Book Review
Title: Goodnight Punpun Omnibus Volume 2 by Inio Asano
Genre: Manga, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
After reading the first volume of Goodnight Punpun last month I couldn’t wait to continue the series and while overall I liked this volume a little less than the first it finally made sense why this is labelled as 18+ manga. I was also surprised by how little of Punpun we actually saw in this volume as it focuses more and on the people around Punpun, namely his friends and his uncle, Yuichi. We learn that two years have passed since the first volume as Punpun is now in the first year of middle school and all this time he has been in love with Aiko but she is currently dating Yaguchi from the badminton club. At first Punpun is angry about this development but after getting to know Yaguchi he isn’t sure how he feels anymore.
We learn that Yaguchi is actually dealing with an injury and hiding it in order to win the upcoming tournament as he needs to beat a fellow club member Komatsu which he hasn’t been able to do in practice. Yaguchi actually makes a bet with Punpun after learning that he also loves Aiko, Yaguchi says he will give up on Aiko if he loses but if he wins then Aiko will be his for life sparking Punpun to do his best but he is dealing with depression, anxiety and a lot of dark feelings inside him which are holding him back. Yaguchi eventually loses this match due to his injury and is upset at giving up Aiko but even when Aiko talks to Punpun after the match he urges her to go see Yaguchi instead of being there with him because he knows Yaguchi needs to support right now and he can offer Aiko things that he can’t but this only sparks more of the dark feelings that he has been trying to repress the entire volume. This is about the extent of Punpun’s story in this volume but Yuichi’s was also really interesting.
We learn that Yuichi has been asked out by a woman named Midori but he is constantly running away from her or avoiding her but eventually she forces him to sit down and discuss why he is avoiding her. It comes out that Yuichi almost got romantically involved with a teenager five years ago and this manipulation from the girl led another man to beat her mother up since she claimed her mother was holding her prisoner. Yuichi thought that both the mother and the man that attacked her were killed and carried a lot of guilt around with him. Midori convinces him to return to the pottery school where this happened and learns that both of them survived with minor injuries and it was the daughter that prevents the mother from suing the school.
Yuichi realises he has carried this guilt around for nothing and he become suicidal but at the last moment he locks eyes with Midori and can’t follow through with it and she begins to lift him back up from the dark hole he has been in for the past five years. Yuichi even introduces her to his sister and Punpun and also expresses wanting to get married when her dream of running her own café come true and he returns to pottery which has also hasn’t done in five years. Punpun witnesses all of this as well as the sexual relationship between Yuichi and Midori which sparks a lot of jealousy in the young teen. This volume dealt with a lot more mature themes like suicide, depression, abuse in many forms and how that can impact people even years after the events. I am looking forward to seeing what happens to Punpun as the series progresses since he has seemingly given up his chance of being with Aiko but that doesn’t stop his obsession with her.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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