Sunny

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read a tweet on father's day recommending this manga for people with broken home, im not exactly a 'broken home' kid nor have daddy complex (i have the opposite, i know... mom... lol)

but this manga really comforts me. the feeling of '1 second before your tears starts coming out' lingers on me for hours after reading this manga. i'm a big fan of the art, watched tekkonkinkreet too, i like it very much.

i definitely can relate to some of the kids' stories. it's really amazing how the mangaka can depicts such details into the character stories. i definitely will reread this.

To the orphans of Star Kids home, the Sunny, a broken down car, is their ray of hope. Unsure of whether they'll ever return to their families, these kids rely on their imagination to give them consolation. Taiyou Matsumoto captures the hardships of the many children at Star Kids home, each with their own ways of coping with their lives. White-haired Haruo uses the Sunny to escape into a fantasy where he's an outlaw on the run, mirroring his tendency to rebel to cope with his feelings of isolation. Sei, the bookworm, imagines driving in the Sunny towards his home and meeting up with his parents. He keeps his feelings dormant, clinging to his hope that his parents will return for him, even though time and time again, they don't. The kids find their unique ways of maintain hope. Junsuke, for example, clings to his umbrella at all times, affirming that it is his house and helps his little brother look for four-leaf clovers for their mother. The stories of these children are saddening but how they keep going is beautiful. Matsumoto does a fantastic job with the web of relationships between the members of the orphanage. He aptly portrays how the kids affect each other's actions and beliefs and how they differ in their perception of the other orphans. Even the seemingly selfish Haruo can show signs of empathy when his friends are insecure. The bond between the orphans is very strong, whether they admit to it or not. Although they show signs of quarreling, these children are able to keep going in life thanks to the friendships they form. They want to leave the orphanage and return to their families, yet cannot bear to see their friends leave them. Ultimately, the children behave like children, with their own mood swings, moments of sympathy and selfishness, and their drive to live a satisfying life amidst their hardships.

The parents have their own reasons and regrets for leaving their children, and Matsumoto poignantly captures the personal, bittersweet meetings of the children with their parents. Both the children and the parents cherish the moments they can spend time with each other but knowing that they have to eventually part ways again, they're unable to fully enjoy these reunions. Some meetings tear apart the relationships between the children and their parents, but the parents still seek to keep in touch even when the children seemed to have abandoned them. Many of these parents have admirable intentions but are constrained by their conditions, whether it be alcohol addiction, divorce, or poverty. The circumstances of life are not ideal, but each character has to move forward.

Matsumoto sticks close to reality with this manga, drawing upon his own experiences as an orphan to the point that he feared the characers in his story were too similar to real people in his life. This inspiration from reality definitely shows, as Sunny is able to maintain its realism from beginning to end. Sunny's artwork is peculiar but very fitting. Its rough and unidealized nature works wonders to convey flawed characters. The cluttered feeling captured by the artwork complements the messiness of life seen throughout the manga.

Sunny is a work best experienced rather than analyzed and one that demonstrates the beauty that can be found in a harsh life. The ending of Sunny leaves the reader wishing for more, unable to fully depart from this beautiful story.

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This story won’t be for everyone but I think the people that enjoy it will absolutely love it. It is essentially a slice of life, comedy, human drama, and it does each of these three things phenomenally.

Following the lives of the kids living at the Star Home Orphanage, who all were left by their parents due to various circumstances, this story delves very deep into almost every kids’ emotions and lives up to this point and you can really feel just how broken these kids are. There wasn’t one single character that I didn’t like, and many of them had a ton of charm to them and their distinct personalities. Taiyo Matsumoto is extremely skilled at writing kids who act in a very believable way due to their personal situations. For a 37 chapter series, this has some of the best characters I’ve ever seen.

The art style, while very unique and possibly even ugly to some, fits the characters and story perfectly. I believe it adds a lot to the comedy and it works extremely well at portraying subtle emotions in the characters that you, as the reader, can tell they are trying to hide.

Overall, this series is an extremely well done story with likable and well-written characters. It connected with me very very much personally because of its realistic portrayal of the kids emotions as well as the immense charm and character the series has. It also has a style of humor I really loved, making this, quite possibly, my favorite manga ever.

If you’ve enjoyed any other of Matsumoto’s works, please check this one out, if you’re like me it may just become your favorite of his.

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Artwork is very different.
Storyline is slice of life with different chapters focussing on different characters. It's an easy series to read and keeps you absorbed. Nothing that left a particularly strong impression on me though. Maybe because I'm from a different generation to the one it depicts. I only read it last year but couldn't remember what it was about until I re-read the synopsis on MAL and that brought back bits and pieces of the story back to me. I suppose the characters didn't resonate with me, and I didn't identify myself in any of them so I was detached.
Anyway, still think it's worth checking out if just for the artwork. Taiyo Matsumoto, the guy behind Tekkon Kinkreet has a unique style which sets his work apart from typical manga.

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