Goodnight Punpun

Punpun, a boy drawn as a bird, has a hard life. The world may be ending... but Punpun is just fine today.

"Goodnight Punpun" is a coming-of-age story for a boy who just can't get his life off the ground. He gets thrown headfirst into the hardships of broken love, dysfunctional family, distant friends, traumatic sex, sudden grief, and everything in between. Despite the darkness of it all, the manga manages to be outstandingly funny, especially in these earlier volumes centering Punpun's childhood years.

Inio Asano's art is distinctive and detailed, and his creative decision to depict Punpun and his family as stylized flightless birds lends an incredible expressivity that works far better than it should. And Punpun himself is a wildly conflicted character, who makes us feel disgust and pity in equal measure. This story is as sad as they come.