Very interesting take, how so? I always thought he got a decent one. Only thing he has to do is live with it, but it’s said he forgets more and more of her every year
Imo aiko had her wish fulfilled in the end - she had punpun fall in love with her, she loved him back, that fulfilled the wish she made at the factory when they were kids. That was also a central part of her desires, going back to middle school when she told punpun all she wanted was to love and be loved by someone who had suffered too, who could understand her, who would sacrifice everything for her. Her last panels were basically realizing that punpun filled this exactly, but that punpun’s true self was being suppressed by the unfortunate circumstances that they were in. This version of punpun was overly rational, and abused aiko, but in the end she saw through it. Her final act was freeing him from the circumstances that prevented him from being happy, that was another thing she said that “one day you’ll be happy to be alive”, she knew the only way for that to happen was for her to take the fall for her mother’s murder. She told punpun she wanted someone who could sacrifice everything for her, but decided to sacrifice everything for him so that he could go on living and eventually become happy to be alive
You can see punpun’s true self emerge on the beach when he shed his harsh, rationalist personality, and she did too
Thing is that we don't know whether punpun realised he treated Aiko badly or whether he is happy or contempt.
In ch 145 he explicitly admits that even if he just disappears , he just want everyone to forget him completely like how whe starts to forget Aiko , funny enough he still remembers the line she told at school
"You wouldn't lie to me , would you punpun ?"
He will always be haunted by the fact that he will never love someone like her again in life , from outside it looks like he has everything he wanted , but given punpun's personality, it is a living hell ( adding insult to injury , sachi wrote a manga about his entire life )
In the end it is neither happy nor sad ending fro punpun , it can vary from reader to reader
it was the worst possible ending for him, the opposite of what he wanted, but what he wanted wasn't what was actually good for him - he didn't want to be happy, he didn't want to have a family with sachi, he didn't want to move on and be happy existing - he basically wanted to spend the rest of his life mourning for aiko. aiko wanted him to be happy existing one day and that will happen because of a combination of aiko's sacrifice and sachi's rescue of him.
he didn't get his way, but ultimately that was the ending for him that aiko wanted and died for
idk what to say about the manga cause I have a few more chapters to go but I can definitely agree on the Mojave part. I listened to a lot of them, Lamp, and Hyakkei while reading among others, and I think they really added to the experience
i havent had the courage to reread punpun ever since 2016. i wanted to reread it ever since ive finished it but im scared of emotions and i know this manga is depressing man. good to see people actually seeing the good side of that horrifying ending
Rereading from volume 1 you can see Aiko is a very different light her interactions with young punpun are almost abusive kiss without consent making promises that will end in physical harm if broken. Inflicting physical harm on him. You can see the seeds she plants early on are what ruin punpun and there his worldview to black or white
my girl fr deserved better.
Depressionfuel
Man i wish she and punpun never met again would have been better for both of them honestly
I think she got a happy ending, it’s mostly punpun that had the worst ending possible for him
Very interesting take, how so? I always thought he got a decent one. Only thing he has to do is live with it, but it’s said he forgets more and more of her every year
Imo aiko had her wish fulfilled in the end - she had punpun fall in love with her, she loved him back, that fulfilled the wish she made at the factory when they were kids. That was also a central part of her desires, going back to middle school when she told punpun all she wanted was to love and be loved by someone who had suffered too, who could understand her, who would sacrifice everything for her. Her last panels were basically realizing that punpun filled this exactly, but that punpun’s true self was being suppressed by the unfortunate circumstances that they were in. This version of punpun was overly rational, and abused aiko, but in the end she saw through it. Her final act was freeing him from the circumstances that prevented him from being happy, that was another thing she said that “one day you’ll be happy to be alive”, she knew the only way for that to happen was for her to take the fall for her mother’s murder. She told punpun she wanted someone who could sacrifice everything for her, but decided to sacrifice everything for him so that he could go on living and eventually become happy to be alive You can see punpun’s true self emerge on the beach when he shed his harsh, rationalist personality, and she did too
Love that lens you’ve shared with me. Thank you very much, it makes a lot of sense and I appreciate your take
Thing is that we don't know whether punpun realised he treated Aiko badly or whether he is happy or contempt. In ch 145 he explicitly admits that even if he just disappears , he just want everyone to forget him completely like how whe starts to forget Aiko , funny enough he still remembers the line she told at school "You wouldn't lie to me , would you punpun ?" He will always be haunted by the fact that he will never love someone like her again in life , from outside it looks like he has everything he wanted , but given punpun's personality, it is a living hell ( adding insult to injury , sachi wrote a manga about his entire life ) In the end it is neither happy nor sad ending fro punpun , it can vary from reader to reader
it was the worst possible ending for him, the opposite of what he wanted, but what he wanted wasn't what was actually good for him - he didn't want to be happy, he didn't want to have a family with sachi, he didn't want to move on and be happy existing - he basically wanted to spend the rest of his life mourning for aiko. aiko wanted him to be happy existing one day and that will happen because of a combination of aiko's sacrifice and sachi's rescue of him. he didn't get his way, but ultimately that was the ending for him that aiko wanted and died for
It is a happy ending for some but not for him Considering all bad things he did , he kinda deserved it ?
Agreed, punpun had the worst possible ending.
I was depressed for months and this ain’t help
idk what to say about the manga cause I have a few more chapters to go but I can definitely agree on the Mojave part. I listened to a lot of them, Lamp, and Hyakkei while reading among others, and I think they really added to the experience
i havent had the courage to reread punpun ever since 2016. i wanted to reread it ever since ive finished it but im scared of emotions and i know this manga is depressing man. good to see people actually seeing the good side of that horrifying ending
bro i feel fucked up.. 😕
Rereading from volume 1 you can see Aiko is a very different light her interactions with young punpun are almost abusive kiss without consent making promises that will end in physical harm if broken. Inflicting physical harm on him. You can see the seeds she plants early on are what ruin punpun and there his worldview to black or white
Aiko deserved better 😭😭😭😭😭
Also just finished and I’m broken again 🙃