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Solanin by Asano Inio tells the story of a group of young people in their early twenties and their everyday life. Most of them have already graduated from college and are trying to handle the responsibilities of adulthood, but at the same time they still don't know what they should expect from life.
The main characters, Meiko and Taneda, make a great, but also really realistic couple. They have been together for around six years, so they know each other pretty well. Even after Meiko quit her office job because she didn't want to fall into a routine, Taneda supports ... her uncoditionally. But naturally, they had their differences and after some time, things seemed to be falling apart.
Their friends were all great, from Billy to Katou and Ai. The focus of the story shifts to all of the characters, but even if most of the story is centered on Meiko, it was really interesting to see how all of them went through life.
Since this is a seinen and drama, the mood is pretty serious and heavy around the middle of the story, but it also has some enjoyable comedy moments that lighten the atmosphere. I didn't think I would like the art as much as I did, because I haven't read anything similar to this before, but, in my opinion, it's really beautiful and suits the topic.
At the end, I have to say, that this manga probably couldn't have come my way at a better time. I just started college this year, but just like these characters, I felt lost and wasn't sure what I should do with my life. As the mangaka himself said, there is nothing special about these characters, but I think they show, in a realistic way, that you don't always have to strive for an extraordinary life or settle for an everyday routine to be happy. Sometimes we need to make decisions that are out of our comfort zones, because we never know where life might take us.
I'll definitely read more of Asano's work and especially can't wait to read Oyasumi, Punpun.