Inio Asano (born 1980) is considered by many to be one of the biggest new names in manga of the '00's. Debuting in 1998 Asano was immediately thrust into the manga spotlight by earning praise from luminaries such as Naoki Yamamoto and Shin Takahashi. His ascent to stardom was very quick, and regretfully, the young man went into a bit of a slump soon after. But after four years of struggle and soul-searching as an assistant to some of Japan's most artistically respected comic artists, Asano came back to become the voice of the modern Japanese adolescents. His breakthrough work SOLANIN captivated the globe earning him recognition in Japan and an Eisner Award nomination in North America. SOLANIN was later adapted into a cultish motion picture further cementing Asano's place amongst outsiders globally. Since 2002 Asano has penned 10 graphic novel series, dozens of short stories, and is now making in-roads as one of Japan's more popular graphic designers. In 2014 his most recent English language release Nishigahara Holograph was selected as one of the best graphic novels of the year by Publishers Weekly, Comics Alliance, Comics Resources, and Good OK Bad.