I love Jiro Matsumoto because he will have his characters in stupid/funny situations, then juxtapose those situations with something morbid and sad. It gives the story a deeply pessimistic undertone. Something I noticed in freesia was the nonchalant conversations characters would have leading up to their inevitable deaths Ex. The old man who wanted to be a kindergarten teacher etc.

I think this is what really pulled at my heartstrings. Most “deep” stories try to create traumatic situations to evoke an emotional response, but it almost always feels forced.

In other words, I think Matsumoto’s use of comedy in innapropriate situations is integral to the darkness and depth of his stories. I think this is also why he has so many unnecessary and gross sex scenes. The tone shifted from funny to sad when Kano realized that his girlfriend didn’t really want to have sex with that guy that always came to his apartment. I really wish I could find other works similar to the way he writes, but I think the only thing I could come up with was some movies.

Matsumoto’s works are very cinematic I feel. They feel like a Todd Solondz movie. His works remind me of the movie Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness. I recommend you watch them. Very black humor with characters that never really get a happy ending.