Oyasumi Punpun
Punpun, a human boy caricatured as a bird and burdened with the realities of everyday life gradually enters into the real world, an experience that can only be characterized as nightmarish and simultaneously uplifting. The tragedies of everyday life that we tend to sweep to the back of our minds for the sake of our own sanity consistently remain at the forefront of Punpun's mind, and in his interactions with the world, he begins to learn life's hard lessons. He's dealt the short stick in life, and it reflects in the events that are laid out in front of him, but hope and innocence percolate through every now and then, and give him just enough to get by and live. The sliding scale of cynicism versus idealism manifests itself into each of the characters (deadbeat or harbingers of hope) and the drawing style.
The artwork can be very jarring at first. Punpun initially seems very adorable; after all, despite him interacting with humans and living just like a human, he's drawn as a bird. In contrast, everyone else outside of Punpun's family is drawn very realistically, and sometimes just too ugly for it to be slightly creepy. Still, Asano Inio does a fantastic job, and ultimately, this mixture lends itself well to the overwhelming amount of cynicism and surrealism that are ever so pervasive.
Aside from the surrealist bits, Asano Inio crafts very believable and endearing individuals, so much so that as a reader, you may cringe for them in their embarrassing moments, or even feel sadness as you witness a tragedy unfold. The characters and their overactive imaginations create a setup for what can be described as dark humour, but one's reactions to these scenes will arguably depend on how much one sympathizes with those involved. Likely, the more emotionally detached one is from the story, the more likely s/he is able to see the humour and ignore the nightmarish pieces.
The manga, depressing as it is, can be worth reading just for those short, poignant moments of happiness Punpun may feel, and it's this parallel to real life that makes Oyasumi Punpun such an enticing read. It's very premise seems built upon a philosophical anti-nihilist anti-existentialist thesis; that despite what hardships humans may encounter, there is always something in life worth living for until the very end, and that as long as one lives, there exists a possibility for happiness. The manga isn't finished yet, but there are ~80 chapters out, so there's plenty of reading material until the next release.
For the average reader, I would give this a 9/10. If you're into dark humour and painful coming-of-age stories, 10/10. Mark it down a notch if this isn't your genre.
