Customer Reviews

Red Colored Elegy

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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I pre-ordered this book without knowing anything about it or Seiichi Hayashi other than that both were highly regarded in Japan. D&Q have been publishing underground manga written in the 70's and I was hoping it would be something like the first three English offerings from Tatsumi (e.g. Good-Bye). It's far from it.

Red Colored Elegy was difficult for me to read. The panels are in sequence, but it's hard to tell how much time has elapsed between them--there are no segues and characters just pop in and out. Short sentences (averaging around five words per panel), and simplistic artwork (characters are drawn using mostly profiles with very few lines and background art) only contribute to the staccato-like nature of the narrative. Though, it's impressive how skillfully Hayashi handles body language with this art style.

The main characters in Red Colored Elegy aren't particularly charismatic either. Sachiko is a bit dramatic; all of her actions yearn for attention and it can be annoying at times. Ichiro is the other pole; he's often apathetic, especially towards Sachiko, but he has his moments in self-pitying flare.

After reading glowing reviews about this book, I feel it's unfair for someone who's ignorant towards the book's social context to review it. I'll have to give it another try or two, I guess. Let me just say it wasn't what I expected and that the gap in culture between 2008 America and 1970 Japan might just be the gap between a great book and a hard one to read.

When I first read it, I didn't understand anything that was going on. Is still felt like there was something wonderful in it and worth exploring. Like the first time I watched Lost Highway, there was an itching to delve into the work. Since it only took me an hour to read, I read it again. This time I started to catch on to the pacing and story of it all but there was still something I needed to figure out about it. Time for a third read. This time things unfolded more coherently. I'm not saying everything was clear to me, but I felt satisfied. It's also good to know that next time I pick up the book there will be more to explore. I get to figure out what's missing on the page and piece together the visual poetry of the work. Sometimes I want a very well structured story, other times I like to read something bewildering with lots open to interpretation and connections yet to be discovered.