>>280039865
If you can't stand suffering on its own, steer clear. If you can stand suffering with a triumphant ending, then...I dunno, the manga is ongoing. Most of us are fairly confident Riko's gonna succeed in her primary goal, but without a conclusive ending I dunno if you'd like it or not.
That said, I can talk a little about the hardest part of the story in terms of suffering for me. In the 4th layer, our protags do suffer a HORRIBLE defeat and suffer tremendously. That part of the story, though, also contains elements that are almost naively optimistic in a childlike way. Riko's basically brought back to life with a kiss like something out of a fairy tale (really just artificial respiration to help her breathe again) and she's sewed back-together by what basically amounts to a stuffed bunny who talks.
To expand, there's another character who really does die horribly onscreen after a lifetime of abuse, but the last thing she does is acknowledge that in a way she *did* find the treasure she was looking for, that the real gold was another person who she loved, and that she was changed forever by meeting them. Also, that character's wish sort of lives on through a party member we pick up.
I'd say a lot of MiA is like that. People do undersell the undercurrent of "we can fucking DO this" that runs throughout it and through the dark parts. Shit, a tiny light bravely plunging through the darkness is kind of thematically correct anyway.
