Years later I'm finally picking up Goodnight Punpun again. I was not prepared when I started out and couldn't take another page of awful bird depression after volume 3 so I took a long break.
I ended up watching a video summary/analysis of the whole series over a lunch a few days ago and realized immediately that I had to keep reading. Partly because the story really intrigues me of course, but a large part of my sudden drive to finish it is because I don't trust any of the Dudes who analyzed in on youtube and I can't stand not being able to form my own opinion accurately. So I might have spoiled the whole story by watching a detailed summary of it but now I get the pleasure of reading it not from a YouTube-dude's perspective.. The dude saying "i didn't realize these sex scenes were non-consensual until someone pointed it out", set off the big kill bill sirens in my head and the sirens were right. The real psychological horror experience isn't reading Goodnight Punpun. It's listening to Dudes sort of realizing how consent works way too late in life and still struggling to understand.
Speaking about the events surrounding this scene specifically (for now):
I just finished book 5. I know how the rest of the story goes but only as told through the lens of dudes who found the main character a bit too relatable (in my concerned opinion) I don't have a problem with scenes like these but analyzing them to an audience requires at least a basic understanding of abusive relationships. Like, a piece of media can depict the most gruesome shit and romanticize the hell out of it but the analysis needs to be informed and point these things out for what they are. That's what it's for.
