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HedgehogBeeblebrox — cry, baby, cry

Published: 2009-12-12 10:11:49 +0000 UTC; Views: 1367; Favourites: 25; Downloads: 23
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Description I've been hearing a lot of buzz about the manga Oyasumi Punpun lately, and for whatever reason I was inspired today to actually give it a go. I ended up powering through it all in one sitting earlier and...wow! I just need to ramble about it somewhere because damn, I love it when a comic gives me this many THINKY THOUGHTS

It's a manga that's in many ways a classic coming-of-age tale; what makes it unusual is that instead of seeing the true appearance of the main character, he's constantly shown as a highly stylized bird, and he's "silent" in a way. this really drew me in initially, I thought the idea of having a symbol represent the protagonist was so clever and it's executed brilliantly; on one hand, the storytelling is so heartfelt you almost completely forget Punpun is drawn as a weird flat doodle and not a boy, and yet you can never truly ignore it, which creates this unsettling, subconscious atmosphere of overpowering alienation that's just perfect for the story. The comic is alternatively charming, disturbing, surreal, and painfully depressing, and totally at its best within the first two volumes, where you experience Punpun's childhood perspective on love and adventure and heartbreak ;___;

(SPOILERSSESES not that I dislike the later volumes at all, I just think that teenage Punpun's moping begins to wear a bit thin, aha...of course, he is a teenager. I do really love how the author began to transition Punpun out of childhood innocence by warping the bird symbol, showing glimpses of his real self more and more...it almost reminds me of what the daemons represent in His Dark Materials; as a child, you can project whatever you want into them because they have no boundaries, so to speak, but as one ages, they begin to settle into a rigid "shape"...durrhurr sorry now I'm rambling)

man I really missed reading manga, I wish I knew more short series like this...I mean, I've always wanted to catch up on juggernauts like One Piece and whatnot but the sheer SCOPE OF WHAT I'D HAVE TO READ TO DO SO always makes me give up before I even begin "orz
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Comments: 20

IrnBru32 [2011-09-01 18:54:57 +0000 UTC]

im reading it atm, and yeeeah it is pretty wow
;A; really cool picture!

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HUAdelis [2011-03-31 22:49:19 +0000 UTC]

The whole "Mama Punpun in the hospital" arc/saga/part was really depressing but kinda hopeful at the same time.......

Short manga --
Oumagadoki Doubutsuen [link]
KissWood [link]
Shaman King [link]

Actually, Shaman King is like really long but you said you liked "THINKY THOUGHTS" and SK induces that kinda stuff

hope you find this useful

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HedgehogBeeblebrox In reply to HUAdelis [2011-04-01 18:34:48 +0000 UTC]

Oooh, thank you for the recommendations! Shaman King was always something I read a few chapters of here and there when I was younger and liked it, but never really looked into properly. I should correct that!

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HUAdelis In reply to HedgehogBeeblebrox [2011-04-01 19:27:51 +0000 UTC]

Okay.
Tell me if you like them.

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Deimyts [2010-04-14 01:04:21 +0000 UTC]

mmmshort things. the only ones that come to mind are FLCL and the Demon Ororon (not sure if i spelled that one right).

Abandon the Old in Tokyo is very good too, but it's really depressing.

that's all i got at the moment.

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HedgehogBeeblebrox In reply to Deimyts [2010-04-14 01:06:32 +0000 UTC]

FLCL is one of my greatest loves of all time--the manga not as much as the anime, but it's still way up there. The other two I've never heard of, but I'll definitely give 'em a look!

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Deimyts In reply to HedgehogBeeblebrox [2010-04-14 01:40:13 +0000 UTC]

agreed. the anime creates new levels of awesome. I need to watch it again I think.

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Rin-Uzuki [2010-01-11 04:32:03 +0000 UTC]

Read Basara!! Nothing to do with this except it's a damn good manga to read.

I too don't have as much time to read manga anymore, so it's extremely satisfying to sit down and read some (scanslations especially).

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solardiente [2009-12-16 18:05:58 +0000 UTC]

haha you made me start reading it, oh my god, i want to cry over how depressing it gets. I adore the art though

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HedgehogBeeblebrox In reply to solardiente [2009-12-16 21:27:20 +0000 UTC]

I wibbled a few times ngl ;3; and yesss, it's beautifully drawn

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KuniHamuChi [2009-12-13 15:51:35 +0000 UTC]

I haven't heard of this manga before but now I really want check it out. It sounds so deep. ;-;

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HedgehogBeeblebrox In reply to KuniHamuChi [2009-12-13 20:09:04 +0000 UTC]

Oh, please do! it's really great and poignant <3

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hazerever [2009-12-12 22:03:41 +0000 UTC]

ooooh, awwwww

I'm interested in reading this now :3


(wait a minute)
*checks files*
is it sad that I've had this manga downloaded for the past year and never read it? orz

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HedgehogBeeblebrox In reply to hazerever [2009-12-12 23:21:12 +0000 UTC]

I'VE MAYBE DONE THAT...WITH LIKE, AT LEAST THREE DIFFERENT SERIES...

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Psshaw [2009-12-12 19:01:46 +0000 UTC]

I'm sure I've seen Punpun before, but I never knew what it was! OH MAN THIS IS SO NEAT. I'm on volume 3 right now. Thanks for showing me this.

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HedgehogBeeblebrox In reply to Psshaw [2009-12-12 23:24:24 +0000 UTC]

Of course! It needs (and deserves) all the publicity it can get :>

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strayheadache [2009-12-12 17:37:41 +0000 UTC]

heck yes Punpun is where its ats ; ; one of my TOP fave mangas everrr

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HedgehogBeeblebrox In reply to strayheadache [2009-12-12 23:25:32 +0000 UTC]

I'm so pleased that I found it but so sad that now I'll have to wait to have more of it to read ;__;

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Cell84 [2009-12-12 16:04:06 +0000 UTC]

..this makes me sad.
..i think christmas is ruined now.

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HedgehogBeeblebrox In reply to Cell84 [2009-12-12 23:22:28 +0000 UTC]

OH SURE BLAME US JEWS!!!!

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