(Abu)Normal

Eiko Abu wants to be normal, and she is absolutely going to try. That one obsession drives this psychological drama, and it runs hot from the first chapter. The setup is simple: a 29-year-old office worker sorts the entire world into normal and not normal. Then she starts sorting the people around her too. Every chapter pushes that logic a little further, and the jokes curdle into something much colder. The surreal comedy gives the story room to breathe, even when it lands awkwardly against the bleaker material. The art is clean and expressive, which matters when a character's face says more than the dialogue. What works is the refusal to hand the reader an easy target. Eiko is frustrating, sympathetic and unsettling by turns, and the series makes you sit with all three. At 83 chapters across eight volumes, it is a tight run with no filler padding the middle. If you like psychological fiction with a dark edge and a sharp hook, this one earns its shelf space. Just go in ready for a protagonist who will not make it easy to like her.