Oyasumi Punpun is an ineffable manga. To fully describe how psychologically impactful this manga was is extremely difficult, as it was not only a series that evoked emotion, but it also felt very personal and relatable. The story revolves around protagonist Onodera Punpun from childhood to adulthood, and every step of the way his innocence slowly degrades as he realizes how cruel the world can be. His simplistic depiction as a sketchy bird (along with the rest of his relatives) emphasizes the effects of the story itself, rather than connections to their physical appearance. A senseless reality, the depressing storyline puts the reader into a trance that makes them reflect on their own lives, on their own relationships, and on their individuality. I cannot even begin to convey the strong emotional connection I have to these books, and immediately after I had reread the series for the second time, I purchased the entire collection. To have these books in my possession is like carrying my own autobiography. Anyone who has experienced pain or depression throughout their lives can find themselves in the little bird Punpun, and what I loved most about Oyasumi Punpun apart from any other generic sad story is the life lessons it teaches. As little Punpun travels through heartbreak, distance, and isolation, the characters around him are valuable (even if they hurt him) in teaching what it means to let go and teaching that it's ok if you can't forgive someone. Although admittedly Punpun did not have his fairytale happy ending, the rest of his life became open and forgiving, because along the journey of his life he discovered the importance of being happy with yourself amidst the pressures of everyday life. Asano Inio is godlike in being able to pull such strong feelings from the reader, as he tackles realistic examples of daily causes of depression, from abuse, heartbreak, perversion, peer pressure, sexuality, and broken friendships. Not only that, but Punpun's way of dealing with these issues is not what normal manga characters do, as usually they face the problem head on and eventually solve the problem. Punpun absorbs all the pain within himself and rarely tells anyone about it, other than the occasional violent outbusts as a result of his bottled up feelings. Many individuals in reality do this as well. Even when Punpun had found his love, their relationship consisted of mutual abuse and the wish to kill each other to relieve the pain. Oyasumi Punpun, though showing all this in the most relatable human way, is still a very uplifting series as it still ends on a pleasant note, showing that life goes on after all. Art wise, I thought it extremely creative and strategic to use a simplistic bird to represent the main character. Why? Because by doing so the protagonist is not liked for aesthetics. And he does not talk. The reader can easily relate themselves to Punpun because he has no specific characteristics that sets him largely apart from any other person that may read it, other than the fact that he has gone through pain and despondency. Also, he is a very obvious character as the rest of the book is drawn extremely realistically, which goes on to show Asano Inio's amazing and expressive talent. And even aside from the art, the dialogue is amazingly developed. It deals with varying personalities and is descriptive in representing each character in their spiritual and emotional beliefs. The only existing problem that docked one point in the rating is that the dialogue can be very long. It conveys the message to the best of its ability, but like Death Note, sometimes the paragraphs of conversation can zone the reader out. Nevertheless, every character input is equally important and never superfluous, so the negative connotations is quite minimal.

The series should be read by mature (not necessarily older) individuals. Not only due to the fact that the depressing examples and allusions to God and suicide should never be read by one who has not yet understood these dangerous emotions, but because the reader is learning alongside a growing boy. Many scenes are suggestive or blatantly innapropriate, but in the end are important in contributing to the realistic atmosphere of the manga, so should not be shown to younger individuals.

Other than that disclaimer, Oyasumi Punpun is hands down the most amazing series I have ever read, and I cannot recommend it enough.