Solanin Review: Two Young Adults in Tokyo Who Do Not Know What They Are For
by Inio Asano
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Quick Take
- Two young adults in Tokyo who love each other and don't know what their lives are for — the feeling of early adulthood that nobody has named better in manga
- Inio Asano (Goodnight Punpun) in his most accessible mode — warm and sad simultaneously
- 2 Japanese volumes published as 1 English volume; complete
Who Is This Manga For?
- Readers who have been twenty-something and uncertain and stayed anyway
- Fans of music manga that takes music seriously without tournament structure
- Anyone who wants something complete, emotional, and honest about early adulthood
- Readers who want Asano without the full devastation of Goodnight Punpun
Content Warnings & Age Rating
Age Rating: T (Teen) Content Warnings: Purposelessness and depression as sustained themes, death of a significant character, the series is sad in ways that feel familiar
The sadness is realistic rather than horror-based.
Yu's Rating
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Story Depth | ★★★★★ |
| Art Style | ★★★★★ |
| Character Development | ★★★★★ |
| Accessibility for Non-Japanese Readers | ★★★★★ |
| Reread Value | ★★★★★ |
Story Overview
Meiko Inoue has a job she accepted because it was there. She does not hate it enough to leave. She is twenty-four. She and her boyfriend Taneda live together. Taneda works part-time and plays guitar in a band that has been "almost something" for years.
One day Meiko quits her job without a plan. This forces the question that both of them have been avoiding.
Taneda's band tries. What happens after the trying — what Asano does with the story after the point where most coming-of-age narratives end — is what makes Solanin one of manga's finest examinations of what early adulthood costs.
Characters
Meiko Inoue — Her arc — from having quit to finding what she can do with that — is one of manga's finest portrayals of how people grow after loss.
Taneda — The guitarist whose sincerity and uncertainty are both real; his relationship with music and with Meiko are treated with the same emotional honesty.
Rip and Billy — The bandmates whose own lives provide context for what Taneda and Meiko's choices mean.
Art Style
Asano's art is warm and precise — the Tokyo settings are rendered with photographic detail, the characters are expressive and ordinary in the best sense, and the music performance sequences carry genuine energy. The specific melancholy of the final sections is communicated through color and composition.
Cultural Context
Solanin reflects the experience of Japan's "freeter" generation — young people in the 1990s-2000s who worked part-time, delayed career commitment, and navigated an economy that no longer promised the stable employment paths of previous generations. The uncertainty is culturally specific and universally recognizable.
What I Love About It
The song. The band's song — "Solanin" — exists in the manga as lyrics that the reader never hears. But the manga's treatment of what writing and performing that song means to the people involved makes it the most affecting piece of fictional music I have encountered in any medium. The song is about loss and it is written by someone who doesn't know they will need it yet.
What English-Speaking Fans Say
Solanin has a devoted Western following that consistently cites it as the most emotionally precise manga about early adulthood ever published. The post-Taneda arc is described as surprising in its specific comfort — Asano refuses to end the story where a lesser work would have. The music-as-feeling approach resonates particularly with readers who played in bands that didn't go anywhere.
Memorable Scene ⚠️ Spoiler Warning
Meiko performing the song at the end — what that performance means, what it costs her, and what she gets back from it — is the series' completion. Asano earned it from the first chapter.
Similar Manga
- Goodnight Punpun — Same author; much more intense
- Beck — Music, ambition, youth
- Honey and Clover — Art school, early adult uncertainty
- Nana — Music, friendship, adulthood
Reading Order / Where to Start
Volume 1 (the English omnibus) — complete in one volume.
Official English Translation Status
VIZ Media published the complete series in a single omnibus volume. Available.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Complete in one volume — ideal reading investment
- One of manga's most precise portrayals of early adult uncertainty
- The music and the relationship are treated with equal seriousness
- The ending earns its emotional weight
Cons
- The death is significant and required
- Not a comfort read — honest rather than comforting
- Minimal action or plot — pure character and feeling
Format Comparison
| Format | Notes |
|---|---|
| Single Omnibus Volume | VIZ; standard |
| Digital | Available |
Where to Buy
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Written by
Yu
Manga Enthusiast from Japan
I grew up in Japan and manga literally saved me during a tough time in elementary school. My English isn't perfect, but my love for manga is real — and I want to share it with you.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.