Book Review
Title: Goodbye, Eri by Tatsuki Fujimoto
Genre: Manga, Contemporary, Drama
Rating: 4 Stars
After binge reading the first part of Chainsaw Man I knew Fujimoto was going to be an instant read author for me so when I had the chance to request Goodbye, Eri I knew I had to read it. This was very different to Chainsaw Man as it didn’t really have a strong fantasy element or any gore but it did retain Fujimoto’s ominous atmosphere which I ended up really enjoying. Goodbye Eri follows a young filmmaker, Yuta as he is creating a film for his mother who is dying and she asks him to film her right up to her final breath and Yuta agrees.
As more time passes and the day his mother is going to die gets closer we see Yuta struggling to come to terms with it and process his own emotions because he is literally experiencing everything through the camera lens and isn’t really taking it in. He ends up playing the movie at the school festival but it is poorly received as many, students and staff, believe that Yuta cheapened his mother’s death with the movie but they don’t know everything that was going on behind the scenes because those have been edited out.
On his way to commit suicide, Yuta ends up meeting Eri who loved his film and wants him to make another one. She begins by educating him on movie culture and the pair spend hours together watching movies and just being comfortable around each other but Eri eventually has to confess that she is also dying and that is why she wanted Yuta to make another movie, one for her. Yuta agrees knowing he is stronger than the last time and see the movie through to its ending which is loved by everyone that views it even though it was the true Eri because he allowed people to choose to remember her that way which was a beautiful message.
However, Yuta’s life doesn’t improve, he always felt there was something missing from Eri’s movie and has edited it a lot more over the years. He also grew up, got married and had a daughter until they along with his father were killed in a car accident leaving Yuta the only survivor. He once again wants to commit suicide but Eri is there waiting for him. It is unclear whether Eri is a hallucination and Yuta is dead or whether she appeared to him to convince him to stay alive but I liked that the ending can change depending on who is reading it much like Yuta’s movies within the story.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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