Big Comic Spirits (2007-2013)
Story/Art by Inio Asano
Summary: This is a story that tells the tale of young Punpun, a normal boy living a normal life, except with one small twist: he sees himself as an anthropomorphic bird, and he sees his family in the same way. So follow Punpun as he journeys through life complete with heartache, heartbreak, family issues and a rather peculiar connection to God. While everyone else seems normal, Punpun is rather unique.
Review: Volume 8 is probably my favorite one to date. I have watched this little chicken boy grow up from a naive child, to an average kid, to a troubled teen, and finally as an independent adult, happiness is starting to seep into his life.
What volume 8 does differently than any other before it, even volume 7, is Punpun finally gets a real break from life. There are still a few hardships in the volume, sure, but overall Punpun finally gets to start experiencing happiness and it just makes me smile from ear to ear.
Going into this I wondered just how depressing things were about to get, but to my surprise life only got better as it dragged on. Punpun was able to break out of the shell he built around himself last volume, and build a healthy romantic and sexual relationship with another consenting adult. Good on you Punpun.
Speaking of, after all the girls Punpun has met, Sachi was finally able to break him free of their hold. At least momentarily. I really hope their relationship lasts, but if the final pages of this volume are any indication that world may be crumbling down rather soon.
Since the time skip there have been a few plot points that seemed to had been dropped for Punpun’s adventure into adulthood, but I should’ve known better to think so as all those seemingly dropped plot points began to converge in the final pages of this volume fresh after yet another time skip (every two volumes literally). This time the skip is only one year instead of two.
While Punpun’s creeping depression is still very much around, looming in the shadows, it can be pushed aside this volume for that feeling called joy. Everyone needs that in there life at least a little bit. After all the crap this guy has gone through, I was just so happy to see him finally catch a break. How long that break lasts is to be determined… but Punpun earned this. Which lands volume 8 as the best volume this series has offered so far.
Final Score: 4.5 Wonderful Winter Memories out of 5
Derrick is a born and raised otaku with a love for comics, anime, manga and movies. The full list is pretty long, but that’s just the basics. Stories set in space are his bread and butter.
You can find more of his writing at IndieComix.net
@KazekunForever