I recently reached 20, did a reread on this manga and oh god, it hurted so much, compared to the first time I started reading it 2 years ago. Still not normal today portrays extremly well the crisis which young people, or specifically people who has anime-manga as a hobby have. Even though I fairly content with my own hobby most of the time, sometimes looking at my peers who have more "acceptable" hobby to the society or weeb friends who dropped their interests long ago makes me wonder if what I chose is right and if my life direction has gone the wrong way. The sense of being lost and the doubt I have for my own life decision, I can see them very clearly throughout Yamashita and Takahashi. They might be considered as outcast to this normal society but the fact they found each other is so amazing that it can be very difficult to find such trusting relationship in normal life. The core of the relaionship which Yamashita and Takahasa has was built on mutual trust and gentle caress they give to each other's feeling. They can be very straight forward, yet when the other felt loss or hurted, they were always there to soothe the pain, to reassure their dear partner that while life can be suck sometimes, at least it less sucks when they have each other's back, all through small actions that can be viewed as trivial and insignificant from outsider's perspective. This relationship wouldn't be achieved if they didn't have deep-seated respect to each other to begin with.
Still not normal today is a hit or miss type of manga. If you can relate to either one of the main characters then it will be so relatable that it hurts. Otherwise, it might be a bit incomprehensive and confusing to readers who can't find its appeal.
last edited at Oct 21, 2024 11:47AM
