Despite threats from Kakao Entertainment, I am going to proceed with the creation of a new weekly general thread. So, please feel free to post any comments/questions/updates that are on your mind. It has been an eventful past week in the world of digital manga consumption (at least for Android users), but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue revelling in the love that we have for this medium.
Like normal, please be careful with spoilers. I wrote a guide about spoilers in case you need a refresher on how to handle them (also linked in the sidebar).
Didn’t read much last week due to lack of time and some health shenanigans so I mostly stuck to reading ongoing series (mainly what I post here) and a single oneshot I stumbled upon randomly.
Oneshot is called Scales of Briars (Ibara no Uroko) and presents a short story about a school girl who wants to die. She’s has a normal family, isn’t bullied or anything like that - the only reason for her wish is that she thinks of death as a comfortable state of peace and quiet.
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it to be honest… On one hand I’m all for exploring various topics in media, on the other I’m kind of wary of presenting suicide in a (somehow) positive light. Because of that I’m not going to link this title, I’m still mulling it over for now.
Edit: Almost forgot! I also reread Pen Pal at the End of the World. It’s another oneshot set in a post-apocalyptic world where young girl ends up writing letters with another survivor. It’s a much lighter and happy story than the previous one (and just better in general, I think).
I also read Scales of Briars and opted not to post it for similar reasons. It is certainly thought-provoking though. I am definitely going to check out Pen Pal at the End of the World though. I am on mobile and traveling for most of the day, so it will be a bit, but the synopsis has me intrigued.
One thing I do appreciate about Scales is that
Scales of Briar spoilers
author didn’t lean all the way in with “suicide looks good” and showed the last minute regret many survivors talk about.
Still doesn’t make it feel right to post though.
Reading through Pen Pal on the other hand just makes me happy.