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Manga author Inio Asano feels for you and your pathetic circumstances. He understands the wide range of emotions that have been experienced by those who lived their life only to find that they were far more inconsequential than they'd thought. He understands, and he's here to tell you a story. He'll tell you one that may make you feel better, one that'll make you feel worse, one that'll make you cry, maybe even one that'll help you come to understand yourself and others a little better. One thing is certain though, he's going to tell you that story with style. Since his break into the manga world, Asano has explored the theme of finding meaning in a seemingly meaningless life. Luckily despite the angst inherent in this subject he does so with of wealth of humor, wit, and artistic talent. I'd highly recommend any of his works available in English, which you can learn more about by clicking above (or scrolling down). Also feel free to help yourself to: Before Dawn and the End of the World, a compilation of his one-shots. Grenadier fucked around with this message at 06:08 on Dec 21, 2013 |
# ¿ Mar 28, 2011 06:46 |
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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 20:12 |
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Asano's first work, published when he was only 22 years old, is the rather enjoyable What A Wonderful World!, a compilation of tenuously connected little vignettes about the lives of all sorts of people in ordinary and extraordinary situations which extols the the value of life in this world, even in the face of some of the most unappealing situations. It covers everything from estranged siblings to confused lovers to lonely young children, bullied by their peers and ready to test the limits of their willingness to deal with such a baffling and cruel existence... The story follows the lives of all sorts of folks, and Asano's insight into human character at his age was impressive, though painted here in somewhat broad strokes. This is also his least coherent narrative, in terms of an overarching story, but it is still an excellent read and a relatively cheap buy. Grenadier fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Mar 29, 2011 |
# ¿ Mar 28, 2011 06:46 |
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Probably his most popular work, earning itself a live action interpretation, would be Solanin, the story of a group of twentysomethings who are realizing they didn't come anywhere close to having the lives they thought they would, striving to find some small enduring happiness. It is to an extent the definitive thesis of his work to that point. Solanin's like, 'hey its okay... don't worry about it, just go rock out with your band between your boring job and arguing with your significant other.' In other words its your life... only you don't have a band or a girl, but that doesn't mean it isn't remarkably entertaining, so buy it.
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# ¿ Mar 28, 2011 06:47 |
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Have you read What a Wonderful World! yet? Well somewhere between that and Nijigahara Holograph Asano apparently decided that the scattershot examination of loosely threaded characters would make for a fantastic setup for a psychological horror, and he was right. A group of classmates in a small town are connected by single dark event which took place at an embankment nicknamed Rainbow Field. As the story guides us back and forth from character to character, between past and present, it becomes clear that this event is only part of an even more disturbing occurrence. It's tough to talk about this one without giving a lot away, but it's a really good read, and a pretty chilling take on the subject. Just know you are in for what is probably the author's most relentlessly bleak work to date, though the next story certainly is giving it a run for it's money...
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# ¿ Mar 28, 2011 06:47 |
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Finally, there's Asano's current hit and magnum opus: Goodnight Punpun. Punpun takes the themes he'd been building up and bolsters the style, storytelling, and drama with a deftness that frankly blows his previous works out of orbit. Allow me to attempt to sell you on a read with one image alone: Punpun is the story of a young man's adolescence. Strangely enough this young man and his family appear as two dimensional bird-things in the midst of an otherwise completely normal (and astoundingly well-rendered) world. Though it appears to just be a quirky gimmick on first blush, it serves a very important and subtle purpose: allowing the reader to more easily identify with this admittedly dramatic character. A hell of a lot happens to Punpun, but by being reminded only very occasionally that he is actually a completely normal young man who does not appear at all as he is rendered to those around him, we can more easily find the common links between him and ourselves, filling in the blanks where necessary. The story begins with our young hero, who is struggling to work out the two most common mysteries in life... Faith: and Love: These and many other issues put Punpun through trial after trial, so far all the way into his teens: How he will fare in the end, only time and a lot of F5's during the occasional volume drops will tell. For now, onward fellow readers! Into the strange and wonderful world of Inio Asano!
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# ¿ Mar 28, 2011 06:47 |
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Epoxy Bulletin posted:Also worth mentioning is that Grenadier has generously purchased the last few volumes for Hox(mediafire account, blog down as of this posting) to scan and translate! I actually had a costly hard drive failure right near completing the scans for this volume, so hardly any of them will be mine this time around. This is actually kind of a good thing for everyone concerned because hox found someone with more free time and focus who was willing to do it in my place, which means faster Punpun for all. quote:I've read everything except Solanin
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# ¿ Mar 28, 2011 14:52 |
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Cipher Pol 9 posted:Son of a. drat my cheapness! Thanks for letting me know, hope I can still find it. You're in luck on both counts. Still available and quite cheap!
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# ¿ Mar 29, 2011 05:36 |
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http://www.mangafox.com/manga/oyasumi_punpun/v07/c072/1.html We are approaching critical mass. linall posted:e: Actually was the Solanin live action any good? I have had that drat thing sitting on my hard drive for ages now and just have not mustered the care to watch it. My guess is that it's a perfectly mediocre adaptation, very much like any J-Drama manga -> movie adaptation. Grenadier fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Mar 29, 2011 |
# ¿ Mar 29, 2011 23:38 |
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Punpun Chapter 77: the OnoderamidShazaminator posted:Can someone explain Nijigahara Holograph for me? I read it and it was kind of amazing but it feels like I'm missing one or two important pieces of information to make it all sort of coalesce into a coherent narrative. Holy poo poo posted:I'm not sure if any of this is right, but this is what I got from it. Grenadier posted:
Grenadier posted:
Holy poo poo posted:think I agree with your interpretation. The whole time loop thing is the world ending over and over, while Arie watches it over and over via butterflies while in a coma. Arie tells everyone her story, but what she says is something that no one wants to hear, and so she becomes a scapegoat and "sacrificed" each cycle. Each of the characters in one way or another turns away from doing something that will change things; the teacher with the hurt eye turns a blind eye to bullying, Arakawa gives in to her jealousy, Suzuki goes along with whatever happens and never uses the tin box, the manager guy attacks Arie. I'm not sure about Komatsuzaki, though. I thought the butterflies may have been telling him to kill people, but at the end he was sleeping with Arakawa and defended her, instead of waiting around for Arie.
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# ¿ Apr 3, 2011 21:44 |
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Pigasus posted:I don't quite understand why PunPun became a pyramid, but I feel like it may be for this panel. he has, in his darkest of moments, become a perfectly self-consolidated existence. the geometry of his personality and beliefs now seemingly impenetrable for better or worse (it's worse).
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# ¿ Apr 4, 2011 05:27 |
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Amazingly Capable posted:I think he's going to die at a very old age emotionally dissatisfied with his life but more or less having lived it without any major conflict. He'll have lived his life completely by the book, working in a dead-end job that doesn't has never had any prospects of future advancement. Everyday of his life would've been wake up, eat, work, eat, work, go home, eat, sleep.
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# ¿ Apr 9, 2011 16:49 |
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But he could not remember who that person was. Punpun you've only just begun to work this poo poo out.
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# ¿ Apr 10, 2011 19:18 |
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fffffffffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccckk. The current volume is finished. The scene with the drawing is like straight the gently caress out of No Longer Human. Way to ruin the good vibrations.
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# ¿ Apr 13, 2011 22:35 |
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n1tro posted:In non-Punpun related news Kotonoha has started to transate one of Asanos newer works, A Girl by the Sea. Welp yeah it's an Asano story with graphic sex. So far it's very much any story about a supposedly casual relationship that looks to slowly turn into something more complicated and probably won't end well. First three chapters felt more like one long one. Art is nice and seems to nestle somewhere between Punpun and Nijigahara Holograph. feh.
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# ¿ Jun 6, 2011 15:06 |
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I don't wanna remake this thread when it falls off so I'm bumping to report that volume 9 is scheduled for release the 28th of next month. These waits, they kill.
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# ¿ Sep 13, 2011 10:04 |
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Yeah it'll do that.
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# ¿ Sep 24, 2011 17:29 |
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WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT there ya go lazy people a big link to click on. Looks like she never was quite able to extract herself from her family/the cult. e: 91 and 92 are up on his site, probably will be up on mangafox before long. e2: holy gently caress 92 is nothing but a GOOD VIBRATIONS campaign ad Grenadier fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Nov 26, 2011 |
# ¿ Nov 26, 2011 04:25 |
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Yeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss e: jesus loving god. this is despair without light or hope. Grenadier fucked around with this message at 20:55 on May 19, 2012 |
# ¿ May 19, 2012 16:18 |
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I seem to remember something similar happening several volumes back. I think he has blackouts occasionally, probably some condition. Then again it could be just completely surreal with no actual explanation. Even by the standards of this comic his scenes are always far and away more detached from reality than the rest.
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# ¿ May 19, 2012 20:57 |
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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 20:12 |
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Pringleton posted:And at the same time, Punpun's future apartment. Which apparently housed a member of the cult Aiko was part of as a child. Went back and reread the thread and this was dead on. I remember thinking how great it would be if they got back together and figured poo poo out Grenadier posted:I'm still holding out for a happy ending, even if it's hidden behind mounds of tragedy
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# ¿ May 20, 2012 22:59 |