Week 2 - Ayako

The beginning of my experience with reading Ayako was pleasant at first, that is, until I realized the story is just downhill from the beginning. When Shiro first comes home, it seemed like a casual story of a soldier returning home to his family. The story made me want to route for him, but eventually he ended becoming corrupt like the rest of his family. I was constantly looking for someone to relate to and rest upon, but it just seemed to get worse and worse for everyone. From where I stopped, I feel like the only character that was the most okay was Ma, probably because she was practically absent for most of the manga, so she appeared to have done nothing wrong. It seems the main premise of the story revolves around the family's corruption and greed, as well as Ayako's suffering. Although it was interesting to see Ayako grow up in her family situation, as depressing as it was. I also found it kind of funny how well Tezuka's cute art style worked with the overall tone of Ayako. It feels like a sort of Madoka Magica situation where the characters are round and cute, but their world is completely messed up and ruined.