9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best graphic novel I've read in a few years., October 20, 2008
This review is from: Solanin (Perfect Paperback)
I picked up this graphic novel on a whim at the local bookstore recently, as I was looking for something involving, but not multi-issue. Even by the end of the first ten pages, I absolutely could not put this book down. The artwork is unique, along with having very nice detail in almost every frame. There are even a few multi-page sections that are full color, which is cool. The story itself is something that many people my age can relate to. The main character is a girl who feels that she just isn't cut out for the adult world. The novel follows a part of this girl's life, along with having a few chapters from the perspective of her friends or boyfriend. I found the story completely captivating, and read the entire graphic novel in the span of a couple hours. I would (and have!) suggest this book to many of my friends, and nearly anyone who doesn't want to let go of the freedom of childhood just yet.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solanin, November 3, 2008
This review is from: Solanin (Perfect Paperback)
The art work in this manga is very impressive. It's actually like reading an anime. If that makes any sense. What i mean is that, the mangaka doesn't waste any frames. There isn't an excess of close-ups, or flower petals floating around in the background. The page layout therefore, is very simply, structure-wise, but all the magic happens in the boxes, because the angles and points of view are very interesting. There's lots of movement. I know this is not a shojo manga, but one of shojo manga's biggest faults is an inability to show the characters doing anything but standing around and looking serious/pretty. In her limited frames she shows you so much more, because she is all the more careful with what she depicts. Honestly, that's what makes her style so amazing.
They are like storyboards of a film. So i say, Like reading an anime.
Basically the plot is a couple of friends who have graduated college, and have jobs that they don't like, and they don't want to keep working them but they don't know how to do otherwise.
I can really relate to Meiko at her job, so intially i really liked it. But then she quits and she's bored not doing anything,and i got bored as well. But then i picked the manga back up again and continued to read it and the pace/plot started to pick back up again.
There's a lot of powerful emotions expressed in here. But nothing amazing ever really happens. And while the turn of events may be really realistic, they don't always make the most exciting thing to read about.
For what this manga does, it does well. It just sort of meanders, which is kind of like life.
however, make no mistake, this is a very well made manga and well worth your time.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Too Many Vegetables, January 28, 2009
This review is from: Solanin (Perfect Paperback)
Although the manga, Japanese comics, boom has settled down in recent years, in comparison to its height in 2001 or 2002, the number of manga in large bookstores has surpassed the number of available American and European graphic novels and, in some stores, surpasses the number of fantasy and science fiction novels available. However, while there are indeed a number of manga aimed at older readers, many of these books contain excessive violence and nudity which attempt to hide otherwise vacuous stories. Yet, there are some books, like Inio Asano's Solanin, that squeak through into translation and show that manga contains simple but effective slice-of-life stories that are on level with Alex Robinson (Box Office Poison) and Craig Thompson (Blankets).
Solanin centers on the life of Meiko Inoue, a petite, cute, but not overly pretty 24-year-old who lives in Tokyo and works at a second rate company as an office lady (basically a job which consists of preparing tea and making copies). Having loss her youthful vigor and enjoyment of big city life, Meiko often complains to her boyfriend Taneda about her life. One day, a half-asleep Taneda suggests to Meiko that she quit her job and she does just that. Yet, instead of opening herself to a world of free time and opportunities to embroil herself in pursuits that she would not normally have time for, she lazes around as her savings dwindle.
Desiring change, but not willing to buckle down and change herself, Meiko encourages Taneda, and his college friends, the rotund, sloppy Kato and the hirsute Rip, to revamp their band for them to attempt to regain their youthful vigor and to capture their fading ideals. However, is this goal really obtainable, or is it nothing more than a pipedream?
While not drawn in an overly realistic style, Asano's work does not feature the large eyes and small mouths that some might find irritating. The characters are of a relatively simple design, but are easily distinguishable from each other, and their overall features look Japanese which is often a rarity in the world of manga. Like many other manga artists, Asano's true talent shines in his renditions of buildings, motorcycles, and guitars. An interesting aspect of the artwork is that Asano inserts a number of photographs within the art. These can be a bit off putting at first, but eventually they blend into the overall composition.
Although Meiko is the main character of the graphic novel, Asano gives each major character his or her fair share of pages. This aspect of the graphic novel is done quite well, so the reader can easily understand the intricate relationships shared between the characters and come to understand reactions which at first might seem a bit puzzling. The characters personalities are quite diverse with Meiko's indecisiveness, Kato's slovenly nature, Rip's bizarre stoicism, and Taneda's coolness. However, these characters are not limited to these qualities and they knit a tight web with each other.
Asano drew Solanin at a time in which he was the same age as the characters, 24, which was a time in which he too was struggling to find himself. Solanin reflects the vacuity that a number of the younger residents of Tokyo feel, as well as young people across the globe, and the powerlessness they feel when faced with such emptiness. Yet, Solanin is not without hope, and it shows that true happiness can be found in the mundane
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