Oyasumi Punpun: Bird Against World
Japanese mangas are read worldwide and increasing in popularity.
One of the reasons for the success of mangas is the variety in genre and in art style. Magazines dedicated to one genre or bookshops that focus on a specific type of manga are equally as coveted. Popular genres are shoujo [targeted for teen girls], psychological thriller and comedy On the other hand, depressing slice-of-life isn’t a very favored subgenre but the manga Oyasumi Punpun [Goodnight Punpun] proves otherwise.
In the long list of comic books you’re planning on reading next, Punpun should be at the very top of it.
Written by Inio Asano, the plot, divided into 13 volumes, follows the anti-hero Onodera Punpun and his life throughout childhood into early adulthood, in modern Japan. Growing up in an unstable family, Punpun has big dreams of saving the world, but his life starts to change when he falls in love with his elementary school classmate, Aiko Tanaka. Through the heartbreaks of his life, Punpun often summons a non-religious deity that he calls God to save him, but eventually finds out that it isn’t enough.
At first giving off the impression that this manga is a bizarre comedy of a coming-of-age story, it quickly takes a dark turn. It’s an edgy story, at times disturbing, about the inevitable tragedies that happen in life. It shows us the real consequences that mental illness and trauma have on everyday people. In addition, the character of Punpun is unsettling but also heartwrenching, as he struggles to make the best out of life when it seems like everything around him is going south.
The story of Punpun stands out greatly by its graphics, because the main character and his family members are represented by clumsily drawn birds. Asano wanted the reader to imagine what the Punpun family would look like, inciting them to connect deeper with the characters.
Uneasy, twitchy and slightly nihilistic, Oyasumi Punpun is a difficult but hooking read about depression, loneliness, death, adulthood and family. Asano delivers a crudely realistic view on the ups and downs of life in its most average form and probably the most striking slice-of-life masterpiece.
About the Author:
Mizuki Khoury
Born in Montreal, based in Tokyo. Sabukaru’s senior writer and works as an artist under Exit Number Five.
