History YMMV / GoodnightPunpun

* TrueArtIsAngsty: The manga is frequently held in high regard by people who read it, considering it a very well-realized ComingOfAgeStory, and it is frequently praised for its characterization, art, and storytelling. It's also relentlessly dark, cynical, and sometimes even nihilistic.

* TheScrappy: A fair amount of readers hate Midori. While she’s initially seen as a sympathetic character, that goes out the window when she [[spoiler: rapes Punpun]]. While other characters have dark aspects to them, she notably faces [[KarmaHoudini no consequences]] for the act and arguably has a happy ending, which doesn’t endear her to fans.

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: Characters include a god of poop in an alien spaceship, a [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_punpungod.jpg perpetually smiling, photorealistic god with an afro]], and the main character and his family are usually depicted as cartoony birds, despite everyone else in the series being relatively very realistically drawn, and at one point Punpun turns into a ''triangle'' for a while, when he starts living alone. The surrealism gets toned down as the story goes on, however.

* DiabolusExMachina: Some people feel that a number of the twists in volumes 12 and 13 pertaining to Punpun and Aiko are this.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: A cursory glance at the series might make it seem like a cute slice-of-life story about some cartoon bird doodle and a cute little girl. However it is actually an extremely dark ComingOfAgeAgeStory and character drama, which isn’t afraid to show the characters’ depravity and pettiness. It’s won itself critical acclaim and a devoted following for those reasons, but even fans admit the story is so bleak that it can be hard to stomach for many people. An interview with Inio Asano, the author, stated that volume sales had a noticeable decline every time something really upsetting and dark happened.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Has been known to happen. The story eventually becomes so depressing and uncomfortable that it can turn people off. In particular some people feel that Punpun, initially a sympathetic if very flawed ClassicalAntiHero, gradually becomes such a horrendous individual that they find it hard to excuse his behavior or care what becomes of him. In a post-series interview, Asano admitted that he had a somewhat antagonistic relationship with the readers, and that [[AudienceAlienatingPremise sales took a sharp decline every time something really dark or upsetting happened]]. He's said this is why he took a lighter and less nihilistic approach (at least by ''Punpun'' standards) in his later work.

* TheWoobie: ''Aiko''. She had the most horrible life of anyone in the story by a wide margin. She desperately yearns for the comfort and warmth her cold, abusive mother never showed her. [[spoiler:This desire goes unfulfilled.]]

* CatharssisFactor: Although the scene is conveyed in a way where this trope is not intended to be in effect at all, [[spoiler: Punpun killing Aiko's stepmom in a rage]] caused many readers to cheer on given what a monster she was.

* DiabolusExMachina: Some people that a number of the twists in volumes 12 and 13 pertaining to Punpun and Aiko are this.

* TrueArtIsAngsty: The manga is frequently held in high regard by people who read it, considering it a masterfully done ComingOfAgeStory, and it is frequently praised for its characterization, art, and storytelling. It's also relentlessly dark, cynical, and sometimes even nihilistic.

* TrueArtIsAngsty: The manga is frequently held in high regard by people who read it, considering it a masterfully done ComingOfAgeStory, and it is frequently praised for its lifelike characters, strong art, and skillful visual storytelling. It's also relentlessly dark, cynical, and sometimes even nihilistic.

* TrappedByMountainLions: Many people who read the story and who otherwise have very positive opinions frequently criticize the Pegasus Cult subplot as being confusing and question what point it serves in the story, when they're primarily interested in Punpun's life and CharacterDevelopment. In an interview Asano later clarified that Pegasus and his followers actually WERE battling evil and saving the world, but many readers didn't find this to be sufficiently clear in the manga and still find it to be the weakest part of the manga. The cult's quest for spiritual upliftment is functionally unrelated to Punpun's personal struggles, so it could just as well be excised from the manga without detracting from the story.

* TheWoobie: ''Aiko''. She had, by far, the worst life of anyone in the story. [[spoiler:And it ends with her committing suicide.]]

* TrappedByMountainLions: Many people who read the story and who otherwise have very positive opinions frequently criticize the Pegasus Cult subplot as being confusing and question what point it serves in the story, when they're primarily interested in Punpun's life and CharacterDevelopment. In an interview Asano later clarified that Pegasus and his followers actually WERE battling evil and saving the world, but many readers didn't find this to be sufficiently clear in the manga and still find it to be the weakest part of the plot.

* NightmareFuel:
** The sex scene in chapter 36 is... rather ''disturbing'' to look at. What the characters are saying doesn't do much to lighten it up, either.
** What Punpun looks like when he snaps in volume 9. He becomes this black mass with too many eyes, and tends to spout lots of nihilistic quotes whenever he's depicted like this.
*** It gets worse in volume 11, after he [[spoiler:kills Aiko's mother, when the latter tried to stab Aiko]], and in volume 12, when [[spoiler:he beats someone up for criticizing Sachi's manga (among other things)]], and later [[spoiler:tries to kill Aiko, and then himself, in absolute grief over his murder.]]
*** And then we get this [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/7cce4a3919fb3b61342c5355c5a55b2b/tumblr_mrhyjbZcRo1rudi1lo1_500.png frame]] as Punpun [[spoiler:beats up the guy]] in volume 12.
** For readers who are still coming of age, the extent to which characters fail at life – whether in academics, employment, or generally – may constitute an existential form of NightmareFuel.

** Aiko. A lot of people dislike her due to Punpun's obsession with her severely screwing him up, making her the catalyst for a lot of his poor decisions and darker moments, even if she didn't want that to happen. However, some find her an incredibly tragic {{Woobie}} due to her past. Thus, Aiko gets a considerable amount of focus in fanworks despite her unpopularity.

* AlasPoorScrappy:
** [[spoiler:Mama Punpun spends her dying moments regretting not being a warmer mother to Punpun. This moved a lot of readers who had previously hated her.]]
** [[spoiler:After Punpun kills her mother, Aiko spends her remaining time before she herself commits suicide very miserably, with Punpun abusing her frequently.]]

** The ending leaves itself open for interpretation. Is it a happy ending because [[spoiler:Punpun seems to be going down a path of normal and sanity now]], or is [[spoiler:he just a hollow shell who keeps marching on because he isn't even strong enough to kill himself]]? WordOfGod says the latter is closer to what he intended.

* TrueArtIsAngsty: The manga is frequently held in high regard by people who read it, considering it a masterfully done ComingofAgeStory, and it is frequently praised for its lifelike characters, strong art, and skillful visual storytelling. It's also relentlessly dark, cynical, and sometimes even nihilistic.
* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: Characters include a god of poop in an alien spaceship, a [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/oyasumi_punpun/v01/c003/7.html perpetually smiling, photorealistic god with an afro]], and the main character and his family are usually depicted as cartoony birds, despite everyone else in the series being relatively very realistically drawn, and at one point Punpun turns into a ''triangle'' for a while, when he starts living alone. The surrealism gets toned down as the story goes on, however.

** Aiko. A lot of people dislike her for screwing up Punpun, and being the catalyst for a lot of his poor decisions and darker moments, even if she didn't want that to happen. However, some find her an incredibly tragic {{Woobie}} due to her past. Thus, Aiko gets a considerable amount of focus in fanworks despite her unpopularity.

** Punpun himself. While many fans of the story empathize with him due to his terrible upbringing and his obvious depression, and consider him a complex, well-realized and unusual main character (especially compared to the frequent VanillaProtagonists of many manga and anime), the fact that he spends a lot of the story in a constant state of misery and self-loathing makes it difficult for a lot of people to get behind him. In addition to this, as the story goes on his character development turns him into a gradually more unpleasant and horrible person, which only makes him more contentious.

** Punpun himself. While many fans of the story empathize with him due to his terrible upbringing and consider him a very interesting and well-realized protagonist, the fact that he spends a lot of the story in a constant state of misery and self-loathing makes it difficult for a lot of people to get behind him. In addition to this, as the story goes on his character development turns him into a gradually more unpleasant and horrible person, which only makes him more contentious and difficult to get behind for some people.
* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Has been known to happen. The story eventually becomes so depressing and uncomfortable that it can turn people off. In particular some people feel that Punpun, initially a sympathetic but very flawed ClassicalAntiHero, gradually becomes such a horrendous individual that they find it hard to excuse his behavior or care what becomes of him. In a post-series interview, Asano admitted that he had a somewhat antagonistic relationship with the readers, and that [[AudienceAlienatingPremise sales took a sharp decline every time something really dark or upsetting happened]]. He's said this is why he took a lighter and less nihilistic approach (at least by ''Punpun'' standards) in his later work.

** Punpun himself is this among a huge part of the fandom due to him being in a constant state of self-loathing and misery. It also doesn't help that he becomes more unsympathetic later on, depending on who you ask.

* AlasPoorScrappy

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation