Personally, I think that the story, excluding the proselytizing, is trite. Did we really not know that consumerism, living in a world with an official social credit system, or overly relying on social media for your personal self-esteem was bad before Minna rather heavy-handedly said it in the comic? I think all of us who are over 15 did, and I for one don't feel I have anything to feel grateful or enlightened about when it comes to that.
(And if I were to get into more detail here: no mention of the vast positive uses of social media, which has helped people maintain some sense of connection to others especially now that we're all distancing, which has even before helped neurodivergents and people with certain disabilities make and keep friends easier than we can irl, and has ironically even helped with resisting oppressive governments... no, it's all painted with a single brush, all bad, all shallow, all connected to consumerism and everything that is bad in the world.
No explanation for why consumerism is bad for that matter, until we get to the end of the comic - in the real world, this is because it poses a big threat to the environment and forces people to work in poor conditions to mass produce items, but Minna has no concerns about that ofc.
And if someone really wants to make an interesting commentary on the social credit system, they could, for instance, explore the differences between the government taking away your UBI because of "bad behaviour" and the government never giving anyone an UBI in the first place and allowing people to die avoidable deaths just because they weren't born in lucky enough circumstances to make it in life... and see the two may not be as different, in some cases... but again, this comic is not concerned with real world issues at all. This is the real reason it's a bad comic imo, not the religious themes, but the failure to provide accurate and relevant commentary on reality, instead staying at a level where the story only nods towards hot topic issues like "consumerism am I right", and cruises on the readers' existing preconceived notions without saying anything really original or thought out about them, and painting some of the most misguided stereotypes as truth, such as the one about social media being only or mainly about faking)
The proselytizing is downright offensive though, especially for those of us who have or still are suffering because of people who insist on following their own brand of religion too closely. *They* are the ones currently trying to make laws to limit others' rights in Europe, where Minna lives, and not the other way around. To write a story where hardcore Christians are the oppressed ones is in my opinion cruel and grotesque, given the current real world context.
I find the insistence of some that we must find something positive in the comic offensive as well. Nah, personally I hated it and I think there's nothing wrong with saying this. This doesn't mean I will attack Minna or her remaining/new fans. I'm sharing my 2c, especially for those who might feel their pain is not seen, then move on with my life. The fact that Minna consistently extends zero compassion to those who might be harmed by what she does (even when she anticipates them being hurt), has cemented the decision that I'm not interested in what she has to say art-wise anymore. Someone who despises most people as well as herself (as I understand from the afterword), and instead of taking steps towards understanding other people and bettering herself, just climbs on an easy, accessible high horse, is not someone I want contributing to my world view. I'd fallen out with ssss anyway, partway because of unaddressed issues with it and partway due to the glacial pacing. I got into ssss at a point when pretty art, an interesting premise and some queerbaiting were enough to hold my interest, but they are not anymore and the comic is not delivering anything I'm interested in except maybe in the most minute quantities (seeing beasts being hunted, tortured and die gruesome deaths over dozens of pages just isn't my thing and has been actively putting me off even when I was more interested in the comic, and it's been a long time since we've had anything else).
Phew, sorry for the detour to ssss. My life is richer for the people I met here and all the discussions (including controversial ones!) that I've got to be part of or only read, and which helped cement how I feel about some things and who I am, and for that part I am grateful. I wish you all the best and I may still pop around to see what people are up to (maybe even enjoying your fan creations, which have always been a huge part of the fandom for me, in the latter part taking precedence over the comic itself), but as far as my interest for Minna's art is concerned, Lovely People was just the final definitive nail in its coffin.
