Interest Stacks

This story portrays two people, who were hurt from this world. Despite having different mental scars and paths in life they realize one thing - they feel that their existence is hollow, devoid of any warmth and meaning, but by sharing and discussing with each other about their most personal fears, resentments and their rotting guilt and self hatred, they manage to feel relieved and understood for once in their lives.

Their budding affection grows into a sincere love and desire to care for the other, which is both heartwarming and tragic in the same time, and the raw emotions that this story provides is something that everyone would be affected. Their acceptance towards the parts of themselves that they hate and can't stand is something that we all should strive to do, and I believe this manga is one beautiful portrayal of that. Also this work sheds light on many controversial and delicate themes, which are difficult to stomach, but are significant for us all.

Within the delicate and beautiful art, relatable reactions of the cast and their personalities, filled with the best and worst of humanity, we can find a story which reminds us what does it mean to be human, and how difficult yet rewarding life could feel sometimes. Though our circumstances vary, often times a few simple moments of pure bliss are worthy of a lifetime of anxieties and difficulties. Therefore, it's worth trying to give yourself a second chance, even if you've fallen down and you're staring at the abyss.

"Your Knife" is a story of corruption. In it, our main protagonist has humble life, barely able to meet his needs on a monthly basis, while suddenly, he gets proposition - to gain a lot of cash, secure his living and to assist his family, which is deep into medical debts, but for that, to have to assassinate people who're clearly a menace to the society.

Albeit reluctantly, he accepts, and, bit by bit, time over time, his worldviews gets constantly tested and warped, and his ethos - sullied and trampled on. As his polar opposite, he is teamed up with police officer who doesn't care about the money of this deal, but rather seeks to satisfy his own selfish justice by killing criminals.

As we go into the story, the inherent questions of morality and sanity are gravitating, but never inherently answered, since that's up to us to decide. Would eradicating the society's filth is something praiseworthy, or the one who does it ends up being in the same place as his victims are? Could a cause be worthy enough so you'd end up killing people on a daily basis just to keep existing ?

Chikan Otoko is one experimental and light hearted series about a guy, being accused of being a molester from a total stranger, whom he realizes that he likes, after the mistake had been resolved. It is loosely based on a real long forum thread about a person, asking the forum users for romantic advises, and receiving a lot of bad, hilarious, and somewhat good ideas along the way.

Despite it's raw and often comedic energy that the series has, the protagonist can feel extremely relatable to any reader, since his feelings and behavior are genuine. The nervous, but agitated thoughts about the person he has feelings for - the overconfident fantasies in his head while he confesses his feelings, and them being instantly and unconditionally accepted, is something that obviously would never happen due to him, being clumsy and shy introvert in reality.

It is one surprisingly grounded and in the same way, hyperbolized experience of feeling the flutters of love, yet struggling to express and convey that properly, of desperately wanting to connect to someone without presenting yourself as unreliable and frail, and in the same to be confident and reliable presence for them.

The Horizon is work that explores the various states of the psyche in a state of grave danger and turmoil. The dialogue in it is scarce, but nor does it needs to be more - the bleak, rustic and gritty portrayal of the world, surrounding our main duo is one that speaks volumes of context and subliminally introduces us to all of it's horrors, caused by humankind alone.


Along their journey of finding even remote safety and peace, they stumble upon various other survivors, all of them bearing the stigma of insanity and fundamentally broken state of mind. Initially, they do look morbid and horrifying, but, in a sense, they all reached this miserable state from the circumstances and hardships they had to suffer, so one can't help but feel empathetic towards them.

This is a story that is both provocative, spine-chilling and brutal. Amidst it's enveloping darkness, one can see a lot of truths about how frail and primitive humanity can get when pushed to the brink of it's survival, and how difficult is to make the moral choice amidst the hellscape of a reality we do live in, both literally and figuratively.

This is a multifaceted story, in which the nihilism and brutality of the reality that we live in is juxtaposed to the sincere innocense and sweetness of our main cast. Their physique might be modified and enhanced, but their hearts bear the adolescent purity that a normal child in their age would had.

This work depicts the fine line between goodwill and zealocy, and how easily it could be crossed over. Many of the character depicted in this work gravitate over to the grey morality, having motives for their actions and in the same time the ways they are executed shows how inhumane and disconnected from the normal human values they are.

On the backdrop of all this are the girls, who are usually victims of violent tragedies, that were saved by advanced medical treatment, but not out of altruistic goodwill. But instead of rehabilitated and counseled to move on with their newly given lives, they're forced to work as concealed assassins or spies. In this sense, is the act of saving them one of mercy or cruelty? These children are genuine, pure spirits, with diluted minds and confined in their modified bodies, left up to find their own reason for happiness in their current miserable state of being.

This manga is an interesting blend of mystery and psychology, on the backdrop of an episodic, slice of life setting. In it, Watanuki, our main protagonist, is a person who can see things that usually people couldn't and can sense paranormal entities. One day, in a vacant lot, he finds an extravagant shop, shrouded in mystery and occult energies. The owner of this shop mentions that she can teach him to how interact with the paranormal, but in return, he'll be her apprentice.

And this is how the story starts, sprawling from this point on a plethora of cases, involving human's misfortune and the shop's inhabitants, trying to soothe it, for a price, which is often one with no monetary meaning, but rather sentimental one. Each of the supernatural manifestations and curses are born from the person's misdeed, or their unstable mental state. Every cause of the paranormal is explained as a manifestation of mental negativity, of clouded thoughts or broken feelings.

The ominous, forlorn and alluring Yuuko is a complex person, concealing her mind of a sage beneath her silly and selfish mask, the gloomy and neurotic Watanuki is a protagonist who can appear as simple, and yet his strong mental fortitude and kind attitude towards both human and spectral beings is endearing to watch. As a rival in his trade, Doumeki's personality is like a still pond within the twirling current, and with his calm and priestly abilities serves as a counterpoint to Watanuki's chaotic and occult powers.

Often in the presented stories, admitting what is the cursed person's problem, or that it exists could prove to be the starting point in their recuperation, but then again the human ego often prevents them to admit their faults and weaknesses, for which they end up paying the price.

Bokurano is a story that perfectly encapsulates the personal nihilism of it's cast. It's premise is basic, but due to it's deconstructive nature, any semblance of tropes falls apart bit by bit as the story goes, leaving us with nothing more than the eroding psychological states of a dozen children, having to bear the fate of their imminent death just so they could pilot a mechanical giant, and fight for the lives of their families, friends, and the whole world.

Each of the children has their own part of the story - we get to know them, as well as how they feel about the reality in which they existed prior to this sudden twist of fate. In it, we can see their desires, needs, wishes, as well as their grief, pain and anxiety. Everyone would accept this somber fate differently, and we can see the same with our cast, which by itself is a macabre but poignant character study, and how different, yet similar we all are. Violent outbursts of rage, calm and methodical contemplations, neurotic spasms and desires to lash out on the whole world, or serene acceptance and sharing their last selfless bits of love towards the special people in their lives - all these emotions and actions happens, in their laments towards the fate they're bound to serve, and to not be able to choose the season of their passing.

This story is not about death, but about acceptance one's mortality , and whether one can do it or not. Amidst everyone from the cast we can see parts of ourselves, parts on which we agree, as well as strongly disagreeing on others. Despite the fantastical setting, the character's feelings are the one that are deeply grounded into the reality.

Bartender is a story about one's abstract onlook on life, and how that can affect and shape them over the time. While not having that heavy psychological emphasis, it's a tale of perception, both interpersonal and internal.

The manga presents us a bartender, who is both masterful in his trade, as well as being empathetic and considerate towards his customers. For every person there is a drink he can offer, one that considers their current emotional state and that complements their needs. Often times, one needs to grasp the full context of a drink to appreciate it's value, to relish in it's sweetness or to seek comfort in the sourness. But then again, this is not something that holds truth for the beverages alone, but rather, about anything in our lives that surrounds us as well.

In this story slowly, but surely the themes of emotional and mental refinement are in place - the elegant and soft spoken gentlemen of a bartender was once a person with rough, and troubled past, a person who could hardly understood himself and the others around him. But, bit by bit, by the helpful guidance of the people who saw his raw virtues, he started to flourish yet again, and to become a better person than his prior self. So in a sense, while being diligent and meticulous mixer of drinks, he didn't forget where he came from and how even a bit of help or understanding could prove substantial to someone, as it was for him.

This story contextualizes in it's runtime the significance of trying to perceive the true self of others, beneath the layers of cynicism and wounds from their harsh lifestyle.

City of Light is a title that cynically jokes with it's name in it's beginning, and yet proves to be right at the end of it's run. In it's 9 chapters, it presents us stories concerning different people from this city, which are inherently linked to one another. In their own way, everyone hardly sees any point in existing, but rather is trying to survive in it. The works and deeds they have to do to get by are hardly admirable, but none of them has the luxury to strive and to seek for something more admirable, and socially accepted.

The image of the city is something that unifies and divides them - it is a place that provides shelter, but hardly a home, a place in which their whole lives revolves upon, and yet none feels attached to it. Everyone seeks to progress in it's own way, but none of them would like to ponder where that would take them to.

This story presents the details of their lives as one abstract picture, which only we as viewers can combine and contemplate upon. We can say that one's existence hardly has any meaning, if we are being general about it, and yet the fine and intricate details of every single person could prove this to be right, or wrong.

The pursuit of finding yourself, your reason to exist and the search of a place in which you are appreciated for being yourself are universal, and quite relatable topics for everyone. But along them, this manga presents a dialogue which strings along the before mentioned questions, and adds even more details into them - does your behavior and sexuality comfirms your real self, or that is something you do along your whole life ? Are the two genders the only way to define your place in society ? How people within the gender spectrum finds way to express themselves and to open up towards the world despite their circumstances and often misunderstood nature ?

This is a story about a bar, which is welcome towards anyone and is a place of respite and solace, one that doesn't judges and condemns it's patrons. Within it, a lot of stories unfold - ones about the person's problems, feelings and yearnings. Almost as through looking with lens within the character's soul we can see their pain and struggle, and to realize how genuine the human heart is, in a sense that despite being so different we all desire affection, love and comfort in every possible form and way. The topics of sexuality are tackled with mature and compassionate sense, focusing on the realism and portraying scenarios that happens in our own lives. Also, this work is a proper way of introduction to the mentioned gender spectrum, presenting us various people within it, and how they perceive and are perceived by the world, as well as the specific nuances that each term defines.

The narrative of this manga is episodic and yet it's ending is resolute and defined, very well underlining it's thematic meaning and what it desires to express. It's a story about the human hearts, and how frail and delicate they are, despite the numerous way we try to conceal that, as well as how similar our needs and desires are, and how easy it is to lose the path to them amidst the countless trials and tribulations that life offers to us.

Everyone wants to be heard and understood, and to be accepted, but we can say that these are just wishes, which are often proved to be unrealistic.

The story of this work follows a girl with hearing problems, who just transfers to a new school, and a boy who always finds a reason to bully her. While she clearly has troubles expressing herself, due to her condition, she quickly becomes ostracized, for the sole reason of being different. On the others side, the boy doesn't think he's being wrong for mocking and ignoring all of her attempts to communicate, leading to a downward spiral of ignorance, violence and cruelty.

One of the topics of this works is how prone we are as a society to accept that violence, coldness and the lack of acceptance as the norm. Even the few people who realize and want to change that initially are fearful that they'll be trampled upon and taken as weak and spineless - an easy prey for bullying.

The main strength in this story is how these initial characters have their cathartic metamorphosis over the span of this manga - the time and the scars of the past shaped them into the people they are, but that also made them understand and value the small gestures and friendship and kindness from the others. Every selfless smile they receives feels priceless, and worth cherishing.

The premise of this story is simple, but interestingly executed, giving it space to explore the protagonist's mindset and mentality to the fullest. It presents us the world on the brink of annihilation, and humanity holding their last stand against unidentifiable alien entities.

Once the battle starts, our protagonist ends up being killed in the first moments of the encounter, but apparently that doesn't end his story. He awakens again, in his bed, day before the battle starts, and the cycle continues.

During this traumatic process of anxiety, confusion and imminent death, we see the vast array of his thoughts and emotions, and we can easily empathize with his struggles. As he slowly releases his dread, and sense of mortality, he does manages to improve himself and to be stronger. But then again, more complex problems emerges, each cycle starts to become like a puzzles within a puzzle, of a riddle in which he has to look for the right answer amidst thousands of wrong ones, and every wrong one causes him even more grief and turmoil.

This biographic manga explains the circumstances in the life of the author herself, which by itself is one very intriguing and introspective concept.

With the mangaka's typical comedic, but also tragic way of explaining her living circumstances, we get her viewpoint in very engaging way - she's a person, who strives to find what she desires from life, but in the same way feels stressed enough from contemplations on this topic. She craves for human contact and relationships, and yet is afraid that she's way too inept in handling herself and finds difficult to express herself to others. It's a story, filled with thoughts that are thrown around chaotically, but makes perfect sense in a way, of one person who struggles to find reason in her existence, and yet being a bright and heartwarming image to all others who feels the same, but doesn't express it as she does.

This manga is one lovely way to use the medium for expressive yourself artistically - her work is both a diary, as well as a means of self-therapy as well. A way to share her most private thoughts and emotions with everyone, and in turn to be someone they can relate to and find solace in her anxieties and hesitance.

One of the simplest and yet, complex topics is one surrounding happiness in general. There is no value, nor goal in it, it represents a state of mind and mentality, which is characterized in the moment and for that reason it's always fluctuating.

This manga in it's surprisingly simple approach to this matter, manages to show a lot through it's dialogues. Our protagonist is very energetic and perceptive girl, who after her school day ends, goes to meet with a beautiful, but lonesome young lady, living on her own, and an elderly woman, who is full of warmth, as well as looming melancholy. Sometimes on her occasional trips to her friends, she meets a teenage girl, who feels misunderstood and full of anger, prone to self-harm. On certain days, she meets and talks to them, on others she can't see them, as they're not there anymore.

The more she talks to them, she understands and empathizes with their mental states, but as well as that, she understands the turning points that lead to their current grief and distress. In a sense, this story presents us three separate tales, bound by very creative and fantastic way. The story is both simple, yet enigmatic; it's uplifting, and yet, bitter.

In many situations, the human subconscious hope for a better tomorrow and better results next time is one of our innate coping abilities for the hardships in our lives. Considering the fact that we can work for and change our surroundings, bit by bit, is the thing that has led us to the evolution of our species, considered from a sociological point of view.

But on a personal level, what happens when we understand that there won't be infinite tomorrows and that the time we have left in this world is set in stone ? This manga explores exactly that, the simple everyday lives of two terminally ill young people, who desperately want to make a bond with each other.

Through this work, the many stages between the denial and acceptance of this fact are explored in emotional and empathetic way. The detachment from the reality they've knew their whole lives, their reluctance to form new connection with other people for the simple fact that they could never live on to the other's expectations, the fears of spending their time in loneliness, saying to themselves that this is for the best - their existential dread is portrayed with both nuance and sincerity.

And yet, despite everything, we can see through their personal thoughts that contemplates their ill fates, the lingering pain and the desire for attachment, despite the negativity surrounding them. A familiar soul, on which to cry out their pain, as well as to share with them their short moments of happiness, a heart that would beat in their own rhythm and in tact with their longings and affections.

Despite the tragic topic of this manga, this is not a story that wants to revel in hopelessness. More likely, it's a work that serves as a wake up call for us all - there are many shortcomings and negativity that one has to suffer and pull through in their lives, but the fact that we are offered the time and chance to struggle on with them, and find someone that is willing to be beside us and to share both our fortune and misfortune, is something worth living for.

One of the basic principles that guides humankind in our day and age is the fact that every life is priceless - that general moral stance dictates that is not something we can give or take on our own. But despite that, the topic of one's worth, as a person alone or considered within the big picture of one's surrounding society, is a topic that was, is and will be always relevant.

In this story, we're acquainted with our protagonist - a person in his 20's, who hasn't made much connections with other people in his life, working for the monthy paycheck which barely covers his simple necessities. Upon hearing of a place in which he can sell his remaining lifespan for a sum of money, depending on his evaluated worth, he doesn't hesitates to visit it even for a moment - his current existence brings him nothing but prolonged despair and sadness, for the fact that he consider his current way of living meaningless and pointless. Upon receiving a humble sum for his remaining 30 years of life, he also gets appointed an observer - a stern and quiet, but beautiful girl.

By following this person's story we can see his looming despair, but despite it, driven by the fact that his end is close, a part that had been dormant awakens in him. An impulse to meet up with people from his past that he avoided for years, and to go to places he'd never thought he will be. During his journey, both in the physical and mental sense and by the help of his observer, he witnesses and contemplate on a lot of topics surrounding his life, as well as getting in touch with his hobbies and past aspirations. Bit by bit, we are witnessing his elevation - from a hopeless nihilist to emotional, empathetic and radiant person. And despite the poignant metamorphosis in himself, the close end of his life is certain.

This work is one that serves as both exploration and discussion for many existential topics from our reality, as well as a reminder that despite our hesitance, time always flows forward and never waits for us. Our life will always wax and wane depending on our circumstances, but usually the path for self-improvement and finding worth in our existence has to be walked by us alone. And despite that fact, even the simplest of gestures of support and encouragement from others could mean the world to us.

Despite the provocative and crass title, this manga is one that presents the character's psychological portrait in surprising depth, showing us a character that feels humane in the sense that his reactions are very relatable, and understandable.

While in the beginning our protagonist is presented as nothing more than introverted boy who satisfies his twisted sense of justice with his perverted fantasies, he gradually matures along the way. The harshness and the betrayals he felt, but in the same time, the sincere display of goodwill and sympathy towards him does eventually molds him into a person with tact, understanding and perception of his social surroundings. While his character lays on the borderlines of a parody, presenting him as crass and melodramatic in his internal thoughts, his gradation and self realization could be relatable and genuine.

Despite the clearly provocative title, this is a coming of age story that doesn't holds back on the rawness and the maturity of the depicted topics. It's a story is meant to be reflective on his behavior and in sense on the reader as well. As well as that, this manga is also an interesting character study - one that uses unconventional methods to present to us in very sincere way, the anxieties, struggles, and the mixtures of hatred and anger that are coiled within ourselves, which we're unaware of, and the need to ease up our cynicism and self-critical outlook on life which corrodes our ability to look at others with sincerity, and to express ourselves with ease within the world that we exist in, as flawed and unfair as it is.

This manga, which does starts as a body horror has interesting and well explored topics that it does revel in - what makes us human, how do this concept fit into our current society, as well as how we shape and mold over the positive and negative situations from our lives. But as well as that it presents another perspective - one from the parasitic aliens which had taken control of a human body, and whose conscience was infused with their victim's, blending it into one being.

While the setting does show the grotesque violence with surprising graphic and grit, this is not the main goal of this story. Some beings do get consumed and use their human husks for pure concealment, though others are forced to co-exist in a symbiotic relation with their human companions, which leads to many different interactions between the two species, be it commentary on how evolutionary odd our society feels to them, or how much emphasis on the interpersonal relations we have. As the story goes on, many of the alien species, despite being deadly and emotionless killers, manages to adapt and blend in the mundane human lifestyle, in the same way starting to develop emotions and feelings close to the real human's.

Lament of the Lambs is one very atmospheric read. The story is told in a somber way, mixing up the supernatural with the realistic. The story is about one cursed family, in which bloodline everyone had either died younger, or took their lives in outbursts of insanity. The only way in which the symptoms could be eased is by consuming human blood, which is a nod to vampirism, but yet there's nothing more supernatural to that - the frail and weak ill beings are the same as humans.

The manga does explores in its bleak and fatalistic tone the psychological burden one has with that kind of existence, to feel as there's nothing you can do but to perish in solitude, to not be able to connect and form bonds with anyone due to your morbid heritage and gruesome craves. A major mood setter of this story is the beautiful, but dark art, that allures you with it's grace and sadness, and presents us the cast's despair in tangible and grounded way.

Our lives, even if enjoyed to the fullest and being fulfilling, eventually ends. While we do prefer to discuss the moments of happiness, we cannot eventually avoid our mortality and imminent death. The topic is morbid, but important - despite not being among the living, everyone deserves a proper respect in it's final rest and proper burial by one's customs.

In this story, we follow one embalmer in his line of work, both in the process, as well as in the thoughts that crosses his mind while doing it. While being professional, he is also a person who has learned to conceal his emotions and expressions, which does make him look reserved. The motives by which he chose this field of work are simple - he desires to provide comfort for the diseased and their family, for the fact he had experienced the sympathy of the others in his hours of need.

The topic of death is a universal one - it is just one of the many parts of our existence's duality. If something is living, it should eventually die. And while we don't know when will that happen, there is nothing wrong to consider this fact, for as life is respected and cherished, so must be one's final hours as well.

In this work, one can see a plethora of complex themes interpreted in interesting ways - the socio/geopolitical expansion and deviation that our world will face in a crisis of outbreak of a deadly virus, the ethical and religious strife, born out of necessity for resources, and all this, traced by the view of the characters we follow. Despite their high count and over the spans of generations, their characterization is spot on, providing us both insight into their traumatic past, as well providing us various psychological viewpoints, on how they see their existence within this fractured world.

The people in this world are harsh and violent, since every day of survival means to fight and pillage the resources of the others, leaving them to their own misery, but extending your living for a bit more - this applying about interpersonal, as well as on a political level. So in a sense the state of mind of our cast is one amidst constant struggle, in which sentimentality and empathy are not rational or worth considering and instead are slowly but steadily becoming obsolete, giving way to mercilessness and pragmatism.

This work is both case study of the eventual downfall of mankind - crafted with meticulous accuracy and having consistent details in it's world building. In the same sense it is a story exploring the psychological state of the survivors, their thoughts and reasoning gives us even more reasons to consider our place within the world we live currently - as an individual, as well as among our society.

This work presents us the story of a person, who is slowly and certainly descending into a downward spiral in his life, both mentally and physically. Once being wealthy, with successful career, there was nothing in his life that he wasn't satisfied of, but the pride and arrogance steadily plagued his luxurious, and bountiful lifestyle.

This work doesn't really looks at his life as a story, but rather, like scattered memories within his frail state of mind. Somewhat fragmented, haphazard and lamenting, we're facing his dilemmas. In his pitiful state, he is offered money to become a guinea pig for an eccentric operation, which he accepts, and this becomes the first step in his path towards his warped awakening.

After that, nothing feels the same for him - be it due to his imagination, or due to the operation, he starts seeing everyone as macabre and grotesque figures, lumped together in ways that defies the logic and common sense. Within his muddled state, we can perceive this as mere hallucinations, or an abstract way for him to view into people's minds, and souls, in their darkest desires and their purest wishes. Despite his self-centered and repulsive character, over many encounters and interactions with people, he starts to grow and mature as person, but in the same way his manic actions and crippling paranoia are intensifying, driving him to the brink of his sanity, and beyond that.

This is a story that despite it's supernatural presentation is one grounded in realism, and based on many sources about the human mental condition. For some, the abstract symbolism may be considered an eccentricity, but in a sense, a major part of the story's depth lies in the exploration of the human psyche, and whether we decide to delve on them is up to us. Our lives may have many hues and forms, and the way we see it does perceive how we live in it, and how we're treating the others.

Mikai no Hoshi is a story that blends the metaphorical with the raw, mixing it into one fictional and brutal reality. This is a story that in it's crude sexual scenery, abused and mistreated cast and their fickle dreams, manages to portray one picture of nihilism and corruption. Everything in this depicted world is exploited and cynically objectified, and it's inhabitans are only driven by the desire to consume, control and survive.

In this repulsive reality, three childhood friends are trying to find way to survive by every means necessary. Through the manga's runtime, we are witnessing the logical and grounded portrayal of their loss of innocence, and progressive defilement of their simple, but naive dreams.

The way in which the deterioration of our main character's psyche is portrayed is by a fictional story that he daydreams about. Within it's simple, and clichéd fantastical setting, we can see his childish and yet kind portrayal of his fabricated world, but as he gets more desperate, and sees nothing but greed, lust and pain in his life, the story within his mind alters too. There is no sympathy, positivity and love, all he sees from the world that surrounds him is the grotesque behavior of everyone, the vulgar and fetishistic satisfaction through sex, and that reflects his worldviews and his psychology.

In a sense, this manga reflects how everything in this world, despite it's purity could be defiled by the environment and circumstances of one's living - if every kind of positivity is devoid from our current lives systematically, then we won't even dream about something better in the future.

Just as it's name suggest, "Hallucinations from the Womb" or the other interpretation being, "Dreams from the Shell", is work which does rely on symbolism to convey it's meaning. In it we see the episodic stories of the inhabitants of Shell city, a place that both presents itself as utopia and dystopia.

Despite the insurmountable scientifical and technological progress of this city, the human vices and primitive emotional drives are something that it's inhabitants suffer from. Humanity's frail and vulnerable mentality, no matter the day and age, is the driving force for our despair and decline, but in the same way, it is the main component which makes us human in the first place.

In the various short stories, touching the topics of love, loneliness, emotional detachment and possessiveness we can see a lot of the problems of our current society, hyperbolized and presented to us, the onlooker. In every story, a new parable is presented, unclear in how it should be solved, and it's up to the reader to decide who is the right and wrong.

Oyasumi Punpun is probably one of the most famous and well renowned psychological manga for a reason - it's uncannily realistic portrayal of one's mental growth from adolescence through puberty and into young adulthood is a tale that could be introspective and relatable for any reader, though as most of Inio Asano's works, this one is definitely aimed at mature audience.

In this world, drawn as realistic as possible, we see our main character, sketched as a silly caricature of a bird, having the even more silly name Punpun. Upon his first day of the new school semester, he meets with the new transfer student of their class, Aiko, and as any generic coming of age love story would go, they instantly realize they got feelings for each other. And by this, the first flutters in the heart of our sweet main character starts, followed by his desire to be together with the girl he has feelings for.

But just like that, any sense of comfort and sweetness suddenly ends, snapped by the reality of life.

Our young protagonist faces the problems in his family, as well many other external others, and nothing makes sense to him. He often asks "God", a being he refers to in his contemplations about the hardships in his life, but from whom he never receives answer. His love towards Aiko is sincere, and yet, there are too many equations and uncertainties about all that, does he likes her, loves her platonically or this is just a physical attraction ? As time goes on, many more questions piles up, but Punpun can't really find an answer for them through his life, and yet that doesn't stop the world to move on, and the years to pass.

This is a story that serves as pedantically accurate journey through one's psyche and over their various mental states in a span of years. A lot of moments in Punpun's life feel cynical, raw and brutal, yet even so, are so realistic - this is the specific reason that this story is praised for - as one that transcends the usual boundaries of this medium, and the comfortable limits of what a work of this genre is allowed to have as contents in it. By showing us both through abstract imagery and realistic portrayals, this story unfolds the depths to which one average person can succumb in terms of mental instability and depravity.

Can the human society learn the value that is given to them by by being continuously subjugated to witness murders ? This is the general topic discussed in this work and despite it's shocking and morbid premise, there are many nuances that serves as a counterpoint to highlight the humane within this enforced regime.

The main character of this story is a government official who is assigned to deliver Ikigami to the designated victims, after which they have set time remaining before their heart stops beating. Through the select for execution's eyes, we see the many fates that gets destroyed by the government's plan,be they young teenagers who had bright future ahead of them, or people with frail mentality, caused by the oppressive living circumstances and environment. In both cases there is no mercy, the person designated at their moment of birth has to become a martyr for the militarized ideology that promotes the virtues of life, by presenting public executions that instill fear and demands obedience.

Despite the fact that this practice is being rationalized throughout the whole country the protagonist's hesitance, reluctance, and desperation in working as a person who acts as a messenger of death deeply affects him, and makes him question his faith and devotion to this regime. Even though something is commonly accepted as a societal norm that doesn't mean that this action is humane. The conflict between one's personal beliefs against the laws and the cold and dystopian reality they proclaim is causing him anguish and psychological torture that he has to suffer from on his own.

Even though the law of taking life to teach the remainder of it's importance sounds cynical and insane, it has narrative importance - it serves as a social commentary on how societies that are solely dedicated on peace and are not burdened by the negativity of wars, famine and starvation does take that as granted, and in a sense lose the grip of the real values one should strive for in his life, and instead are living in their own fabricated realities.

If we remove the concept that life in itself is struggle, we warp the meaning of life as we currently know it. As flawed as this logic is, it is addressing a lot of existential issues, which are defining the ways that our current societal norms had taken shape in. This is a manga that strives to explore how pivotal the freedom of choice is in the reality that we exist, by the same way to present us one dystopian society that was robbed by this choice and the consequences that the populace has to bear.

Necromancer is short and mostly episodic tale about a dark practitioner who can raise the dead for the price of someone else's life span. In the stories that we witness, we meet the victims and we get to know the life they lead before their death. In the same way we see the motives that the living people have, and the reasons that they have so much determination to spare part of their own life force for the expense of others. And as the classical figure of the devil in the fairytales, the necromancer appears to offer his craft for a price.

Despite the somber setting of this manga the tone is surprisingly light and fast paced, with the occasional comedy bits, usually from the female detective, which is always doubtful of the necromancer's practices, despite noticing the positive and warm reception from his clientele. The righteous part of her scowls at his dark and cursed rituals, but in the same time she realizes the miracle that this practitioner is capable of and his kind nature.

There are mystery bits in this story as well, who are gracefully resolved in the manga's short run, which makes it this sentimental at times fantasy story about a magician that looks grim and cold, but offers consolation and a glitter of warmth to both nobles and common folk alike.

Cocoon is a short story, inspired by the reality of World War 2 in it's darkest moments. The story revolves around the teenage girls that were recruited from their schools to help tending for the many wounded soldiers on the front lines. Many of these innocent middle and high school students didn't survived the war, and in their short life experience they lived within the realistic and unspeakable horrors - having to tends the needs of people existing in a state between life and death, sanity and madness, and subjected to live their remaining time in miserable conditions.

But despite of solely focusing on the dread and the sheer brutality of this setting, the manga presents us it's cast as vividly as possible - as young ladies with hopes, wishes and dreams, with sympathetic, natural quirks, and generally as young people who are trying their best to stave off the negativity of the life that they're forced to live in.

And there comes the metaphor of the manga title, which was pointed out with allegories in the work itself - that these girls are like cocoons, trying to survive as they could, by wishing that they someday would become beautiful butterflies.

This is a work that shows the abominable face of war, and the quiet, somber reality that people were facing - one not explained by the press, the propaganda posters and the front lines. Reality that involves suffering, broken men who were deprived of their sanity and often lack parts of their bodies, slowly decaying over the many natural caves and trenches, and enforces school girls to be nurses and caretakers for these forsaken soldiers.

Spirit Circle is an interesting blend of styles as art and the pace in which the manga flows, it feels quite close to a shounen, spirnkled with a bit of comedy and lightheartedness, while the plot line and the themes in it are well defined and mature.

It follows the story of our main character, and his many reincarnations through different timelines in history. Through every reincarnation, he meets a girl which shares the same bond as him and has been reincarnating as well. They are always confrontational against each other despite their mutual affection, and end up either killing or hurting themselves. To understand the truth about himself, and the relations he has with the girl, the protagonist is forced to relive all of his's reincarnations, through his birth and to his death.

With every shown life of his, he starts to realize the mistakes he'd made, but in the same way he also tries to find and think of a way to correct himself, and his ancestors. Despite the cheerful artstyle, this is a work that seriously tackles complex concept such is the personal catharsis, in a way that we all can relate to.

Often we do make mistakes, or misjudge the situations we're at, but the only reasonable thing we can do about this is to reach out and seek understanding, and to mend out the wounds of the other side. Sticking to our ego and pride only brings more pain and anguish for the both sides, and personally brings us even more misfortune and grief.

This manga is very peculiar for the fact that initially, it doesn't make any sense with the things that are happening within the pages. Chaotic and messy, concluded stories with open endings, featuring brand new characters and settings with almost each chapter. Within the cast's hectic and vague conversations, we are being hinted of certain themes, emotions and introspections of the characters on their own existence, but given to the wacky presentation we can hardly tell if the author tried to say something important or just enjoys to confuse his audience.

Bit by bit, the messy, weird and chaotic stories seems to string up a coherent tale that starts to connect, but in the same time not neglecting it's manic storytelling, which often revolves over the funny, insane and sometimes melancholic. While the topics could sometimes be serious or somber, the silly and cartoonish design and style is always there.

In many of the stories the reader can have their interpretation on them, as long as they're perceptive and not fooled by the manga's art. It's a work has blatant sexual innuendos, treats harming and killing off it's cast as gag humor, but beneath all this crass entertainment, there are decent amount of character interactions and contemplations about their mental states that are surprisingly grounded and realistic.

The world presented in this manga is disturbing, brutal and thriving on violence and while it's crass nature can be overwhelming for some, one can find a lot of parallels to our current society in it. In this world the laws prohibit that revenge can be taken upon those who've committed crimes, instead allowing the citizens to fight and eventually kill each other, as a way to prove that they're right or wrong. In this jaded and insane world, the law systems is dependent on armed vigilantes instead of lawyers and prosecutors, as a way to ease up the courts. In this parody of justice, the right or wrong are defined by who can hire the better armed and more capable mercenary.

In this disturbing and chaotic reality, we have a cast of characters that are mentally unstable, broken and clinically insane. Amidst his schizophrenia induced hallucinations, our main character is offered a job of being a proxy - a person who is hired to enact the revenge that someone is legally allowed to seek from someone. His personality is volatile at best, and through the various jobs that he takes we are able to explore the human trauma of the whole cast, and the physical and psychic torment that's the daily basis in this line of work.

The manga is full of cynicism and serves as a social commentary, as exploration of one society that had been logically driven to systematic insanity, and how the human mind had adapted to this environment of justified death, ironically called "justice". Amidst the depraved, messy and nihilistic life that the main cast leads, there's nothing that he believes in or hopes for, everyday is presented as one struggle with the filthy world that they he inhabits, as well as a confrontation with his broken sanity.

This manga exudes tension, and calmness. It's story is about a school for gifted children, isolated from the outside world and providing the perfect learning environment for it's students, or at least that's what his attendants initially believes in.

But this dynamic suddenly changes when a transfer student comes, and starts spreading rumors about the school, and it's sinister secrets. At first, no one believes her, but her sincere and unnaturally rebellious behavior reaches out to the others, who reconsider their views.

And in a way, their safe haven of a place slowly starts to to crumble before their eyes, revealing the actual nature of this facility. Instead of feeling privileged, they start to realize they're in fact imprisoned and used by organization of unknown origin and goals. For the most of the students, the days of blissful ignorance never ends, but the few who had realized the reality desperately starts to think of escaping. The escapees' anxieties and worries for their future mixed up with the somber and dreadful atmosphere of oppression, provokesus to put ourselves in their situation, and to ask ourselves what we would do in their shoes.

Child of God is a manga that's not suited for everyone. In fact, I think it's a story that doesn't appeal to anyone, considering the violent and upsetting matters it depicts.

In it's abstract, disjointed art, we follow the life of a child, which from the moments of it's birth, feels detached and forsaken by the world. His parents don't care for him, he couldn't find anyone that he wants to have conversation with in school and can't find any motivation or self-worth within his own existence, as well as in any other. He hardly even considers them as humans, and looks down upon them as screeching animals.

The fact that he became witnesses a lot of morbid and atrocious acts warps his perception about the world around him - but instead of being disgusted and afraid, he used the chances to indulge into the shown depravities, by this way claiming his freedom, at least according to his mindset.

Despite the blatant cruelty and repulsiveness that this manga exudes, it does says a lot within it's few chapters. Our main protagonist's behavior is one dictated and molded through the loopholes of the society - from his birth, he had never felt warmth from another human being, neither from his parents nor anyone else. Everyone feigns concerns about him, though it they are never sincere and it's more about keeping face, abiding to the social norms instead of driven by empathy. Nothing that he sees within the human connections is genuine or meaningful, they all serve as a means to satisfy their own lusts, needs and comforts, and never to express something else.

Beneath the layers of social conformity, every person in this world is depraved. The main character of this work is a person, who is a product of this society, and one who sees and takes advantage of his understanding of that fact, and the ending itself underlines the bitter realization that there is no salvation from this cycle of malice.

How aware are we about the fact that the reality in which we're living in is monotonous and cyclical, an experience that constantly repeats itself on a daily basis? This manga tells us a story that discusses exactly that thesis, as well as providing us with it's bizarre look at the world which surround us, in a fantastical and metaphorical sense.

At the start, our main protagonist unwillingly wakes and heads to work, but suddenly, he changes his direction and instead, goes on an adventure amidst the seas, jungles and deserts. In many of the things he had seen, the pragmatic and yet controversial nature of the humans was shown, and with each adventure, he learned something about himself, as well as life as a whole. Just because some actions are cruel, doesn't meant that they are unjustified, it is in the human nature to crave for and to survive no matter the circumstances.

Despite their oddities, the depicted societies had logically reached to their point in their development, and in the same way so is our modern one. As he finally returns to his home town, he instantly became prosecuted for the crimes he'd made along the way, but his judge's deductions were biased, stripped of any understanding and consideration on the context of his actions. Often times the pursuit for justice is devoid of the humanely principles, and we can see this reflected in this story. Judgement is often based on one's own understanding in contrast to the many others that are part of this world, and yet we deem our own as superior, and right.

This abstract and surreal work of fiction manages to portray in many aspects our primal nature, by being both wise and narrow minded. Every person desires their own personal freedom, which is something that is difficult or straight up impossible to find in our current societal structure. And even so, we keep on struggling and trying to find reasons to live in our current circumstances, in a state of mental stasis, despaired and yet content by this world.

This is a story in which our main characters are living in the current time, and yet are trapped by events in the past. In this mystery thriller, our main character is a girl who due to her anxieties can see the supernatural, and most often, a hallucination of a sheep. While she tries not to pay attention, the sheep is persistent, with it's ominous banters about her past, fate and resolve. Amidst the cryptic words, at one moment, she realizes something - despite this, being her own hallucination, there is another person that can perceive the sheep as well, a sharply dressed but threatening young man.

By the blend of psychological and metaphorical insights, we do learn and understand their story and motives, why those mirages matters and what do they mean, and how all this relates to their past, which is subconsciously affecting their current lives. There are many motifs in this work that makes it feel like a psychological thriller, a lot of times the memories of the past holds the key to the truth, and yet they lie dormant, buried beneath many metaphors and symbols which their minds could not currently comprehend.

Alice in Hell is a story about the human alienation, as well as an exploration of the violence we're prone to cause to others in a world with no moral borders and in which the current day's common sense is not applicable.

The story starts with our juvenile protagonist, who lives as a scavenger, using his trusty sniper to kill of marauders and bandits in the abandoned city, which is his current home. Due to the need of procuring more food and resources, he is forced to change his place of living to one of the bigger cities, a place in which the brutality is commonplace and in which the armed dispute are everyday occurrence. Despite the cold and ruthless ways of living in the past, the boy manages to scrap down his preconceptions and to lower his anxieties, in turn trying to coexist with the others.

There are different factions that tries to unify and bring some kind of peace to the whole settlement, and yet this sounds impossible in reality. On the other hand there are others that benefits from the constant internal struggles of the surviving people, so they fan the flames of conflict even more. And there comes the moral dilemma of the protagonist - should he try and help out to the frail friendships that he had built over time in this place, or should he revert to his old self and live as a solitary recluse. His anxieties and past traumas lulls him to the comfort of being a lone wolf, but in the same time, he comes to the realization that he appreciates the human contact.

As a direct metaphor to our main protagonist, the places in which he lives reflect the state in which his mind are - in the beginning he is alone, amassing ammunition and manga, and using broken sex doll as a bait to lure his victims. But through his progression, he slowly realizes there is more to mere survival in this world, and that one's sanity depends on the human contacts that we have amidst each other.

This story presents us one perfect, pious society. Everyone is united by their unwavering faith towards the Virgin, and they all abide by her laws - everyone, except two people in this realm, one of them being that had been cursed by birth by having her hair black, a stark contrast to the pale and golden hairs of the others.

For the fact that she's different, she is shunned from the society, deemed sub-human, and sentenced of having zero to no rights. She is the only person that acts differently, and is deemed to cause distress to the people of this country, and they despise her for that. She is smiling and playful, which is a stark contrast to how a lady should act, and she even dares to express her thoughts and feelings.

The work tackle the themes of religion, and how, if taken literally, it can be stifling and obstructive towards it's followers. Through the viewpoint of the ostracized black haired heroine, we can clearly see the flaws and the absurdity that the laws of this society are made of, and how heavily embedded the preaches are for the common folk, effectively stripping them of their ability to think and reflect on their own actions.

In it, the concept of expressing your feelings, affections and love is deemed harmful and inappropriate, which is in fact, a stark contrast to the emotions that they have locked within themselves. Their arrogance and hypocrisy are something they're blissfully unaware of, which just serves to show how degrading and emotionally stunted this world is.

While understanding all of this, our heroine tries to struggle alone in this reality, abhored for the fact that she's different, and is not afraid to express her feelings, even though she ends up hurted for doing so. She is repressed for the simple fact who she is, and despite her actions she'll never be validated. In a sense, this work explores the nightmare of existing in a world that is more prone to pretend being perfect and ideal, rather than be genuine. Everyone in this realm is living, donning their dogmatized masks, and are even unaware they're doing so, and the tragedy for our character is that she has to be a silent observer to this unwilling masquerade.

Within a sacred city, there lies a secret that one one knows and had forgotten overtime. In this place, the constant raids of opposing factions are fended off by mostly youths in their teens, who had just passed their training and are drafted to the war front. Nothing in their training prepares them for the hardships they have to suffer through, and their frail mental fortitude can prepare them for the somber and nihilistic lifestyle they have to endure.

The focus of the story is the psychological state of the said young soldiers, and the connections they forge by one another in this harsh and cruel reality. Every day could be their last, every patrol duty could mean they'll never again see their friends and relatives and the tragedy of this all is that they are paying with their lives for a cause they never personally considered as important.

In this story, the main theme is the existential nihilism that these young people have to deal with - every day consists of the same duties, and the same routines. In this barren wasteland that surrounds the city, nothing ever changes, and the nature doesn't stop it's motions. They are struggling and fighting for a cause they neither are aware in it's importance or are interested in, and there's nothing that signifies them of a reason to hope for a brighter tomorrow. And amidst the transience of their lives, as a cynical pillar of faith, stands erect the holy city, which can only solemnly watch the countless fates that unfolds within it's walls.

Blame is a story with unconventional storytelling - in it, the ambiance and the world building in the narrative backgrounds is one of the main points of exploration within the series. The dark, dystopian future looks as grotesque as possible, the bio mechanical symbiosis of this environment and it's inhabitants is unnerving and inhuman to watch. There is no sunlight, only metal and concrete lumps of structures are the only semblance of past culture that the survivors knows of.

Amidst this oppressive and dark world, a lonely person travels in search for something that is beyond us, and him. His meetings with other beings are few and treated coldly, there's hardly any empathy in this world left to be shared. And even so, these brisk meetings do show a glimpse of our characters and their motives and reasons to thread the long dead ruins.

Despite it's lack of general narrative, it is a story about exploring the depths of the human mind, even amidst the technological hell they live in. There is a sense of nonchalance, even amidst it you can see the will to exist even in this ruined and forlorn world.

This is an interesting manga, which does presents us a setting, almost similar to any romcom you can find, but there's a twist - instead of the well known clichés, we get slightly darker, fetishized, but well thought out relationship between the two leads.

Often times, the slice of life bits are simplified and comedic, which does serve as a backdrop of the plot, but the parts when this manga shines is in it's very relatable portrayal of the teen psyche in the moments of sexual frustration, and the carnal desire for lust that oftenly cloud one's perception. But instead of playing out it's erotic scenes for pure arousal of it's readers, the bits and moments of intimacy and relief also serves to solidify and build up the character's relationship. There is gradation and nuance in consideration to the main cast, as well as firm and undeniable development in both leads at the end of this story.

This short manga is both psychological romance, as well as existential drama. It's story is about people, who are fighting against their mental instabilities and trying to cope with the circumstances in their life, feeling desperate to find any reason to prolong it. The main cast comprises of social outcasts who are not fit for the society as it is, so they seek solace in their loneliness or in this case, in another wounded and traumatized person.

As well as that, the narrative uses the biological and germological terminology to present us a setting about people, being infected by a certain parasite. As it tampers with their emotions, to the point that it starts influencing their behavior, they both start to feel their detachment towards the society they inhabited, while they gain a new emotion - of affection and physical attraction towards others that are infected.

The manga does contemplates on the various ways that the human psyche works, and how often the border within love or hate, disinterest and engagement can be very narrow. Sometimes, the times when we feel we want to be alone usually are the moment we're desperately desiring for human contact, but we're not alright with admitting our weakness. As well as that, the fact that we're too self critical and jaded can rob us of our chances to experience genuine feelings for another, and to grow closer to them.