Punpun, known in the previous volume, is a very shy and naive child overwhelmed by responsibility. Will it grow out of magical thinking and become less gloomy?
Girls are nothing more than trouble
Little Punpun thought primarily about Aiko. Excessively entangled in family drama, he tried to save a little outsider dreaming of great love – preferably crowds of fans for her. There are several pessimistic “morals” in the first volume of this manga, including that warmer feelings are related to the power that a loved one has over us. And by the way – mutual sympathy does not mean that we will be good for each other.
In subsequent issues Goodnight, Punpun the title ” Moomin ” is already in high school, he lives with his mother and uncle, he has not seen his first love for two years. The feeling has not faded away at all, so he realizes it locked in his room, as puppy as possible. Unlike Punpun, Aiko seems to be growing up, after all, she has her first boyfriend!
I bet you can already sense the drama: a love triangle, school gossip, serious conversation. Asano’s heroes live in a world that is far from romantic comedy, but they deliver Romcom- worthy dialogues. They promise themselves deadly solutions, usually unrealistic. It’s a kind of mangaka thought experiment: what if ordinary, real people acted like heroes of genre literature? What if, by the way, they said everything that comes to their mind without paying attention to norms and politeness? It would not be easy for them, and this is the flagship feature of Asano’s history – they are not very pleasant for anyone.
Kittens and puppies
If you were previously intrigued by the figure of Uncle Yuichi, this volume is for you. Even if you were bored earlier, its story is an intriguing experience for the recipient. You will read a psychological drama performed by a hero who looks like a paper bag in a cap. Yuichi is an example of a person who avoids life very carefully. Now you will find out why he ran away and from what. You can include Kazik (see: previous subheading) and Pajama Porno – because “the whole world is divided into kittens and puppies”. Only the latter take the punishment.
Punpun and his uncle firmly believe that the only salvation for them would be someone who would love them. And even better – who they will love without memory. You know, love is boundless devotion. Entangled in physiological and bed matters, which in Asano’s works is a strong contrast to the pathos adored by his heroes. In Good Night, Punpuna, you’ll meet a toxic, disturbingly realistic blend of romance and obscenity.
Experimental manga
As I mentioned on the occasion of the review of the first volume, Asano wanted to go beyond the boundaries of the genre and his style when creating Good Night, Punpunie . Most of his manga are realistic, aesthetic comics about sad people. They are brutal, but do not have many of the crude humor in the Punpun world. Nor do they contain such a mixture of aesthetics.
In the case of the series of patchwork styles discussed here, it allows the author to create a coherent story out of mismatched elements. Romanticism, ecchi and indiscriminate situational jokes take on meaning thanks to cartoon heroes interacting with realistic ones. Dramatic dialogues become plausible when we look at Punpun’s simplistic, over-reacting reactions. You will even find a fragment of a heroic, sports manga here. In the context of the rest of this volume, it will be very ironic, but it looks genuine, you can get fooled.
Good night, Punpunie discovers Gangnam styles before he was cool. “Dress classy, dance cheesy” unless you look cartoonish, then go into a pathos drama. Based on this formula, Inio Asano created a touching, funny, very bitter comic. Somehow it makes it easier to swallow the pessimistic message of the whole that everything and everyone looks rather unattractive, but lives on.
