Honestly my main concern going into this was whether the heavy melancholy vibes were going to be too much. We're not dealing with kids here, the whole vibe is as much end-of-life as it is slice-of-life. It doesn't hammer this point home though and in fact leaning into it really made it more enjoyable. The sci-fi element really helps with this too.
The characters are all so well fleshed out even someone with a terrible memory had no issues remembering them all. Ponko is adorable and, to be honest, had a bit of a Jim Henson vibe with adorable muppetry. Gen is far than your stereotypical curmudgeon too, though it takes a bit to get there.
Simply put, read it. It's a funny, weird manga that's going to click especially well for fans of YKK.
