Inio Asano

Asano's magnum opus. Alternately saddening and joyful, at times horrifying, Goodnight Punpun tells the story of the titular Punpun, drawn as a bird, as he navigates the difficult waters of adolescence while simultaneously dealing with emotional and sexual abuse, this one requires a strong cautionary statement. Nevertheless, this is one of the best manga I've ever read. It will leave you haunted.

The first volume, and start of Punpun Punyama's coming-of-age tale (dear god, dear god, tinkle hoy - help him). Out of the entire series, this is the lightest and most wholesome volume despite some of the trials, tribulations and other major life events Punpun goes through. The ride only gets sadder and more tragic from here on out. But at least we get to look at our cute bird boy while we do it.

I eat coming of age narratives set in urban environments like candy. Even so, solanin was a particularly great one, with well-drawn characters and immaculately designed settings. Gave me echoes of Box Office Poison. Definitely will be rereading this one.

This manga is a mixed bag in my opinion. I read it simultaneously to the Ellison's short story collection Strange Wine, and this struggled to keep my attention. However, when I finished Ellison, this got my full attention, and mostly did not disappoint.

The story follows two middle school students who enter a casual relationship with each other, for differing reasons. Throughout the manga, the characters grow to hate each other, then to love each other, but end on a weird note. It is a tale show more of longing through sexual interaction. And yes, it does have a lot of graphic imagery, so be warned.

The ending especially got me. The beginning and ending were weak, while the middle chunk was solid, so it took a while to get into, and left me underwhelmed, while not necessarily being "bad." This is a very middle tier manga, especially in terms of romance manga. show less