Week 10: Manga

It's manga week! Finally! And since I have read most of Osamu Tesuka's works, I decided to read something more recent..... Sunny by Taiyo Matsumoto. Like many people, I discovered his works through Tekkonkinkreet. While I don't always relate to his edgy stories, Sunny is surprisingly down-to-earth. It is about children in a child-care house, dealing with growing up without parental love. While the main character is a white-haired deviant kid named Haruo, each chapter shifts between different characters' perspectives.

 

There is a prevailing sense of loneliness throughout the book. The children only get to meet their parents three times a year, and some of them don't even have parents anymore. Their parents are also either too busy, neglectful, or uncaring about the children. One of the girls, Megumi, found a dead cat floating on a river one day. She started crying because she was afraid that she would die alone, her death unknown to people, just like the cat. It is heartbreaking to see a child as young as her have such dark thoughts due to a lack of love.

Despite that, we get to see how those children and the care-takers show concern for each other. At first, I thought that the care-takers were cold, calculative, and stingy. But they actually care for the children discreetly by watching over them, and picking up signs of distress. There is also an invisible, unspoken bond between the children despite their daily conflicts. When one of the boys' baby brother went missing, everyone searched for him. Unexpectedly, the one who went the extra mile and found him was Taro, a man with Down Syndrome wearing only his underwear. For the longest time, he was singing gibberish and acting rather strange. However, he was actually watching over the children and understood his surroundings clearly. The more I learn about the characters, the more I realize that I am too quick to judge people from their first impressions.

The art in Sunny has the same rawness and vitality that is usually found in Taiyo Matsumoto's works. It captures the nostalgic mood of childhood and the vividness of children's imagination.

 

I spent my childhood in Japan, and everything felt very nostalgic. The wooden floor, the quiet town, the cramped and lively interior, and the hot blaring summer: the art captures those things spot-on.

I have currently only read the first book of Sunny, I definitely plan to continue reading the rest! I am curious about how those children's relationship will develop, and if any of them can find some kind of closure about their anxiety. On a more personal note, I realize that I tend to gravitate towards works that depict loneliness.... There is something comforting about watching characters deal with their loneliness.....