I think there are quite a few mangas that portray the middle-aged salaryman having a mid-life crisis, but perhaps not one quite like this. Perhaps that is because, for all the talk about pursuing dreams, the main character is not a very admirable man that you would expect from these kinds of stories. Rather, he is a self-absorbed slacker and all-around loser, with a passion that fades as quickly as it burns. The other main characters are equally amounts pitiful, chasing happiness that almost seems unattainable. There is a very dark comedy to these aspects of the story, as well as a general melancholy thatfollows every character. In some ways, that makes the story feel more "real," but it also makes it feel like you're just reading a story about hopelessness. That's why when the story itself chooses to end on a more obvious hopeful note, I am not sure if that was the correct decision. Perhaps it would have been better to keep the implications subtle, but that I just a personal opinion on my part.