It feels like a
sort of off season for me with movies. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen a few,
but no where like I would like to. Things have been hectic and arrangements
have changed a little, so it isn’t as easy as it once was. Combine that with
decreased spending, it is a little tough. In the meantime though, I have just
been trying to catch up on the numerous backlog of games and anime I have while
also getting back into reading manga. Boy have I been binging some manga.
One of my favorite
series is one that is currently taking the anime and manga world by storm,
Chainsaw Man. Goes without saying that it is an amazing series. Almost anyone
would tell you that. Yet it is the first one I had read by Tatsuki Fujimoto.
Afterwards, I knew I had to read more.
Starting off, I
checked out his other serialized series, Fire Punch. It took me a little bit to
get into Fire Punch. Had a lot of strange things going for it, yet a lot of good.
Didn’t take me long to binge it and end up really enjoying it.
Fire Punch is not
what I will be talking about here though. Instead I will be talking about a one
shot released by Fujimoto this year called Goodbye, Eri.
Goodbye, Eri tells
the story Yuta Ito, a student who wants to make movies. Yuta is gifted a
smartphone by his terminally ill mother and asked to film her constantly, up
until she dies. The manga is even presented as a film throughout the whole
thing. We see though that instead of filming his mother’s death, Yuta ended up
staying away, adding in a shot of him running away from an exploding hospital.
Presenting this film to his school leads to Yuta being bullied and ostracized
for his decision, causing him to decide to commit suicide by jumping from the
roof of the hospital his mother was in. While he’s about to jump, Yuta meets a
girl named Eri. Eri stops him, telling him how she loved his film and wants him
to make another.
I unfortunately
can’t get to much more into the details of things without spoiling this short
story, but honestly Goodbye, Eri is a really wonderful one shot.
Fujimoto’s art is
instantly recognizable, and I love how much of it is drawn in a way to make it
look as though it is being filmed. Things are out of focus. There is a bit of
motion blur. The framing of the panels. It shows that while Fujimoto might not
have the greatest or most intricate art out there, he truly has a lot of talent
when it comes to his art and style. I think a lot of that comes from his love
of film, which has shined through in all of his works. Strangely with Fire
Punch more than anything.
The story is very
fascinating as while it is very emotional and beautiful tale with some really
funny moments thrown in, a lot of it is left open to interpretation. Ultimately
that also ties into the over all theme of the story which in turn ties into
Fujimoto’s love of film. Throughout, it is talked about multiple times how with
film, you get to see someone how the filmmaker wants you to see them. It may be
an ideal version of them; it may be a worse version of them. It all has to do
with how the filmmaker wants you to see. With that, you can see this story in a
few different ways. I love that. It
isn't often you get that in manga I feel.
At 200 pages,
Goodbye, Eri is a short but great read. With amazing, thoughtful writing and
wonderful art and framing, it is one that is certainly worth your time. Especially
if you are a fan of Fujimoto’s other works. It is recognizably his style of
writing and art, just without a lot of the more extreme elements. Yuta also
very much feels like a bit of a stand in for Fujimoto, which to me just adds to
the experience.
Anyway, I’m sure
little was said here, but having just
read this, I felt it was something that others should know about as well. Plus
being a shorter story, a shorter review fits. Go check out this masterpiece
online and see what you get from it. With Fujimoto’s works, at the very least
you know it is going to be one wild ride.
Comments
Post a Comment