Oyasumi Punpun is, without a doubt, one of the most compelling manga I have ever read, and one of only a handful I would say are seminal masterpieces in the medium. I initially read it based on a recommendation from a friend. The unique design of the main character and initial parts of the series led me to believe that this series was just a fun slice-of-life story about a quirky japanese boy...which is technically accurate, but to reduce it to that would be underselling this manga a great deal.
While the story of Punpun's life is, indeed, initially rather comical and full of child-like wonder, you realize in retrospect that this is merely the natural result of it accurately portraying what it is like to be a child. As the story goes on and we see more of the people surrounding Punpun you begin to see the chilling darkness that surrounds most of the cast, who are troubled by a slew of mental problems common to most people who are just trying to get by. As the story goes on this cynicism grows more and more prominent, like a dark abyss beckoning you further and further in as you watch Punpun become increasingly damaged and lose much of the innocence he had as a child.
The story's characters are, indeed, perhaps the strongest part of Punpun. As far as manga go they are highly unusual. Most of them cannot really be called "good people", as they frequently display acts of pettiness, depravity and self-destruction. This is however, contrasted by their moments of selflessness, compassion, and love. The result is actually uncannily lifelike, as most people are extremely complex and do not easily fall into arbitrary categories of "good" or "bad". Through its characters, the story represents the darkest parts of humanity, the side of us that nobody wants to acknowledge.
Asano's compelling narrative is heavily aided by his impressive artistic skills. The choice to represent Punpun's family as crudely drawn cartoon birds was a stylistic decision, not borne or any lack of artistic skill. The designs are actually quite flexible, and frequently alter to show more realistic features during key moments, such as bulging eyes or twitching hands. The result is incredibly powerful and highly unnerving, showing an imagination and skill that is rarely seen in most comics.
Almost every single other character has a unique, distinctive design that immediately tells them apart from everyone else. Asano is not afraid to make his characters ugly, and in fact does so quite frequently. The attractive characters stand out all the more as a result of this, and it adds to the series' introspective, realistic tone.
The backgrounds are actually CGI, derived from actual photos. This is something Asano has been criticized for, but to me it does not really make a difference. Tools are just tools, and the result is incredibly stunning and adds to the series' mesh of realism and surrealism, so I have no complaints on that front.
In the end, what makes Punpun such a powerful, emotionally gripping story is that it is bursting with life from every pore. None of it feels trite or derivative, none of the characters fall into predictable molds or character archetypes, the story's events are hard to predict, and the themes of depression, isolation, despair, and nihilism are handled in a very mature, relatable fashion.
While the ambiguous moral standing of the characters and the series' emotionally oppressive tone means that it is not a work that can be enjoyed by everyone, it is still an extremely well-crafted manga that is worth a look. As someone who has struggled with clinical depression for years, I have never read something that portrayed the suffering of the human condition quite like Punpun does.
