Solanin by Asano Inio
A Seinen Manga Review
Solanin, a 2006 seinen manga by the underground comics prodigy Asano Inio, is a rare piece of powerful cynical realism, the type of manga that is just now beginning to make waves in overseas markets. Asano himself is the author of a variety of both surrealist and staunchly realistic works, many of which are critically acclaimed within Japan. Solanin was his first real breakaway work, and it's easy to see why – even a few years later it remains one of the most accurate glimpses of the lives of Japanese youth following the burst of the economic bubble in the mid-nineties.
A Story of Freedom and Growth
"There's a demon lurking in Tokyo"
Solanin is the story of a short time in the lives of a number of recent college grads struggling to make it in the world. Most of them are discontented with their lifestyles, and the urge to break free from the monotony becomes too much for them to contain. As the protagonist, a young woman named Meiko Inoue, loses to the temptation of the demon she calls freedom, a series of events permanently changes her life, and she must discover a reason or strength within her that will allow her to move forward. Often endearing, and occasionally powerful, Solanin ultimately a story of growth, but remains nothing more than a passing freeze frame in the lives of the characters, after all, life is never neatly wrapped up in a single cycle.
Artistic Prowess
Perhaps even more impressive than Asano's mastery of storytelling is his artistic work. Solanin is gorgeous, and filled to the brim with an incredible amount of realism and a nearly unrivaled sense for grayscale exposition. Asano himself is quite talented as an artist, and never seems to stray into the more predictable mainstream deformations typically seen in manga- everything, other than the few surrealistic elements, has a firm basis in reality.
Cross-Cultural Relevance
Solanin is a title that exists far out of the norms of the typical storytelling and readership seen in the manga world, but despite that it has a rare beauty and subtlety to it that many would do well to experience. Manga, or even a story in general that captures the generation after the burst of Japan's economic bubble quite so perfectly is rare, but despite that it maintains a relevancy to those in other cultures as well. There is a reason, after all, that coming of age stories are ultimately a successful cliche- they are almost universally relatable. Growing up is just something that happens, and Solanin, deft though it may be, is truly that kind of story at heart.
Solanin by Asano Inio, published by Viz Media LLC (ISBN: 1-4215-2321-)
Cover of Solanin
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