I began reading this manga due to Super Eyepatch Wolfs recommendation on YouTube i was expecting a manga that would explore the human psyche and what it means to be an individual. One that would talk about identity and the way in which we and other perceive us. And that along with some beautiful and clean artwork was exactly what i got. Let me start by saying that this is... a weird manga the kind of weird that Oyasumi Punpun is. What i mean by this is: Inside Mari is the kind of story that shows what humans are capable of in both the good and the bad. There were many pages that made me incredibly uncomfortable and while they arent even close to what u would find in Oyasumi Punpun they certainly can leave an impression and be quite disturbing for some so consider it a warning. This is a manga that talks about identity as a whole and what it means to be oneself. There are violent scenes plenty of quiet time plenty of silence sadness dread a bit of love and a lot of sexual themes. So what is it about? Well the story puts us on the shoes of Isao Komori. A college student that has hit his absolute low he doesnt go to any of his classes doesnt have any friends jacks off all day and spends his time playing video games while his mother calls him every once in a while to tell him that they have sent him some more money so that he can keep studying far from home. Shes unaware of the depressing state in which Komori finds himself and so Komori is left with nothing else than time and videogames. We are then told that he only leaves his home for the sole reason of buying porn at a convenience store where he meets a young beautiful girl who he then eventually begins to follow home. And after some time he follows her one last time. And the exact same moment that she finally turns around one day to notice his presence everything turns blank. Its a brand new day brand new ceiling and room. Hes no longer his old self and has now turned into the girl that he was following. Who was exactly this girl? How did it happen and why? And most importantly what is this guy going to do now? he needs to learn how this girl used to act and behave so that he can mimic what were her usual manners and try to fit in this in this world where he clearly doesnt belong... right? Well what would you do? Would u try to live as what was the old self of that girl or would u take advantage of being able to reset your life and live a comfortable and pretty life as a new person? Thats one of the main themes that this manga tackles at first but then it evolves into something deeper and much more intriguing that makes us wonder if this is all real. It might seem like a perfect chance to turn over a new leaf and start over but it quickly becomes apparent that the way in which this seemingly perfect teenage girl was living was nothing more than an illusion. And there we have Isao Komori an already unstable person trying his best to perform under pressure and learn how to adapt in the middle of even more unstable situations and people that used to surround this young girl. So basically... great and beautifully detailed artwork and an intriguing premise and interesting concept about what becomes of a person when he is faced with a life that isnt his and people who do not truly care about him. What becomes of a person who is unable to return to his past self but who also fails at becoming what should be his present self? This is a story about collecting the broken pieces of a person when there is nothing left and remembering what we truly were. Despite the premise being great and intriguing enough to the point that i read all 80 chapters in a day i think that it could have been handled in much more interesting ways and i also firmly believe that there was plenty of room for a lot of character development. It was a story with great potential and its in my eyes a great exploration of what it means to be someone and the human psyche it isnt the best or greatest story ever told about the human mind but it is an entertaining ride. It is also pretty fun to see the depictions of emotions that the author presents through his artwork this is a really really pretty manga with breathtaking art and i really want to make an emphasis on that point. The author knew how to perfectly convey emotion through his characters and lines the facial expressions on this manga are truly something remarkable.
80 /100
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