220https://i.ur.com/panIciw.png Note: Taken from my blog link in bio The Premise I wont be spoiling anything major in this review but the premise is rather simple at first. A young boy is tasked with recording his dying mothers final moments and when he shows the movie to his school the reaction is unexpected to say the least. Fujimotos author trademarks are all here the dominant women beautiful panelwork a passion for cinema so incredible that you halfexpect the manga to turn into an animated movie halfway through and a charmingly crude sense of humor that doesnt quite toe the line into complete schlock. Most of all Fujimoto showcases his talent for capturing the mundane beauty of everyday life in all of its messy and awkward glory. 220https://i.ur.com/X08bDNm.png Goodbye Eri is a little bit of everything that Fujimoto is known for in terms of story beats and visual language. Something about the way it messes with the reader and takes them on an emotional rollercoaster while telling you that yes your emotions are being manipulated right now is so honest that I cant help but be charmed by the storys bluntness. 220https://i.ur.com/EoNAPij.png I love the themes of how manipulative media is but at the same time showcasing why it is such a strong tool for dealing with complicated human emotions. Fujimoto understands on a deep level the nuances of human emotion in a way very few other storytellers can do. The story takes you through all these terrible and wonderful events in this one persons life and at many points you start thinking to yourself which of these events are real? Fujimotos answer at least in my opinion is that it doesnt matter. Or maybe it does. Like who cares youre the one reading the story feel how you want to feel. The story is purposefully confusing you because at the end of the day media is supposed to make you feel things. The narrative might get you there incredibly striking art might push the point home but at the end of the day if a story doesnt leave an impact on the people who consume it then what was its point? Nothing. The Brilliance of Repetition 220https://i.ur.com/SxSbxJv.png One thing that I didnt get to talk about as much in my Look Back review was Fujimotos use of repetition in his stories. While I am unaware if there are any interviews where he explains himself I hope you guys humor my take on why he uses this element so much as a narrative tool. Fujimoto uses repetition in his manga for two things. The first reason is to evoke feelings of nostalgia within the reader while they are reading the manga. Secondly the repetition is there to enhance the realism of a scene immersing the reader even further into the characters lives. Take this panel for example: 220https://i.ur.com/TamhyZq.png The shifts in Eris face are so subtle that at a glance you wouldnt even consciously notice. However these small changes in expression are picked up by your brain and it registers it as not only familiar but real. At some point youve seen people make these slight shifts in expression and while your conscious mind cant place why the art looks so familiar at first your memories certainly do. The Handheld Feel 220https://i.ur.com/uNI84qJ.png Another element that I wanted to bring up quickly is how effectively Fujimoto mimics the visual style of a handheld camera. Its already difficult enough to mimic that effect in animation but conveying that same dynamic motion into a static page is something else entirely. Fujimoto manages to do so brilliantly with some simple framing choices. 220https://i.ur.com/t01XNmS.png Fujimoto mimics the feel of a handheld camera through things like unflattering closeup angles or candid shots of characters not even looking at the camera. There are also the artificial blur effects he adds to make the panel look lowres like how a camera would. Its a simple thing but the effect is really good. It almost feels like he takes screenshots of real videos and then just draws over them. The Characters 220https://i.ur.com/ccHh6bO.png Wont dwell on this part too long but Fujimoto continues his trend of making unbearably relatable people in his stories. They talk in ways that make readers go damn Ive said that before especially if you share Fujimotos passion for media. The characters are all fleshed out incredibly well but as the story keeps pointing out you dont actually know any of them at all. You are seeing them through the lens of the story and after its done you wont know anymore. 220https://i.ur.com/dauE27R.png We get so invested in the lives of these characters that are completely fictional and any emotions we pull from them are purely onesided. The author wont know how we felt unless we got out and tell him and the characters arent real and therefore unable to respond at all. A huge theme of the manga is how creators inject a lot of themselves into their work and glamorize it as a way to cope with their complex emotions. Its a strange sort of parasocial relationship because the creators themselves arent truly showing who they really are its just an idealized or incomplete version they want their audience to see. Conclusion Goodbye Eri is a beautifully crafted story about the complexities of media the idea of knowing someone youve never actually met and the fleeting beauty of life that humans desperately try to capture through film. With that Ive said everything that needs to be said. Well I havent actually but its like 3 A.M. where I am and I need to sleep. I wanna end this in a meta way so 220https://i.ur.com/t16xcEf.png