Plus-size representation in media is very rare, and it's even more rare when it is positive representation. Anime doesn't have the best track record with displaying people of more unique body types in flattering ways, so making a plus-size person the literal face of your entire manga is admirable on its…face. I love the way that Yumeko is drawn, as she is hands-down the most animated person in this entire book. I also like the fact that her art style almost seems to clash a little bit with the more generic character designs of everybody else, but that's the point. She is an outlier both in the way she presents herself, the positivity she tries to bring to her work environment, and the way she always tries to put a positive spin on even the most dour situation. I especially love the fact that every chapter starts with a new pinup art piece featuring Yumeko in different outfits. There is a lot of love for this character from a presentation standpoint, and I do have a lot of respect for that.

The humor is a little bit tricky because it does feel like it's in a tug-of-war with itself. Yumeko's ability to put a positive spin on seemingly any situation that she's thrown into, as well as her ability to not recognize when she is being blatantly insulted by other people, is a funny bit, but it runs itself into the ground by the time we get to the second volume because it feels like there is a bit of a disconnect. Sometimes it's not clear if Yumeko doesn't hear what other people are saying to her or if she just doesn't care that people are making fun of her weight. That isn't to say that Yumeko is a pushover anyway, and I know that the fat jokes are more to highlight how shallow and frustrating the rest of the cast is, rather than genuinely make fun of the main character. Everybody else comes off as a lot more bitter and jaded, so the idea that Yumeko's positive influence makes everybody's lives better shows that she ironically could make the changes that were weighing her down before she lost her memory. She just needed the confidence to do it.

That said, there's a lot of suspension of disbelief needed to buy the overall premise of the story. The fact that your entire personality can change by losing almost all of your memories is already a stretch. The fact that people just expected Yumeko to go back to work and carry on like nothing had happened, almost the day after getting severely injured and hospitalized, is almost comedic levels of suspension of disbelief. However, to the story's credit, it does address a lot of these issues as the story goes on. Problematic behaviors were called out, and the absurdity of the situation starts to get more interesting as the attempted murder case begins getting looked into a lot more. We also get more character development from Yumeko outside of just her being positive, as she starts getting flashes of who she previously was. She doesn't want to be the depressed and potentially suicidal person that she was before, and I really did feel for that.

This idea that one positive person can have such an impact on other people also began to win me over as the story went on, and as we began to understand the individual circumstances of why everybody is so cynical. The office workers genuinely start to feel brighter, and I believe in the camaraderie that a lot of characters share. It does get a little sappy at times, but it does feel more realistic, which helps when we start introducing even darker elements to the overarching mystery. It's almost like the story is in a constant battle between positive influence and negative influence. Just because it doesn't start super cleanly doesn't mean that it eventually hits a very strong balancing act by the second volume, and then by the third volume, I was left genuinely intrigued at where things were going to go from there.

Overall, this went from being a story I was cautious about to a story that needs to be told more. Not only is it a story that features a plus-size character in a relatively nuanced light, but it also plays around with different elements to ultimately tell a story about how positive people can positively influence your life. It doesn't start the most gracefully, and I would argue that it only really starts picking up steam by the end of the first volume or early into the second one. The comedy is also hit or miss, and I would've liked a little bit more variety in the gag department. If you're looking for something a little bit more unique, this is worth a read.