Shissou Nikki

In 1989, a comic artist named Hideo Azuma struggles with the stress of meeting deadlines and attempts, without success, to take his own life on a mountain slope. He leaves his family behind, surviving as a homeless person by scavenging for food, cigarettes, and alcohol. After several months, he is picked up as a vagrant and sent back home. In 1992, he goes through the same pattern, this time moving to a different town and working as a gas pipe fitter. By 1998, his alcohol use has worsened, leading to a mandatory stay in rehab. This work captures those three phases of his life, not in a somber tone, but in a lighthearted and upbeat cartoon style that reflects his personality.