Solanin by Inio Asano

[Echo]

Date of Publication: 2006, Viz Media

 

Number of Pages: 224

 

Synopsis (from back cover): Meiko Inoue is a recent college grad working as an office lady in a job she hates. Her boyfriend Naruo is permanently crashing at her apartment because his job as a freelance illustrator doesn't pay enough for rent. And her parents in the country keep sending her boxes of veggies that just rot in her fridge. Straddling the line between her years as a student and the rest of her life, Meiko struggles with the feeling that she's just not cut out to be a part of the real world.

 

Review: In a way, this is the manga version of Reality Bites. A group of misfit college graduates are struggling to find their place in the world of adults. They wish for independence and success, while at the same time wishing for the familiar security of childhood. This is a story that transcends culture and geography. One could find the same group of kids in any city, town, or hamlet in any part of the world. I definitely found myself identifying with each of the characters, as they found themselves questioning their direction in life. I, too, have felt that same detachment from the "real world", as if I just don't belong with the rest of society. But I'm convinced that even a reader who doesn't feel that kind of societal alienation will enjoy this story.

 

Inio Asano does a beautiful job of developing her characters, combining her graceful artwork with her soulful words. Besides Meiko, the disillusioned office worker longing for something she can't yet define, we have her boyfriend, an underemployed freelance artist/wannabe rock star, and his band mates: the drummer who obediently works in his family's store, and the bassist is lingering on in his seventh year of college, refusing to grow up. They are all searching for happiness in a world that doesn't seem made for them. And when life becomes tragically real for them, they realize that it is their friendships that make their lives meaningful.

 

Rating: 10/10

[Brida]

I don't usually read graphic novels, though this sounds like fun.

But why I decided to post anyway is because your review is amazing!

Just wanted to say I liked it very much

[alison10]

A great review, I have never read a graphic novel but your review makes me want to try one.

[Echo]

Thanks! I absolutely loved this manga, and I HIGHLY recommend it!!!