Despite not having the same kind of hype and popularity as mainstream genres such as action or fantasy, Slice-of-Life actually has carved a unique niche with a highly dedicated fan base for itself, ourselves included. Because while it may not have as many exciting things happening in it as the other genres, there's an unmistakable charm and warmth that can only be found in this genre. And now there’s a new kid on the block. It’s called Insomniac After School, and here is a brief review for this manga.

Discussion Time

Nakami Ganta is known in his class as an irritable boy who has a rather short temper, and who rarely speaks to his classmates. What most people don't know is the fact that Nakami is actually super sleepy during the day, because he can’t sleep at night. He has a rather severe case of insomnia, which leads to a splitting headache throughout the day, along with other undesirable ailments. As a result, Nakami is pretty much in a constant bad mood all day, or at least until he gets a nap.

When Nakami goes to the top floor of the school for some errands, he finds an abandoned observatory room. It used to belong to the astronomy club, but a strange rumor about ghosts and a lack of interest in astronomy lead to this club being abandoned, and the room was turned into a temporary storage. When Nakami enters the room, his eyes light up. He finally finds a safe haven where he can sleep in peace while at school. A place that only he knows.

As it turns out, though, there’s actually another person who has the same idea as Nakami. As a matter of fact, that person is currently taking a nap in one of the boxes in the corner of the room. Her name is Makari Isaki, and this is the story of how they both try to find ways to have fun and be productive with their insomnia.

1. A Highly Relatable Story

One of the main objectives of every story is to make the characters as relatable to the readers as possible. The reason is quite simply because the more the readers can relate to the characters, be it their personality or their struggles, the easier it will be for the readers to immerse themselves into the story.

As it happens, crafting relatable characters is pretty much the specialty of a slice-of-life manga. After all, the story itself is mostly about the daily life of characters who live in relatively similar settings with our real world. So the characters should be quite relatable to us.

Insomniac After School takes this principle to a whole other level. Because quite a lot of people in this world, us included, are victims of insomnia. So we know how annoying it is to be wide awake at night, and then end up yawning every five seconds in the middle of the day, while we’re at work/school.

Needless to say, we’ve been that person who's constantly irritated and ready to bark at everybody around us, which leads to some unnecessary notoriety and awkward social interactions. And that is why this manga hits so close to home for insomniacs like us. This is pretty much as high as you can get in terms of character relatability.

2. Storytelling Through Illustration

Insomniac After School is not a dialog-heavy manga. On the contrary, there are quite a few pages where you don’t see a single word at all, such as the time when Nakami tries to fix the astronomy club’s broken door, or when Nakami and Makari explore the quiet town during midnight hours together. In those instances, the author chooses to tell the story through illustrations alone.

Manga, and other forms of comics for that matter, is a form of visual storytelling. The combination of words and illustrations are the ingredients that form the whole story. Therefore, the drawings should be able to tell parts of the story on their own, without having to rely on text for every single panel. After all, an image is worth a thousand words, right? So why not let the images do the talking from time to time?

Most slice-of-life manga out there, especially the new ones like March Comes in Like a Lion or Blue Period, rarely let the drawings speak for themselves. That happens even more rarely for any other genres or demographics, like shounen or shoujo. The reason is mostly because they try to move the plot as efficiently as possible within the limited amount of pages that they have. As a result, this wordless approach has become a novelty. That is why it is quite refreshing to see a new manga like Insomniac After School that is still willing to play around with this technique.

1. Lack of Objective

The characters in Insomniac After School don't have any particular goal in mind, or at least that is the case in this first volume. They aren’t trying to find the cure for their insomnia, nor are they trying to achieve something great by reviving the astronomy club. The characters simply go through the motions and figure out what they’ll do next as the story unfolds. So if you prefer to read a story that has a clear objective carefully laid out in the beginning, such as Ichigo Takano’s Orange or Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, then this manga may not be for you.

Final Thoughts

Insomniac After School is built upon a simple premise, but it manages to use a niche topic like insomnia and expand the story into something that is interesting and utterly relatable. Not to mention the art is also spectacular to see. The lack of an end goal may turn some people off, but even then, we still urge you to at least give this manga a try, especially if you’ve ever struggled with insomnia before.

Have you read Insomniac After School? If you have, what do you think about it? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Writer

Author: Harry

Harry is a manga addict first and freelance writer second. While he hasn’t read every manga under the sun, he has read an unhealthy amount of Shounen and Seinen manga. When he’s not writing in Honey’s Anime, you can find him in his personal blog: MangaDigest.com.

Previous Articles

Recommended Post

Skip to Loafer (Skip and Loafer) Volume 1 [Manga] Review - A Slice of the Big City Life!

Recommended Post

6 Anime Like Maoujou de Oyasumi (Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle) [Recommendations]

Recommended Post

Sheeply Horned Witch Romi Volume 1 [Manga] Review - A Rather Intriguing Post-Apocalyptic Tale

Recommended Post

Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia (Insomniacs After School): New Spring 2023 Anime That Will Take You On A Journey Through Insomnia