>>46730 I'm way too accepting of circumstances, so these "suffering porn" series don't quite do it for me. >I read it all in 8 hours last night Yeah, I finished it in a couple of days as well.

Started off good but ultimately lost me by the end. It became increasingly obvious it wasn't going anywhere where something other than misery could be gained. The cult parts also felt like filler that dragged down any sort of conclusion rather than setting the mood. Really nice art, i just prefer my misery to have some message i can relate to by the end.

I'm not sure if it's the best way to put it, but the MC didn't feel... relatable? He often felt like a much bigger asshole than his circumstances should've made him, but maybe I underestimate their effects or just had the wrong impression. >>47760 >The cult parts also felt like filler that dragged down any sort of conclusion rather than setting the mood. I've read claims (don't know if/how they are substantiated) that the whole cult/doomsday plotline was just to make fun of battle shounen and its fans. But if that's the case, it takes up too much room for too little payoff.

Too many times i had to force myself to finish this shit. Cult stuff might unironically be one of the worst subplots i've ever read

>>47760 >It became increasingly obvious it wasn't going anywhere where something other than misery could be gained. For me, it just contributed to the gut wrenching feeling of following a downward spiral. The ambiguously bitter ending also felt pretty real. Life just goes on and broken people keep creating more broken people. >i just prefer my misery to have some message i can relate to by the end. I don't think art needs to have any kind of message to be impactful, or at least to me it doesn't. But if I want to look for one in Punpun, I guess it's that untreated mental illness can become generational trauma that brings down everyone around it. Everyone in this story is fucked up in different ways, full of all kinds of pathologies, and none of them are addressed. That's why it's a spiral of misery. But I'd like to think it's not inevitable, and with the right approach things could be different.

>>46730 Agree with other anons, the cultist subplot was absolutely horrendous and it lost its appeal by the end. Nonetheless, it started very good. The scene in which Punpun gets "raped" is something I'll never not be jealous of.

>>48132 >I don't think art needs to have any kind of message to be impactful Yeah you're right. No idea how to describe my issue with it. Just felt a bit purposeless i guess.

Pointlessly depressing misery for the reader to wallow in sadness.