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translationandbetrayals · 2 years

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Oyasumi Punpun: a personal view on one of the best things I've ever read.

As a child, before I became a teenager, I used to love searching for mangas and trying to copy the beautiful drawings that I saw on each page. When I grew up I started to occupy my time on other things and I forgot about my whole fascination for manga, as I got closer to western comics (Watchmen being my all time favorite).

Then, two years ago, when I was locked inside my house during the forced quarantine that the whole world had to experiencie, I found out about Oyasumi Punpun. I know there are a lot of posts about this manga, maybe with the same ideas that I'm going to talk about, but I believe that it is a creation that doesn't leave people indifferent.

Melancholy is portrayed accurately in a lot of works from different areas: arts, music, literature, psychology, performance, movies, and of course, manga and anime. This feeling of a void inside of our souls is universal: eastern and western cultures approach it in their own ways, but sometimes they can create a portrait that is so truthful that it can haunt its audience.

So, what makes Punpun so popular?what makes this manga a touching experience to the reader?and why do I consider Inio Asano's most known story to be the best manga that I've read so far? we'll dive into that in the next lines.

To start, I'll talk about the story and the events in a little summary that doesn't pretend to tell each detail (we have Wikipedia for that, don't we?). Maybe you've been asking to yourself whether if reading Oyasumi Punpun is a good idea or not. Of course I encourage you to read it, but it might be a little too graphic or heavy for some people (which is totally OK, because this is a dense content).

We start off with Punpun Punyama, a little bird that lives with his parents and is their only child. Punpun seems to have a "normal" life: he is very innocent, and he is not capable, in a certain way, to see the dark side of his life. He is not aware of the problems that his parents have: the weird personality of his mom, or the alcoholism and violence problems of his dad. His uncle himself has a story with depression and different struggles that are revealed later in the other volumes.

On his first day of school, we are shown that he is "in love" with a girl who is a bully, but at the same time is very popular among her classmates. That day, the teacher announces that she is moving away from the school, but one of the most important moments in the manga happens here: Aiko, a new girl, appears in the classroom as a new student that comes from another city. In the first volume we are introduced to different side stories that can be considered fun but at the same time are a little serious: for example, Aiko's "mother" works at selling some type of magic water, which embarasses Aiko, only to be discovered by Punpun and his uncle, who confronts the lady. Punpun discovers pornography and starts to fantasize about different scenarios with Aiko, because he falls in love with her and they start a cute "relationship" together, having their first kiss or having a lot of different conversations.

Punpun friends seem like really normal kids: Shimi, for example, is the typical kind of a boy that is kind of clumsy, in counterpart of Seki, his best friend, who is very independent and knows a lot for his age. Harumi is the one who leads the group in a certain way: he is a good-willed kid, after all, and he appears later on the manga in crucial moments. Sachi, a character that appears later, is a teenager that goes to an abandoned factory to draw, the exact same place where the group of children go out to play and search for ghosts. As everything happens, we see the toxic origins of Punpun's relationship with Aiko: it starts with a lot of small lies and threats, and it only gets worse through time. Punpun, after receiving a telescope from his father as a gift, decides that he's going to be a space scientist, to discover a new planet and save his love interest.

After promising Aiko to join her in her plan to escape from home, Punpun realises that he is not ready for this kind of commitement, and leaves her standing in the place they agreed to reunite some time ago. In this part of the manga, we see how Punpun's father ends up going to jail for beating his wife, sending his mom to the hospital and wishing she never had Punpun, how Punpun's last name changes from Punyama to Onodera, or how the uncle relies on his bitter way of seeing life. Also, a conspiracy is shown as another side story: a man called Toshiki Hoshikawa starts his own sect, which will be very important in the future events within the years.

With all of these scenes we have a base for what will come next: we can consider this manga as a "coming of age" story, that shows us how much everything can change with time: Punpun starts to grow up, being an adolescent at first, then a young adult and finally an adult without any life expectances. Death surrounds some characters too, and each time we look at this work, we have to consider that suicide is always a part of it (even as a controversial topic). We start with a story that seems cute, and has beautiful pannels, a very good construction of its characters and even funny moments... but all of this starts to drive us to a point when we will inevitably connect way too much, then end up crying or just thinking about life in a more philosophical way. A lot of the dialogues are intended to show different points of view, depending of each character.

Asides from the art, which is a treasure on its on way, we get a portrait of depression at its best. That's why it might be triggering for people who suffer from depression: because sometimes it dwells in our own wounds. The sensations that some chapters of the Manga give are "silent": they give this impression of total desolation and disability, being at times devastating. Some parts of the story occur as "plot twists" and the story doesn't get predictable: it creates its own paths, it resembles different pictures of melancholy. For example, the explicit sexual parts are never intended to be "erotic": they always leave this strange feeling of disgust, or sadness. Violence is present too, and we see Punpun turning into a complete mess, changing (metaphorically) the shape of his head, which we will never see as a human.

Characters as Aiko live an existence that is full of hidden misery: in fact, Aiko is some kind of a paradox, because she is beautiful but her life is terrible, only to become worse when Punpun appears in the picture. Sachi, in other hand, is perhaps the most mature character: she is fully dedicated to her job, but she feels like she needs to save Punpun so she sticks to him in every way possible, and even saves him. We see how Punpun's close circle of people affect each of his actions, and we see how Punpun's choices affect others too.

Now, talking about my personal experience, I feel like this manga is one of those pieces that create some sort of a "new" self: I feel like there was one Mikami before I read Oyasumi Punpun, and when I finished it I was another person. Maybe because I got so in touch with a lot of experiences from my own life, in aspects that are so different: despising life at some times, family issues, toxic relationships and the importance of friends. Not everything was bad, anyways, I had a good time reading it and I feel like I was more conscious of things as I analyzed it, but it hurt a lot. It hurt because Aiko and Punpun (the main story) are an example of a toxic couple, and by the time I read this I was just getting out from a relationship that destroyed me because it was based on lies and abandonment. We learn about the destructive power of love, and that was just what I was learning, along with different life depictions, such as the uncertainty of the future, the overwhelming feelings of loneliness or how some things that look like simple coincidences are much more complex and imply the result of our own decisions.

I also feel that you can take everything differently if you experience the manga in another time of your life. I feel like this manga (again, paradoxically) has helped me to see that even when life seems so bad it can be accompanied by beautiful moments and people who are always there, with whom you can always count with. Of course, this is my own interpretation: it was a healing experience from all of the sad things that happened to me last year, and I'm very thankful with myself for having enough concentration to read all of the volumes.

Well, I hope after all of these words you might have imagined what Oyasumi Punpun is about, to help you decide if you feel like it's worth your time or not. If you read it before, I hope you enjoyed reading this (maybe we share some points of view in common, who knows?). Last but not least, I'm very thankful with the people who read all of the things I wrote. Sometimes I feel like these kind of things deserve to be talked about: we must take mental health as a real issue, and maybe if we remove some topics from the "taboo" spectrum we can improve as a society.

By Camila Iglesias.

#Manga #Japan #personalstory #submission

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femalechibiblogger · 4 years

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My Top 5 Psychological Manga

1. Goodnight Punpun

‘Goodnight Punpun’ follows the life and experiences of Onodera Punpun, a young boy living in Japan, as well as a few of his friends. The manga follows Punpun as he grows up, splitting the book into around 4 stages of his life: Elementary school, middle school, high school, and his early 20s.

This manga features the titular, Punpun, as he goes through dramatic changes as he grows into adulthood. He starts out as an innocent child in the form of a cartoon bird, but develops mental problems and transforms into something monstrous as an adult. This series tackles with mental illness, abusive homes, toxic relationships, mistaking lust for love, and the loss of childhood innocence.

2. My Daughter’s Friend

Kosuke has lived to play the ideal self as a father at home and as a manager at work. However, his life changes 180 degrees when he meets his daughter’s friend. In front of her, Kosuke was able to be his real self and his worn-out heart was healed. However, He knows that these are feelings that should never be held. The story of the Middle Aged Man Meets Girl, presented to the modern people who suppress themselves in society, begins.

This series may hit a little too close to home for anyone who has become a single parents after the death of their spouse. Here, the father tries to reconnect with his teenage daughter after his wife’s death...but his daughter refuses to open up to him and all her father can do is be patient and put food on the table. And meeting his daughter’s friend, who has a toxic relationship with her unstable and controlling mother, is only making matters worse by seducing him. All of this makes him look like a neglectful father and a pervert to others, but in reality...he is just trying to keep his family together and is going through so much turmoil that his emotional health is slowly deteriorating.

3. Shrink ~Psychiatrist Yowai~

Panic disorder, depression, developmental disorder, PTSD... Japan is said to be a country of hidden mental illnesses, where many patients suffer from mental illnesses without being able to talk to anyone. The suicide rate is one of the worst among developed countries. How has Japan fallen into this kind of situation? Psychiatrist Konosuke Yowai confronts the problems facing Japan's psychiatric care and sheds light on the shadows in people's minds.

This manga hits a bit too close to home for anyone suffering from depression and other mental illnesses that affect ones emotional and even physical health. It also shows that seeing a psychiatrist can help and that there is no shame in going to one. This manga also shows that your health should come first, especially if your job is the cause of your mental and emotional problems.

4. Brother For Rent

What the young girl rents is not a movie, but a brother, and the wonderful warm feeling of spending time with him. With her parents deceased, and her once kind brother changed... What the girl seeks is the warmth of a family that she once had. Even if it's a rental one.

This manga features a little girl struggling to make the best of her life after the death of her parents...but her older brother has turned from kind and happy to angry and emotionally abusive. All the girl can do to make herself happy is by paying a college student to be her “brother” and spend time with her...but the young man does not want her money and wants to protect her like a real brother would for his little sister. He wants her to leave her older brother and live with him instead...especially since her older brother refuses to acknowledge her kindness and all of her attempts to cheer him up.

5. Chi no Wadachi

The illusion of that person leads me astray. Mother and son. This is the ultimate favoritism.

This manga tells the story of a young boy who has a toxic relationship with his mother. His mother, who dotes on him everyday, is actually mentally unstable and emotionally manipulative when it comes to her beloved son. She tries to manipulate him into believing that he only needs her and no one else, encouraging him to push his father and girlfriend away...until he begins to see the monster that she truly is and questions if her “motherly love” was ever real.

#manga #psychological #read manga #top 5 list #Top List #Drama #tragedy #mental health #mental illness #toxic relationship

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fairy-islearchive · 7 years

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Hi! Could you recommend some good manga to read? So far I have liked Riyoko Ikeda's works, Kaze to ki no uta, Pandora Hearts, Kuroshitsuji, Mahou Tsukai no Yome and Natsuki Takaya's works.

There’s also Glass Mask by Miuchi Suzue and Red River by Chie Shinohara (which is a better manga at taking the whole “modern girl is taken to ancient times” than Chieko Hosokawa’s Crest of the Royal Family). If you’re looking for a manga similar to Rose of Versailles, look no further than Sakamoto Shinichi’s Innocent and Innocent Rouge. Be cautious since this manga is a seinen and contains heavy amounts of realistically detailed gore, blood, nudity (but with the naughty bits fortunately censored), rape/sexual assault and sex. In vein with Innocent/Innocent Rouge in terms of gore and violence, there’s also Kentaro Miura’s Berserk. You can also read the manga Candy Candy, with art done by Igarashi Yumiko, or you can try Hikari no Pansy by Okumura Mariko. Although she made it during the ‘80s, the art style is reminiscent of 70s shoujo.

There’s also Yamato Waki’s short manga, Lady Mitsuko, which is another historical manga. I’d also recommend Haikara-san ga tooru if you’re able to get it. For manga that deals with a young character dealing with rape, murder and his half-brother trying to uncover the truth, then Hagio Moto’s (mangaka of Thomas’ Heart and Poe no Ichizoku fame) , A Cruel God Reigns is just the thing for you. For the horror genre, there’s Umezu Kazuo The Drifting Classroom,you can pick and choose Junji Ito’s oneshots, or The Spiral, and the shoujo anthology Zekkyou Gakkyuu. Don’t let the art style fool you, there are chapters in there that are the stuff of nightmares, Elfen Lied, too. If you want something extremely depressing, Oyasumi Punpun, which is up there with Rose of Versailles, and A Cruel God Reigns as my top 3 depressing manga. Osamu Tezuka manga like Black Jack, Astro Boy or Princess Knight, too.

Rozen Maiden and its sequels is similar to manga like Pandora Hearts and Kuroshitsuji. Heck, Gosick, too since it has characters dressed up in 19th century clothing and solving mysteries. An under-appreciated manga would be Majo no Shinzou by Matoba has a similar cutesy art style and deals with a witch and her lantern companion trying to search for her older sister and get her heart back. Kaoru Mori’s works such as A Bride’s Story, a manga that takes place in 19th century Turkey, Victorian Romance Emma and Shirley Madison also deal with protags in 19th century England with a slice of life feel to them, if you want a down to earth series. Another manga that takes place in the 19th century is Ikoku Meiro no Croisee, which deals the culture clash and later bonding between a young Japanese girl sent to France to work for her family, and a French teen. For a seinene manga about robots and the world slowly, gently dying out, Yokohoma Kaidashi Kiko. For another historical mystery manga, there’s Mozart Doesn’t sing Lullabies, which is about Beethoven, his student Czerny, a singer named Sirene and 12 year old Schubert searching the truth about Mozart’s death.

For a manga dealing with lgbt characters in a positive light, there’s Shimanami Tasogare, Wandering Son, Bokura no Hentai (it’s not an H-manga, but it’s not SFW either). Stop!! Hibari-kun has a main female lead who’s implied to be trans, and not a crossdresser as everyone else, including here male love interest, considers her. It was published in the 80s, so there might be views that were just an unfortunate product of its time.

Another tearjerking and dramatic manga is Ichijou Yukari’s Suna no Shiro. A warning that the manga deals with suicide/attempted suicide and a relationship with a large age gap.

#manga recs #my responses #anonymous #i'll update my answer when i remember some more that i read in the past

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translationandbetrayals · 4 years

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Oyasumi Punpun, a Bittersweet Introduction to Chaos

Everyone of us had the feeling of pain because a broken heart, the sadness of a close friend who must depart or maybe not living up the expectation of other people. Oyasumi Punpun represents magnificently all of that problems.

Oyasumi Punpun it’s a work of Asano Inio, author of some other realistic novels, like “Solanin” or “The Girl of the Shore.

In this history, we follow the live of Onodera Punpun, from his childhood to his young adulty. Punpun is (at the start) represented by a little bird, but in his world he is a normal human. We follow his journey, dealing with the many challenges life throws at him, including oncoming adolescence, domestic issues and budding romances.

As life becomes a burden, Punpun’s journey shifts between bouts of hope, and clouds of darkness from the innocent ignorance and curiosity of his childhood, sexual frustration and discovery in his teen years,chasing a long lost love, crippling depression and numbness in unemployment, just so many things that add up to a sad existence. The only difference was, Punpun made a lot more wrong decisions in his life, and it was spiral that never stopped spinning down.

Very early in, we become aware that this coming of age story is much different in its exploration of issues. Most manga in this genre explore issues on a surface level, focusing more on school relationships and budding romances. Punpun, however, deals with incredibly serious themes from a very young age, including domestic abuse, divorce and neglect. Our perception is skewed due to the abstract way that these events are being depicted, much like how a troubled, naive young boy may see the world around him.

However we also meet the people that surrounds Punpun, which everyone has his own problems. We meet a childhood friend of Punpun, Seki, who in my opinion is one of the three protagonists of the histori, Seki is a stubborn boy who thinks he understand society but in the end he has no clue, we follow his path to accept his best friend, Shimizu, which is a pretty special guy that his way of being faces Seki’s one.

But I mentioned Seki as one of the three protagonists, so, who is the other, and how is it related to Punpun? Well, his name is Pegasus, he is an adult who never interacts with Punpun, and for sake of not spoiling I won’t say more than that.

The moral dilemmas in this work are everyday’s bread, Punpun faces though decisions in every point of his life and when he doesn’t know what to do, he ask for help to god.

Yes, to God, Punpun’s uncle taught him a chant to call god, wich it’s representated as a man with afro and glasses. But in the end the God of Punpun is nothing more than his conscience, looking for a exuse to act with a selfish behavior.

I absolutely recommend this manga to everyone of you, as a reader it’s impossible to not feeling identified to Punpun or another character, it’s really my favourite manga. My only warning is that if you’re currently in a bad spot in your life, you must not read this manga. It is a story that keep hitting you with stuff. As a matter of fact, it punches you with a running start and then doesn’t stop punching. Couple that with a surreal and yet at the same time very realistic art style, and it is a great manga from start to finish. Also another thing, took your time to read it.

That’s all.

(yes, this is an image of a page on the manga) Tomás Chávez Vega

#Manga #essay #submission

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