As with the only one other Asano work I've read thus far ("A Girl by the Sea"), I'm left with one prevailing word amongst all others in this effort to say what I feel: "damn." Not "damn," as in a disappointed exclamation. Just an expression of my dumbfoundedness by breaking the dumbness.

Asano's "Solanin" leaves me with a bittersweet, yet bright look towards the future. I'm not a college-graduated 20-something, but I am a 19-year-old a year out of high school and struggling to find a way to move forward without sacrificing all of my happiness and emotional stability. Along with sharing this sentiment with our main girl, Meiko, I also share traits with our other main friends. With all of them, firs and foremost, is a love of music. I've been a musician since seventh grade, and I've been playing bass since I was 13, drums since 14, and guitar and singing (singing in the context of show choir and musicals at first) since 15. I understand more than most people how a love for music affects these young people in the primes of their lives, but are unable to move the way they'd like. I know the immense struggle of wanting to play my music for the world but not being able to.

Now, onto how I connected with characters on a person-by-person basis, I want to start with Rip, since he plays drums, which were - and are still - my first musical love. Rip works in his family's pharmacy just being a retail worker. He doesn't get anywhere else from there, and I know that feeling all too well, having worked in retail to the point of nearly breaking down emotionally. Next up, Kato(u?), who is the guy who is just stuck in school. This resonates with me on a level of "I don't want to move on. I'm most comfortable here, and change disrupts the balance." Much like Kato(u?), I have come to accept that change is a necessity, no matter how obnoxious it may be. Taneda is my wish to pursue what I love, but accept that it may not be feasible. He represents how I need to get over it and go, taking the happiness I can get along the way. "Are you really happy?" Finally, we get to our main girl, Meiko. Meiko represents another side of the same feeling that Taneda does. They serve as an excellent dynamic. Meiko wants to do something that she'll enjoy, but there's really nothing that does it for her. However, instead of taking it all in stride and finding her happiness as she may, she hesitates, holds back, and generally shies away from stepping too far out of her comfort zone until the final act of the manga.

Asano wrote an afterword, and it mentioned how just the people around you are the real heroes. No one needs to have a Stand or be capable of blowing holes through walls with a single punch to be a hero. Regular old Joe Everyman is a hero, just like you, dear reader, are.

Solanin is a beautiful opus detailing what I might refer to as "the aftermath of teenage angst," and how young people who aren't quite old yet deal with such an obnoxious set of feelings. I highly recommend this read to anyone who is alive or undead. These feels cannot go ignored.