Solanin (ソラニン) is a slice of life romance manga by Asano Inio. It was originally published in 2005 and compiled in 2 tankoubon.
Meiko and her boyfriend Taneda live together and struggle through their lives after college. Meiko works in a nondescript office setting, continuously being ground down by the mediocrity of adult responsibility. Taneda works part time as an illustrator but struggles to find inspiration or a drive for anything in life. Meiko decides that enough is enough and quits her job, feeling that she will be better off and will be able to figure out what she really wants to do. Instead of figuring out her own life she begins to focus on Taneda's and their life together.
Taneda is a bit of a wet noodle and shrugs through his existence. The only thing that seems to bring life to his eyes are when he and his friends from college ritually meet to play music. Struggling with finding her direction Meiko pushes Tandea to try and tackle music seriously in one final hurrah before truly succumbing to adulthood. Encouraged by her enthusiasm he throws everything he can into it. His band gets serious and record a demo to send out to record companies and music venues, seeking a dream that may come true instead of regretting not taking the risk.
I wasn't sure what to expect out of Solanin, only gravitating to it because of the author and its praise in Western circles. What I got out of it was unexpected and incredibly powerful. With each manga by Asano I read I continue to be impressed by his realism in both artwork and the way he depicts people. Solanin is a raw story about growing up and facing the reality that is modern life. Every teenager and college student faces the stark existence of adulthood and struggles with it alone. The understanding and acceptance of mediocrity, joining the ranks of their parents as another part of the machine, letting life slide by as you establish the routine of responsibility. The characters in the story are in the throws of accepting their existence as people in the background, living a live of repetition and comfort instead of pushing ahead with the wild dreams they had in their youth. This is the last chance at trying to break out of that mold but will they ever be able to do what countless others before them have failed to do?
As with his other stuff, the artwork is fantastic. The backgrounds and direction of the panels are the best part. The character designs at times, especially Meiko, are a bit weird, but still grounded in reality. Asano's work is a far cry from the norm that is expected from manga by most people. It is mature and realistic, detailed in ways that make you forget its just black ink on paper. That alone is reason to read this excellent manga. But what is really amazing is the writing and the story telling, the dialogue between the characters, and with themselves, is hyper realistic and relatable by almost anyone. This is a stark self examination for us that are or have gone through the pangs of early adulthood and a taste of things to come for those not old enough to experience that sense of oblivion.
Viz compiled the series into a large tankoubon and I highly recommend you pick it up. A live action adaptation was made in 2010 so I might have to track that down.
Meiko and her boyfriend Taneda live together and struggle through their lives after college. Meiko works in a nondescript office setting, continuously being ground down by the mediocrity of adult responsibility. Taneda works part time as an illustrator but struggles to find inspiration or a drive for anything in life. Meiko decides that enough is enough and quits her job, feeling that she will be better off and will be able to figure out what she really wants to do. Instead of figuring out her own life she begins to focus on Taneda's and their life together.
Taneda is a bit of a wet noodle and shrugs through his existence. The only thing that seems to bring life to his eyes are when he and his friends from college ritually meet to play music. Struggling with finding her direction Meiko pushes Tandea to try and tackle music seriously in one final hurrah before truly succumbing to adulthood. Encouraged by her enthusiasm he throws everything he can into it. His band gets serious and record a demo to send out to record companies and music venues, seeking a dream that may come true instead of regretting not taking the risk.
I wasn't sure what to expect out of Solanin, only gravitating to it because of the author and its praise in Western circles. What I got out of it was unexpected and incredibly powerful. With each manga by Asano I read I continue to be impressed by his realism in both artwork and the way he depicts people. Solanin is a raw story about growing up and facing the reality that is modern life. Every teenager and college student faces the stark existence of adulthood and struggles with it alone. The understanding and acceptance of mediocrity, joining the ranks of their parents as another part of the machine, letting life slide by as you establish the routine of responsibility. The characters in the story are in the throws of accepting their existence as people in the background, living a live of repetition and comfort instead of pushing ahead with the wild dreams they had in their youth. This is the last chance at trying to break out of that mold but will they ever be able to do what countless others before them have failed to do?
As with his other stuff, the artwork is fantastic. The backgrounds and direction of the panels are the best part. The character designs at times, especially Meiko, are a bit weird, but still grounded in reality. Asano's work is a far cry from the norm that is expected from manga by most people. It is mature and realistic, detailed in ways that make you forget its just black ink on paper. That alone is reason to read this excellent manga. But what is really amazing is the writing and the story telling, the dialogue between the characters, and with themselves, is hyper realistic and relatable by almost anyone. This is a stark self examination for us that are or have gone through the pangs of early adulthood and a taste of things to come for those not old enough to experience that sense of oblivion.
Viz compiled the series into a large tankoubon and I highly recommend you pick it up. A live action adaptation was made in 2010 so I might have to track that down.
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