manga artist respectively. It's easy to fall in love with both of them for different reasons. All of the other characters in this series, from Mama Punpun to Seki and Shimizu to Yuichi are similarly complex, real and honest portrayals. There is no hero, no exemplar of the authors values, in Goodnight Punpun. This is a world of reality, real pain, real love, real mess and real sex.
Of course, on the other side of things, this is also a wholly unreal world, a construction that is unraveling apart as Punpun changes form. The mad preacher, Pegasus, is a representative of this surreal side of things, a madman who holds seemingly godly power. Pegasus is the exact type of shamanic lunatic I like to see.
Goodnight Punpun might not be as literally complex or utterly indecipherable as other animes or mangas (I'm looking at you, Neon Genesis Evangelion), but it is a multi-layered, thick and sublimely organised fictional creation. Visual symbols are rife throughout, representing everything from gods to childish worries. As said before, even Punpun is a symbol. He is every depressed and troubled young man, while he is also every one who has ever struggled with guilt, anger or confusing psycho-sexual thoughts. Of course, he is also a small cartoon bird, adding to his charm.
Don't expect to be happy after reading this story though. It is utterly heartbreaking throughout, and soul-destroying in the end. We can, however, reconcile ourselves through its more lighthearted and charming moments. There may be a lot of darkness, but characters like Nanjou, Shimizu and Pegasus bring light into the text. It is these confident or naive characters who face the same abyss as Punpun without falling in.
Nothing much need be said about Asano's art, which is, in two words, absolutely incredible. His technique of transforming photos and 3D images into realistic backgrounds before adding hand-drawn and near-photorealistic (but also grotesque) characters makes Goodnight Punpun incredibly visually interesting. You could spend hours on a single page, pouring over every detail, but it's excellent pacing allows us to move through the story with minimal difficulty.
Goodnight Punpun is amazing. Really. I couldn't recommend it enough, even to non-manga readers. Some of the references may go over the heads of many, and to those not accustomed to a distinctly Japanese style of personal drama it may be even more confronting (or perhaps they'll just find it confusing and bizarre) but, overall, I think the struggles faced by the characters are universal enough to be understood by anyone. There's demons inside of everyone, monsters we must face and overcome, and it is these monsters that Goodnight Punpun lovingly embraces, resulting in a totally unique, beautiful, sad, horrifying story.
Absolutely five stars!
February 12, 2017
Let me begin by mentioning that I enjoy pessimistic works with nihilistic elements. So given the hype of this manga, I had high expectations. Needless to say, I was disappointed. I would have dropped it before its first quarter was completed, but its extreme high ratings, on both websites I follow, left me with a drifting promise of a hidden depth, or at least of an extraordinary ending. The work was shallow and the ending was horrible, so all that's left for me to do, is to write this review and warn anyone who will listen.
This manga has only one good point; it has a great technical structure. What I mean with that, is that the artwork, the panels, and the direction are great. Unfortunately, the technical competency of the mangaka is wasted.
It even begins with promise; managing to conjure up some locked-up nightmares from primary school. But then it's a free-fall. The time-jumps undermine the importance the prior events. The side characters eat a good chunk of space without being interesting, and -what's more important- never contributing anything. The uncle, the father, the two classmates, the overplayed cult; they offered nothing, but asked to be paid handsomely in panels.
We continue. The forcefulness of some events make the manga look silly, for instance the way Punpun lost his virginity, or the uncle's “tragic” back-story. And then it's the pretentiousness, a strong blossoming pretentiousness that manifests twofold: All these attempts to make the story a little darker, puny attempts to insert some sick or hardcore elements, and of course all those dialogs that tried so hard to appear philosophical and deep.
Last but not least, it's the ending; I expected fireworks, but a fart is all I got. The way I see it, the mangaka was a coward; he could have gone with an inspiring happy ending, or a dark one that could leave a scar. But instead, it is like he was afraid to be mainstream with the happy ending, but also he did not want to descent underground into the darkness. And that indecisiveness lead a complete failure of an ending.
I could go on, but I think my point is clear. It is also clear that my opinion regarding this manga makes me a minority, but please take note that I rarely rate so low any work, regardless of medium. So: 2.0/10.
This manga has only one good point; it has a great technical structure. What I mean with that, is that the artwork, the panels, and the direction are great. Unfortunately, the technical competency of the mangaka is wasted.
It even begins with promise; managing to conjure up some locked-up nightmares from primary school. But then it's a free-fall. The time-jumps undermine the importance the prior events. The side characters eat a good chunk of space without being interesting, and -what's more important- never contributing anything. The uncle, the father, the two classmates, the overplayed cult; they offered nothing, but asked to be paid handsomely in panels.
We continue. The forcefulness of some events make the manga look silly, for instance the way Punpun lost his virginity, or the uncle's “tragic” back-story. And then it's the pretentiousness, a strong blossoming pretentiousness that manifests twofold: All these attempts to make the story a little darker, puny attempts to insert some sick or hardcore elements, and of course all those dialogs that tried so hard to appear philosophical and deep.
Last but not least, it's the ending; I expected fireworks, but a fart is all I got. The way I see it, the mangaka was a coward; he could have gone with an inspiring happy ending, or a dark one that could leave a scar. But instead, it is like he was afraid to be mainstream with the happy ending, but also he did not want to descent underground into the darkness. And that indecisiveness lead a complete failure of an ending.
I could go on, but I think my point is clear. It is also clear that my opinion regarding this manga makes me a minority, but please take note that I rarely rate so low any work, regardless of medium. So: 2.0/10.
February 27, 2019
La nota es un 2.5/5.
Por fin he podido acabarlo. Mil gracias a mi maravillosa amiga Marina por acompañarme en este viaje de 13 tomos (y por dejármelos todos, nada de esto habría ocurrido sin ella). Espero que no me odie mucho por esta review, que sé que Asano es de sus autores preferidos. Así que quiero dejar claro que esta es solo mi opinión después de mi propia experiencia lectora, y que si alguien tiene dudas sobre si embarcarse en esta historia le recomiendo que de un paso adelante y juzgue con sus propios ojos.
La idea de hacer a Punpun con forma de pollo es brillante pero si soy totalmente sincera, ha tenido poco efecto en mí. No he empatizado más con él, no me ha dado más pena y no me he sentido identificada en ningún momento. Me ha parecido un personaje deprimido y deprimente, asqueroso, reprochable y patético. Un personaje un tanto real con una vida solo un poco más durilla que la del resto pero al que todo le afecta psicológicamente en demasía. Las personalidades distímicas me suelen gustar pero Punpun ha llegado a producirme repulsión o, la mayor parte del tiempo, indiferencia total. Pero esto es pasable porque para personalidades gustos y por lo menos tiene la complejidad suficiente como para considerarlo un buen personaje.
La historia me ha parecido inconstante y de ritmo irregular, lo que en mi opinión, ha diluido los puntos interesantes e importantes que marcan el desenlace, y son los causantes de que le haya puesto una nota tan mediocre cuando en general no me ha disgustado. Como esto me había dejado mal sabor de boca, me he puesto a investigar sobre posibles interpretaciones y al final he encontrado una entrevista al autor en la que menciona que ya tenía pensado cómo hacer el final desde que se publicó el tomo 3, y que en principio tenía planeado hacer la historia la mitad de corta. Y es que te enrollas demasiado, Charles Boyer. La trama da miles de vueltas sobre los mismos asuntos una y otra vez cuando no hace falta que lo haga: nos queda claro de sobra como es la personalidad de Punpun, no es necesario que la desarrolle hasta la extenuación o hasta desmontar al personaje contraproducentemente. Pasa lo mismo con el desarrollo de algunos personajes secundarios. Está de lujo que los mime y les de la importancia justa que merecen, porque no todos son igual de importantes ni contribuyen de la misma manera a la historia principal o a los protagonistas, pero en ocasiones creo que se excede en minuciosidad. Ves la historia en perspectiva, con vista de águila, y te preguntas: ¿Era realmente necesaria todas estas partes? Creo que se podría haber llegado al final con el mismo conocimiento de los personajes y lo que nos quieren enseñar habiendo tenido la mitad de su extensión. Claro que a lo mejor perdería el toque absurdo y delirante que caracteriza a Asano y creo que ese es mi problema, que el estilo del autor no está hecho precisamente para mí.
Lo más destacable es el apartado visual. La planificación y distribución de algunas viñetas es sencillamente sublime. Perfecta desde un punto de vista artístico. En ese sentido se merece un 12 sobre 10 de nota. Se puede disfrutar de este manga visualmente sin tener en cuenta la historia.
En resumen. Me ha parecido un manga descompensado, con un principio interesante y un final apoteósico (maravilloso, brillante, pleno. No tengo adjetivos suficientes para describir lo buenos que son los últimos volúmenes) y un nudo poco pulido. Un manga que incluye personajes de todos los colores y para todos los gustos, suficientemente bien llevados y construidos. Tal vez me haya decepcionado un poco por las altas expectativas que me había creado y no le esté dando el mérito que merece. También puede ser que no lo haya leído en el momento más adecuado de mi vida. Aún así creo que ha sido una buena lectura y que todo el mundo debería darle una oportunidad.
Por fin he podido acabarlo. Mil gracias a mi maravillosa amiga Marina por acompañarme en este viaje de 13 tomos (y por dejármelos todos, nada de esto habría ocurrido sin ella). Espero que no me odie mucho por esta review, que sé que Asano es de sus autores preferidos. Así que quiero dejar claro que esta es solo mi opinión después de mi propia experiencia lectora, y que si alguien tiene dudas sobre si embarcarse en esta historia le recomiendo que de un paso adelante y juzgue con sus propios ojos.
La idea de hacer a Punpun con forma de pollo es brillante pero si soy totalmente sincera, ha tenido poco efecto en mí. No he empatizado más con él, no me ha dado más pena y no me he sentido identificada en ningún momento. Me ha parecido un personaje deprimido y deprimente, asqueroso, reprochable y patético. Un personaje un tanto real con una vida solo un poco más durilla que la del resto pero al que todo le afecta psicológicamente en demasía. Las personalidades distímicas me suelen gustar pero Punpun ha llegado a producirme repulsión o, la mayor parte del tiempo, indiferencia total. Pero esto es pasable porque para personalidades gustos y por lo menos tiene la complejidad suficiente como para considerarlo un buen personaje.
La historia me ha parecido inconstante y de ritmo irregular, lo que en mi opinión, ha diluido los puntos interesantes e importantes que marcan el desenlace, y son los causantes de que le haya puesto una nota tan mediocre cuando en general no me ha disgustado. Como esto me había dejado mal sabor de boca, me he puesto a investigar sobre posibles interpretaciones y al final he encontrado una entrevista al autor en la que menciona que ya tenía pensado cómo hacer el final desde que se publicó el tomo 3, y que en principio tenía planeado hacer la historia la mitad de corta. Y es que te enrollas demasiado, Charles Boyer. La trama da miles de vueltas sobre los mismos asuntos una y otra vez cuando no hace falta que lo haga: nos queda claro de sobra como es la personalidad de Punpun, no es necesario que la desarrolle hasta la extenuación o hasta desmontar al personaje contraproducentemente. Pasa lo mismo con el desarrollo de algunos personajes secundarios. Está de lujo que los mime y les de la importancia justa que merecen, porque no todos son igual de importantes ni contribuyen de la misma manera a la historia principal o a los protagonistas, pero en ocasiones creo que se excede en minuciosidad. Ves la historia en perspectiva, con vista de águila, y te preguntas: ¿Era realmente necesaria todas estas partes? Creo que se podría haber llegado al final con el mismo conocimiento de los personajes y lo que nos quieren enseñar habiendo tenido la mitad de su extensión. Claro que a lo mejor perdería el toque absurdo y delirante que caracteriza a Asano y creo que ese es mi problema, que el estilo del autor no está hecho precisamente para mí.
Lo más destacable es el apartado visual. La planificación y distribución de algunas viñetas es sencillamente sublime. Perfecta desde un punto de vista artístico. En ese sentido se merece un 12 sobre 10 de nota. Se puede disfrutar de este manga visualmente sin tener en cuenta la historia.
En resumen. Me ha parecido un manga descompensado, con un principio interesante y un final apoteósico (maravilloso, brillante, pleno. No tengo adjetivos suficientes para describir lo buenos que son los últimos volúmenes) y un nudo poco pulido. Un manga que incluye personajes de todos los colores y para todos los gustos, suficientemente bien llevados y construidos. Tal vez me haya decepcionado un poco por las altas expectativas que me había creado y no le esté dando el mérito que merece. También puede ser que no lo haya leído en el momento más adecuado de mi vida. Aún así creo que ha sido una buena lectura y que todo el mundo debería darle una oportunidad.
August 30, 2017
Giving this series 5 stars is the easiest decision I've ever made.
September 28, 2019
I have already read the entirety of this series in English and I have reviewed most of the individual volumes. I'm using this review as a space to comment on details I'm noticing as I'm rereading the entire series in Spanish, my native language. I'll be updating this review as I go along.
EDIT: I've reread the story, and I've exhausted the character limit for GoodReads reviews with some additional comments.
You probably should read this interview with Asano from right after he completed this manga.
I fear reading or watching stuff translated to my language mainly for two reasons: first off, it's almost impossible for anyone to put as much care in the actual script of a story as the people who created it. I've written some stories, so I know every word that remained I made sure that it stayed because it should. However, I don't speak Japanese, and I feel too old to start learning it now. What I've found is that the translation to English made by fans was much better than the one published in Spanish. I don't know what is it with so many Spanish translators and their damned colloquialisms; they just love adding popular expressions missing in the original. It's worse yet because in this case the translator is Catalan, the most separatist region in Spain, in which Spanish isn't even the official language in most schools anymore (in many you don't get any class in Spanish), so I necessarily have to question the logic of so many publishers using Catalan translators to begin with. Many of the colloquialisms I simply don't hear nor read them where I live, and others I didn't understand. I'm very glad that I didn't read this magnificent work in Spanish first.
I'll comment on some points of the story I missed the first time through. Although I'll use spoiler tags, you likely shouldn't read any of it unless you have read the entire series, or you don't plan to read it in the future.
One of the biggest thematic points of this series is embodied in the concept of the "dark spot", or a personal relationship with a deity. When we met Punpun's curious conception of God in the first volume, most people probably saw it as a quirky way to depict a child's growing relationship with the concept of an omnipotent being, as taught to him by his uncle Yūichi. As we learn later on in the story,
Regarding uncle Yūichi, when he meets that twisted, maybe sociopathic high schooler during his time as a ceramics teacher, and falls in love with her, she probes him about his relationship with God. While in the beginning she might sound like a religious nut, by the end, .
Regarding uncle Yūichi's wild story of salvation: it's the first of three parallel arcs we get throughout the series about the different ways someone broken and hopeless can find meaning again through a deep relationship: in the uncle's case, .
Asano did a great thing through that first romantic obstacle in the character of Yaguchi, Aiko's boyfriend when they were around 15 years old. Being a clear wall against Punpun's goals, the author could have made the guy odious, someone we'd want to see beaten. But Asano turned him into the protagonist of some sports manga: he's a nice, sensible, cool guy with good looks. Worst: Punpun himself knows that Yaguchi would make a much better boyfriend. We learn from the guy how he feels like he's walking a tight rope: if his sports "career" fails, he won't be able to go to a decent high school, because he can't study for shit. He had promised that if he won the upcoming tournament, Aiko would be his forever, so when .
Regarding good old Aiko, you obviously reread every word of hers through the lense of what she eventually decides to do. When I first read the story, I felt as intrigued by Aiko as the protagonist was, but I didn't "like" her as a romantic goal. Her explicit need for her partner to abandon everything and just focus on her is terrifying, yet I forgot that she admitted that she would do that same thing for the other person. .
I've reread every part where Aiko is physically present. (Huge spoilers) .
Watching Punpun go again through his childhood emphasized how much of an anti-protagonist he is. Whenever he gets the opportunity to do something he actually wants, he flees from it, and in some cases spends almost the entirety of the story regretting it. I don't think it's a coincidence how the author chose to .
Regarding the plotting, rereading this story made me pick up many setups that somehow had gone completely over my head the first time. There are too many setups that go unacknowledged to remember them all, but I'm thinking now of two sequences in particular: when adult Punpun meets . The other sequence of setups relates to Sachi's (big spoilers for the last stretch of volumes) .
I think Asano mentioned that the whole story came to him in 30 minutes. Everything else, the beautiful and detailed drawings, the carefully woven fabric of setups and payoffs, was technique. I've heard before about other stories that have impacted me that they came on their own. It speaks to how broken human life is that if Asano had been doing anything else during those 30 minutes, we wouldn't have had "Oyasumi Punpun", a story that has meant so much for so many people, and obviously the author's life would have been very different.
I added the link to this review in my review for the last volume, but I think it bears repeating. It's a beautiful YouTube review for those who have read the entire thing, and it's full of nicely edited pictures. Something you'd probably like if you love this series as much as I do.
And to emphasize, I repeat that I love, love, love "Oyasumi Punpun". It's the kind of story that after you read it, you feel like you need to tell everyone you know to stop what they are doing and experience it. I think that for me it only happened before with Murakami's "Norwegian Wood" and then Fowles' "The Collector". I'd be sad if I have forgotten any other title that at the time impacted me so much, but in any case I feel now much stronger about Asano's story than the others.
EDIT: I've reread the story, and I've exhausted the character limit for GoodReads reviews with some additional comments.
You probably should read this interview with Asano from right after he completed this manga.
I fear reading or watching stuff translated to my language mainly for two reasons: first off, it's almost impossible for anyone to put as much care in the actual script of a story as the people who created it. I've written some stories, so I know every word that remained I made sure that it stayed because it should. However, I don't speak Japanese, and I feel too old to start learning it now. What I've found is that the translation to English made by fans was much better than the one published in Spanish. I don't know what is it with so many Spanish translators and their damned colloquialisms; they just love adding popular expressions missing in the original. It's worse yet because in this case the translator is Catalan, the most separatist region in Spain, in which Spanish isn't even the official language in most schools anymore (in many you don't get any class in Spanish), so I necessarily have to question the logic of so many publishers using Catalan translators to begin with. Many of the colloquialisms I simply don't hear nor read them where I live, and others I didn't understand. I'm very glad that I didn't read this magnificent work in Spanish first.
I'll comment on some points of the story I missed the first time through. Although I'll use spoiler tags, you likely shouldn't read any of it unless you have read the entire series, or you don't plan to read it in the future.
One of the biggest thematic points of this series is embodied in the concept of the "dark spot", or a personal relationship with a deity. When we met Punpun's curious conception of God in the first volume, most people probably saw it as a quirky way to depict a child's growing relationship with the concept of an omnipotent being, as taught to him by his uncle Yūichi. As we learn later on in the story,
Regarding uncle Yūichi, when he meets that twisted, maybe sociopathic high schooler during his time as a ceramics teacher, and falls in love with her, she probes him about his relationship with God. While in the beginning she might sound like a religious nut, by the end, .
Regarding uncle Yūichi's wild story of salvation: it's the first of three parallel arcs we get throughout the series about the different ways someone broken and hopeless can find meaning again through a deep relationship: in the uncle's case, .
Asano did a great thing through that first romantic obstacle in the character of Yaguchi, Aiko's boyfriend when they were around 15 years old. Being a clear wall against Punpun's goals, the author could have made the guy odious, someone we'd want to see beaten. But Asano turned him into the protagonist of some sports manga: he's a nice, sensible, cool guy with good looks. Worst: Punpun himself knows that Yaguchi would make a much better boyfriend. We learn from the guy how he feels like he's walking a tight rope: if his sports "career" fails, he won't be able to go to a decent high school, because he can't study for shit. He had promised that if he won the upcoming tournament, Aiko would be his forever, so when .
Regarding good old Aiko, you obviously reread every word of hers through the lense of what she eventually decides to do. When I first read the story, I felt as intrigued by Aiko as the protagonist was, but I didn't "like" her as a romantic goal. Her explicit need for her partner to abandon everything and just focus on her is terrifying, yet I forgot that she admitted that she would do that same thing for the other person. .
I've reread every part where Aiko is physically present. (Huge spoilers) .
Watching Punpun go again through his childhood emphasized how much of an anti-protagonist he is. Whenever he gets the opportunity to do something he actually wants, he flees from it, and in some cases spends almost the entirety of the story regretting it. I don't think it's a coincidence how the author chose to .
Regarding the plotting, rereading this story made me pick up many setups that somehow had gone completely over my head the first time. There are too many setups that go unacknowledged to remember them all, but I'm thinking now of two sequences in particular: when adult Punpun meets . The other sequence of setups relates to Sachi's (big spoilers for the last stretch of volumes) .
I think Asano mentioned that the whole story came to him in 30 minutes. Everything else, the beautiful and detailed drawings, the carefully woven fabric of setups and payoffs, was technique. I've heard before about other stories that have impacted me that they came on their own. It speaks to how broken human life is that if Asano had been doing anything else during those 30 minutes, we wouldn't have had "Oyasumi Punpun", a story that has meant so much for so many people, and obviously the author's life would have been very different.
I added the link to this review in my review for the last volume, but I think it bears repeating. It's a beautiful YouTube review for those who have read the entire thing, and it's full of nicely edited pictures. Something you'd probably like if you love this series as much as I do.
And to emphasize, I repeat that I love, love, love "Oyasumi Punpun". It's the kind of story that after you read it, you feel like you need to tell everyone you know to stop what they are doing and experience it. I think that for me it only happened before with Murakami's "Norwegian Wood" and then Fowles' "The Collector". I'd be sad if I have forgotten any other title that at the time impacted me so much, but in any case I feel now much stronger about Asano's story than the others.
December 27, 2018
I was attracted by the drawing style and the high grades. I did not manage to finish volume 5, but I believe 1000 read pages of this manga entitle me to leave a review, cause I doubt it's gonna get any better.
This is a manga you go into it thinking there's some hidden message there, it's 80% made of monologues, and talking to yourself (or God, same thing) unavoidably leads to philosophy, knowing one's self better and all that stuff you do when you have too much free time on your hands and your mind is too rested.
This manga reminds me of the time when I finished school and didn't have a job, living with my parents and wasting time 24/7. Oh, the thoughts and ideas that went through my head. If someone read my journal, they'd have me committed to a mental institution.
So we have these characters, some young, some old, but all lacking, destroyed inside. Absolutely no one in this manga is happy. But I pushed through thinking there's still something to learn from it.
People meet people, form relations, hope and love, take chances or cower away, laugh and cry. Live.
But the characters in this manga are all suicidal pathetic losers you wouldn't wanna know in real life. Liars and cheaters, lifeless selfish people. There is no point to their pain and struggles, only to fill more chapters. In volume 5, I truly believe the mangaka ran out of ideas with that direction.
In the end, my complain is, the mangaka fails to make the reader identify with any of the characters, just because they're so vile. I'm a depressive, dark and nihilistic guy, and I'm telling you these characters are not real. You can read about a caricatured bird and feel it exists and thinks, but Punpun and the people around him read like a cheap soap opera with long boring useless pseudo-philosophy thrown everywhere. You inevitably get bored by the suicidal ranting, and I became really worried about the mangaka that managed to maintain this for 13 volumes without cutting his wrists.
This is not a good manga in any way. I liked the cute girls/women's styles, though you eventually realize they could all be relatives because they look the same, with that round face. There's some soft core porn once a volume, so that's that.
This is a manga you go into it thinking there's some hidden message there, it's 80% made of monologues, and talking to yourself (or God, same thing) unavoidably leads to philosophy, knowing one's self better and all that stuff you do when you have too much free time on your hands and your mind is too rested.
This manga reminds me of the time when I finished school and didn't have a job, living with my parents and wasting time 24/7. Oh, the thoughts and ideas that went through my head. If someone read my journal, they'd have me committed to a mental institution.
So we have these characters, some young, some old, but all lacking, destroyed inside. Absolutely no one in this manga is happy. But I pushed through thinking there's still something to learn from it.
People meet people, form relations, hope and love, take chances or cower away, laugh and cry. Live.
But the characters in this manga are all suicidal pathetic losers you wouldn't wanna know in real life. Liars and cheaters, lifeless selfish people. There is no point to their pain and struggles, only to fill more chapters. In volume 5, I truly believe the mangaka ran out of ideas with that direction.
In the end, my complain is, the mangaka fails to make the reader identify with any of the characters, just because they're so vile. I'm a depressive, dark and nihilistic guy, and I'm telling you these characters are not real. You can read about a caricatured bird and feel it exists and thinks, but Punpun and the people around him read like a cheap soap opera with long boring useless pseudo-philosophy thrown everywhere. You inevitably get bored by the suicidal ranting, and I became really worried about the mangaka that managed to maintain this for 13 volumes without cutting his wrists.
This is not a good manga in any way. I liked the cute girls/women's styles, though you eventually realize they could all be relatives because they look the same, with that round face. There's some soft core porn once a volume, so that's that.
June 16, 2018
I understand why this book built up a cult following for its depiction of depression and toxic relationship.
As much as this book resonates with me, sadly I have to say that this book is a well-worn cliche.
Aiko embodies the perfect manic pixie dream girl. Charming yet toxic.
The protagonist is acting melodramatic 24/7 ended up being pretentious and obnoxious.
So technically, this manga is a wet dream for every 'depressed' and 'suicidal' adult.
As much as this book resonates with me, sadly I have to say that this book is a well-worn cliche.
Aiko embodies the perfect manic pixie dream girl. Charming yet toxic.
The protagonist is acting melodramatic 24/7 ended up being pretentious and obnoxious.
So technically, this manga is a wet dream for every 'depressed' and 'suicidal' adult.
May 26, 2016
Me llevó casi 2 semanas curarme de esta herida.
Esta historia no es para los débiles de corazón, que no les engañe la estética del protagonista, a lo largo del manga punpun pasa por situaciones sumamente dramáticas y a la vez realistas.
Comienza desde la infancia, donde Punpun se enamora, por primera vez, de una compañera de clases llamada Aiko. En ese preciso momento cambia su vida para siempre.
Es una historia larga y difícil de describir sin spoilearles nada, en la que pasan constantemente distintas situaciones que van cambiando la trama de formas casi impredecibles, sumado que se desarrollan varias historias a la vez, tanto de su familia, amigos y ciudad.
Esto hace que te encariñes con los personajes, pero Inio Asano no escatima en tragedias, escenas entrañables y humor lo que hace de este comic una montaña rusa de emociones encontradas.
En mi opinión lo más interesante del manga es su perspectiva en el amor. En un mundo donde el amor parece ser el combustible de todas las novelas modernas, en esta pareciera que es la razón por la que nos metemos en problemas, la lección por aprender en este caso es que el amor puede ser peligroso. Tal vez porque elegimos enamorarnos de la persona incorrecta, o en el momento incorrecto o de la forma incorrecta. O tal vez simplemente amamos porque pareciera que no quedara nada más que hacer. Todo esto esta desarrollado a la perfección.
El final me enojó, me dolió. No podía creer lo que pasaba, pero ahora a la distancia no lo cambiaría, lo aprecio como es.
La única razón por la que no es un manga de 5 estrellas es porque no me gustó para nada la historia del "profeta", me pareció tedioso, hartante y una excusa para atar las historias de los personajes secundarios que quedaron en el aire.
4,5. Realmente lo recomiendo, para los que les guste el manga como para los que no.
Esta historia no es para los débiles de corazón, que no les engañe la estética del protagonista, a lo largo del manga punpun pasa por situaciones sumamente dramáticas y a la vez realistas.
Comienza desde la infancia, donde Punpun se enamora, por primera vez, de una compañera de clases llamada Aiko. En ese preciso momento cambia su vida para siempre.
Es una historia larga y difícil de describir sin spoilearles nada, en la que pasan constantemente distintas situaciones que van cambiando la trama de formas casi impredecibles, sumado que se desarrollan varias historias a la vez, tanto de su familia, amigos y ciudad.
Esto hace que te encariñes con los personajes, pero Inio Asano no escatima en tragedias, escenas entrañables y humor lo que hace de este comic una montaña rusa de emociones encontradas.
En mi opinión lo más interesante del manga es su perspectiva en el amor. En un mundo donde el amor parece ser el combustible de todas las novelas modernas, en esta pareciera que es la razón por la que nos metemos en problemas, la lección por aprender en este caso es que el amor puede ser peligroso. Tal vez porque elegimos enamorarnos de la persona incorrecta, o en el momento incorrecto o de la forma incorrecta. O tal vez simplemente amamos porque pareciera que no quedara nada más que hacer. Todo esto esta desarrollado a la perfección.
El final me enojó, me dolió. No podía creer lo que pasaba, pero ahora a la distancia no lo cambiaría, lo aprecio como es.
La única razón por la que no es un manga de 5 estrellas es porque no me gustó para nada la historia del "profeta", me pareció tedioso, hartante y una excusa para atar las historias de los personajes secundarios que quedaron en el aire.
4,5. Realmente lo recomiendo, para los que les guste el manga como para los que no.
December 23, 2017
I initially thought this was exactly down my alley. It has an uber-realistic artstyle, a protagonist dealing with an existential crysis, a darker and cerebral tone, an intense coming of age story with a philosophical approach. Those are all quailities that I enjoy in literature. Sadly, all goes to hell for the stupidly over the top, excessive melodrama that flood its pages. It's kinda ridiculous, really. There's no balance, no contrast whatsoever between the most poignant parts of the manga and the rest. There's no time to breathe and let everything sink in and resonate, there's no space in which one can just relax and be contemplative about the plot. It's just one depressive mess after another, each one sadder and bleaker than the last one. Which maybe wouldn't be a problem for a more focused and shorter work, but definitely is for a thirteen volume-three thousand pages one.
November 26, 2014
How does guilt mold and guide you? How do your memories prevent you from reconciling with your present? How do you get stuck focused on what's behind, missing what's right next to you? How does your family sculpt you despite your fierce desire against it? Promises you end up not keeping, against others, against yourself. How long do you wait until you move on, and how do you move on?
Where do you find meaning and who do you appoint as your guiding light? What if you you're the only one who sees that light?
What happens when you force yourself to blend in, abandoning your true identity?
A dark story with enough characters to explore all of the above and then some. Exquisite drawings that capture both the deep characters and the living city they inhabit. They confidently veer off their arresting realism when the story demands it, from the inspired fluidity of the protagonist's self-image to the occasional, reality-bending visions of key characters.
Where do you find meaning and who do you appoint as your guiding light? What if you you're the only one who sees that light?
What happens when you force yourself to blend in, abandoning your true identity?
A dark story with enough characters to explore all of the above and then some. Exquisite drawings that capture both the deep characters and the living city they inhabit. They confidently veer off their arresting realism when the story demands it, from the inspired fluidity of the protagonist's self-image to the occasional, reality-bending visions of key characters.
October 31, 2016
Nunca había pensado que un manga me llenaría tanto. Me siento parte de Punpun, he tenido la oportunidad de entrar en su cabeza y pasar junto a él cada uno de sus días. Y aunque todo lo que me habréis oído decir de este manga es lo mucho que me he deprimido, no lo veo como algo negativo, al contrario, me ha abierto los ojos frente a un problema que tienen la gran mayoría de las personas.
Sé que dentro de unos años, volveré a releer esta maravilla, y volveré a sentirme fatal, y también sé que voy a obligaros a leerlo, porque es una obra completa y única.
Sé que dentro de unos años, volveré a releer esta maravilla, y volveré a sentirme fatal, y también sé que voy a obligaros a leerlo, porque es una obra completa y única.
Read
January 12, 2016EDITED: I'M PLANNING TO RE-READ IT AGAIN FROM THE START BECAUSE OF IT'S GREAT REVIEW . . . and a persistent friend of mine who don't accept no (or not yet for an answer)
And also, I think I am not yet mentally and emotionally prepared to read this deep book.
NOTE: IF YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM DEPRESSION OR EXISTENTIAL CRISIS THEN STAY AWAY FROM THIS!!
And also, I think I am not yet mentally and emotionally prepared to read this deep book.
NOTE: IF YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM DEPRESSION OR EXISTENTIAL CRISIS THEN STAY AWAY FROM THIS!!
June 28, 2016
We need books that show reality. This is one of them.
August 11, 2017
i read the entire series in a week a few years back and it made me insanely depressed. it's good though
October 28, 2020
Author: Hey guys, what about... misery?
Me: Wha-?
Author: The End.
Me: Wha-?
Author: The End.
August 10, 2024
4(con algo)/5
punpun es... ¿como esa pepita de uva con la que te atragantas en las campanadas de año nuevo?
porculera a más no poder y encima cuando logras tragarla, te deja con mal cuerpo.
invito a todo psicólogo y no psicólogo curioso (pero sobre todo psicólogo), echarle un ojo a esto. (hay mucha chichilla que sacarle jijiji).
============
joseca. si lees esto. dejo por aquí tu playlist de canciones que nos recuerdan a esta obra, ¿vale? ¿sí? de acuerdo: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2B1...
============
Siempre había estado convencido de que todo el mundo era mejor que yo, más espabilado, que cualquier persona poseía bondad y que incluso los más desagradables debían de tener algún motivo para serlo.
Por eso siempre me había odiado a mí mismo, siempre, por ser tan absolutamente lúgubre sin tener ningún motivo de peso para serlo.
Puede que esperara demasiado, que tuviera demasiada ilusión. Y cuando te haces ilusiones, te frustras. La respuesta era simple: no existe nadie medianamente decente. Ni uno.
👻💀💑
punpun es... ¿como esa pepita de uva con la que te atragantas en las campanadas de año nuevo?
porculera a más no poder y encima cuando logras tragarla, te deja con mal cuerpo.
invito a todo psicólogo y no psicólogo curioso (pero sobre todo psicólogo), echarle un ojo a esto. (hay mucha chichilla que sacarle jijiji).
============
joseca. si lees esto. dejo por aquí tu playlist de canciones que nos recuerdan a esta obra, ¿vale? ¿sí? de acuerdo: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2B1...
============
Siempre había estado convencido de que todo el mundo era mejor que yo, más espabilado, que cualquier persona poseía bondad y que incluso los más desagradables debían de tener algún motivo para serlo.
Por eso siempre me había odiado a mí mismo, siempre, por ser tan absolutamente lúgubre sin tener ningún motivo de peso para serlo.
Puede que esperara demasiado, que tuviera demasiada ilusión. Y cuando te haces ilusiones, te frustras. La respuesta era simple: no existe nadie medianamente decente. Ni uno.
👻💀💑
September 29, 2022
Goodnight punpun är en läskig äcklig men fin bok
August 9, 2018
Okay, let's tackle this turkey and re-write this whole review so y'all can get my beef with this series and the too-oft praise it gets.
Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe I read this too late into my life when I got my depression and anxiety in check and am actively maintaining it through medication and therapy.
Maybe I just don't understand the appeal of teenage and young adult angst and unsatisfied lust. I mean, I did at one time. Drama is delicious. But I didn't experience the spark of a connection that I've seen in reviews of this story. So let's get into--
What Works
-The contrast of the Punyama/Onodera family's design and everyone else
If you're gonna have your character feel like he's alienated from the rest of his peers and community, conveying him as a cartoonish bird or amorphous being compared to the hyper-realistic cast and environments is a very straightforward and effective choice. It further pushes the point that Punpun doesn't really belong here. Or, he feels like he doesn't belong here. And that alienation is definitely something I can confirm as a thing that happens. The whole family felt this in different degrees.
-The portrayal of "God". I'll be upfront and say that
this?
This is intrusive thinking given a name and a face.
Nothing "God" says is helpful, he's outright mean to Punpun at times, and the only way Punpun sought to get rid of this constant presence was to kill him--which meant killing himself. I do not approve of suicide, but "God" here is a real thing that happens. You have these thoughts that don't quite feel like your own, they're terrible, and it's a constant companion that you have.
Now let's go to--!
What Needed Improving
-All that shit that had no payoff. Lemme ask you a few questions--
What was the point of the Pegasus cult? What purpose did they serve in the long run of this series?
Why
in the living hell
did Punpun's aunt receive no consequence
for raping this boy???
That bothered me way too much, I swear to God.
I think what this series may have tried to do was talk about how unchecked depression is a real bitch, but it dwelled in the "this sucks" stage of that, and it's not something I can get behind.
I can only talk as an American reader, who lives in a country where mental illness is sort of still a taboo thing to talk about but therapy isn't stigmatized, but to see a character who's experienced depression from a young age, struggle through life with that weighing over him, attempt suicide as a means to get rid of the problem, and then have it conclude with him continuing to live but not actively doing something to treat himself because existing was "a worse end for Punpun" or whatever Asano wanted to say here, that
that just ruffles my feathers a good bunch.
If the message intended here is "depression sucks, and you have to live with it,"
then well
I mean
Yeah, if you have depression, there isn't an actual forever-cure for it
but it can be maintained
it can be medicated
you can live with it not overwhelming your actions and your days
and you certainly won't be doing half of the crazy-ass shit this poor boy did.
All-in-all I'm not reading this series again. Once is enough, and the rest of Asano's stuff just doesn't look interesting enough to grab my attention.
Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe I read this too late into my life when I got my depression and anxiety in check and am actively maintaining it through medication and therapy.
Maybe I just don't understand the appeal of teenage and young adult angst and unsatisfied lust. I mean, I did at one time. Drama is delicious. But I didn't experience the spark of a connection that I've seen in reviews of this story. So let's get into--
What Works
-The contrast of the Punyama/Onodera family's design and everyone else
If you're gonna have your character feel like he's alienated from the rest of his peers and community, conveying him as a cartoonish bird or amorphous being compared to the hyper-realistic cast and environments is a very straightforward and effective choice. It further pushes the point that Punpun doesn't really belong here. Or, he feels like he doesn't belong here. And that alienation is definitely something I can confirm as a thing that happens. The whole family felt this in different degrees.
-The portrayal of "God". I'll be upfront and say that
this?
This is intrusive thinking given a name and a face.
Nothing "God" says is helpful, he's outright mean to Punpun at times, and the only way Punpun sought to get rid of this constant presence was to kill him--which meant killing himself. I do not approve of suicide, but "God" here is a real thing that happens. You have these thoughts that don't quite feel like your own, they're terrible, and it's a constant companion that you have.
Now let's go to--!
What Needed Improving
-All that shit that had no payoff. Lemme ask you a few questions--
What was the point of the Pegasus cult? What purpose did they serve in the long run of this series?
Why
in the living hell
did Punpun's aunt receive no consequence
for raping this boy???
That bothered me way too much, I swear to God.
I think what this series may have tried to do was talk about how unchecked depression is a real bitch, but it dwelled in the "this sucks" stage of that, and it's not something I can get behind.
I can only talk as an American reader, who lives in a country where mental illness is sort of still a taboo thing to talk about but therapy isn't stigmatized, but to see a character who's experienced depression from a young age, struggle through life with that weighing over him, attempt suicide as a means to get rid of the problem, and then have it conclude with him continuing to live but not actively doing something to treat himself because existing was "a worse end for Punpun" or whatever Asano wanted to say here, that
that just ruffles my feathers a good bunch.
If the message intended here is "depression sucks, and you have to live with it,"
then well
I mean
Yeah, if you have depression, there isn't an actual forever-cure for it
but it can be maintained
it can be medicated
you can live with it not overwhelming your actions and your days
and you certainly won't be doing half of the crazy-ass shit this poor boy did.
All-in-all I'm not reading this series again. Once is enough, and the rest of Asano's stuff just doesn't look interesting enough to grab my attention.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2017
Η ιδέα πανέξυπνη, και η επιλογή του ήρωα να απεικονίζεται ως πουλί εξίσου ιδιοφυής. Όταν ο Asano ρωτήθηκε γιατί επέλεξε να τον σχεδιάσει έτσι (και σε άλλες μορφές στην εξέλιξη της ιστορίας αλλά ποτέ ως άνθρωπο) η απάντηση του ήταν πως ήθελε οι αναγνώστες να ταυτοποιήσουν τον Punpun οι ίδιοι και να ενθαρρύνονται να συνεχίζουν να διαβάζουν μέσω αυτού. Η απλοϊκή μορφή του δρα ως συμβολισμός συνδεδεμένος με κάθε κατάσταση που βιώνει ενώ του δίνονται π.χ. κέρατα ταύρου ως μεταφορά για το αστέρι Altair που ονομάζεται "cowherd star".
Η μορφή του είναι όσο ρευστή είναι και η διάθεση του ή η συναισθηματική του μετάπτωση. Το όλο manga αποπνέει μια αύρα αποτυχίας μιας και τίποτα δεν πηγαίνει καλά για τον πρωταγωνιστή ακόμα κι όταν εκείνος υποκρίνεται ότι οδηγεί μια ζωή ροδοπέταλων. Ο Asano υποστήριξε πως ο νεαρός Punpun ήταν φονταμενταλιστής με αποτέλεσμα μεγαλώνοντας να μετανιώνει για το απόλυτο της στάσης ζωής του και να απεχθάνεται τις αποχρώσεις του γκρι. Παρόλα αυτά [ο δημιουργός] απεχθάνεται τον χαρακτηρισμό του έργου του ως utsumanga (depressing manga) ή σουρεάλ γιατί θεωρεί πως το οριοθετεί αυστηρά και τ�� πνίγει. Το μόνο σίγουρο είναι πως η σειρά έχει δημιουργηθεί για αναγνώστες που προτιμούν να δεχθούν ως σημείο κλειδί την ανηθικότητα παρά να δουν τον πρωταγωνιστή ως πρότυπο.
Η σειρά είναι πολύ διαφορετική. Είναι θλιβερή και πολυεπίπεδη με ιστορία άριστα δεμένη με την αφήγηση και το σχέδιο. Σε συγκινεί και σε αγγίζει με πολλούς ανεξάρτητους τρόπους, καθιστώντας την άνετα στο τοπ των slice of life που έχω διαβάσει. Το τέλος ειδικά σε διαλύει με την δύναμη και τον ρεαλισμό του. Ανήκει πλήρως στην εικονογραφημένη λογοτεχνία και ως τέτοια συγκαταλέγεται και από την συντριπτική πλειοψηφία του αναγνωστικού κοινού των manga παγκοσμίως. Κάντε την χάρη στον εαυτό σας και διαβάστε την.
Η μορφή του είναι όσο ρευστή είναι και η διάθεση του ή η συναισθηματική του μετάπτωση. Το όλο manga αποπνέει μια αύρα αποτυχίας μιας και τίποτα δεν πηγαίνει καλά για τον πρωταγωνιστή ακόμα κι όταν εκείνος υποκρίνεται ότι οδηγεί μια ζωή ροδοπέταλων. Ο Asano υποστήριξε πως ο νεαρός Punpun ήταν φονταμενταλιστής με αποτέλεσμα μεγαλώνοντας να μετανιώνει για το απόλυτο της στάσης ζωής του και να απεχθάνεται τις αποχρώσεις του γκρι. Παρόλα αυτά [ο δημιουργός] απεχθάνεται τον χαρακτηρισμό του έργου του ως utsumanga (depressing manga) ή σουρεάλ γιατί θεωρεί πως το οριοθετεί αυστηρά και τ�� πνίγει. Το μόνο σίγουρο είναι πως η σειρά έχει δημιουργηθεί για αναγνώστες που προτιμούν να δεχθούν ως σημείο κλειδί την ανηθικότητα παρά να δουν τον πρωταγωνιστή ως πρότυπο.
Η σειρά είναι πολύ διαφορετική. Είναι θλιβερή και πολυεπίπεδη με ιστορία άριστα δεμένη με την αφήγηση και το σχέδιο. Σε συγκινεί και σε αγγίζει με πολλούς ανεξάρτητους τρόπους, καθιστώντας την άνετα στο τοπ των slice of life που έχω διαβάσει. Το τέλος ειδικά σε διαλύει με την δύναμη και τον ρεαλισμό του. Ανήκει πλήρως στην εικονογραφημένη λογοτεχνία και ως τέτοια συγκαταλέγεται και από την συντριπτική πλειοψηφία του αναγνωστικού κοινού των manga παγκοσμίως. Κάντε την χάρη στον εαυτό σας και διαβάστε την.
December 3, 2021
Oyasumi Punpun is about the pain of living. A violent hit of reality. It commits to painting life for the jumbled mess of feeling it is; happiness is fleeting, but so is everything else. It offers a uniquely human experience, profiling the life of Punpun Punyama from elementary school to young adulthood. Inio Asano carefully details every painful step along the way to comment on the very nature of our character.
One of Punpun's most striking aspects is how its characters decisions, even as little kids, hold a profound impact on who they are and how they live as adults. Characters obsess over promises they made from their childhood to the point it drives their very nature now. It's amazing how such a happy wish could feel like more of a curse.
Punpun's form gives us a look into his psyche, clearly wearing his attitude on a sleeve. When he takes on the life of his neighbor Takashi Fujikawa and pretends to be something he's not, he becomes this nearly unrecognizable, much like his time with his alien shaped head with four eyes, or his tetrahedron phase, making this (in my opinion) the most painful part of his life. Punpun morphed into the most basic shape he could take, doing the bare minimum needed to pass as a living person.
In the end, Punpun is forced to move on, denied the easy way out he earned after such a miserable life. It's not a happy ending by far, because Punpun wanted to be forgotten, to die quietly under the same sky from his childhood on top of that miso factory now that he lost who he promised to take care of, and also got rid of his main source of dark thoughts. Instead, he has to keep on going, making this the worst possible ending after all what he endured.
One of Punpun's most striking aspects is how its characters decisions, even as little kids, hold a profound impact on who they are and how they live as adults. Characters obsess over promises they made from their childhood to the point it drives their very nature now. It's amazing how such a happy wish could feel like more of a curse.
Punpun's form gives us a look into his psyche, clearly wearing his attitude on a sleeve. When he takes on the life of his neighbor Takashi Fujikawa and pretends to be something he's not, he becomes this nearly unrecognizable, much like his time with his alien shaped head with four eyes, or his tetrahedron phase, making this (in my opinion) the most painful part of his life. Punpun morphed into the most basic shape he could take, doing the bare minimum needed to pass as a living person.
In the end, Punpun is forced to move on, denied the easy way out he earned after such a miserable life. It's not a happy ending by far, because Punpun wanted to be forgotten, to die quietly under the same sky from his childhood on top of that miso factory now that he lost who he promised to take care of, and also got rid of his main source of dark thoughts. Instead, he has to keep on going, making this the worst possible ending after all what he endured.
April 23, 2020
ისეთ რამეებზე მაქვს 5/5 დაწერილი, რომ ამასაც იგივე ნაირად რომ ვაფასები კი მერიდება, მაგრამ რას ვიზამთ :დ
ზოგადად ერთი ცუდი ჩვევა მახასიათებს მანგებში ყოველთვის უდიდეს მნიშვნელობას ვანიჭებ "არტებს", მაგრამ ეს ის შემთხვევა იყო, როდესაც ავტორმა თავისი თხრობის სტილით იმდენად მომნუსხა, რომ ბოლო თავებამდე დიდი ყურადღება არც მიმიქცევია "არტებისთვის" და ბოლოსღა მივხვდი, რომ არამარტო შინაარსობრივად, არამედ ესთეტიკურადაც ერთ-ერთი საუკეთესო რამ წამიკითხავს.
ზოგადად ერთი ცუდი ჩვევა მახასიათებს მანგებში ყოველთვის უდიდეს მნიშვნელობას ვანიჭებ "არტებს", მაგრამ ეს ის შემთხვევა იყო, როდესაც ავტორმა თავისი თხრობის სტილით იმდენად მომნუსხა, რომ ბოლო თავებამდე დიდი ყურადღება არც მიმიქცევია "არტებისთვის" და ბოლოსღა მივხვდი, რომ არამარტო შინაარსობრივად, არამედ ესთეტიკურადაც ერთ-ერთი საუკეთესო რამ წამიკითხავს.
May 17, 2021
I’m not sure rereading this was a great idea, but well...I still think it’s one of the best manga I’ve ever read.
July 5, 2020
I believe this is one of the best coming of age stories I've ever read or seen or heard of. Also, this is one of the most depressing and saddest and darkest things I've ever read. It left me heart-broken and in tears too many times. If you ever have any doubts about manga, this is the depth it can plumb in. The way it pictures the depression is more than realistic. A masterpiece, indeed.
December 23, 2022
Chock-full of horrible things. Dark simply for the sake of being dark. No attempt by the protagonist to create his own meaning amongst the chaos. I may have liked it, had I read it at a younger age; but this is a world view and “vibration” that I can no longer allow myself to succumb to. Despair is only one of many truths.
July 9, 2018
Goodnight Punpun by Inio Asano
Long-Winded Review #4 [XXL Edition]
Introduction:
Oyasumi Punpun, or Goodnight Punpun in English, is Inio Asano's magnum opus. This is his ultimate masterpiece, and easily one of the best manga of all time. Hands down my absolute favorite. It's hard to review this without spoilers, or at the very least setting expectations. Expectations are important in a book like this, since so much of it subverts or utterly destroys genre conventions. As such, I am entirely avoiding spoilers, but a lot of what I'll say will definitely set expectations. This is a seinen manga like no other; it's a psychological slice-of-life story that eventually turns into a drama, with romance, comedy, and horror elements. Honestly, putting it into any box is a disservice to the uniqueness of this manga.
Series Overview:
The series takes us from when Punpun is in elementary school all the way up to his early 20s, from an innocent and hopeful child to a cynical and depressed adult. The story focuses on Punpun's life for the most part but also follows various side characters, many of which are his elementary school friends, so we get to see how they grow up. Occasionally, new characters will be introduced that will be pivotal to the story, or otherwise used to highlight or contrast aspects of the manga. However, each character has depth, they have their own story and journey, and they stand on their own. This series is 147 chapters long, collected in 13 volumes or 7 beautiful 2-in-1 volumes, which is how I read it (reviewing the series as a whole so that I can do it justice).
Punpun Himself:
I know I need to address this, as I'm sure most people coming into this manga are curious. I think it's better to interpret it yourself, but I will try to give you a spoiler-free overview. Punpun himself is depicted as a 2-dimensional bird thing, and his appearance changes over the course of the story, but all the characters in the manga see him as a normal human. Only we, the reader, see him in his various forms. What these various forms mean is up to your interpretation, although there are official explanations out there if you so desire. Mostly but not exclusively, it is done to reflect Punpun's current state of mind, and to allow the reader to better relate or project onto the character. It might be an odd preposition to relate better to a bird thing than a human, but it's an ingenious gimmick that just works. There are other reasons for this, but I'll leave it up to you to find out. For most of the series, Punpun does not talk, or at least he doesn't have speech bubbles. He is implied to talk, as other characters will talk and reply to him, but for the most part it is left up to the reader to infer what he says and how he acts based on the narration, the context, and his body language. A lot of times, his actions and reactions are deliberately exaggerated, as are some of the other characters; this is something Asano does in a lot of his manga for various reasons, one of them being comic relief, but it is up to you whether or not to take these things at face value. Just remember that what we see and what the characters see are not always the same, but it really depends on your interpretation.
Writing, Characters, and Story:
For the most part, this manga reads like a first-person narrative even though technically it is not. It is almost autobiographical in nature if not for the focus shifts into other characters' lives and perspectives. Asano places such immaculate care into his wording and dialogue. It is evocative, emotional, and philosophical. It can also be funny, disturbing, crass, or surreal.
In the elementary school years, Asano perfectly captures the innocence of childhood and the hopes and fears of growing up. It felt extremely nostalgic to me, and even reminded me of things about my own childhood that I had long forgotten. In the middle school years, we start seeing characters mature and realize that the world is not what they envisioned, that adults are not the perfect people they thought they were, and that love and puberty are confusing. In the high school years, Asano perfectly captures the angst and confusion of those years, from self-discovery to the pressures of the nearing adulthood to the sexual urges prevalent in those years. In the post-high school years, Asano explores darker themes, such as existentialism, depression, trauma, and one's place in the world; as well as relationships, sex, and work.
The beauty of having followed these characters throughout all of these years is that we can see how they've become the adults that they are, and how their childhood, upbringing, relationships, and adversity affect them even now. Asano is a master at seeding things very early on that pay off much later on in the story, even small details that are easily missed. Seemingly irrelevant characters may show up later, events from a decade back might have significance later, symbolism set up in the beginning might play a part throughout the story or become clearer later on. There is an elliptical or cyclical nature to Asano's stories and this one is no different. Everything ties together neatly.
Where Asano really succeeds in this manga is the way he depicts his characters, their relationships, and their situations so realistically. Asano is subtle; he never tells you how to feel about characters and events, he will simply put it out there and you will have to interpret how to feel about it. We are never told to feel bad for the characters, or relate to the characters, or feel disgust for the characters. It is never that simple. These characters are not strictly meant to be likable, they are meant to be real. We are shown their affability and their demons, and it is up to us to figure out if we can relate, feel disgusted, feel pity, feel adoration, or all of the above. Unlike a lot of media where it is obvious or heavy-handed what the creator is trying to make us feel, Goodnight Punpun is subtle, it is never black and white. You might think a character is likable one page and then disgusting in another, or you might initially despise a character and then grow to empathize with them. Human beings are complex like that, and we all have demons we try to hide from others, or even from ourselves. It is important to accept the good and the bad in ourselves and in others.
This is a heavy, heady, and sometimes depressing manga. It depicts life as it is, with all the darkness, all the happiness, all the pain, all the dullness, all the trauma. Unlike most manga, it is not meant to be an escape from reality or wish-fulfillment, it is meant to BE reality. Ultimately, it's up to you what message you get from this, but I guarantee that it will stick with you in one way or another.
Art:
Inio Asano's art is simply breathtaking. With the exception of Punpun and his family, everything is depicted with extreme detail and realism. It is a deliberate contrast for which the meaning is up to your interpretation. Characters are given a lot of thought, with varied clothes that change every day, houses and rooms with extremely detailed backgrounds and possessions, and mannerisms that reflect their personalities.
As is usual with Asano's art, his absolute forte lies in his facial expressions. They are incredibly expressive, evoking absolute sorrow, joy, endearment, pity, fear, disgust, boredom. Where they shine, however, is in their subtlety. Some of his expressions have a Mona Lisa quality to them, where you can't tell if the characters are happy or sad, as if the characters themselves are conflicted about how to feel. Oftentimes, Asano will only leave you with a character making a cryptic expression with no explanation of how they might be feeling, and it is up to you to infer how they might be feeling based on context. I always complain about media forsaking the old adage of "show, don't tell" and it's very refreshing to be see Asano allowing us to make up our own mind instead of feeding us forceful sentiments.
Another thing that is a constant in Asano's manga are his incredibly detailed backgrounds. He uses a mix of hand drawn and digitally processed backgrounds. Small piece of trivia: he literally goes around taking pictures of various settings to use in his manga (that's also how he finds styles and clothes for his characters to wear). That's partly why his backgrounds and set-pieces look so realistic. It really helps this story feel more grounded, immersive, and realistic. It's important to have a good sense of setting in a story like this, especially when the story moves from one place to another. It is imperative because certain locations hold a lot of significance in the story, so they need to be memorable. This also goes back to my previous point about the way that Punpun is depicted in contrast to the rest of the world, and it helps the reader know that this story is as real as it gets despite a seemingly unrealistic main character, which brings me to my next point about the art...
The way that Asano chose to depict Punpun is brilliant. Apart from the narrative benefits I already mentioned (and the ones I didn't mention to avoid spoiling too much), Punpun's constantly evolving design offers many artistic benefits. It allows Asano to constantly play with Punpun's design depending on his mood, mental health, age, and body language. His expressions are often depicted either very exaggerated or very subtle, leaving the reader to interpret how his actual human self might look like to the other characters. Sometimes Punpun will be depicted with more human features, like hands, clothes, a full body, and other details. Throughout the series, Punpun goes through several different forms, some of which are spins on the iconic bird design, some that look more human, some that look flat out bizarre, and some where his face is exchanged for grotesque aberrations. This really helps Asano show the readers the mood or state of mind that Punpun is in, since for the most part Punpun can be somewhat cryptic with his thoughts and feelings. This can also be used to great comedic effect, much like the way Asano will sometimes have his other characters act and pose in eccentric and over the top ways, which helps lighten the mood in an otherwise dark and serious story.
Lastly, I need to address the highly graphic nature of this manga. This series is not for the easily offended or the faint of heart. Much like other Asano works, there are themes of domestic abuse, murder, suicide, and rape. As such, there are several instances of very graphic sex and violence. Some might say it's used for shock value, and they might be right to some extent, but to dismiss it as just that is short-sighted. These scenes, much like the extremely realistic writing and art style, are meant to show just how fucked up real life can get. And how do you really do these topics justice without showing them in their most realistic and ugly form? It is meant to be disturbing, it is meant to be shocking. These scenes are meant to really sell just how appalling humans can be, just how harrowing life can be, and how these things are happening to real people in the real world. These scenes can be hard to look at, so avoid this book if you don't think you can handle it.
Closing Words:
All in all, this is an absolute masterpiece. I know I've said this about every Inio Asano manga I've read thus far, but what can I say? He just gets it in a way that no other writer I have experienced in any medium does. Goodnight Punpun is easily his best work and it will stick with me forever. I have never cried so many times during a story as I have while reading this, and I am not usually one to cry very much at all. This is just a very cathartic series; it helped me unpack my past, act in the present, think about the future I had been dreading, make peace with my demons, and accept reality in all its brutality and beauty. It can be a tough read, it can be really disturbing, it can be very depressing, but at the end of the day the message of the story is not an inherently negative one but a refreshingly real one. Thus far, this is the only piece of media to have ever caused me to make actual changes in my life for which I have already seen results for. If that isn't a masterpiece, I don't know what is.
11/10
Long-Winded Review #4 [XXL Edition]
Introduction:
Oyasumi Punpun, or Goodnight Punpun in English, is Inio Asano's magnum opus. This is his ultimate masterpiece, and easily one of the best manga of all time. Hands down my absolute favorite. It's hard to review this without spoilers, or at the very least setting expectations. Expectations are important in a book like this, since so much of it subverts or utterly destroys genre conventions. As such, I am entirely avoiding spoilers, but a lot of what I'll say will definitely set expectations. This is a seinen manga like no other; it's a psychological slice-of-life story that eventually turns into a drama, with romance, comedy, and horror elements. Honestly, putting it into any box is a disservice to the uniqueness of this manga.
Series Overview:
The series takes us from when Punpun is in elementary school all the way up to his early 20s, from an innocent and hopeful child to a cynical and depressed adult. The story focuses on Punpun's life for the most part but also follows various side characters, many of which are his elementary school friends, so we get to see how they grow up. Occasionally, new characters will be introduced that will be pivotal to the story, or otherwise used to highlight or contrast aspects of the manga. However, each character has depth, they have their own story and journey, and they stand on their own. This series is 147 chapters long, collected in 13 volumes or 7 beautiful 2-in-1 volumes, which is how I read it (reviewing the series as a whole so that I can do it justice).
Punpun Himself:
I know I need to address this, as I'm sure most people coming into this manga are curious. I think it's better to interpret it yourself, but I will try to give you a spoiler-free overview. Punpun himself is depicted as a 2-dimensional bird thing, and his appearance changes over the course of the story, but all the characters in the manga see him as a normal human. Only we, the reader, see him in his various forms. What these various forms mean is up to your interpretation, although there are official explanations out there if you so desire. Mostly but not exclusively, it is done to reflect Punpun's current state of mind, and to allow the reader to better relate or project onto the character. It might be an odd preposition to relate better to a bird thing than a human, but it's an ingenious gimmick that just works. There are other reasons for this, but I'll leave it up to you to find out. For most of the series, Punpun does not talk, or at least he doesn't have speech bubbles. He is implied to talk, as other characters will talk and reply to him, but for the most part it is left up to the reader to infer what he says and how he acts based on the narration, the context, and his body language. A lot of times, his actions and reactions are deliberately exaggerated, as are some of the other characters; this is something Asano does in a lot of his manga for various reasons, one of them being comic relief, but it is up to you whether or not to take these things at face value. Just remember that what we see and what the characters see are not always the same, but it really depends on your interpretation.
Writing, Characters, and Story:
For the most part, this manga reads like a first-person narrative even though technically it is not. It is almost autobiographical in nature if not for the focus shifts into other characters' lives and perspectives. Asano places such immaculate care into his wording and dialogue. It is evocative, emotional, and philosophical. It can also be funny, disturbing, crass, or surreal.
In the elementary school years, Asano perfectly captures the innocence of childhood and the hopes and fears of growing up. It felt extremely nostalgic to me, and even reminded me of things about my own childhood that I had long forgotten. In the middle school years, we start seeing characters mature and realize that the world is not what they envisioned, that adults are not the perfect people they thought they were, and that love and puberty are confusing. In the high school years, Asano perfectly captures the angst and confusion of those years, from self-discovery to the pressures of the nearing adulthood to the sexual urges prevalent in those years. In the post-high school years, Asano explores darker themes, such as existentialism, depression, trauma, and one's place in the world; as well as relationships, sex, and work.
The beauty of having followed these characters throughout all of these years is that we can see how they've become the adults that they are, and how their childhood, upbringing, relationships, and adversity affect them even now. Asano is a master at seeding things very early on that pay off much later on in the story, even small details that are easily missed. Seemingly irrelevant characters may show up later, events from a decade back might have significance later, symbolism set up in the beginning might play a part throughout the story or become clearer later on. There is an elliptical or cyclical nature to Asano's stories and this one is no different. Everything ties together neatly.
Where Asano really succeeds in this manga is the way he depicts his characters, their relationships, and their situations so realistically. Asano is subtle; he never tells you how to feel about characters and events, he will simply put it out there and you will have to interpret how to feel about it. We are never told to feel bad for the characters, or relate to the characters, or feel disgust for the characters. It is never that simple. These characters are not strictly meant to be likable, they are meant to be real. We are shown their affability and their demons, and it is up to us to figure out if we can relate, feel disgusted, feel pity, feel adoration, or all of the above. Unlike a lot of media where it is obvious or heavy-handed what the creator is trying to make us feel, Goodnight Punpun is subtle, it is never black and white. You might think a character is likable one page and then disgusting in another, or you might initially despise a character and then grow to empathize with them. Human beings are complex like that, and we all have demons we try to hide from others, or even from ourselves. It is important to accept the good and the bad in ourselves and in others.
This is a heavy, heady, and sometimes depressing manga. It depicts life as it is, with all the darkness, all the happiness, all the pain, all the dullness, all the trauma. Unlike most manga, it is not meant to be an escape from reality or wish-fulfillment, it is meant to BE reality. Ultimately, it's up to you what message you get from this, but I guarantee that it will stick with you in one way or another.
Art:
Inio Asano's art is simply breathtaking. With the exception of Punpun and his family, everything is depicted with extreme detail and realism. It is a deliberate contrast for which the meaning is up to your interpretation. Characters are given a lot of thought, with varied clothes that change every day, houses and rooms with extremely detailed backgrounds and possessions, and mannerisms that reflect their personalities.
As is usual with Asano's art, his absolute forte lies in his facial expressions. They are incredibly expressive, evoking absolute sorrow, joy, endearment, pity, fear, disgust, boredom. Where they shine, however, is in their subtlety. Some of his expressions have a Mona Lisa quality to them, where you can't tell if the characters are happy or sad, as if the characters themselves are conflicted about how to feel. Oftentimes, Asano will only leave you with a character making a cryptic expression with no explanation of how they might be feeling, and it is up to you to infer how they might be feeling based on context. I always complain about media forsaking the old adage of "show, don't tell" and it's very refreshing to be see Asano allowing us to make up our own mind instead of feeding us forceful sentiments.
Another thing that is a constant in Asano's manga are his incredibly detailed backgrounds. He uses a mix of hand drawn and digitally processed backgrounds. Small piece of trivia: he literally goes around taking pictures of various settings to use in his manga (that's also how he finds styles and clothes for his characters to wear). That's partly why his backgrounds and set-pieces look so realistic. It really helps this story feel more grounded, immersive, and realistic. It's important to have a good sense of setting in a story like this, especially when the story moves from one place to another. It is imperative because certain locations hold a lot of significance in the story, so they need to be memorable. This also goes back to my previous point about the way that Punpun is depicted in contrast to the rest of the world, and it helps the reader know that this story is as real as it gets despite a seemingly unrealistic main character, which brings me to my next point about the art...
The way that Asano chose to depict Punpun is brilliant. Apart from the narrative benefits I already mentioned (and the ones I didn't mention to avoid spoiling too much), Punpun's constantly evolving design offers many artistic benefits. It allows Asano to constantly play with Punpun's design depending on his mood, mental health, age, and body language. His expressions are often depicted either very exaggerated or very subtle, leaving the reader to interpret how his actual human self might look like to the other characters. Sometimes Punpun will be depicted with more human features, like hands, clothes, a full body, and other details. Throughout the series, Punpun goes through several different forms, some of which are spins on the iconic bird design, some that look more human, some that look flat out bizarre, and some where his face is exchanged for grotesque aberrations. This really helps Asano show the readers the mood or state of mind that Punpun is in, since for the most part Punpun can be somewhat cryptic with his thoughts and feelings. This can also be used to great comedic effect, much like the way Asano will sometimes have his other characters act and pose in eccentric and over the top ways, which helps lighten the mood in an otherwise dark and serious story.
Lastly, I need to address the highly graphic nature of this manga. This series is not for the easily offended or the faint of heart. Much like other Asano works, there are themes of domestic abuse, murder, suicide, and rape. As such, there are several instances of very graphic sex and violence. Some might say it's used for shock value, and they might be right to some extent, but to dismiss it as just that is short-sighted. These scenes, much like the extremely realistic writing and art style, are meant to show just how fucked up real life can get. And how do you really do these topics justice without showing them in their most realistic and ugly form? It is meant to be disturbing, it is meant to be shocking. These scenes are meant to really sell just how appalling humans can be, just how harrowing life can be, and how these things are happening to real people in the real world. These scenes can be hard to look at, so avoid this book if you don't think you can handle it.
Closing Words:
All in all, this is an absolute masterpiece. I know I've said this about every Inio Asano manga I've read thus far, but what can I say? He just gets it in a way that no other writer I have experienced in any medium does. Goodnight Punpun is easily his best work and it will stick with me forever. I have never cried so many times during a story as I have while reading this, and I am not usually one to cry very much at all. This is just a very cathartic series; it helped me unpack my past, act in the present, think about the future I had been dreading, make peace with my demons, and accept reality in all its brutality and beauty. It can be a tough read, it can be really disturbing, it can be very depressing, but at the end of the day the message of the story is not an inherently negative one but a refreshingly real one. Thus far, this is the only piece of media to have ever caused me to make actual changes in my life for which I have already seen results for. If that isn't a masterpiece, I don't know what is.
11/10
April 9, 2021
fue demasiado para mi. estuvo MUY cabron
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