A review by immaculate
Goodnight Punpun, Vol. 2 by Inio Asano

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

i'm not sure if i can say i like this volume because it was extremely triggering, but if yuichi's backstory hadn't gone into detail i probably would've liked it more. the contents aren't overly detailed in a way that turns it into torture porn but still. please read content warnings beforehand. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Pregnancy

i wish someone had warned me before reading this volume, but there is a massive trigger warning for pedophilia in yuichi's backstory. like graphic. (more in spoilers but i'll save the detail)

yuichi talks about his feelings for a 16 year old girl who is held captive by her abusive mother as a result of a teen pregnancy by another kid her age. she loves yuichi and feels like he understands her. he loved her too but did not pursue the relationship. yuichi leaves his long term girlfriend after everything with the other girl along with a bunch of other shit. he tells this story to his current love interest who suspected something happened to him in his early life that stopped him from pursuing romantic relationships and being close to others in general. i'm purposefully avoiding mentioning the more graphic pedophilic content, it gets close to sexual but doesn't go any further.

based on the reading, the pedophilia is treated as a negative thing but is still extremely uncomfortable to read. you don't need to read yuichi's backstory; just know that he did something terrible.