Sunny (Taiyo MATSUMOTO)

alala Jun 16, 2017

10

Reading the synopsis you may think Sunny is some kind of fantasy when in fact it's a very mundane story about kids living in an orphanage. The children's home is in a smaller town in 1970's Japan where there is not much to do. All kids have to cope with being abandoned and feeling different from their peers on top of other trivialities that kids their age go through. Sometimes they will go sit in the parked car, Sunny, and go on imaginery trips or read dirty magazines. There's not much of a plot, no drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat, no twists. Just a simple story that follows everyday events that occur at the home. It's almost like a TV reality show where a group of people live together, camera following them everywhere, and you are a spectator. Now, this may sound really boring and even depressing, but I personally found it quite uplifting. It's a melancholic story that will make you smile. What really makes this manga a great, enjoyable read are the characters.  All characters have their own charm without being over-the-top. Taiyo Matsumoto portrayed the way children act to a T, so everything seems very natural and genuine. The art is Matsumoto's usual style, a little quirky in comparison to most manga artists, but nonetheless beautiful. Honestly if he drew any differently his stories wouldn't feel the way they do in my opinion.