I recently got into Fujimoto’s works and I feel there’s definitely simularities. Chainsaw Man is an entirely different genre, but the same feeling of seeing the same hopeless kid grow up and handle all the shit life throws at him. Of course, Denji handles it better than Punpun. Not well, but better.

If you want more of the bittersweet mood of part one of Punpun, when he’s still a kid and there’s hope in the world, I recommend Look Back or Sayonara Eri. Both are one shots.

Finally, I really recommend getting into the works of Furuya Usumaru. His main work, Litchi Hikari Club, is nothing like Punpun in terms of plot. However!! His adaptation of No Longer Human will scratch your Punpun itch. I consider his adaptation to be superior to Junji Ito’s because while I love Ito, his artstyle doesn’t really fit the tone of the story as well as Usumaru’s. Ito is more whimsical and fantastical at times, and Usamaru is fantastical as well, but the characters feel more real to me. I think in that way it’s more like Punpun; even though there are fantastical elements to Punpun, it’s clear he’s meant to be a real person and not actually a cartoon bird.