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"Mature Content Warning!" |
Mitsuko Tanaka is Aiko's step-mother in the manga series, Oyasumi Punpun. Due to her terrible parenting of abuse and neglecting Aiko, she is the greater-scope villain as her death and actions caused Aiko's suicide, and Punpun to suffer horribly.
Biography[]
Mitsuko is Aiko's step mother. In elementary, Aiko is mortified by her cult practises and plans their space cosmos water selling route to avoid the homes of her classmates, since her old classmates labelled her and her family as freaks.
In later volumes, Mitsuko is shown to physically and verbally abuse Aiko, although bruises are visible on Aiko's shoulders in Chapter 10.
Aiko lives alone with her step-mother after her father leaves them. Although separated, Mitsuko refuses to divorce and keeps the name Tanaka. After high school, Mitsuko injures her hip and supposedly becomes immobile, forcing Aiko work multiple harsh jobs to take on the responsibility as the sole bread-winner in the household. Mitsuko spends this money frivolously, on space cosmos water, vibrators and Mr. Cosmos figurines.
Aiko is obviously terrified of Mitsuko, shrinking into herself when they speak and only arguing back under her breath. She admits she doesn't mind being hit so long as it calms Mitsuko down for awhile. She is very obedient and even comes forth when told, for Mitsuko to hit her, despite Mitsuko being immobile and unable to walk towards Aiko herself.
Mitsuko keeps her under her thumb by keeping a strict curfew and having Aiko report who she comes into contact with every day. She often repeats that Aiko is too incompetent and stupid to live on her own, without Mitsuko's guidance, making Aiko feel truly unable to leave.
When Aiko and Punpun declare that they are going to live together, Mitsuko stabs her with a kitchen knife and is only stopped by Punpun bashing her head with a figurine. Soon after, he finds a crazed Aiko stabbing the dead body repeatedly.
Later, Aiko claims that Mitsuko had woken up, so she stabbed her until she died, making Aiko, not Punpun, the murderer.
Her Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Her Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- Physically and verbally abused Aiko, at a very young age.
- She forced Aiko to work on multiple harsh jobs, due to her hip injury.
- She spends Aiko's hard-earned money so frivolously.
- Aiko is terrified of her, and she allows herself to be hit as long as it calms Mitsuko down.
- Mitsuko has Aiko under a strict curfew, not giving her any freedom.
- She said that Aiko is too stupid and incompetent to live on her own, without her own guidance, making Aiko unable to leave.
- When Aiko and Punpun declare that they're gonna live together, she attempts to stab and kill Aiko.
- The other characters in this story are deeply flawed, but have redeemable qualities and/or moments. Mitsuko does not have that at all, as her actions and death marks a tonal shift in the story.
- Due to her death, she pushed Aiko to commit suicide, forever scarring Punpun as she saw her hanging body.
- Attacked Punpun and Aiko.
- Implied, to have faked her own injury to mooch off her own daughter's money. As she was able walk again while attacking Punpun and Aiko.
What Prevents Her from Being Pure Evil?[]
- She does not have that much screen-time so most of her actions are shown off-screen.
- Her actions have deeply affected Aiko and Punpun, but none of the other characters.