Goodnight Punpun

By Inio Asano

An Overview

A psychological slice of life where the main character Onodera Punpun and his family are shown mostly as abstract caricatures (mainly 2 dimensional bird-like doodles), a design choice better suited for showcasing their state of being as well as to make it easy substituting these characters with anybody, including the reader themselves. Goodnight Punpun follows Punpun through his adolescence into young adulthood and occasionally his family/childhood friends. Showcasing their experiences growing up from the individuals point of view and dealing with the many unfortunate circumstances one can come across in life. Punpun, who is especially not well equipped to deal with these troubles due to his mental state and cripplingly low self-esteem, wants nothing more than to be accepted in a world full of selfish people who are too busy dealing with their own lives and personal brand of problems to be of any aid. In the worst cases, even looking to take advantage. Punpun is not so much different to these people, only that he is evermore hopelessly encumbered by his own struggles to even truly begin to tackle the world around him despite his kind and helpful nature. That doesn't stop him from putting his head down and working hard in hope of amounting to something worthwhile outside of his field of view of what is even possible for him.

There is a fine line between deep and ambiguous|meaningless and obscure. Meaninglessness and obscurity can sometimes (to a degree) lend itself to the writing, however to the uninitiated can make something nonsensical appear to have depth and meaning. I wanted to point out that there is some meaningless and obscure things within Goodnight Punpun, the line between the two is not always easy to be perceptive of and can make things seem more deep and meaningful than they really are. With that said, I don't want to put more emphasis on that when comparing to the whole. Overall I think Goodnight Punpun, or for a visual, Onodera Punpun is the 'deep and ambiguous' that people say it is, with its arms hanging over the fence and peering to the other side at the 'meaningless and obscure'.

Overall a unique read with many obscene moments but many gem moments as well. It's one of those stories that has a strong final 1/4 and a bittersweet end. Goodnight Punpun proves to be a one-of-a-kind read that you likely wont forget. It is a read that will make you uncomfortable at times and may or may not surprise you when you can relate to something you thought not many people understood let alone conveyed via the manga in front of you.