Tatsuki Fujimoto: Goodbye Eri

2022

10/ I'm basically begging people to read this. This story not only had me in a chokehold the whole time, it lingered in my thoughts long after I finished, haunting me. The format, at least to me, felt revolutionary - I'd never thought I'd read found footage manga?! And since lately I've been enamored with Fujimoto's style I instantly felt at home with the overall look of the art. Since it's a one shot I was glad we didn't have an abundance of characters, and this factor also built an intimate atmosphere that created the opportunity to invite the loneliness of our characters into the reading experience. I think it's really important to talk, make art about, and process these topics, and I feel like this work does justice to the concepts of losing loved ones and getting tired of living and the weight of humiliation for a person still developing, and trying to live despite everything. Something about hanging on a thread that is another person. We also get the signature Fujimoto endings and plots coming with the suddenness of a slap in the face, and the surreal absurdity of reality that makes the manga's world feel even more natural in a twisted way. I never said this, but I think this could work as a live action art film and I'd love to see it. I hope more people read this.

colors: light blue, dirty green of a linoleum floor, TV glowing in an empty room, the warmth of a hand, the smell of hospitals