A Slice of Life: A Slice of Cigarette Girl

Honestly, I couldn't do this manga. I couldn't hold my attention spam for more than a couple of pages and not want to close the book. Cigarette Girl by Masahiko Matsumoto is not a bad piece of art; it is just not my cup of tea. In my first post, I mentioned that the general public thinks that manga is mainly for the fantasy, shonen and shoujo genres and I cannot disagree more. Manga can truly show anything and everything it wants. But Cigarette Girl was truly boring for me. 

I wasn't looking for an action packed story, or a crazy forbidden romance. Nothing about Cigarette Girl called my attention. I got to start with the reasoning that this week, I wasn't feeling well. I needed some story that would keep my mind off of stress. Mangas like Ayako and Showa kept me distracted from myself even when they were not fantastical in theme. Cigarette Girl was like reading the life story of a relative or a close friend. It was like taking a look into what my future could be. A slice of life piece that felt like any other story re-told by someone I knew. It was just not interesting. Perhaps the reason why I disliked it is because of its non-linear, bogus, approach to its story. It felt like an anthology without a purpose.