Solanin, an ode to letting go of and old self, and the hello to the new self. Meiko was raised in the country, but she decided that wasn’t for her. So, she moved to the city to go to college. Now she’s out of college and working a job she comes to really hate. Her boyfriend, Naruo, is living with her, while he can barely support himself. Every week, Meiko and Naruo meet up with their college buddies. The boy’s practice as a band, while the girls hang. The guys are getting no where with their band, and Meiko realizes she is going nowhere with her life. After thinking really hard about it, she decides to quit her job and figure out what she wanted to do. It doesn't take long before Naruo decides to quit his job, and pursue music. The deal is, if one month goes by, then he’ll go back to work. They produce a record, and send it out to companies. They don’t have much success. Then a tragedy happens that changes all the character lives, and Meiko discovers what her purpose in life is. One day, a friend of the bass player of the band (Kato) offers them a position as a warm-up band for her concert. They go and preform, catching the eye of a representative of a record company, someone who had met with them before. The band slows down, saying it’s just a hobby, and that one time was a special occasion that needed to happen. Meiko moves to a new home, and a new position in life.

The art work is great, and just about every frame is in detail. There are some sections in color, which I really enjoyed. The story was easy to relate to, and the art work helped with that, too. The characters were developed, and easy to follow. There seems to be a character for every one you may know, even yourself. You don’t have to try hard to figure out what is going on, it’s all there. It flows nicely, the way life should be.

Real life portrayed with fictional people. Solanin shows what life is like as someone just out of college. It’s not all that eventful, but it’s still really engaging. You want to be with the characters, experience what they feel. Cry, laugh, scream, sing with them. The story feels real, it’s beautiful in that way. Though you’re only reading words, you can hear the music.

ComicsOnline gives Solanin, 5 out of 5 X-faced bunnies.