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not simple
A STORY WITHIN A STORY,
A BOOK WITHIN A BOOK,
A TALE ABOUT THE SEARCH FOR FAMILY,
FOR AN EMOTIONAL HOME.
Ian, a young man with a fractured family history, travels from Australia to England to America in the hope of realizing his dreams and reuniting with his beloved sister. His story unfolds backwards through the framing narrative of Jim, a reporter driven to capture Ian’s experiences in a novel: not simple.
A BOOK WITHIN A BOOK,
A TALE ABOUT THE SEARCH FOR FAMILY,
FOR AN EMOTIONAL HOME.
Ian, a young man with a fractured family history, travels from Australia to England to America in the hope of realizing his dreams and reuniting with his beloved sister. His story unfolds backwards through the framing narrative of Jim, a reporter driven to capture Ian’s experiences in a novel: not simple.
320 pages, Paperback
First published October 30, 2006
14 people are currently reading
1,225 people want to read
About the author
Natsume Ono
101books106followersNatsume Ono (Japanese name: ) made her professional debut in 2003 with the webcomic La Quinta Camera. Her subsequent works not simple, Ristorante Paradiso, and Gente (a continuation of Ristorante Paradiso) met with both critical and popular acclaim. In 2009 Ristorante Paradiso was adapted into a TV anime series. Her current series House of Five Leaves (Saraiya Goyou), also adapted into a TV anime series in 2010, is running in IKKI magazine.
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She also writes BL under the pen name of .
()
She also writes BL under the pen name of .
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews
March 25, 2018
Bottom panel, page 236... all the review needed:
March 25, 2023
I'm sorry, but this wasn't as heartbreaking and hard-hitting as I had anticipated. Label me heartless or whatever
It has so much depth, but it is a complete waste of promise.
It has so much depth, but it is a complete waste of promise.
October 7, 2017
Not really sure how I feel about this book just yet...so I’m going to sit and marinate on it for a bit.
June 5, 2018
Definetly Not a book I would had read if I knew what was getting my self into,not recommend at all
January 30, 2023
[Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars]
Jan. 24, 2023
Just beware that this story has a lot of trigger warnings, though I won't list it down since it would possibly spoil the story
“What I really want...is to feel the warmth of the people who should be closest to me"
This one-volume manga is such a quick, but definitely not an easy read. Dark, emotional and distressing, it deals with a lot of heavy, messed up topic. Yes, this story is short but definitely a messed up one, And that depressing and tragic vibe has a such great impact, atleast to me. I didn't even realize that this little story can cause a massive heartbreak until I started it.
The story started out where you'll see the end of Ian's story at the prologue and you'll get to backtrack his unfortunate life leading to that moment in the succeeding chapters. Not Simple, a very befitting title, and you'll definitely know once you finish this story. In my opinion, 14 short chapters are enough content for this story to unfold. It's more impactful to me that way.
This line from Jim is the most accurate description of this manga. I don't think recommending this to everyone is an appropriate thing to do but please give it a try. Just don't forget that this has distressing topics and you should read at your own discretion.
ALSO, the art might not be for everyone and personally, it took me half the story to get used to the art style. Just so you know.
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Jan. 24, 2023
Just beware that this story has a lot of trigger warnings, though I won't list it down since it would possibly spoil the story
“What I really want...is to feel the warmth of the people who should be closest to me"
This one-volume manga is such a quick, but definitely not an easy read. Dark, emotional and distressing, it deals with a lot of heavy, messed up topic. Yes, this story is short but definitely a messed up one, And that depressing and tragic vibe has a such great impact, atleast to me. I didn't even realize that this little story can cause a massive heartbreak until I started it.
The story started out where you'll see the end of Ian's story at the prologue and you'll get to backtrack his unfortunate life leading to that moment in the succeeding chapters. Not Simple, a very befitting title, and you'll definitely know once you finish this story. In my opinion, 14 short chapters are enough content for this story to unfold. It's more impactful to me that way.
This line from Jim is the most accurate description of this manga. I don't think recommending this to everyone is an appropriate thing to do but please give it a try. Just don't forget that this has distressing topics and you should read at your own discretion.
ALSO, the art might not be for everyone and personally, it took me half the story to get used to the art style. Just so you know.
[ ]
[ ]
January 14, 2014
Natsume Ono at her best. She is a master of creating a special kind of atmosphere, and this time her characters and story go extremely well with that talent. "Not Simple" lives up to its title and offers a nuanced story that goes inside its main character's psychology and exposes the complexities of a young mind emerging from the turmoil of uncertainty, trauma and guilt.
The structure of the novel is also quite ambitious; it experiments with the perception of reality and the subjectivity of memory. All in all an impressive read that one won't easily forget.
The structure of the novel is also quite ambitious; it experiments with the perception of reality and the subjectivity of memory. All in all an impressive read that one won't easily forget.
October 24, 2016
Not Simple, a title that fits the description of the story well.
I have always been a fan of works that are depressing in nature. But when I try to revisit a story, it just seems to have a less impact to me. Maybe it’s the realization that the story could have proceeded in a less tragic direction. Some just lack the essence of catharsis, making it feel like the whole story is just a misery fest for the reader. You get overwhelmed the first time but it doesn’t feel special anymore the second time around. However, Not Simple has been a very rare exception to this trend. Even after reading it for the fifth time, it still manages to widen the gaping hole it initially left within me.
The structure of the storyline is like a downward spiral, as it transitions back to the start after you reach the end. There are time skips, emphasizing only the key events while subtle implications of lesser details are still relevant story-wise. We witness the life journey of the protagonist Ian, a boy who comes from a complicated family. His childhood is no ordinary, a constant wreck to the point he’s completely desensitized. You might expect that he’s pessimistic because of his tragic backstory when in fact he’s the opposite. He is an aspiring athletic runner and strives hard for that goal. He eagerly travels across America in search for her sister. He makes a promise to a stranger he met in his journey to see each other again three years later. It’s that sense of optimism and innocence slowly being burned out as the story progresses that makes the story a real downer. Life just seems to be consistently screwing him over, like bashing him with a board sign “Your existence is a mistake”. However, he doesn’t give up easily and seeing him trying to live out his fractured life is such a bittersweet experience. Perhaps his passion for running stems from his desire to reach a destination, a place where he can really call home. In it, he seeks a confirmation that it is alright for him to exist and live with hope for the future.
The idea of broken family ties is portrayed well in the story. The father lives in Australia and the mother lives in London, they are divorced. Her sister jumps between those two areas in addition to America and always gets into trouble for the sake of making ends meet. Ian travels between those places and it symbolizes a family drifting apart, once intact but now in pieces because he was brought up to this world. In order for Ian to reach either of his parents, he needs to travel a great mile to meet them personally. This represents that his relationship with his parents are far from close, not a trace of familial love. There are noticeable efforts to make amends, re-uniting individual ties, but the cruelty of life halts that direction.
One strange thing about this manga is that it tries to be self-aware being a tragic story. Jim’s character seems out of place but he represents the reader, an observer who is given the chance to be involved. Given all he knows about Ian, there reaches a point where he can decide the outcome of the story. Does he merely observe or interfere, as the protagonist gets ultimately swallowed by misery? If he interferes, then there won’t be a tragic finale at all. The world will continue to move without everyone acknowledging Ian’s existence. If he only observes, then we are grateful for him that we get to enjoy this incredibly saddening tale of a wandering Australian boy. Ian even says at one point that Jim is his only friend which can be interpreted as the character’s awareness of the reader’s emotional attachment. Whatever the real author’s intentions are, it crafts the “story within a story” scenario well.
Overall, Not Simple is a haunting tale of hope clouded with misfortune. A conscious effort to be positive amidst the negativity captures the idea that life is indeed unforgiving. There is however a merit in a life of suffering, the ultimate test of what makes a person truly human. There is an option to be either full or void of hope in the face of demise, and seeing how it all leads to a personal decision is an emotional rollercoaster. Raw and unforgettable, Ian’s story is one that appeals universally. Life is what you want it to be, whether you are to be restrained by life’s injustices is ultimately an individual choice. At death’s door, do you think you have led a horrible life? It’s not about who’s got the most difficult life, it’s about how one accepts both the ugliness and beauty of life. A motivational message hidden within a heart-wrenching story, the manga definitely delivers.
I have always been a fan of works that are depressing in nature. But when I try to revisit a story, it just seems to have a less impact to me. Maybe it’s the realization that the story could have proceeded in a less tragic direction. Some just lack the essence of catharsis, making it feel like the whole story is just a misery fest for the reader. You get overwhelmed the first time but it doesn’t feel special anymore the second time around. However, Not Simple has been a very rare exception to this trend. Even after reading it for the fifth time, it still manages to widen the gaping hole it initially left within me.
The structure of the storyline is like a downward spiral, as it transitions back to the start after you reach the end. There are time skips, emphasizing only the key events while subtle implications of lesser details are still relevant story-wise. We witness the life journey of the protagonist Ian, a boy who comes from a complicated family. His childhood is no ordinary, a constant wreck to the point he’s completely desensitized. You might expect that he’s pessimistic because of his tragic backstory when in fact he’s the opposite. He is an aspiring athletic runner and strives hard for that goal. He eagerly travels across America in search for her sister. He makes a promise to a stranger he met in his journey to see each other again three years later. It’s that sense of optimism and innocence slowly being burned out as the story progresses that makes the story a real downer. Life just seems to be consistently screwing him over, like bashing him with a board sign “Your existence is a mistake”. However, he doesn’t give up easily and seeing him trying to live out his fractured life is such a bittersweet experience. Perhaps his passion for running stems from his desire to reach a destination, a place where he can really call home. In it, he seeks a confirmation that it is alright for him to exist and live with hope for the future.
The idea of broken family ties is portrayed well in the story. The father lives in Australia and the mother lives in London, they are divorced. Her sister jumps between those two areas in addition to America and always gets into trouble for the sake of making ends meet. Ian travels between those places and it symbolizes a family drifting apart, once intact but now in pieces because he was brought up to this world. In order for Ian to reach either of his parents, he needs to travel a great mile to meet them personally. This represents that his relationship with his parents are far from close, not a trace of familial love. There are noticeable efforts to make amends, re-uniting individual ties, but the cruelty of life halts that direction.
One strange thing about this manga is that it tries to be self-aware being a tragic story. Jim’s character seems out of place but he represents the reader, an observer who is given the chance to be involved. Given all he knows about Ian, there reaches a point where he can decide the outcome of the story. Does he merely observe or interfere, as the protagonist gets ultimately swallowed by misery? If he interferes, then there won’t be a tragic finale at all. The world will continue to move without everyone acknowledging Ian’s existence. If he only observes, then we are grateful for him that we get to enjoy this incredibly saddening tale of a wandering Australian boy. Ian even says at one point that Jim is his only friend which can be interpreted as the character’s awareness of the reader’s emotional attachment. Whatever the real author’s intentions are, it crafts the “story within a story” scenario well.
Overall, Not Simple is a haunting tale of hope clouded with misfortune. A conscious effort to be positive amidst the negativity captures the idea that life is indeed unforgiving. There is however a merit in a life of suffering, the ultimate test of what makes a person truly human. There is an option to be either full or void of hope in the face of demise, and seeing how it all leads to a personal decision is an emotional rollercoaster. Raw and unforgettable, Ian’s story is one that appeals universally. Life is what you want it to be, whether you are to be restrained by life’s injustices is ultimately an individual choice. At death’s door, do you think you have led a horrible life? It’s not about who’s got the most difficult life, it’s about how one accepts both the ugliness and beauty of life. A motivational message hidden within a heart-wrenching story, the manga definitely delivers.
May 22, 2021
Pretty simple
May 2, 2014
A mixture of warmth, compassion, and devastating sadness. In many ways a beautiful and challenging book. Several stories entwine to reveal Ian's history and life story. Characters fall in love but not all happiness is destined to last and this story begins at the end. Jim, Kylie, and Ian all feel like very real people and their problems are equally real.
Not Simple is far from a typical story and the title works on several levels.
Not Simple is far from a typical story and the title works on several levels.
December 8, 2012
To be honest, I didn't like the drawing style in its simplicity. But there was something about the eyes that caught my attention. Upon reading, I was at first confused by what appeared to be a non-linear plot. Then the threads of the story started to pull together and I really enjoyed it.
September 27, 2018
"You're hard to Grasp. You're not simple"
"A person unclouded by too much thought. Someone who was simply himself and nothing more"
The story of a boy who goes in search of his sister. His life is filled with moments of hope only to be replaced with tragedy.
"A person unclouded by too much thought. Someone who was simply himself and nothing more"
The story of a boy who goes in search of his sister. His life is filled with moments of hope only to be replaced with tragedy.
May 3, 2020
I was surprised to see that some people actually didn't like the manga and called it a 'waste of time'. let me just say, if you have a free hour spend it with this little masterpiece. you probably won't regret it if you try to understand the desires and thoughts of the characters.
October 6, 2018
Oof. This was a twisted maze of pain and life. Distinct art style that fits the disjointed feeling of the story. I really liked it!
September 7, 2022
Complicado, de Natsume Ono, é o último mangá lançado através do catálogo da editora gaúcha L&PM em sua coleção de pocket books. Como o nome do mangá já diz, é uma história complicada sobre um garoto complicado que se vê enredado e vítima da perversão de seu pai. As coisas que o garoto acaba descobrindo sobre si mesmo são muito chocantes para ele e para o leitor e poderiam ser o enredo de uma novela daquelas bastante melodramáticas. Entretanto, o ritmo e a forma como a artista imprime ao quadrinho transforma o que poderia ser um melodrama barato em algo bastante contundente. Seu traço mais infantil e fofinho que conta uma história com contornos adultos envolvendo prostituição e abuso de menores é um contraste bastante imponente nesta obra. Não é um quadrinho fácil de ler. Não pela sua densidade, mas pelo seu teor. Tanto que comecei a lê-lo meses atrás e só fui concluir ele agora (e também porque ele acabou caindo embaixo da minha cama). De toda forma, Complicado é um mangá diferente e que vale o investimento feito nele.
November 19, 2018
I saw this book at the library, picked it up, and put it back when I saw that the art style is, how should I put it... untraditional. Flash forward an ironic 3 years (what an amazing coincidence) and I have fallen in love with this short work. It’s one of those manga’s I wish I could buy and put on my bookshelf — the only manga I have bought, but unfortunately gave away as a secret Santa present was Solanin — right where all my other favorite books are. Because this is not a manga you can simply read once, as the title suggests, the story is not simple, but it grips you with its amazingly complex characters and, while never directly telling the audience anything (this story is mostly dialogue) you can correctly infer everything that is happening. That was a long winded way to say highly recommend.
August 8, 2024
Natsume Ono is my favorite mangaka and this story makes me love her work even more. Initially, I had mixed feelings about this oneshot. However, it gives me such a visceral reaction to the point where I can't stop thinking about it, which is more than I can say for most of the stuff I've read. The story is told in a nonlinear fashion, jumping between flashbacks and the events leading up to the prologue. The main character has lived a horrible life. I can't stress how much his circumstances and upbringing suck. And yet, he remains hopeful. His unwavering optimism in spite of everything destroys me. I recommend reading this all in one go for maximum impact.
July 25, 2020
I'm a mess. This story is amazing and heartbreaking and I don't know how else to deal with it besides getting others to read it and share in my emotional trauma.
July 29, 2022
TODOS os recursos narrativos dramáticos em uma única história
February 18, 2018
Not Simple is an experience of hatred, depression and anger that never shows you a single moment of brighter times. The manga starts with the protagonist, Ian, dying a sad and miserable death alone.
Right from the start, as a reader you've been conditioned to never hope for brighter times. The problem I struck with this formula is that because there was never any hope for Ian, the constant twists and turns that ruin his life feel as if they have left much less of an impact than they had the potential to. There were very few moments where I truly felt any of the emotions that the manga was trying to shove down my throat constantly.
The artwork is unique and consistent, but it can be hard to follow sometimes. Often I found that the only defining features of a character was the colour of their hair, which isn't a huge problem considering that there are few characters to focus on. Combined with the fast pace and the incredibly fast passage of time Not Simple can seem like a confusing collection of chapters that could use some work flowing together in a more well balanced manner.
This isn't to say I didn't enjoy Not Simple, I simply believe it had the chance to be a lot more emotionally powerful considering the fantastic and well crafted (yet depressing) plot. I do have to give props to Natsume Ono for writing a depressing manga that shows absolutely no hope. I've never read anything quite like it.
Strong 3 to light 4, Worth a read but not great.
Right from the start, as a reader you've been conditioned to never hope for brighter times. The problem I struck with this formula is that because there was never any hope for Ian, the constant twists and turns that ruin his life feel as if they have left much less of an impact than they had the potential to. There were very few moments where I truly felt any of the emotions that the manga was trying to shove down my throat constantly.
The artwork is unique and consistent, but it can be hard to follow sometimes. Often I found that the only defining features of a character was the colour of their hair, which isn't a huge problem considering that there are few characters to focus on. Combined with the fast pace and the incredibly fast passage of time Not Simple can seem like a confusing collection of chapters that could use some work flowing together in a more well balanced manner.
This isn't to say I didn't enjoy Not Simple, I simply believe it had the chance to be a lot more emotionally powerful considering the fantastic and well crafted (yet depressing) plot. I do have to give props to Natsume Ono for writing a depressing manga that shows absolutely no hope. I've never read anything quite like it.
Strong 3 to light 4, Worth a read but not great.
January 11, 2011
I just couldn't get past the first few pages. I liked the description, but between the Japanese layout ("backwards" to my western eyes) and the illustration style, I only barely started the thing. I'm very irritated, because I really want to get into manga, and I thought that this, as a slightly arty, more realistic take, might be a good gateway piece. But sadly, no.
January 4, 2015
Not Simple is one of the best mangas I've ever read. Its story is about as unique as its art style. It's incredibly touching, which, for a manga, is very rare for me. The plot moves a bit like the wind. Events transpire quickly and sometimes without reason, and you just have to follow along. Regardless, Not Simple is a magnificent story I could read again and again.
October 31, 2016
Way too depressing, somber, and ultimately tragic for my taste. Sure, there's a glimmer of a smile at the end, but did I really want that journey, or was it worth that journey? Hell no. Points for the unique art. It was intriguing to look at, very liquid, flowing and simple.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2016
Sad and brilliant.
April 2, 2016
Great little graphic novel, sweet and sad. Really fast read, knocked it out at the library while the kids were playing.
May 26, 2021
Esta a muy weird porque daba unos twists que no lo esperabas and la persona tiene una vida de mi*rd que daba 💧 pero bueno un 4.5 🌟 me SoRrrpreDdió.
August 7, 2013
goes straight onto my list of most favourite graphic novels.
December 28, 2017
I’m not sure how to summarize this story, since so much of it counts as spoilers. I suppose I’ll start at the beginning. A young woman named Irene wants to run away with her boyfriend but is afraid that her dad will find them and literally kill her boyfriend. She then comes up with an idea that immediately qualifies her as a horrible person: pick up a random homeless guy, convince her dad’s goons that he’s her boyfriend, and run off with her boyfriend while the goons beat the homeless guy half to death. It seems like a great (horrible) plan, until she learns that her random homeless guy, Ian, is actually same same guy who convinced a family member of hers not to run off three years ago.
Unfortunately, a misunderstanding results in Ian lying on the ground, dying from a gut wound. Ian’s friend, Jim, tells Irene that he plans to turn Ian’s life into a book that will be coming out in about a year. The rest of the manga is Ian’s life up to this point: growing up with an alcoholic mother and cold and dismissive father, trying to keep his promise to his sister so that he can see her again, and then walking across the US searching for his sister after she disappears.
I read Ono’s Ristorante Paradiso several years ago. I wasn’t a huge fan of it the first time around, but it grew on me after a reread. I’ve always wanted to try another one of her works, and this one-shot seemed like a good place to start. I vaguely remembered it getting some buzz when it first came out.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be almost unrelentingly depressing. Ian was written as being very innocent and pure, no matter what sorts of horrible things happened to him. All he wanted was to be with the one person he loved and who loved him back, his sister. When this turned out to be impossible, he sought out other people who’d been good and kind to him...and the universe stomped on him yet again until finally even he couldn’t take it anymore. The horribleness of it all bled into his friend Jim, if the rumors about his fate after the publication of his book were true.
There’s a massive amount of child abuse in this story: It sometimes came up in such an offhand manner that I found myself wondering if the things I had thought just happened really had. Ian kept taking absolutely horrific things in stride.
I can’t even say this ended on a bittersweet note. Yes, it stopped at a slightly happier time in Ian’s life, but readers had already been told that that was all going to fall apart in the next 3-5 years. I wanted a do-over, with Jim telling Ian “that stuff that happened to you wasn’t okay, and I know it can’t be undone, but we can try to make some good memories from here on out.” Instead, I feel like the mom and her “you should never have been born” speech won out. And wow, her words still make me angry. She spent years heaping punishment on people she should have been trying to help and protect.
In the end, this manga just pissed me off and left a bad taste in my mouth. Not Simple bent over backwards to hurt its characters - the bit with Ian's sister's boyfriend was both cruel and difficult to believe. I also wasn't a fan of this on an artistic level. Although I know some people love Ono's unusual style, it doesn't work for me. I’m at least glad that I got this via the library and didn’t pay for it.
(Original review posted on .)
Unfortunately, a misunderstanding results in Ian lying on the ground, dying from a gut wound. Ian’s friend, Jim, tells Irene that he plans to turn Ian’s life into a book that will be coming out in about a year. The rest of the manga is Ian’s life up to this point: growing up with an alcoholic mother and cold and dismissive father, trying to keep his promise to his sister so that he can see her again, and then walking across the US searching for his sister after she disappears.
I read Ono’s Ristorante Paradiso several years ago. I wasn’t a huge fan of it the first time around, but it grew on me after a reread. I’ve always wanted to try another one of her works, and this one-shot seemed like a good place to start. I vaguely remembered it getting some buzz when it first came out.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be almost unrelentingly depressing. Ian was written as being very innocent and pure, no matter what sorts of horrible things happened to him. All he wanted was to be with the one person he loved and who loved him back, his sister. When this turned out to be impossible, he sought out other people who’d been good and kind to him...and the universe stomped on him yet again until finally even he couldn’t take it anymore. The horribleness of it all bled into his friend Jim, if the rumors about his fate after the publication of his book were true.
There’s a massive amount of child abuse in this story: It sometimes came up in such an offhand manner that I found myself wondering if the things I had thought just happened really had. Ian kept taking absolutely horrific things in stride.
I can’t even say this ended on a bittersweet note. Yes, it stopped at a slightly happier time in Ian’s life, but readers had already been told that that was all going to fall apart in the next 3-5 years. I wanted a do-over, with Jim telling Ian “that stuff that happened to you wasn’t okay, and I know it can’t be undone, but we can try to make some good memories from here on out.” Instead, I feel like the mom and her “you should never have been born” speech won out. And wow, her words still make me angry. She spent years heaping punishment on people she should have been trying to help and protect.
In the end, this manga just pissed me off and left a bad taste in my mouth. Not Simple bent over backwards to hurt its characters - the bit with Ian's sister's boyfriend was both cruel and difficult to believe. I also wasn't a fan of this on an artistic level. Although I know some people love Ono's unusual style, it doesn't work for me. I’m at least glad that I got this via the library and didn’t pay for it.
(Original review posted on .)
April 5, 2025
A girl under surveillance by her violent, protective father picks up a young man sleeping on the street and treats him to a meal. She intends for the meeting to look like a romantic date with her boyfriend, whom she has hidden from her dissaproving family, as an attempt to anger her father. As the meal concludes, the girl discovers a conspicuous connection she has to the young man and before she can find out more the boy is found stabbed in the diner's bathroom, likely at the hands of her father's men. As the boy lies dying, the story jumps back over a decade to elucidate his connection to the parties involved and how his search for familial love has lead him to a life of repeated tragedy.
Natsume Ono really knows how to spin a yarn. While the plot of "Not Simple" is defined by an almost farfetched level of tragic coincidences, the narrative is told with such craft that it comes across as a prime example of life being stranger than fiction rather than a soapy melodrama. And what a sad, winding narrative Ono creates. For those that want to like the indulgently tragic work of creators like Inio Asano but find some of the more explicit sequences too off-putting, this is probably the best recommendation I could make and one that can be read in an afternoon. While I'm not a big fan of Ono's rather spartan drawing style, the story is the real draw here and I feel the modest art fits this tale of personal tragedy better than the other work I've read (and loved) of her's in "House of Five Leaves".
Natsume Ono really knows how to spin a yarn. While the plot of "Not Simple" is defined by an almost farfetched level of tragic coincidences, the narrative is told with such craft that it comes across as a prime example of life being stranger than fiction rather than a soapy melodrama. And what a sad, winding narrative Ono creates. For those that want to like the indulgently tragic work of creators like Inio Asano but find some of the more explicit sequences too off-putting, this is probably the best recommendation I could make and one that can be read in an afternoon. While I'm not a big fan of Ono's rather spartan drawing style, the story is the real draw here and I feel the modest art fits this tale of personal tragedy better than the other work I've read (and loved) of her's in "House of Five Leaves".
September 5, 2022
Acho bom começar falando que sugiro a leitura desse mangá de uma sentada só. O motivo dessa sugestão é que li por partes e foi uma experiência ruim. A estrutura da história tem idas e voltas no tempo, elipses e personagens com traços parecidos o que pode dificultar a compreensão se não lida de uma só vez. Li da metade pro fim de uma vez e não lembrava direito o que li antes, então tive que reler para aí sim entender sua estrutura.
Como o título diz é um mangá complicado (not simple no original) não apenas pela forma da narrativa, mas pelos temas que aborda que são fortes mas não explícitos.
Aliás, mangá é até uma denominação complicada. Vai mais pelo fato da autora ser japonesa já que tanto os personagens quanto os lugares que a história se passa não são nada japoneses. A narrativa gráfica é a parte que mais se aproxima do mangá com os quadros espalhados pelas páginas, mas sem que os traços sejam característicos.
É uma obra que incomoda e vale ser descoberta.
Como o título diz é um mangá complicado (not simple no original) não apenas pela forma da narrativa, mas pelos temas que aborda que são fortes mas não explícitos.
Aliás, mangá é até uma denominação complicada. Vai mais pelo fato da autora ser japonesa já que tanto os personagens quanto os lugares que a história se passa não são nada japoneses. A narrativa gráfica é a parte que mais se aproxima do mangá com os quadros espalhados pelas páginas, mas sem que os traços sejam característicos.
É uma obra que incomoda e vale ser descoberta.
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