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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
I thought the framing of the story through shaky cellphone footage was interesting, and definitely a unique challenge for the artist to draw. The commentary on film as a medium was interesting, and the way that film captures only what the director wants to show. In a downer sort of book there was still humour, too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
Read through Fire Punch right before re-reading this so that very much paints where my mind is right now, but I think they're intrinsically very similar, where Look Back and Chainsaw Man are slightly more streamlined and clean stories with clearer intent and payoff.
Really I pair these 2 in my mind because they really lean into tragedy as camp. There's just deep deep sadness in both and a desire to blend them with absurd humor and over the top action but not flinch back from any of those aspects. The comedy enhances and mingles with the tragedy rather than watering it down to make it more palatable. In Fire Punch the setup was done through the most depraved fucked up canibalism & assault and trauma imaginable but I think Goodbye, Eri pulls off almost the same feel with much more human scale emotion & respect that growth.
There's a puzzle element to Goodbye, Eri that I think is an interesting to the rest of Fujimoto's work, but it still feels very playful - It's fun to think about if that was actually Yuta at the end and you're supposed to take the "twist" a little seriously or if it was just his dad after a shave, but it ultimately doesn't really affect anything, the playfulness is the point, the suggestion and ambiguity are more interesting than a concrete answer could be.
I've said all this without actually getting into the themes or plot or anything and honestly I don't think I'm going to. It's a lot about death and how you remember people and like, the point and complexity of art and commercial appeal and it does interesting things with all that & I genuinely got chills a handful of moments, even though I'd read it before and that fucking rules but writing a breakdown or whatever wouldn't do it justice and I don't care. Also, more importantly than any that, it's a story about why cool explosions fucking rule.
Really I pair these 2 in my mind because they really lean into tragedy as camp. There's just deep deep sadness in both and a desire to blend them with absurd humor and over the top action but not flinch back from any of those aspects. The comedy enhances and mingles with the tragedy rather than watering it down to make it more palatable. In Fire Punch the setup was done through the most depraved fucked up canibalism & assault and trauma imaginable but I think Goodbye, Eri pulls off almost the same feel with much more human scale emotion & respect that growth.
There's a puzzle element to Goodbye, Eri that I think is an interesting to the rest of Fujimoto's work, but it still feels very playful - It's fun to think about if that was actually Yuta at the end and you're supposed to take the "twist" a little seriously or if it was just his dad after a shave, but it ultimately doesn't really affect anything, the playfulness is the point, the suggestion and ambiguity are more interesting than a concrete answer could be.
I've said all this without actually getting into the themes or plot or anything and honestly I don't think I'm going to. It's a lot about death and how you remember people and like, the point and complexity of art and commercial appeal and it does interesting things with all that & I genuinely got chills a handful of moments, even though I'd read it before and that fucking rules but writing a breakdown or whatever wouldn't do it justice and I don't care. Also, more importantly than any that, it's a story about why cool explosions fucking rule.
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
Fujimoto is a God amongst men
Very Perfect Blue-esque
Very Perfect Blue-esque
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Goodbye, Eri is an art house movie in content as well as atmosphere. We're thrown in the middle of a story and Fujimoto let's us figure it out for ourselves.
This is one of the most unique manga, and stories in general, I've ever read. I never thought I would see minimalistic, repetitive, and out of focus art as positive qualities. And still Fujimoto fits these seamlessly together in the most satisfying way imaginable. But that doesn't mean this story is style over substance. The vignettes of everyday life give us enough to ponder well after finishing (and probably immediately restarting) this manga.
Goodbye, Eri is one of those pieces of media that feels like a fever dream in the best way possible. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique take on the manga genre.