What I've Been Reading This Week... Goodnight PunPun

This week in addition to the readings for class I picked up and read through all 147 installments of Inio Asano's Oyasumi Punpun or Goodnight Punpun. 

I haven't been too fond of manga up until I found out about great storytellers such as Taiyo Matsumoto, Satoshi Kon, and, recently, Inio Asano.

I can see how there could definitely be an immediate turn of towards picking this series up as the main character is depicted as a small bird who stands on two legs. Both of his parents and his uncle are depicted the same way. But that is just a front, a substitute for how the main characters are viewed by themselves. They are, in fact, quite human and are inundated with tons of emotional  baggage. 

The series spans the entire childhood and early adulthood of the main character, Punpun, and brings into question just what we as people want out of social interactions with others. There are some pretty heavy issues that are brought up and the childlike depictions of some of the characters should not be seen as a drawback in any way. 

It may be a little hard to get into at first. But I found that when I picked this one up I had a hard time not reading through to the end

Personal Rating 8/10

What I've Been Reading This Week... Nausicaa

So in addendum to the weekly reading/writing assignments I've been reading some comics on the side...


This week its been Hayao Miyazaki's: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

I was first introduced to Miyazaki's work when I saw Spirited Away in theaters and I was simply blown away. Much like every other art student in school I've been obsessed with his work ever since. When I learned that his first film of the same name was originally a graphic novel that he wrote and illustrated entirely himself I had no other choice but to dive into this six installment epic.

The film version covers only a fraction of Hayao's original story and leaves out some interesting characters. If you have the time to check out this work I highly recommend it!

Personal rating: 9/10