I'll give it a 3.3

The art style isn't something I'm naturally drawn to, but it is very daunting and almost unapologetic in a way. The storyline is intriguing at best. My curiosity was piqued; for what's next after you've accomplished your dream once your dream starts to drain you dry is an amazingly sad depiction made here.
Mellow and pathetic vibe down pat.

This is not a lighthearted story. It is bleak, hard to move through but the story is worth it. Fukazawa is not very likable as a character but his story is nonetheless important. Existential crises hit when you least expect them. It is how they are navigated that brings this story to life.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. This manga was dark and moody and touched me in ways I wasn’t expecting. Fukazawa is a manga artist who is depressed. His popular series has just ended after 8 years and he has no inspiration for what to write next. He rarely sees his wife, who has a successful career of her own and has no social life to speak of. He doesn’t like manga or manga artists, so what’s a guy to do? Downfall follows him through this period of his life.

Fukazawa is not a likable character. Luckily, I don’t have to like the characters to enjoy the story. It’s definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but if you like to peer into the soul of a main character in the midst of his existential crisis, definitely give this a shot.

An emotional look at the loss of creative inspiration midlife. This graphic novel follows Fukazawa, a writer who, due to life's many stresses and complexities, has lost the will to write. The story evokes so much empathy, especially as Fukazawa attempts to make sense of his identity with what he considers a loss of the creative spark, and though the story is very much depressing, it really speaks to how people change over time. And with that change, things we loved before might be things we now loathe or fear. It was a sad, but so beautifully human story.

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.

A fairly bleak manga, about… a fairly bleak manga writer. But don't worry, this isn't the typical upskirting, flashy manga of sound effects bigger than the topic of the panel and that stupid annoying thing they do of shrinking characters to doll-sized disembodied heads whenever someone quips an aside or says something under their breath. This is really well-crafted, a finely-drawn piece of work. But it is still bleak – you'll lose count of the panels where our "hero" is just captured in a profile of his hang-dog, depressed, Jarvis-Cocker-gone-wrong bangs. I have actually had to refer to other reviews, before writing this for a change, and it would appear this is a jaded look at the industry by what we have to take is a fairly jaded author, and there might be more than a touch too much autobiography on these pages for some of his fans to cope with. Now, without having much of a handle on the genre and how to get good, sensible, mature manga like this, this stood out, and I certainly did like and appreciate his efforts. Other people may dismiss it as too dreary, and not what they signed up for, and have other titles of similar quality they'd prefer to turn to. But from my position, outside the genre, this became a notable read; I enjoyed what was enjoyable about it, and I learnt something. So for me it was a success, but I have to flag this up as a really Marmite book – many will love, many more will hate, it.

Reading the latest manga from Inio Asano I was reminded of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ recent Criminal novella for Image, Bad Weekend. That comic presents an appropriately cynical view of the history of the comics industry, as well as the experiences of creators attending conventions, which don’t seem as exciting as that of the fans meeting their heroes. A lot of these ideas are re-interpreted in Downfall, only it’s about the manga industry, which may initially foreign to Westerners, but apparently not.

Following the conclusion of his recent series Goodnight Sunset, manga artist Kaoru Fukazawa finds himself at a loss. Years in the industry have left him jaded, affecting both his professional and personal lives, from not coming up with any new stories, separating himself from his wife, who is editing other people’s manga. During one night in soliciting a sex worker named Chifuyu, Kaoru develops an odd relationship with her, in that we don’t if it’s meant to be romantic or toxic.

If you’ve read previous works from the author such as Goodnight Punpun and A Girl on the Shore, you know what to expect from Inio Asano, who has written (and drawn) about the anxieties and struggles of youth, much like his protagonist in this manga. With such a cynical view on an industry that produces works that have their own unique voices outside of other comics industries, through Kaoru’s heavy use of voice-over, there is the ambiguity of whether his downfall is based the current state of the manga industry, or is he welcoming his own doom with open arms.

As a character study that unravels like a mystery in a manga – as said in a meta discussion between Kaoru and Chifuyu – it showcases a determination in being successful in an industry, even as the expense of isolating himself from his personal life, such as not truly committing to your marriage, hence spending nights with a sex worker. There is also the separation between the author and the reader, in how each gives a different perspective on the work itself, as shown towards the end when Kaoru meets a huge fan of his works, which has helped her through troubling times. What sounds like an inspiring thing to say to the author, Kaoru disregards that, based on his own issues, including looking down the people who admire his work, let alone just loving manga in general.

There are people who will read Downfall and will perceive as being semi-autobiographical, which wouldn’t surprise me as based on some of Asano’s previous works feel both honest and painful about human emotions. This title certainly continues Asano's moderate trend of male characters having uneasy relationships with women, with Kaoru’s interactions with the various women are not sympathetic, not least during a moment of potential rape. Much like A Girl on the Shore, the sex presented here is not romantic, it’s rather sad.

As depressing as this all sounds (and it is), Asano’s art makes Downfall a beautiful read, at least on a visual level. Much of the storytelling contrasts the gloomy-looking Kaoru with the incredibly-detailed environments that look lived-in, adding to the harsh reality of the story. There will conflicting feelings towards Downfall, which I imagine is Inio Asano’s intention, but he also succeeds at creating a fascinating, if depressing exploration of people working in the manga industry... and sex workers, for that matter.

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!

The artwork is stunning - but the story itself borders on mediocre. I thought "Goodnight Punpun" was innovative and evocative, so I think I went into this with the same expectation. This wasn't bad, but I think compared to Inio Asano's previous work, the storytelling just lacked that same "something" that made it feel so original. That said - still worthy of a library purchase for the artwork and it does bring up some good opportunities for discussion.

I really didn't enjoy this, the main character was ridiculously unlikable and made it very difficult to want to read on. It was a very personal piece but it just wasn't for me.

The art-style of this manga was gorgeous - drawings are very detailed for a manga. The story was very dark and depressing which isn't for everyone. I like melancholic narrative yet I wasn't impressed with this book. I feel like the reason for that was the main character who was completely unlikeable and I couldn't sympathize with him at all. The manga gives us insights into the cruel comic industry, artistic burnout, and depression and this fact bring up my rating.

I am really conflicted with this one. I was really engaged and enjoying it, feeling for the protagonist and his life view and low self-worth.
Then the story took a turn. The relationships between our protagonist Kaoru and his wife appeared strained and thin, but neither fought for it and both appeared to be untruthful about their activities outside of their marriage. But once it reached a specific scene in the story, between Kaoru and his wife, I lost all respect, resonance and interest in him.
My view of the Kaoru dirtied and I no longer felt I could feel anything but anger toward him.

Aside from all of this, it was beautifully crafted. Slow and deliberate throughout.

I would be careful and research the themes in this book before picking it up, some might not find it easy to read.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this.

I don't usually read adult themed manga/graphic novels, but was pleasantly surprised by this manga. I enjoyed the overall flow of the story and especially loved how the beginning story of the cat-eyed woman was nicely tied together in the end, it was very poetic. The overall story is very depressing, but it is very beautifully drawn and laid out.

If you are looking for a happy-go-lucky manga, then don't pick up <u> Downfall </u>. This book will send you into a depression spiral as you tumble into a void of empty hopelessness.

This is not my first read from Asano, but I find his stories can be very hit-or-miss. <u> Solanin </u> was one of my favourite manga of all time, while <u> Goodnight Punpun </u> was good bordering on average. This one falls somewhere in between. I really enjoy Asano's art style as it is more realistic than cutesy (perfect for the types of storylines he tends to illustrate), but I felt as if this one comes from a deep, personal space. The realism verged on a violation of inner privacy - as if I was viewing his personal journal, not a publicized manga. Perhaps that was part of the appeal. Past Asano fans will not be disappointed with this one.

I have so many conflicting feelings about this book. There were things that I liked and things that I didn't. I don't think that we are really supposed to like the main character. He's there so show us what the manga industry is like and how some people get burnt out after working on a project for so long. I think that he also showed how you can fall out of love with people and things that you used to be passionate about and then you have to deal with those feelings. Now I don't necessarily agree with how he dealt with everything that was going on in his life and watching him spiral out of control was truly fascinating. It was like watching a train wreck. I could not stop reading. I downloaded this and was just going to read a few pages to see what it was about and then before I knew it, I had read the whole thing. I really don't know if I would recommend this book though. There were a lot of very heavy themes and if cheating or sexual assault makes you uncomfortable then this book is not for you. That aspect of it made me feel very uncomfortable as I was reading it. I guess if you like realistic or sad manga then you may like this one. For me, this is one of those books that you need to read for yourself. But just be prepared to hate the MC going into this.

Inio Asano's manga style is one of my favourites. His drawings are very detailed and reflect the story's essence. I really enjoyed its melancholic vibe. Nevertheless, the plot was rather flat but it still has its charm and it makes you wonder how does the manga industry work. Overall, I read the manga very fast because it captured me and, even though, it has its flaws that didn't make me enjoy it any less.

I've read several Inio Asano books before and it became apparent very quickly after starting reading this latest story, that it would include many of the characteristics specifically prevelent in their work. This made the read overall very enjoyable, however it did not have the same impact In the storyline as some of the other works. I found some of the characters interesting, but their storyline did feel julted at times, taking me a second to realise what was going on in the narrative. Overall though it has to be said the artwork was as stunning as usual and I will continue to read the authors other works.

I want to start by saying this is not normally the type of manga I read, but I really liked it. It is the story of a comic creator who found his big story. He had a super successful run, but now what? He worries he will never be able to duplicate the success of his last project and his entire life starts to fall apart.

I really enjoyed Downfall. He's a mangaka who hates manga. I love that contradiction. It is definitely meant for an older audience. Not only are some of the situations meant for more mature readers, I don't think a younger audience would necessarily pick up on the subtle aspects of his problems. The art is beautiful.

Created by Inio Asano

<b>2 star</b>

*Thank you to the author and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Nope, not for me!

My first Inio Asano manga book. Probably my last, too, if his other works are in the same lane as <i>"Downfall."</i> Just a personal preference, I don't typically enjoy "adult" manga or graphic scenes in manga, so this was not something that held any appeal to me at all. It was also very dull and depressing and I don't favour books like that.

Downfall by Inio Asano, 240 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. VIZ Media, 2020. $14.
Language: PG (2 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - NO
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
Fukasawa doesn’t know what to do now that he’s finished his manga series. Without selling more manga, everything starts to fall apart around him. The only solution is to sell more manga -- right?
I found a lot of Fukasawa’s story confusing but especially the beginning and the end. I’m not really sure how everything turned out because there seemed to be some time skipping at the end. Overall, though, this story simply wasn’t fun to read because Fukasawa is an unlikable character. I was sick of listening to him whine after the first chapter, and I only got more frustrated because of the poor choices he was making. Furthermore, the nudity in this manga horrified me; it's basically pornography. The mature content and violence ratings are for prostitution, vaginal and oral sex, and rape.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen