Yeeeesh

Good-Bye is made up of short stories, and according to a nifty online resource, most of them were originally published in cheap "rental comics" anthologies, distributed through chains of stores throughout Japan. Now, if you’ve read any of my posts, you know that I adore dark and gritty plots, complex characters and didactic language in my storytelling. So it should be no surprise that I very much enjoy Good-Bye. It is important to note that these stories were written between 1971 and 1972, when Japanese influence in the global geo-political theatre was continuing to wane after the end of WWII. Some of these stories take bizarre turns, but are profoundly moving and boast robust character development. It is clear by the sometimes dark and disorienting aspects of these stories that the ripples of the Second World War still dramatically affect the Japanese psyche. With all due respect, there were some portions that were tough to get through (so many phallic symbols), but I still enjoyed the heck out of reading it.

The first story, Hell, was especially moving for me. I especially appreciate the evocative juxtaposition between the young, sensitive photographer from the war and the old stoic man he had become. Incidentally, I noticed that Tatsumi frequently uses sweat in order to convey a characters state of mind. Normally, with very (for lack of a better term) 'cartoonish' drawing styles, sweat is restricted to a few driblets to indicate discomfort or fear. But when we see the military photographer’s face in a loping sweat as gruesome nightmares of the scorched mother and son, one cannot help but be captivated. This frame is parallel to the one of the first panels of the story, as the man begins to reminisce. It is unclear whether the liquid on his face is because tears, rain or sweat from the anxiety of reliving the moment. 

P.S.- As a final thought, it is interesting that the protagonists of these stories are always unnamed, everyday men. It must have been done explicitly so that the characters could represent/reflect anyone's pain (and by anyone, I of course mean roughly 50% of the population).