>>853642
>>853762
>being surprised that the supernatural fuckery in Asano Inio's works is in-universe real
It's like you've never read anything else he's ever done. The fucking madman.
>>853707
The subplots are there to provide context and a glimpse of the world beyond his own tiny life. If you can't quite grasp this, look at the two major examples in the last few chapters: Sachi's little venture to find Punpun, and Punpun's encounter with his childhood friend.
In the latter, Sachi realizes just how deeply Punpun has touched everyone else's life through his own sense of propriety and responsibility. He even leaves a huge impression on his estranged father, who we haven't seen in in-universe and real-life years. His landlord and his friends remember him fondly, saying how responsible he is, how hard he's worked, how he remains aloof but friendly, how they're not worried even if they know that he isn't perfect. From outside of Punpun's perspective, he does quite well. Meanwhile, in the same page, Punpun is beating the everloving fuck out of someone who looks suspiciously like Asano, for very little reason.
You contrast this with the encounter in the final chapter. Punpun turns back into a young kid, almost, even after the 120 or so chapters between then and now. He reconnects with his friend, whom he still remembers fondly, but it's clear that they've grown completely apart. To his friend, it appears as if Punpun is a responsible young man, with a girlfriend of sorts, a child, and a group of faithful friends. But the punchline, which is shared between the reader and Punpun, is that Punpun is merely Sachi's pet - that he's never quite understood his friends - that he killed his childhood love - that he willingly and consistently keeps himself in a purgatory that will never end until the very day he dies.
It's a fun read. You can read a lot of things into it.