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Sunny #4
Sunny, Vol. 4
A story of childhood longing and dreams as only Eisner Award winner Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet) could tell it.
What is Sunny? Sunny is a car. Sunny is a car you take on a drive with your mind. It takes you to the place of your dreams.
Sunny is the story of beating the odds, in the ways that count. It’s the brand-new masterwork from Eisner Award-winner Taiyo Matsumoto, one of Japan’s most innovative and acclaimed manga artists.
Translated by Tekkonkinkreet film director Michael Arias!
The fourth installment of this poignant series focused on the young lives of a group of foster children travels their trajectory from painful yearning to bittersweet belonging.
What is Sunny? Sunny is a car. Sunny is a car you take on a drive with your mind. It takes you to the place of your dreams.
Sunny is the story of beating the odds, in the ways that count. It’s the brand-new masterwork from Eisner Award-winner Taiyo Matsumoto, one of Japan’s most innovative and acclaimed manga artists.
Translated by Tekkonkinkreet film director Michael Arias!
The fourth installment of this poignant series focused on the young lives of a group of foster children travels their trajectory from painful yearning to bittersweet belonging.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published October 30, 2013
7 people are currently reading
326 people want to read
About the author
Taiyo Matsumoto
166 books627 followersSee also: 松本大洋 and 松本 大洋
Although Taiyo Matsumoto desired a career as a professional soccerplayer at first, he eventually chose an artistic profession. He gained his first success through the Comic Open contest, held by the magazine Comic Morning, which allowed him to make his professional debut. He started out with 'Straight', a comic about basketball players. Sports remain his main influence in his next comic, 'Zéro', a story about a boxer.
In 1993 Matsumoto started the 'Tekkonkinkurito' trilogy in Big Spirits magazine, which was even adapted to a theatre play. He continued his comics exploits with several short stories for the Comic Aré magazine, which are collected in the book 'Nihon no Kyodai'. Again for Big Spirits, Taiyo Matsumoto started the series 'Ping Pong' in 1996. 'Number Five' followed in 2001, published by Shogakukan.
Source: Lambiek website bio .
Although Taiyo Matsumoto desired a career as a professional soccerplayer at first, he eventually chose an artistic profession. He gained his first success through the Comic Open contest, held by the magazine Comic Morning, which allowed him to make his professional debut. He started out with 'Straight', a comic about basketball players. Sports remain his main influence in his next comic, 'Zéro', a story about a boxer.
In 1993 Matsumoto started the 'Tekkonkinkurito' trilogy in Big Spirits magazine, which was even adapted to a theatre play. He continued his comics exploits with several short stories for the Comic Aré magazine, which are collected in the book 'Nihon no Kyodai'. Again for Big Spirits, Taiyo Matsumoto started the series 'Ping Pong' in 1996. 'Number Five' followed in 2001, published by Shogakukan.
Source: Lambiek website bio .
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
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July 3, 2017To reiterate, I highly recommend this series. It is full of heart and wonderful colorful characters each with their story to tell. This volume in particular had me close to tears actually during a certain part. It can be so heartbreaking but funny and joyful and hopeful. I never want this series to end!
January 11, 2020
Mooi. Nog steeds.
April 24, 2021
Sunny is on par with Tekkonkinkreet for me. It's one of Matsumoto's best stories. This vol. gave me so many feels. I live in a small apartment in the city, but honestly at this point I just want to adopt the Star Home kids. Best comics.
We learn more about a couple of the kids from Star Home like Sei, Haruo and Kiko, who are each navigating feelings of abandonment and rejection in their own way, as they dream of a home of their own.
Matsumoto is dealing with big emotions here, and while this series is definitely melancholic he shuns sentimentality or in your face drama. He conveys deep emotions so brilliantly through the stunning ink washed images and the non verbal actions of his characters.
We learn more about a couple of the kids from Star Home like Sei, Haruo and Kiko, who are each navigating feelings of abandonment and rejection in their own way, as they dream of a home of their own.
Matsumoto is dealing with big emotions here, and while this series is definitely melancholic he shuns sentimentality or in your face drama. He conveys deep emotions so brilliantly through the stunning ink washed images and the non verbal actions of his characters.
August 8, 2021
The stories of Haruo's dad, and Kiko leaving the Star Kids Home, are brutal. This series has such a childlike wonder to it while also being full of more mature and tragic plots that it makes you sad seeing the children have to come to terms with all of it. The artwork is brilliant, I love the detail that washes over the page whenever it rains, or the small tears swelling on someone's eyes as they try not to cry.
March 15, 2016
It's hard to write about these because it's more about the mood or the feeling or the atmosphere of these stories as opposed to the stories themselves, which are just about the daily lives and disappointments and small victories of the children at the home. I keep wondering what kind of personal experience Matsumoto has had with an environment like this because it all feels so genuine, so real. The reader gets pulled in so thoroughly into the world of these children and your heart breaks for them, yet Matsumoto won't let you feel sorry for them, not for an instant. These children are strong and resilient, and they just might make it in life, if the alumnus visitor from this or the last volume can attest. Even the adults who run the place are fully human, their love for the children shining through their personality flaws and their own world-weariness. This is one of the most beautiful stories I've read, art and content both.
June 15, 2015
It's been a while since I read the last volume to this series, but I fell right into place as soon as I started this 4th volume. This is the most literary manga I've ever read and I find the story so painfully poignant. This volume has each chapter centre on a child who has to deal with the reality that their parent is a failure and either not coming back for them or if they do, it will never be permanent. These are all sad stories with one being particularly heart-breaking, but the children themselves are resilient, wise and retain their humour as children are often wont to do. Truly a lovely touching series.
March 26, 2022
Emotionally brutal as ever. Thanks Matsumoto sensei.
September 7, 2023
The fourth volume of Taiyo Matsumoto's collected Sunny has a truly melancholy tone, as the author further reveals the stories of the adolescent residents of the Star Kids Home. Parental neglect is the common thread that brings these youngsters together in a group residence, and yet several of the protagonists have accepted their circumstances and managed to find the proverbial silver lining.
This volume also gives more exposure to the enigmatic Taro, the simple-minded adult who also lives at the Star Kids Home. Taro's backstory is not provided, so the reader can only speculate as to his unique situation, and yet his appreciation for the simple things in life serves as a counterpoint to the yearning for something better that characterizes many of his co-residents. It seems that Taro is really the heart of the Sunny series, and it will be interesting to see how this character is developed in the remaining two volumes.
This volume also gives more exposure to the enigmatic Taro, the simple-minded adult who also lives at the Star Kids Home. Taro's backstory is not provided, so the reader can only speculate as to his unique situation, and yet his appreciation for the simple things in life serves as a counterpoint to the yearning for something better that characterizes many of his co-residents. It seems that Taro is really the heart of the Sunny series, and it will be interesting to see how this character is developed in the remaining two volumes.
August 6, 2021
¿Por que me gusta tanto ponerme triste con este manga? En cada tomo hay una historia en concreto que me coge un pellizco en el corazón, y en este caso ha sido la de la niña que por fin sale de la casa y poco después vuelve… me la llevaría a mi casa solo por no verla tan triste.
May 19, 2024
The balance between the charming exuberance of youth and the pervasive melancholy of the Star Kids Home continues to be just excellently delivered here. Taiyo Matsumoto's Sunny isn't electric or nerve-wracking, but even with a muted demeanor the story still finds a way to punch you in the gut. This volume follows Sei, Haruo and Kiko a fair bit more, all of them grappling with feelings of abandonment and isolation while they continue to dream of a true home for themselves. The dialogue is simplistic and avoids being overly sentimental, instead it asks the reader to simply consider the position of its characters. It's masterful writing, backed up by some truly expressive artwork.
February 17, 2016
still going strong--a very soft look at some hard lives...
January 24, 2026
"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream"--sung repeatedly by one of the kids.
Another dose of Matsumoto's particular blend of sweet anguish as we continue our episodic, slice-of-life tale of a group home for kids with no parents or parents that just cannot get it together to be parents, some of whom should never have been parents. When, in a couple of segments here, the screw-up parents drop in and visit, one mom, another dad, you feel rage and sorrow for the abandoned kids who are left to fend without them, depending on their peers and aides and a therapist.
But then, and this is so Matsumoto, you also begin to feel some empathy for the parents, who are also themselves lost in the world. True, the victims here are the kids, but still. The art and storytelling both seem angular, off-kilter, quirky, random, ephemeral, but somehow you realize there is a deep and passionate and melancholy purpose here for all the lonely, lost people in the world, even the screw-ups.
Oh, Sunny? Sunny is the name of an abandoned yellow car in a vacant field some of them get in and fantasize they are driving away to great happy places. Augh!
Re: Fast Car, Tracy Chapman:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIOAl...
Merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream"--sung repeatedly by one of the kids.
Another dose of Matsumoto's particular blend of sweet anguish as we continue our episodic, slice-of-life tale of a group home for kids with no parents or parents that just cannot get it together to be parents, some of whom should never have been parents. When, in a couple of segments here, the screw-up parents drop in and visit, one mom, another dad, you feel rage and sorrow for the abandoned kids who are left to fend without them, depending on their peers and aides and a therapist.
But then, and this is so Matsumoto, you also begin to feel some empathy for the parents, who are also themselves lost in the world. True, the victims here are the kids, but still. The art and storytelling both seem angular, off-kilter, quirky, random, ephemeral, but somehow you realize there is a deep and passionate and melancholy purpose here for all the lonely, lost people in the world, even the screw-ups.
Oh, Sunny? Sunny is the name of an abandoned yellow car in a vacant field some of them get in and fantasize they are driving away to great happy places. Augh!
Re: Fast Car, Tracy Chapman:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIOAl...
September 7, 2023
"Hund: Da ist nichts zu begründen. Ich liebe den Menschen, das genügt! Wenn Sie gegen ihn etwas im Schilde führen, werde ich Sie vor allem erwürgen und nachher dem Menschen alles erzählen...
Zucker (unterbricht süßlich): Gestatten Sie einmal... Verbittern wir uns nicht die Diskussion... Von einem gewissen Standpunkt haben Sie ja beide Recht...
Brot: Ich teile vollkommen die Ansicht des Zuckers...
Kater: Sind wir nicht alle, das Wasser und das Feuer und ihr selbst, Brot und Hund, Opfer einer namenlosen Tyrannei? Denkt doch der Zeiten, als wir — vor Erscheinen des Despoten — frei auf dem Erdboden herumirren könnten, Wasser und Feuer waren die einzigen unumschränkten Herren der Welt. Und seht, was aus ihnen geworden ist!"
Zucker (unterbricht süßlich): Gestatten Sie einmal... Verbittern wir uns nicht die Diskussion... Von einem gewissen Standpunkt haben Sie ja beide Recht...
Brot: Ich teile vollkommen die Ansicht des Zuckers...
Kater: Sind wir nicht alle, das Wasser und das Feuer und ihr selbst, Brot und Hund, Opfer einer namenlosen Tyrannei? Denkt doch der Zeiten, als wir — vor Erscheinen des Despoten — frei auf dem Erdboden herumirren könnten, Wasser und Feuer waren die einzigen unumschränkten Herren der Welt. Und seht, was aus ihnen geworden ist!"
January 6, 2026
Reseña global a los seis volúmenes
Un grupo de niños, abandonados u obligados por varias circunstancias a estar lejos de sus familias, viven en una casa de acogida.
Mostrando momentos de la vida de estos niños, Matsumoto nos ofrece un retrato emotivo: sus deseos, sus miedos, sus circunstancias que les han marcado....Ternura, inocencia, dureza, melancolía o imaginación plasman cada una de las viñetas, con un halo poético, que hacen un manga único y especial.
Mención especial al gran dibujo y a Sunny, viejo coche que se convierte en un oasis y puerta a la imaginación para huir momentáneamente de la dura realidad.
Un grupo de niños, abandonados u obligados por varias circunstancias a estar lejos de sus familias, viven en una casa de acogida.
Mostrando momentos de la vida de estos niños, Matsumoto nos ofrece un retrato emotivo: sus deseos, sus miedos, sus circunstancias que les han marcado....Ternura, inocencia, dureza, melancolía o imaginación plasman cada una de las viñetas, con un halo poético, que hacen un manga único y especial.
Mención especial al gran dibujo y a Sunny, viejo coche que se convierte en un oasis y puerta a la imaginación para huir momentáneamente de la dura realidad.
December 1, 2017
Ancora Haruo, che riceve la visita del (particolarissimo) padre, per un episodio davvero intenso. Ma c'è anche Asako, la sorella di Kenji, Sei e la sua storia d'amore per una ragazza simile a lui, il terribile "in and out" di Kiiko e una parentesi incentrata su Taro.
Ancora bello, ancora poetico e intensissimo. Sunny è sempre più convincente.
Ancora bello, ancora poetico e intensissimo. Sunny è sempre più convincente.
March 24, 2021
I've got nothing to add other than what I've already said about the earlier books in this series. I enjoy the disconnected but related stories and I really love the art. I think it's definitely worth reading.
March 30, 2025
dios la historia de Haruo me ha hecho llorar porque entre su madre que no le hace puto caso y le dice que no le llame mamá y el padre que es un rascamoneda adiós y todos en general me dan demasiada pena
May 10, 2020
Beautiful and touching as always. Taiyo Matsumoto conveys vast emotions with subtlety and the art is always so tender and lovely. Every volume ends up making me cry lol
March 28, 2021
It made me laugh. It made me sad.
July 7, 2021
Still SO SAD.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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January 4, 2022[2022 .5]
March 28, 2022
Kiko gets to go home and Sei teaches me about clouds...kind of
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June 28, 2022太郎像吉祥物也是守護神般的存在
August 28, 2023
3.5 Haruo continues to be the most interesting character on here, with all the others chugging along. I liked the Taro chapter a lot, too.
May 28, 2024
Opinião no Youtube:
https://youtu.be/8HOscuxIPf4
https://youtu.be/8HOscuxIPf4
November 18, 2024
Siempre la melancolia y las ganas de abrazarme a la luz.
December 8, 2024
This manga really has every emotion. Honestly the story is a rollercoaster, ranging from funny to sad to inspiring. Realistic Historical fiction that just works sooo so good.
December 9, 2024
These are so good
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January 7, 2026Very similar to, but just as lovely as the other books in the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews