Sunny

At the Star Kids Home, a combination group home/orphanage, a disparate group of children struggle with both the everyday issues of growing up and those specific to abandoned or orphaned children. Their one avenue of escape is the Sunny, a junked car that sits a little ways from the home. In the Sunny they can travel the world, go into space, or just find a refuge from the troubles of their world.

(Source: ANN)

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Sunny won the 61st Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category in 2015 and the 20th Japan Media Arts Festival Excellence Prize Award in 2016.

The series has been published in English by VIZ Media under the SigIkki imprint in hardcover format since May 21, 2013 and in Spanish by ECC Comics since October 29, 2015.

Sunny is based partly on author Taiyo Matsumoto's own childhood, during which he spent time in a children's home.

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Reviews

Jul 26, 2025

dy10120911

Recommended

Watching Sunny is a bitter sweet experience. On one hand, you get to witness the daily life inside one of the warmest orphanages, filled with caring friends and devoted caretakers. On the other hand, you can’t help but feel the underlying sadness and loneliness that the children experience. Each chapter tells a separate story, and as you continue reading, you come to understand each character more deeply—their feelings, desires, and especially their sense of isolation, even when surrounded by others.

The orphanage feels like a temporary stop on their journey: a place that offers comfort and memorable experiences, but never truly becomes home. The story ...

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Jun 28, 2024

kerushiiin

Recommended

One beautiful thing that Sunny has opened my eyes to is the importance of certain details and habits my mom has always had with me, which I found in the book.

[Personale take]

I know exactly the unmistakable smell of the Nivea cream that Haruo always sniffs. Its greasy consistency and white color that leaves a residue on your skin if you don't spread it well. My mom has always put it on me since I can remember, and even now she wants me to use it if she sees that my skin is irritated for any reason. Especially during the winter period, when the corners of ... my mouth were dry and wounds would form, I remember she would put it on me so generously that I always had some cream left in my mouth. I couldn't stand it, and that's probably why, even now as an adult, I still can't stand putting creams on my hands or anywhere else. That Nivea cream from that blue tin has marked me since I was a child.

But it's funny, because now as I read Sunny, if I think about it, I find that my mom's way of doing this is an unforgettable love language, given that I'm still talking about it now. Through Sunny, Taiyo Matsumoto has managed to make me understand the sense of gratitude I should have for the maternal and paternal affection I received when I was a child and how we should be more aware of what we have.

[Review]

"Sunny," serialized by IKKI magazine from 2010 to 2015, is a Seinen manga written and illustrated by Taiyo Matsumoto. Acclaimed for his unconventional style, outside the typical stylistic canons, Matsumoto focuses on storytelling and conveying emotions rather than pleasing people. It is published by Jpop in Italy and divided into 6 volumes in total.

In "Sunny," the sensei tells the stories and daily lives of some kids living in an institution/orphanage called "Hoshinoko." The manga shows how this will influence their perception of life and how they, in turn, are perceived by society. The Sunny, an out-of-use car parked in the institution, serves as a safe place for the kids. A place where adults are not allowed and where their dreams and worries can be expressed.

There are a total of 37 chapters, each self-contained yet connected by a unique sense of time and progression.
The story does not have a main character; instead, every presence within Hoshinoko gets to tell their own story and essence. This allows us to empathize with all the characters, whether they are those we like the least because of their personality or our favorite characters. It is thanks to this mode of narration that I was able to grow fond of some children whom I initially found insufferable but later understood why they have certain ways of behaving that could be mistaken for mere whims or absurdities. It is known that children always have unique ways of communicating.

Most of the characters are developed equally, except for two or three who had only one chapter dedicated specifically to them. The characters that impressed me the most are Adachi, for his paternal sense towards all the children in the institution, especially Haruo, who until the last chapters demanded to be the one Haruo needed to stay on the right path; Sei, for his unwavering hope of seeing his mother again, his calm and gentle demeanor that captured me from the beginning when he had to take care of a new boy in the institution; and finally Haruo, for the development he underwent throughout the manga.

From an artistic standpoint, this is my first time delving into Taiyo Matsumoto's style. Initially, I was skeptical, but I learned to appreciate his art more and more thanks to his wonderful way of storytelling.

You don't have to be an orphan to understand these children's feelings. A little empathy is enough to grasp the pain or happiness within the pages being told. This work managed to take me back to being a child but with the awareness and perception of the world through adult eyes. It was a narrative as delicate as it was harsh, like the reality of life, leaving a bittersweet taste in the mouth. There were several points in the manga where the master made me close the book and think, "Wow, that hurt."
I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone because it's a story that deserves to be read.

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Aug 30, 2023

21stcenturyboy

Recommended

Truly lovely. These stories are so rich and the children are so tender...gentle, polite, brave, brash, foolish, silly, and hopeful, all at once. At times a bitter warning to adults that their choices have far-reaching implications, at times a reminder that to be young is to be filled with a capacity for anything and everything, irrespective of environment.

My favorites are Mr. Adachi, Sei, and Haruo. Of course the children are the stars but the adults at the home are truly commendable. Mr. Adachi is not cool or suave. He does not play a character; he isn't paternalistic or apathetic. He treats each child as a ...

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Poll: Sunny Chapter 37 Discussion automnesouriant - Jan 28, 2016	9 replies	by UnknownGhost5 »» Nov 2, 11:37 AM
Poll: Sunny Chapter 1 Discussion RVDA - Sep 5, 2016	2 replies	by UnknownGhost5 »» Apr 28, 11:56 AM
Poll: Sunny Chapter 5 Discussion RVDA - Sep 5, 2016	0 replies	by RVDA »» Sep 5, 2016 11:21 AM

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