Manga 145863 Sayonara Eri Suggestion

People come and go, but their memories stay with us, and it's our duty to keep them alive.

It's one thing to have a masterpiece under your belt at any age. It's another thing to have multiple, and it's ANOTHER thing to have four of them back to back before you've even hit 30. I may be biased, but I really do think that Fujimoto-sensei has already set the gold standard for mangaka moving forward, and this oneshot is the perfect guide on how he does it.

What I assumed was just Fujimoto talking about a dead relative turned into a story showcasing his obvious love of ... film, and then turned into a manual on how to move past loss and regret. Sprinkle some deadpan comedy into it and you have the perfect formula to get you attached to Yuta, Eri, and Yuta's dad.

Ever since his old one-shots, he's always geared towards normal, human stories with "a pinch of fantasy", and not only has he doubled down on it, he perfected the formula. The story comes to a close with a confusing-- for lack of a better term, parallel to the in-universe film that Yuta shoots. This just ties everything together so much more. This is without a doubt his most "complete" work. Even Look Back could've used a couple more pages to explore the character relationships. The formula seems to be nailed in here, though. 200 pages for a one-shot is insane, especially when you take into account how most tankobons fall just under that number even with the added extras.

The artwork is fantastic, by the way. The perspectives and use of a motion blur when the story is in "camera mode" helps get the message across very well, and the limited paneling does wonders as well. Fujimoto has always loved his empty space and repetitive, quiet panels, but it's never been as apparent as it has been here. There's a scene where two characters are shown eating at the table, and a couple pages are just dedicated to seeing their eating mannerisms. These may be characters on paper, but moments like that really help get the author's points across. It's the little things, yknow?

Fujimoto is here to stay, and we're all just along for the ride. I can only wonder what the hell he has in store for Chainsaw Man part 2, and whatever else comes after that.

Probably a lot of film talk... and explosions.

Fujimoto-senpai does it again. But this time in a one-shot dealing with love and loss. Told through the narrative of a young filmmaker coming to terms with trauma and death. A must read if you are a fan of Fujimoto-senpai's art style or storytelling. The story will leave you feeling empty yet satisfied, an emotional tour de force that explores the intricacies of grief, loss, coping, love, and more. You will likely feel like you know where the story is going, but only as Fujimoto-senpai can, the author twists the plot to medium breaking proportions, writing in a style closer to movie storyboards than manga ... at some points. Not all readers will enjoy the themes or even the story, but I think that it is an important piece of manga worth the short read time.

By the end you will be asking; what was true, what really happened, and what was just "a touch of fantasy?"

+ The art is acceptable.
+ The paneling is praiseworthy here and there.
± The character designs aren't memorable.
- The characters can hardly be called that. They are just hollow shells posing as characters.
- The whole manga is basically a volley of plot twists that serve no purpose besides shocking the reader. Engagement of this approach wears off after the first plot twist. Writing a surprising plot twist is banal. Writing a surprising plot twist that is boldly foreshadowed, purposeful and not outlandish is not.
- It gives an impression of the author ineptly trying to mimic western mind-boggling movies like Inception.
- The dialogues are bland. The interactions ... between characters are neither entertaining nor profound.