Not Simple (manga)

The title of this manga fits it perfectly. It is very unfortunate that it is only two chapters, and the ending kills...no, it's the beginning that kills.

This manga is a tragedy about the misfortunes one man received in his horribly miserable life. The story starts with the present, which is how he dies. Yes, this is not a spoiler because it is the beginning. He only has a friend or two in his entire life that he met as an adult and one of them decides to make a novel out of him.

It's about an Australian boy; Ian, whose sister is also his mother. This isn't even the worst part. The child gets separated from his sister, one of the only people that ever cared about him and he lived in London with his alcoholic ex-stepmother who loathes him. His abuse was in the form of neglect and he even provided for her. Later on, he was sent back to Australia to live with his father, who didn't care about him either. Before he left however, he managed to meet his sister and promise her to achieve his goal before the next time they meet. The poor dude ends up travelling far and wide to follow up with his promise and see his sister and we already know how the tragedy ends.

Ian and his older sister

Can you guess what gum represents?

The manga is a bit hard to follow because the perspective often switches from character to character and from past to present. The art, as you can see, is not the best, but it does grow on you after a few pages, or rather his expressions and few words are extremely powerful. This manga has neglect, sexual, and emotional abuse so the content is mature; however, there are no disgusting images. There is a few symbolism here and there and you have to pick up on hints and cues as no detail is put in the abusive events, only that you understand they happened, which is how people often overlook them in real life. I think that is one of the things that captivated me about Ian, it was how accepting he was of everything bad that ever happened to him. Ian is so blunt as well, and so pure hearted that it makes me just wanna grab him in a hug and help him out. I wish he had his happy ending.

Ian being polite and sweet despite the horrible events in his life

I definitely recommend this manga, I think it's 5/5 and that you should be at least 15 years old just because of its mature topic. It tugged at a few strings in my heart.

Peace,
M.D.