I liked the personal, quiet nature of this book, but I prefer the manic energy of Tekkonkinkreet. Just a matter of taste, but weirdo kids fucking shit up with goggles on does more for me than the quiet retirement attempt of a manga artist.
I kind of also feel like there are some pieces of this that I don’t relate to because A) I don’t fully understand the place manga occupies in Japanese culture, and B) I don’t really know what it’s like to work a job that’s your one true passion, and then what it’s like to sort of see that passion die out or be misdirected along the way.
I guess a good thing about just having a job that’s a job is that you can never really feel like a sellout. But I guess it’s also kind of impossible to be a sellout in a normal job because it’s not like there’s a side of work that’s big money with moral problems or something, at least for most jobs. It’s not like working for Circle K is for good, ethical clerks and 7/11 is for scumbags who are just in it for the money.