Inio Asano’s Goodnight Punpun gives us what appear to be a family of ghostly birds living in a much more realistic-looking world. People within that world don’t see them that way, though. It’s a world where authority figures act like ADHD kids, where every parent seems to be abusive or alcoholic (or both), and all seem to be fighting relentless depression. It’s well done, but is it worth reading? Tim and Kumar discuss the story, the weirdness, the varying concepts of God, Asano’s arguments with fans and with himself, and more.
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Prolific manga creator Taiyo Matsumoto’s Ping Pong is, nominally, a sports manga, but it doesn’t stick to the tropes. It presents table tennis matches that take place in a small town, not at a major tournament in Tokyo; often it doesn’t even show the end of a match! In some ways it functions as a parody of the genre. Kumar and Dana discuss this fun and unpredictable manga.
