There's a beginning, a middle, and an end, but not much structure beyond that. The story is clearly divided into three "acts," each spanning a different part of Punpun's life, and each with its own climax. However, there is little foreshadowing or buildup to said climaxes; nothing to help the reader guess where the plot is going at any given moment. There is little sense of progression, and the story seems to meander through various disconnected arcs. Each arc is fairly formulaic: Punpun is unhappy, something unusual happens to him, and his visual design changes slightly. This would all be fine if it weren't for the fact that each arc is very much the same as the ones those that preceded it. As a result, the story often seems boring, monotonous, and unfocused.
This monotony seemingly exists to reflect Punpun's depressive outlook on life. While this was clearly the author's intent, it doesn't make the story interesting or entertaining to read. In fact, Inio stated in an interview that one of this reasons for writing Punpun was because he had always considered escapist manga to be "bullshit." The story itself is peppered with references to escapism, usually in the form of a God or similar belief, always portrayed as being an immature and unjustified excuse for one’s actions. Instead of wryly hinting at his messages, Inio instead decides to beat the reader over the head with them. This would be fine, but eventually the messages begin to overshadow the story, hurting its coherence and believably. Entire chapters will be dedicated to internal monologues reflecting the themes of this manga, rather than actual story progression. These chapters are only balanced out by faux-artsy segments which specifically try not to advance the plot, but these are far too common to be called "interludes." The best of these feel somewhat unique or innovative, but still boring, while the worst are tedious and totally unnecessary, only relevant thanks to their re-enforcement of the manga's already obvious themes. Inio is not exactly known for subtlety in his writing, and Oyasumi Punpun continues the tradition of shoving his beliefs into the reader's face even when he doesn't need to. In fact, with the exception of that regarding a certain religious organization, all symbolism and exposition in Oyasumi Punpun is delivered rather clumsily.
This brings me to the cult. The Pegasus cult, a group of individuals concerned with saving society from its inevitable collapse and spreading "good vibrations" to the people of the world, is one of the most commonly criticized aspects of this work, often due to its questionable relevance to the plot. And, while it is true that the side plot regarding the cult is especially rushed and unsatisfying in its conclusion, the cult itself is without a doubt the most interesting part of the story. Pegasus cultists spend most of their time calling each other silly code names and yelling into megaphones from the tops of buildings and vehicles, and are, for the most part, portrayed as lunatics. Their single-minded, overly optimistic outlook on life, combined with the constant promise that "things will change," reflects Inio's cynical view on escapism and how it does nothing to fix modern society's problems, which is a remarkably clever way for Inio to convey his message without relying on the endless stream of angst that comes from Punpun's mouth whenever he walks onto the page.
ARTWORK [7/10]
Before I get back into complaining about what this manga did poorly, let's talk about the artwork. It's admittedly fantastic - every character that the reader is supposed to hate looks intensely punchable and obnoxious (there's even a guy who looks exactly like a dick!). The whole thing feels like it was shot from a small camera thanks to the use of perspective and fish-eye effects, which further the story's candid style and oppressive tone. Inio is good at drawing plot twists, too. Just about any remotely surprising thing that happens in this manga will get an extra-large "reveal" panel, usually a zoomed-out version of the close-ups which preceded it.
Unfortunately, there's a problem here as well. With the exception of these "reveal" panels, there's not much variety or meaning in Inio's layouts. His choice to draw the manga as though it is being viewed through a camera's lens causes action shots to feel lifeless and dead, thanks to the camera's "snapshot" nature. Once again, was it intentional? Yes. Did I enjoy it? Nope.
Some drawings ignore the focus of the scene altogether. Conversations especially are full of disorienting layouts, while the aftermath of these conversations is usually a page or two of a character walking or sitting in solitude (if another character is trying to talk to them, there will be an annoying amount of close-ups), interspersed with plain black panels and white text, followed by a zoomed-out "reveal" panel. And even the reveals lose their charm in time, becoming a common occurrence and therefore not feeling special or surprising when they turn up. The tone of the drawings, much like the tone of the series, is painfully static. There is no variety; nothing to keep a reader interested or wanting to read on once the over-use of certain panels and page layouts becomes apparent. Great art is meaningless if an artist is going to confine themselves to a single, overly specific style of drawing for the entirety of their work.
CHARACTERS [1/10]
All of the characters in Oyasumi Punpun can be boiled down to a single sentence, usually which mentions that they are depressed, sexually frustrated, annoying, immoral assholes, or some combination of the four. Punpun in particular is easy to define: He does whatever you don't want him to be doing at any given time in the story. He's less a character and more so a laundry list of things that people aren't supposed to be doing in their life. He's also supposed to be a self-insert - but who wants to project themselves onto a character whose every action they disagree with, and whose mouth does nothing but spew meaningless, faux-philosophical gibberish in a futile attempt at self-justification?
On the topic of characters who are thinly veiled stand-ins for real people, Sachi would have been a perfectly permissible author insert... if she hadn't spent a large portion of her time on-page rambling about why hyper-realistic manga has value and why it's silly to criticize it. This aspect of her character is at its worst when an entire chapter is dedicated to Sachi explaining her own manga series to her publisher (91, in case you're interested). The chapter feels less like a characterization of Sachi and more like Inio venting about criticisms he considers to be unjustified, which causes a major break in immersion for the reader. Moments like these - times when Inio lets his own messages get in the way of the story he wants to tell - can be found throughout Oyasumi Punpun, and their jarring nature can cause the major dramatic scenes which they are followed by to lose their emotional impact.
Even the characters the reader is supposed to sympathize with are difficult to get attached to. Some have backstories so tragic that they are unbelievable, while others are so seemingly perfect that their inevitable downfall is painfully predictable, causing the reader to be wary about growing to like them. Furthermore, to say that the manga's realism provides justification for its characters' unlikability is absurd, as characters are perfectly capable of being simultaneously realistic and sympathetic. To say that this manga would lose its uniqueness if its characters were likable is, however, correct - and it admits what is perhaps the work's greatest flaw.
ENJOYMENT [1/10] -- FINAL SCORE [shit/10]
As an artist, Inio has the right to tell whatever kind of story he wants to tell. However, as a consumer, I have the right to agree or disagree with the opinions and messages that he presents in his work. I previously alluded to Inio's statement that escapist manga is "bullshit," and I would like to take this section of the review to express my disagreement with this stance. Escapism is an important part of modern society; in many cases it is the only thing that keeps life worth living for people. As Oyasumi Punpun is, at its core, a story about depression, Inio should be aware of this fact. And, although it is better to face one's problems and change the negative aspects of one's life than to simply ignore them, there is still value in escapism. It could be what prevents someone from getting depressed or, better still, be exactly the thing that pulls them out of their depressed state.
Frankly, to imply that the world is a meaninglessly dark and crushing place that is doomed thanks to humanity’s own over-reliance on the valueless practice of escapism reflects an immature, self-important, and almost contradictory outlook on life - one with which I wholeheartedly disagree.
To put it bluntly, Oyasumi Punpun is a manga that successfully achieves exactly what it sets out to do, but whose inherent flaws arise from its very success. The problem is that I fundamentally disagree with the misguided reasoning behind Punpun's message. When one sets out to read manga, one is likely looking for some form of entertainment; if not, one is looking to learn more about themselves or the world around one's self. You don't learn anything that you didn't already know by reading Oyasumi Punpun, and it most definitely isn't an entertaining story to experience. Why, then? Why should you be reading something that achieves its own goals, but, by achieving them, loses most of its value as a literary work? If you're not a critic or an aspiring artist yourself, why would you want to read something that is intentionally unpleasant to read?
My Bottom 10
1. Oyasumi SHIT {Manga}
2. Midster
3. Samurai Champoo/shit
4. Made In shit & Made In shit Movie III
5. Evanshit & MID
6. SHIT
7. DoroheSHIT
8. Serial Experiments SHIT
9. Perfect SHIT
10. PlutSHIT {Manga}
All Comments (3) Comments
STORY [1/10]
There's a beginning, a middle, and an end, but not much structure beyond that. The story is clearly divided into three "acts," each spanning a different part of Punpun's life, and each with its own climax. However, there is little foreshadowing or buildup to said climaxes; nothing to help the reader guess where the plot is going at any given moment. There is little sense of progression, and the story seems to meander through various disconnected arcs. Each arc is fairly formulaic: Punpun is unhappy, something unusual happens to him, and his visual design changes slightly. This would all be fine if it weren't for the fact that each arc is very much the same as the ones those that preceded it. As a result, the story often seems boring, monotonous, and unfocused.
This monotony seemingly exists to reflect Punpun's depressive outlook on life. While this was clearly the author's intent, it doesn't make the story interesting or entertaining to read. In fact, Inio stated in an interview that one of this reasons for writing Punpun was because he had always considered escapist manga to be "bullshit." The story itself is peppered with references to escapism, usually in the form of a God or similar belief, always portrayed as being an immature and unjustified excuse for one’s actions. Instead of wryly hinting at his messages, Inio instead decides to beat the reader over the head with them. This would be fine, but eventually the messages begin to overshadow the story, hurting its coherence and believably. Entire chapters will be dedicated to internal monologues reflecting the themes of this manga, rather than actual story progression. These chapters are only balanced out by faux-artsy segments which specifically try not to advance the plot, but these are far too common to be called "interludes." The best of these feel somewhat unique or innovative, but still boring, while the worst are tedious and totally unnecessary, only relevant thanks to their re-enforcement of the manga's already obvious themes. Inio is not exactly known for subtlety in his writing, and Oyasumi Punpun continues the tradition of shoving his beliefs into the reader's face even when he doesn't need to. In fact, with the exception of that regarding a certain religious organization, all symbolism and exposition in Oyasumi Punpun is delivered rather clumsily.
This brings me to the cult. The Pegasus cult, a group of individuals concerned with saving society from its inevitable collapse and spreading "good vibrations" to the people of the world, is one of the most commonly criticized aspects of this work, often due to its questionable relevance to the plot. And, while it is true that the side plot regarding the cult is especially rushed and unsatisfying in its conclusion, the cult itself is without a doubt the most interesting part of the story. Pegasus cultists spend most of their time calling each other silly code names and yelling into megaphones from the tops of buildings and vehicles, and are, for the most part, portrayed as lunatics. Their single-minded, overly optimistic outlook on life, combined with the constant promise that "things will change," reflects Inio's cynical view on escapism and how it does nothing to fix modern society's problems, which is a remarkably clever way for Inio to convey his message without relying on the endless stream of angst that comes from Punpun's mouth whenever he walks onto the page.
ARTWORK [7/10]
Before I get back into complaining about what this manga did poorly, let's talk about the artwork. It's admittedly fantastic - every character that the reader is supposed to hate looks intensely punchable and obnoxious (there's even a guy who looks exactly like a dick!). The whole thing feels like it was shot from a small camera thanks to the use of perspective and fish-eye effects, which further the story's candid style and oppressive tone. Inio is good at drawing plot twists, too. Just about any remotely surprising thing that happens in this manga will get an extra-large "reveal" panel, usually a zoomed-out version of the close-ups which preceded it.
Unfortunately, there's a problem here as well. With the exception of these "reveal" panels, there's not much variety or meaning in Inio's layouts. His choice to draw the manga as though it is being viewed through a camera's lens causes action shots to feel lifeless and dead, thanks to the camera's "snapshot" nature. Once again, was it intentional? Yes. Did I enjoy it? Nope.
Some drawings ignore the focus of the scene altogether. Conversations especially are full of disorienting layouts, while the aftermath of these conversations is usually a page or two of a character walking or sitting in solitude (if another character is trying to talk to them, there will be an annoying amount of close-ups), interspersed with plain black panels and white text, followed by a zoomed-out "reveal" panel. And even the reveals lose their charm in time, becoming a common occurrence and therefore not feeling special or surprising when they turn up. The tone of the drawings, much like the tone of the series, is painfully static. There is no variety; nothing to keep a reader interested or wanting to read on once the over-use of certain panels and page layouts becomes apparent. Great art is meaningless if an artist is going to confine themselves to a single, overly specific style of drawing for the entirety of their work.
CHARACTERS [1/10]
All of the characters in Oyasumi Punpun can be boiled down to a single sentence, usually which mentions that they are depressed, sexually frustrated, annoying, immoral assholes, or some combination of the four. Punpun in particular is easy to define: He does whatever you don't want him to be doing at any given time in the story. He's less a character and more so a laundry list of things that people aren't supposed to be doing in their life. He's also supposed to be a self-insert - but who wants to project themselves onto a character whose every action they disagree with, and whose mouth does nothing but spew meaningless, faux-philosophical gibberish in a futile attempt at self-justification?
On the topic of characters who are thinly veiled stand-ins for real people, Sachi would have been a perfectly permissible author insert... if she hadn't spent a large portion of her time on-page rambling about why hyper-realistic manga has value and why it's silly to criticize it. This aspect of her character is at its worst when an entire chapter is dedicated to Sachi explaining her own manga series to her publisher (91, in case you're interested). The chapter feels less like a characterization of Sachi and more like Inio venting about criticisms he considers to be unjustified, which causes a major break in immersion for the reader. Moments like these - times when Inio lets his own messages get in the way of the story he wants to tell - can be found throughout Oyasumi Punpun, and their jarring nature can cause the major dramatic scenes which they are followed by to lose their emotional impact.
Even the characters the reader is supposed to sympathize with are difficult to get attached to. Some have backstories so tragic that they are unbelievable, while others are so seemingly perfect that their inevitable downfall is painfully predictable, causing the reader to be wary about growing to like them. Furthermore, to say that the manga's realism provides justification for its characters' unlikability is absurd, as characters are perfectly capable of being simultaneously realistic and sympathetic. To say that this manga would lose its uniqueness if its characters were likable is, however, correct - and it admits what is perhaps the work's greatest flaw.
ENJOYMENT [1/10] -- FINAL SCORE [shit/10]
As an artist, Inio has the right to tell whatever kind of story he wants to tell. However, as a consumer, I have the right to agree or disagree with the opinions and messages that he presents in his work. I previously alluded to Inio's statement that escapist manga is "bullshit," and I would like to take this section of the review to express my disagreement with this stance. Escapism is an important part of modern society; in many cases it is the only thing that keeps life worth living for people. As Oyasumi Punpun is, at its core, a story about depression, Inio should be aware of this fact. And, although it is better to face one's problems and change the negative aspects of one's life than to simply ignore them, there is still value in escapism. It could be what prevents someone from getting depressed or, better still, be exactly the thing that pulls them out of their depressed state.
Frankly, to imply that the world is a meaninglessly dark and crushing place that is doomed thanks to humanity’s own over-reliance on the valueless practice of escapism reflects an immature, self-important, and almost contradictory outlook on life - one with which I wholeheartedly disagree.
To put it bluntly, Oyasumi Punpun is a manga that successfully achieves exactly what it sets out to do, but whose inherent flaws arise from its very success. The problem is that I fundamentally disagree with the misguided reasoning behind Punpun's message. When one sets out to read manga, one is likely looking for some form of entertainment; if not, one is looking to learn more about themselves or the world around one's self. You don't learn anything that you didn't already know by reading Oyasumi Punpun, and it most definitely isn't an entertaining story to experience. Why, then? Why should you be reading something that achieves its own goals, but, by achieving them, loses most of its value as a literary work? If you're not a critic or an aspiring artist yourself, why would you want to read something that is intentionally unpleasant to read?
My Bottom 10
1. Oyasumi SHIT {Manga}
2. Midster
3. Samurai Champoo/shit
4. Made In shit & Made In shit Movie III
5. Evanshit & MID
6. SHIT
7. DoroheSHIT
8. Serial Experiments SHIT
9. Perfect SHIT
10. PlutSHIT {Manga}
1. Oyasumi SHIT {Manga}
2. Midster
3. Samurai Champoo/shit
4. Made In shit & Made In shit Movie III
5. Evanshit & MID
6. SHIT
7. DoroheSHIT
8. Serial Experiments SHIT
9. Perfect SHIT
10. PlutSHIT {Manga}