we all have a bit of punpun in our hearts
spoilers :(
___
# Life
alot of us, including myself, we used engage with others alot more. growing up, childlike wonder and the desire to look out for stuff was high. everything seemed so pretty. no one wanted that time period of their life to end. Alot of us again, including myself, don't do that that much anymore. that childlike wonder became lost due to what we see around us. theres horrible shit out there man. drugs, porn, governments that feed low income neighborhoods drugs to keep them poor, etc. thats just life. those negatives can come to really overshadow our heads and fuck things over. that's just life. BUT, it's only like that if you allow it to be like that. There's still good in the world. You shouldn't try to struggle against it. If you just let life flow and focus on improving yourself, it will work out in the end. I only learned of this recently but it is a much better way of thinking
that's how I view the idea of PunPun. it gets progressively more intense as it continues via what happens around PunPun and as it progresses, PunPun's emotions showed through his literal shape. That is such a great way of showing it. It demonstrates it so well and each form fits different ideals. The cute bird is his childlike self, the evil demon at the end being his pessimistic, self hating, murderous self. The triangle is just kind of the fact he was clueless at the time lol
If that made no sense, I'll add the fact that we strive so hard to keep that childlike wonder and a lot of the time it really makes things worse for us. You see how innocent punpun is in the beginning and as he's seeing more evil and bad around him, his most evil point is when he tries to live a life he used to want: being with Aiko. That wasn't gonna work but the drive to push towards better times really fucks with your head more than you think. When he got rid of that and just let things flow, at the very end he was back to his bird self. That's just how it works. It's a very serious problem that I have struggled with myself and if you stay in that loop, you never push forwards. The low's of life are gonna make you want better times, but better times only come if you just let life flow, whatever comes or not. There is no point to live in the past. You can tread lightly, but don't live there.
# Self Purpose
Self Purpose is an interesting thing. It is not something we think of much growing up but it is so important to how we live. A sense of self purpose is a sense of life. It's a bit hard to gain that. PunPun growing up is a perfect example of that. A part that really struck me was when he mentioned that he would kill himself if he didn't pay rent next year. I don't think im the only one who has thought this too. It's so hard to gain that when you're scared of adulthood and so much is happening around you. But there's a light. if you try to find that light, you'll get to it. Going on without an idea helps 0 times out of 10. When PunPun just did things to get a feel of his past life or to unneedingly do some crazy stuff, that did not help him at all. The relationship with Sachi is super important to this. Sachi actually tried to hold a decent relationship with PunPun. It wasn't perfect no but she made PunPun feel wanted. PunPun was trying to kill himself and Sachi saved him. And guess what?? He feels better. HE FOUND HIS SELF PURPOSE!! HE HAS MEANING TO HER AND WHAT COMES FROM THAT?? HE'S A LOT BETTER!! its truly incredible stuff.
# Quality of Manga
Now to the actual manga. Let's push these ideas to the side and focus on the actual substance. The art, pacing, how unique it was, etc. Yeah this is the peak of the mountain. It could be a bit of a bore due to the fact that it's just mostly drama/philosophical but I am a fan of that type of stuff. The art is SUPER incredible, along with that super unique style that the manga brings. It feels so vibrant yet dead at the same time. How things are shown here is crazy. God being just a human face that ended up being PunPun's negative thoughts embodied together is super cool. The fact that he morphs with how his mind is shows the reader how he is super well. While the actual story with PunPun is a bit more interesting than the side parts within the story, they still give great layering and they're not a waste of story. I never really felt bored by any part of this and honestly this was the fastest I ever read a manga
# Understandable Critisms
I am aware it is very random and a bit edgy. Very, very edgy. I am also aware that a lot of people who like this manga are typically very toxic. These people need better guidance. I hope them well. The art might be to crazy for some, and overall I might just be overthinking it. I did not end up crying at the last panel where he's waving, and I actually would've really preferred if it was just a good ending and not a "history repeats itself" thing. But... its a realistic story. It's not an uncommon occurance. History does repeat itself, and I don't count it against it for that. I personally enjoy the darker content of this. While I don't strive to be PunPun at all (he's not a good person) he is a character I think is extremely well written.
this manga is super important to me. when i look at this manga, i see a slightly more deranged version of how certain eras of growing up for me, and it's beautiful to see it portrayed so well. It's an insanely unique manga that does not try to be anything unrealistic. It's a manga featuring struggles that we all encounter. That is what makes it so beautiful. the art is masterclass, the story is incredible, the development is phenomenal, but most importantly it's something a lot of us can reflect on. I can't think of a single thing wrong with this manga. this is my favorite piece of media ever
# 10/10
___
this is just my opinion. I'm aware we think differently and if you think im just overthinking it or am just wrong about something, that is okay because you have probably a good reason to believe that. it doesn't matter in the end of the day if something is good or not if it has had deep personal (positive) value to you
