Heptagon

I'm having a bad case of TEABS.

For those of you unfamiliar with this term, TEABS stands the End of an Awesome Book Syndrome. Except I guess in this case, it's more of TEASS (story) or TEAMS (manga), because I just read a short manga titled "Heptagon" that was rather original, thought-provoking, and quite touching. 

How different would things have turned out if your 24-year-old conscious had to relive your high school years? Though it would have been nice to have been more self-confident and on-top-of-my-shit and less emo, I haven't lived with too many lingering regrets from my middle/high school era. At least, none that would make me want to live through those angsty years again. 

The protagonist of "Heptagon," however, can't remember what exactly traumatized her so much ten years ago that led her to become the disinterested, empty person she grew up to become. Right before a car hits her one night, she suddenly recalls: "I think I was in love with someone before... I loved him so much that I could die for him." 

What I like about this story though, is that it is WAY more about the character's personal growth instead of focusing on the love story hook. Instead, the plot with the love interest is merely secondary to the main story arc about Nana's growth as a person. Even the twist ending, which could have felt overtly bittersweet-tragic a la Nicholas Sparks, didn't feel that way to me because this memory that she forced herself to forget was a direct result of her main character flaw--the one that she finally overcomes at the end of the story. 

I've scoured through a lot of pretty crappy manga, but gems like this are worth it.