CathexisAbout Cathexis is a psychological shortstory one-shot manga about finding a purpose in life, and singlemindedly working to achieve it. It's written by Sanada Shuuhei and the illustrations are made by Murai.Story The main character is a nameless duck who one day finds a leaflet in his mailbox. "I sell certificates that confer upon the owner the right to die". And the nameless duck, who coincidentally had just thought that he'd like to die, decided to give the number on the paper a call. [Major Spoilers]

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The person who had sent the leaflet turns out to be a death god, and he sells death certificates. The nameless duck asks what payment he wants, and asks if he wants his soul, the death god answered with saying that its a very outdated custom, and that human society has become capitalistic now. "Even the world of us death gods has been influenced by the changing times". The death god asks for cash, as Japanese yen is highly valued in his world, hence him delivering the leaflets. The price the nameless duck got told, was an unspecified large amount for us readers, but it was apparently a huge sum. The nameless duck told the death god that he will get the money eventually and pay him, and that the death god shouldn't sell to anyone else. And so the nameless duck started working, from dawn til dusk, every day, as the seasons changed, and people around him started having kids and starting families. As the scenery of the town he lived in began to change. He worked tirelessly, as he had a goal in mind. He kept working and working, until he was old and finally had all the money saved up.

Art

The art of Cathexis is made by the incredibly talented Murai. The artstyle is simple, but vivid, i'd describe it as a lucid dream, keeping it realistic to a certain extent, and the rest is very dreamlike. Personally i love the artstyle, it really fits in with the nature of the manga. The design of the nameless duck is simple, but unique, and the scenery in his room changes with every page.

Conclusion

The concept of this manga is simple, yet powerful. Personally, i think its up to everyone who reads to process it on their own, as i think people can see the message of this manga differently.

Overall scores Story: 7.5/10
Art: 10/10
Enjoyment: 8.7/10
Overall: 7.6