Is What a Wonderful World! Worth Reading? Review & Where to Read
Quick Answer
Worth reading for its strongest handful of stories, yes — just don't expect it to add up to one cohesive book, since it's an anthology first and foremost.
Quick Verdict
“Not every story in this collection earns its spot, but the strongest ones show exactly why Asano became a name worth following.”
Best for: Readers who like anthology-format slice-of-life and don't need every story in a collection to be a standout.
Not for: Readers who want one continuous story with a single cast and a clear arc.
- Type
- Manga
- Genres
- Drama, Slice of Life
- Status
- Completed
- This review
- Minor Spoilers
- Author
- Inio Asano
- Publisher
- Shogakukan
- Platform
- VIZ Media
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Format | Manga (seinen), 19 chapters, 2 volumes |
| Run | 2002–2004 · completed |
| Community score | AniList 7.3 |
| Where to read | VIZ Media — official |
Overview
What a Wonderful World! isn't one story — it's a loosely connected set of short pieces about young people in modern Japan trying to figure out what to do with their lives, collected across two volumes. A kid wonders if growing up means giving up, a man on the run stumbles into a strange kind of grace, a couple navigates the gap between who they are and who they're expected to become. Inio Asano, who'd later write Oyasumi Punpun and Goodnight Punpun, uses the short format here to try out a lot of different moods in a small space — some stories are quiet and sad, some are funny, a couple get genuinely surreal.
What it does well
The anthology format is the best choice this book makes. Because no single story has to carry the whole collection, Asano can let a chapter be small and specific — one afternoon, one conversation, one bad decision — without needing to justify it as part of a bigger arc. That lets the book range from grounded slice-of-life to flat-out weird without any single story feeling out of place next to the others.
The art is doing a lot of the emotional heavy lifting, especially in the quieter stories. Asano draws ordinary city spaces — train platforms, convenience stores, cramped apartments — with enough specificity that they feel lived-in rather than generic backdrops, and his character acting sells a lot of feeling in panels with very little actual dialogue. A few stories land a genuinely sharp emotional gut-punch in only a handful of pages, which is harder to pull off than it looks.
Where it falls short
An anthology lives and dies on its weakest entries, and this one has a few stories that read as minor even by the book's own loose standards — ideas that feel more like sketches for a better story than a finished one. Because the pieces aren't connected, there's also no larger structure holding the book together beyond "young people, modern Japan, uncertainty about the future," so it can feel more like a sampler of Asano's range than a single satisfying reading experience. If you go in wanting a throughline, you won't find one.
Verdict
A collection worth reading for its best few stories alone, and a genuinely useful look at what Asano was doing before his later, longer work. Go in treating it as a sampler rather than a single cohesive book, and the uneven stretches matter a lot less.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- The anthology format lets individual stories be small and specific instead of forcing everything into one bigger arc.
- Asano draws ordinary city spaces with enough specificity that they feel genuinely lived-in.
- A handful of stories land real emotional weight in only a few pages, which is a harder trick than it looks.
Weaknesses
- Some entries read as sketches for a better story rather than finished pieces in their own right.
- There's no larger structure connecting the stories beyond a shared mood, so it can feel more like a sampler than a single book.
- A couple of the surreal detours land less well than the grounded, quieter stories.
Similar Titles
Another Asano work about young adults figuring out what comes after their twenties, in a single continuous story this time.
Shares the same interest in quiet, specific moments of growing up, told as one continuous arc instead of an anthology.
Where to Read Officially
| Platform | Format | Pricing | Region notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIZ Media | Print & digital volumes | Paid | Region availability varies | Open |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is What a Wonderful World! a single story or an anthology?
It's an anthology — 19 loosely connected chapters across 2 volumes, each mostly self-contained rather than one continuous plot.
Is it finished?
Yes, it's a complete 2-volume collection with no ongoing story to continue.
Where should I start with Inio Asano's work?
This is actually a reasonable starting point — it's shorter and lighter than Goodnight Punpun or Oyasumi Punpun, and gives you a feel for his style before committing to a longer, heavier series.
