#but i think i got the general gist of murakami-esque

[hiraya-sa-dilim]

OMORI is a Murakami novel.

Protag is a passive as all hell + emotionally stinted boy

Woman close to protag appears to have commited suicide

Said woman causes abandonment issues + depression in protag

Protag's dam against his Pacific Ocean of emotions about as tough as a baby's eyelids

Subtle hints throughout canon at protag's raging anger issues

Protag + at least one other character delusional

Protag has a mystical (and apparently tougher) alter ego

Metaphysical cat guides protag to a plot point (and may be cut open)

Protag's bestie is queer

Oedipal shit (Sunny loses his eye to the truth)

Set in two different worlds, one magical, one not

Protag has a falling out with his closest friends

Protag + at least one other character potentially criminal

Strong femme character stark contrast to overcooked noodles masc protag

Background character constantly forewarning about death

Neighbors/background characters so normal it's borderline wacky

Horrific creatures but you can't tell if they're "real"

Final climax a clash between the real and the metaphysical

Absent father and uninformed mother

Sink or swim allegories

Aforementioned woman is fucked up + has unexplored issues for another novel

Protag feels colorless in contrast to his friends

Morally ambiguous protags

Nostalgia constipating everyone

T r a i n s

Literally the same genre

Classical music and its performers discussed extensively/a major plot point

Protag enters a magical world but may choose to leave it

Someone has an artistic hobby

Ghosts and/or dead people

Protag relies on more socially adept friends

Leaves you feeling punched in the end