Yes, much like many of you, I too am a weekly Chainsaw Man enjoyer. To be fair, it’s kind of hard not being one when “Chainsaw Man Tuesdays” consists of new manga chapters followed by new dubs and subs of the anime. However, the manga from creator Tatsuki Fujimoto that left the most significant impression on me this year was his one-shot manga, Goodbye, Eri. Admittedly, I was a bit fearful that Fujimoto’s storytelling wouldn’t be able to live up to the feat he demonstrated with Chainsaw Man part one. But after seeing him virtually stretch his writing muscles and flex out Goodbye, Eri’s gripping story, my affinity for the oddball mangaka skyrocketed.
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Goodbye, Eri follows a high schooler named Yuuta as he documents the final moments in the life of his mother, who’s dying from a serious illness. Although I won’t spoil the climax of Yuuta’s documentary, nearly everyone who witnesses it finds it deeply offensive. Before Yuuta lets people’s criticism get the better of him, he forms a bizarre friendship with a mysterious girl named Eri who loved his documentary so much, she volunteers to be his manager.
As is Fujimoto’s style, Goodbye, Eri is filled with cinematic yet repetitive manga panels. Instead of suffering from its repetitive nature, the subtlety in the movement of characters’ facial expressions makes the one-shot manga sing throughout its 200 pages.