Sayonara Eri
Goodbye, Eri

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TL;DR: Fujimoto needs to go to therapy just so we can get more of this.

Story

Brave take here, but this has got to be Fujimoto's Magnum Opus. Was it a bit paint by the number googoo gaagaa? A bit. But it was done amazingly.

The man straight up avoided the 5 stages of grief by saying "nah, id win".

Art

Fujimoto's art is unique. The man is on another level with this one. It does look like most of his other works to me, but that's the best thing. Once you read all the other looks to the same as the last and you come read ANY of ... his other works, it will make you remember it all.

Overall ** slight spoilers**
9/10. We need to protect Goodbye Eri and secure it for history. I probably cry if I wasn't dead inside. Mom was bad from the start for forcing her wants to get child.

Goodbye, Eri – Spoiler Free – Mixed Feelings

TLDR
Story – 5/10 – 5 x 0.275 = 1,375
Art – 8,5/10 – 8,5 x 0.2 = 1,7
Characters – 6/10 – 6 x 0.225 = 1,35
Enjoyment – 6/10 – 6 x 0.3 = 1,8
Total: 6,225 -> 6

Story – 5/10
Goodbye, Eri’s story is just average. It isn’t bad, but it just isn’t good per se. At a certain point, the story looked like it had reached its climax, with a sudden twist of faith that would have been great if it had actually been true. Instead, the story ended in a less fashionable manner. This story is a one-shot, and ... rightfully so: it just wouldn’t work as a longer story with its premise. The story is solid and coherent, however.

Art – 8,5/10
The art style is, without a doubt, the most unique aspect of the manga. Since we are viewing from the perspective of a camera in most cases, although not all, it offers a different take on storytelling.
There were also some liberalities with page composition, for they are mostly composed of four parallel panels, although there are some pages that transition to a double panel or a single big panel. This experimental technique quite well conveys the idea of sequence and deserves appraisal.
The panels are well-made, and the idea of a manga narrated through a POV is interesting and a breath of fresh air. The quality of the character design also enables the reader to easily recognise different characters from one another.
There aren't, however, awe-inspiring panels, although the art is good.

Characters – 6/10
There aren't that many characters in Goodbye, Eri, being mostly reduced to two—Eri and Yuuta Itou—but they are nevertheless interesting enough to support this manga and its story. However, not much can be said of this one-shot's characters.

Enjoyment – 6/10
Goodbye, Eri is mostly worth it for the experimental visuals and the new take on storytelling, but it's just a fine – thus a 6 – experience overall. Both the story and the characters are average, not creating a compelling manga that sticks in our memory. It is not that it is bad, not at all, but if it weren't for the visuals and the art style, this would have just been an average experience overall. It doesn't reserve a Not Recommended for its experimentalism in a one-shot, but I cannot give the Recommended stamp solely on those terms; for that reason, mixed feelings are more adequate.

This manga is kind of a metafiction, a bad one, however. The plot is absurd just for the sake of it, with the weightless and poorly thought out twists being the worst. Art is nothing to write home about. I'd even say it's lazy, given how like 10 panels in a row have the same background, with only bubble text changing. I mean, yeah, artistic decision and whatnot, except the conversations are also dull. It's either pretend humor or make-believe philosophy. Characters are bland, no progression whatsoever. No real comedy or drama. No romance either.

All it has is uniqueness. Read if you are new to ... manga or easily impressed. Hard skip otherwise.

Highly overrated. I'm not much of a one-shot lover, but I've still read short works much better than this in all aspects.