{{Short description|Japanese manga series}} {{Distinguish|Solanine}} {{About|the manga|the Asian Kung-Fu Generation song written for the film adaptation|Solanin (song)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox animanga/Header | image = Solanin vol.1.png | caption = First {{Transliteration|ja|tankōbon}} volume cover | ja_kanji = ソラニン | ja_romaji = Soranin | genre = {{ubl|Coming-of-age<ref>{{cite web|last=Clayton|first=Chad|title=Solanin|url=https://www.popmatters.com/70755-solanin-2496056270.html|website=PopMatters|access-date=January 7, 2020|date=March 2, 2009|quote=A serviceable, if rather unoriginal, coming-of-age story.|archive-date=May 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529193313/https://www.popmatters.com/70755-solanin-2496056270.html|url-status=live}}</ref>|Romance<ref name="Film"/>|Slice of life<ref>{{cite web|last=Garrity|first=Shaenon K.|title=Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Inio Asano|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/house-of-1000-manga/2012-12-13|website=Anime News Network|access-date=July 29, 2018|date=December 14, 2012|quote=Compared to the labyrinthine tour de force that is Nijigahara Holograph, the slice-of-life drama Solenin is far simpler and quieter|archive-date=November 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124212818/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/house-of-1000-manga/2012-12-13|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="About.com"/>}}<!-- Note: Use and cite reliable sources to identify genre/s, not personal interpretation. Please don't include more than three genres (per MOS:A&M).--> }} {{Infobox animanga/Print | type = manga | author = Inio Asano | publisher = Shogakukan | publisher_en = {{English anime licensee|NA=Viz Media}} | magazine = Weekly Young Sunday | first = 2005 | last = 2006 | volumes = 2 | volume_list = }} {{Infobox animanga/Video | type = live film | director = Takahiro Miki | producer = | writer = Takahashi Izumi | music = Asian Kung-Fu Generation and ent (Atsushi Horie) | studio = | released = {{Start date|2010|04|03}} | runtime = 126 minutes }} {{Infobox animanga/Footer|portal=yes}} {{Nihongo|'''''Solanin'''''|ソラニン|Soranin|lead=yes}} is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Inio Asano. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Young Sunday'' from 2005 to 2006. In North America, the manga was licensed for English language release by Viz Media.
The manga was adapted into a live-action film directed by Takahiro Miki and starring Aoi Miyazaki as Meiko. It was released in Japan in April 2010. In the same year the band Asian Kung-Fu Generation released the single "Solanin", with lyrics written by Inio Asano, author of the manga. The song was featured in the movie version. The band also provided the ending theme to the movie.
In October 2017, eleven years after the manga's original publication, a new epilogue chapter was published by Shogakukan as part of a new Japanese edition.
==Plot== Meiko and Taneda graduated from university two years ago. Having no real goals or direction, they step into society, clueless. Meiko works as an Office Lady to pay the rent for her apartment, while Taneda works as an illustrator in a press company, earning just enough to take some of Meiko's burden. While Taneda often meets up with his bandmates from their University days to jam, he still feels something is missing. His bandmates know what it is: they need to step out, promote themselves and let their songs be heard by a larger crowd; which has been their dream since their first meeting in their university's "Pop Music Club".
Unhappy with the rhythm of their "normal" graduate lives, things change when two important decisions are made: Meiko decides to quit her job, and Taneda decides to devote time to write his first proper song for the band. Having broken free of their old routines, they now find themselves uncertain of where their new life will take them. Slowly, Meiko and Taneda come to embrace their unpredictable future together but an unexpected tragedy occurs, changing their lives and the lives of their friends forever.
==Media== ===Manga=== ''Solanin'' is written and illustrated by Inio Asano. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Young Sunday'' from 2005 to 2006.<ref name="Film">{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-04-08/solanin-manga-made-into-film-with-nana-aoi-miyazaki|title=''Solanin'' Manga Made into Film with Nana's Aoi Miyazaki (Updated)|date=2009-04-08|website=Anime News Network|access-date=2009-04-14|archive-date=2009-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412085930/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-04-08/solanin-manga-made-into-film-with-nana-aoi-miyazaki|url-status=live}}</ref> Shogakukan published the manga's two {{Transliteration|ja|tankōbon}} on December 5, 2005, and May 2, 2006, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:ソラニン|url=http://www.s-book.com/plsql/com2_series?tid=409153321|website=s-book.com|publisher=Shogakukan|access-date=May 22, 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813121607/http://www.s-book.com/plsql/com2_series?tid=409153321|archive-date=August 13, 2007|language=ja}}</ref> A combined edition featuring colored illustrations and a new epilogue chapter was later released by Shogakukan on October 30, 2017.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-09-29/solanin-manga-gets-epilogue-chapter-11-years-later/.122031|title=Solanin Manga Gets Epilogue Chapter 11 Years Later|website=Anime News Network|access-date=2017-11-01|language=en|archive-date=2017-11-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102041410/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-09-29/solanin-manga-gets-epilogue-chapter-11-years-later/.122031|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/books/09189736|script-title=ja:ソラニン 新装版|website=Shogakukan|access-date=2017-11-01}}</ref> The manga is licensed in North America by Viz Media,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-02-18/viz-to-offer-asano-solanin-obata-we-were-there|title=Viz to Offer Asano's ''Solanin'', Obata's ''We Were There'' (Updated)|date=2008-02-18|website=Anime News Network|access-date=2009-04-14}}</ref> which released the manga as a single volume on October 21, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.viz.com/manga/print/solanin/7695|title=Solanin|publisher=Viz Media|access-date=2016-04-02|archive-date=2016-04-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402102814/http://www.viz.com/manga/print/solanin/7695|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Live-action film=== The manga was made into a live-action film directed by Takahiro Miki and starring Aoi Miyazaki as the female protagonist. It was released in Japan on April 3, 2010.<ref name="Film"/><ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:アジカン、YUKI、曽我部らが彩る「ソラニン」の世界|url=https://natalie.mu/music/news/29588|website=Comic Natalie|publisher=Natasha, Inc.|access-date=May 10, 2020|language=ja|date=March 26, 2010|archive-date=October 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024094417/https://natalie.mu/music/news/29588|url-status=live}}</ref> In the same year the band Asian Kung-Fu Generation released the single "Solanin", with lyrics written by Inio Asano, author of the manga. The song was featured in the movie version. The band also provided the ending theme to the movie.
==Reception== ''Solanin'' was nominated for the 2009 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-04-07/manga-nominated-for-2009-eisner-awards|title=Manga Nominated for 2009 Eisner Awards|date=2009-04-07|website=Anime News Network|access-date=2009-04-14|archive-date=2020-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511090132/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-04-07/manga-nominated-for-2009-eisner-awards|url-status=live}}</ref> It was nominated for the 2009 Harvey Award for Best American Edition of Foreign Material.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-06-30/red-colored-elegy-solanin-witchblade-get-harvey-nods|title=''Red Colored Elegy'', ''Solanin'', ''Witchblade'' Get Harvey Nods|date=2009-06-30|website=Anime News Network|access-date=2009-08-20|archive-date=2009-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904125120/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-06-30/red-colored-elegy-solanin-witchblade-get-harvey-nods|url-status=live}}</ref> About.com's Deb Aoki lists ''Solanin'' as the best new one-shot manga of 2008 along with ''Disappearance Diary''.<ref name="About.com">{{cite web|url=http://manga.about.com/od/recommendedreading/tp/2008BestNewManga.htm|title=2008 Best New Manga|last=Aoki|first=Deb|publisher=About.com|access-date=2009-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122003745/http://manga.about.com/od/recommendedreading/tp/2008BestNewManga.htm|archive-date=January 22, 2009}}</ref>
''Pop Culture Shock''{{'}}s Katherine Dacey criticises the manga's backgrounds, saying they look "like dioramas or collages".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.popcultureshock.com/manga/index.php/reviews/manga-reviews/solanin/|title=Solanin|last=Dacey|first=Katherine|date=November 19, 2008|publisher=Pop Culture Shock|access-date=2009-04-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624060553/http://www.popcultureshock.com/manga/index.php/reviews/manga-reviews/solanin/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=2011-06-24}}</ref> Deb Aoki from ''About.com'' commends the manga for capturing "the angst and uncertainty of a young adult's life with humor and heart."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://manga.about.com/od/vizmedia/gr/Solanin.htm|title=Solanin|last=Aoki|first=Deb|publisher=About.com|access-date=2009-04-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225130544/http://manga.about.com/od/vizmedia/gr/Solanin.htm|archive-date=February 25, 2009}}</ref> ''Mania.com''{{'}}s Greg Hackmann commends the author for his attention to detail, "especially when it comes to the manga's many cramped urban settings".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mania.com/solanin_article_110575.html|title=Solanin|last=Hackmann|first=Greg|date=December 15, 2008|publisher=Mania.com|access-date=2009-04-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210045534/http://www.mania.com/solanin_article_110575.html|archive-date=10 February 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County's Lawerence T. comments on the manga "accepting what life has to offer".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plcmc.org/readers_club/reviews/tresults.asp?id=5362|title=Solanin|last=T|first=Lawerence|publisher=Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County|access-date=2009-04-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723022228/http://www.cmlibrary.org/readers_club/reviews/tresults.asp?id=5362|archive-date=23 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513163626/http://www.youngsunday.com/rensai/comics/soranin.html|date=May 13, 2008|title=''Solanin'' official manga website at ''Weekly Young Sunday''}} {{in lang|ja}} * {{Anime News Network|manga|8403}}
{{Inio Asano}} {{Weekly Young Sunday}} {{Takahiro Miki}}
Category:Coming-of-age anime and manga Category:Inio Asano Category:Japanese romance films Category:Manga adapted into films Category:Music in anime and manga Category:Romance anime and manga Category:Seinen manga Category:Shogakukan manga Category:Slice of life anime and manga Category:Viz Media manga