Downfall by Inio AsanoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Downfall is a difficult read.
It struck a chord when I read that specific page of a fan meeting the author himself, telling him of her personal stories of coping with depression. I cannot help but cry at how raw the fan's feelings are, and how it absolutely topples down Fukuzawa's notion of the Manga industry and his self-imposed identity as a manga artist:
That's the law. As long as it sells.If there is admirable in this specific manga artist, it is his grit. He may lost his passion to draw over the years because of the scarring reality of the grind (especially in the capitalized setting of a creative realm), but that passion turned into angst, then into full surrender, then finally, into a need to survive. After all,
Freedom should be the means, not the goal.This is more of his salvo, the everyday motivation to create and to earn, and to finally, to go on with life.
I've read some of the book reviews here and people gave it one or two stars because the manga artist Fukuzawa is hard to understand, or self-absorbed, or even causing harm to the people around him. But do these readers know that's kind of a victim-blaming to the person undergoing depression in the first place...? If they have someone in the family, or a close friend, who has this exact Downfall / downward spiral episode, won't they feel empathy instead?
My one star drop is due to the (view spoiler) Perhaps Inio Asano put that out in the open, hmmm? That Japan is still sexist and belittling women even though we are nearing the end of 2021.
I advise you to start Solanin first, or even Oyasumi Punpun, before getting to this novel. It tackles old age, the brutality of the industry, and crisis that GenZ glosses over mostly: Depression.
View all my reviews
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento