Downfall by Inio Asano is a coming of age tale about a struggling manga artist trying to figure himself out in his mid-life crisis.

This story is depressing, sad, low and down yet it is powerful and moving. Our lead protagonist's life is in turmoil: his manga series is finished, his marriage is crap, he's seeing ladies of the night, and he just seems down in the dumps. His life continues to spiral, and we watch everything unfold before him.

As the story progresses, we learn more about the manga industry (or book industry in general - some people get a hit and then phase out), and our lead's past. We see why he became such a workaholic and is nothing but toxic. It's truly intriguing to read this little masterpiece on loneliness. Despite this man not being top tier, I felt sympathy for him. He truly leads a lonely, miserable life but he's not trying to pull himself out of the rut.

I think this story is truly intriguing, especially if you're looking for something a little more sad. It's not going to bring you out of the blues, but it will make you think and examine your own life. What happens when you go down a troublesome path but don't help yourself out of it? Honestly, if anything, this book made me think a lot and reflect on myself.

I can't really see any negatives for this book, if I'm being brutally honest. Yes it's sad and you need to be in a good headspace to read it, but it's not bad. It's a character study on flawed characters and I can respect that. I'd like to read more by Inio Asano and follow his characters again. This was truly marvelous.

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and VIZ Media for an opportunity to read this wonderful book! ( )

Downfall by Inio Asano is a coming of age tale about a struggling manga artist trying to figure himself out in his mid-life crisis.

This story is depressing, sad, low and down yet it is powerful and moving. Our lead protagonist's life is in turmoil: his manga series is finished, his marriage is crap, he's seeing ladies of the night, and he just seems down in the dumps. His life continues to spiral, and we watch everything unfold before him.

As the story progresses, we learn more about the manga industry (or book industry in general - some people get a hit and then phase out), and our lead's past. We see why he became such a workaholic and is nothing but toxic. It's truly intriguing to read this little masterpiece on loneliness. Despite this man not being top tier, I felt sympathy for him. He truly leads a lonely, miserable life but he's not trying to pull himself out of the rut.

I think this story is truly intriguing, especially if you're looking for something a little more sad. It's not going to bring you out of the blues, but it will make you think and examine your own life. What happens when you go down a troublesome path but don't help yourself out of it? Honestly, if anything, this book made me think a lot and reflect on myself.

I can't really see any negatives for this book, if I'm being brutally honest. Yes it's sad and you need to be in a good headspace to read it, but it's not bad. It's a character study on flawed characters and I can respect that. I'd like to read more by Inio Asano and follow his characters again. This was truly marvelous.

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and VIZ Media for an opportunity to read this wonderful book! ( )

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. *

Fukazawa is a successful manga author who has just completed his long-running and highly thought of series. As he casts around for an idea for his next series, he grows to detest the industry that he is part of, the vapid and cheap ideas that are needed to be successful. His cynicism destroys his creativity and his marriage, while friends and employees are jettisoned along the way. In the meantime, he meets a mysterious cat-eyed woman at a girlie bar ...

I really enjoyed this book and its theme of the creative spark that dies in middle-age. Fukazawa's friends and fans are all admiring of him being able to live his dream, unaware that to him it has become a nightmare. This is a very human story with just a touch of mystery to it, and Asano's art conveys it beautifully. ( )

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this, but it ended up being a very good, if difficult read. The main character is a person who is stuck in a depression of his own making. He feels the hollowness of a life spent in pursuit of something he no longer feels was worth the effort and he slowly comes to the realization over time that maybe he wasn't as worthy a person as he wanted to believe either. I'll be frank, he's not only unlikable, but he does awful things and abuses the people around him in multiple ways. It's a very interesting character study of the extremely banal yet harmful existence of a narcissist. The art is definitely the sort of thing you'd expect from a more literary graphic novel. It's detailed, but just as stark and bleak as the character's life.
I would recommend it, with a lot of caveats (I feel I should definitely add a tw: spousal rape here.), for someone who likes characters studies of absolute messes in realistic settings. ( )