ABSTRACT
Manga has a long tradition of narratives focused on daily life and social and personal struggles, dating back to the gekiga artists of the late 1950s. Nowadays, Japan is a country with a low unemployment rate and a high standard of living, but with an underlying conflict between youth's personal expectations and what society asks of them. Inio Asano's (b.1980) work is defined by a realistic approach to human emotions and the ongoing struggle between his characters and the world they live in. Goodnight Punpun (Shōgakukan, 2007–2013) is his most prominent manga so far. Disguised as a slice-of-life, it follows Punpun's painful journey from childhood to adult life, shaped by the protagonist's shy nature. This chapter analyzes Goodnight Punpun attending to its formal aspects, paying special attention to Punpun's graphic traits as a way to describe his psyche (his morphing shape responding to an emotional state).
