Note: At the time of writing this review, not many chapters have been released. However, I estimated that it was plenty enough for me to write this review and perhaps catch anyone's intention in keeping an eye on this amazing work! If anything is amiss in my review, feel free to let me know in DMs.
Also, do note that sensitive topics will be tackled in this review (such as suicide, death and mental health issues or disorders) so I suggest not reading this if this somehow bothers you in any way.
Shrink is a manga that focuses on mental health issues, a subject that is rarely touched upon in this medium, more so because it is not only a sensitive topic but also is something that people tend to keep “hidden” in society (almost like a taboo). Why is that? Because depending on the culture of the country and the lens in which its society view things, it can have the stigma of being something that is frowned upon by others or considered as a sign of someone being a imminent failure. Nowadays, a lot of attention and care has been given regarding mental health and different ways of helping those people is available in some countries. But unfortunately, it is still something that is barely thought of in some areas of the world and Japan, despite its impressive outlook, is one of those many places in which mental health tends to be overlooked despite the consequences that this situation causes (such as suicides, which is a major concern that can’t be ignored (as even the government had to intervene on the matter)). Now Japan isn’t the only country with that kind of problem (cough South Korea cough) and of course I won’t go into too much detail on that aspect, but in the context of this manga I think that this is one thing that needs to be taken note of. Because this work, even if its fiction, reflects things that are far too familiar with what we see in our lives today regarding mental illnesses and mental healthcare.
Now, there’s something important that I need to mention before I go in details on how great this manga is. We need to first understand the layering problems surrounding the society in this context and what is the “root” or the “cause” of the problems that the characters (not the MC but specifically his patients as he is a psychiatrist) go through and which provokes those mental health issues. First, is that in their society, people are met with “expectations”, but by that I mean very HIGH expectations that it sticks to their conscience all their lives and it lingers as a heavy weight on their shoulders. One of the many examples is Karin Aoki, an actress who suffers from bulimia nervosa and the main reason for those symptoms is because people expect her to meet THEIR ideal expectations, they think she’s the ideal woman and that her status as an actress put her to a very high pedestal compared to the average person. Because of this, she’s soooo focused on her appearance and what people think of her that the moment someone starts talking about her job as an actress or compare her to other actresses, she starts eating and eating without stopping as the number of plates increases without her noticing. She doesn’t realize it herself that she’s doing this almost by instinct, she only notices it when she starts going to the bathroom in a rush to vomit everything out or when she ends up being hospitalized. There’s clearly something going on but she has no idea how to “fix” this, where to go for help or WHO can even help her with this, and even if she does seek help… people will think she’s crazy to even go meet a psychiatrist. What about her image as an actress? All in shambles because they caught her taking an appointment at a psychiatrist’s clinic. It keeps brushing the back of her mind... and this is one of the main reasons why the characters are reluctant to seek help for their mental health problems in this context, they are so focused on the image society have on them, on what their surroundings think of them and to meet everyone’s idealistic expectations. One social mistake and its pretty much the final nail on the coffin. Its like the “You Died” screen in a Dark Souls game.
When those dreadful expectations are not met and the chasm under their feet starts looking bigger, when the days of continuous depression feels like an eternity and the light at the end of the tunnel becomes grim, they will feel like failure is imminent and that there is only one way out of this hell: suicide. It is clearly an extreme measure yet somehow the most simple way out in their eyes, as it becomes very difficult to find the strength to get back on their feet again when they are faced against a wall of expectations that looks almost impossible to climb. They are expected to always succeed, and success is defined (according to them) by not only having a stable job with good income but also have a family, children who will also be successful, and that they must fit the archetype of the “ideal” worker, a person with no flaws in their lives, even personality or appearance wise. They have to always be cheerful. They have to always say "yes" when someone asks something of them. They have to always be nice to their superiors. They have to be perfect. Thats what people want from them and thats what they believe will make them rise in status.
Now this does look somewhat familiar because in this medium I think we’ve seen that aspect being criticized several times, perhaps in all kinds of way but in Shrink, these things are seen in 2 lenses, one is the way the psychiatrist Yowai notices those problems and the other is how the patient views things. Unlike other medical type manga where the doctor pretty much tackles everything extremely seriously and is very straightforward in what they are doing, Yowai is more like your very carefree, overly sympathetic and laidback type of person. He looks visibly aloof according to the other characters but he’s actually very perceptive and notices almost instantly when someone is in need of help, kinda like a sixth sense, but he takes his time and waits for when the perfect opportunity to engage with the patient appears. But what I like the most about his character is that he feels very "human" in his approaches, when he engages with people he never really takes the stance of a serious doctor whos here to show professionalism, but more the stance of just a normal person trying to give a hand and I think this allows us to relate to him more in a way.
Earlier, I mentioned this girl who was suffering from bulimia nervosa, but there’s actually all kinds of mental health issues being tackled upon in this manga, such as PTSD, bipolar disorder, developmental disabilities, and many more! Which I think is amazing because it is not only a great source of learning by keeping us always informed and help us understanding all these diverse types of issues that affects mental health, but it also allows us to understand the shortcomings of those characters even more like how these issues affect their lives and the harsh reality of it. Another interesting thing is how this work really highlights how oblivious some people are when it comes to the matter of mental health (like through the character of Amamiya), it really goes to show how mental health problems are almost never noticed or properly understood by others, how they never see the severity of the situation. It kind of creates this almost "hopeless" type of environment in the manga which I think describes the dreadful situation very well. When I read this manga, I have such a growing empathy for those characters and I can’t help but feel glad that Yowai is there to help them even though everything in society seems to go against their existence. He’s kind of like an Oasis in the middle of a desert (as strange as the imagery looks like) but it really goes to show how valuable mental healthcare is and how necessary it is for people to always have it readily available and accessible for EVERYONE regardless of who we are.
Shrink
verb
- become or make smaller in size or amount.
- move back or away, especially because of fear or disgust.
noun
- a clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist.
All three definitions can be applied to this manga. Yowai being a psychiatrist. The fact that society continues to shrink us with the sheer pressure of our life problems until we become completely nothing on the surface. And finally, the idea that whenever we are faced with harsh situations in life, we tend to move away from it, we constantly fear of how people view us or what they think of us.
I feel like this manga is kind of like a cry for help.
It wants us to notice the real problems that people tend to keep hidden under the rug. Through the character of Yowai, he will make those problems come out of the rug and he WILL help those people feel happy again. I don't want this to look like an eulogy on psychiatrists... because that's not my intention in this review, but rather reflect on the fact that we should be concerned as human beings that there are people out there who are going through a lot of things, and when we do notice that they are having a hard time, we should do whatever we can to help them and reach out. Even with their flaws, they are no different from other people and we should treat them with care.
Even if it ends up being a hidden gem inside this vast medium and industry, I hope that it keeps on doing what it is doing. Because we definitely need more works like this one. Other works worth checking out that might interest you if you like this work: My Broken Mariko, Yomawari Sensei and Koko wa Ima kara Rinri desu.