Red-Colored Elegy

I’m not really going to be able to talk about this one.  It’s good, and it’s definitely worth reading once, but I don’t really have anything to compare it to, no basis on which to set my opinion.  This is definitely a good thing, but it just means I’m not really going to write anything interesting.

The most interesting thing about this book is the art.  There’s not a lot of sequential panel art here, and the art is a toss-up between really minimalist and some weirdly detailed art that can be attributed to the artist also being an animator.  A lot of times, I wasn’t sure what was going on precisely (and often I couldn’t tell the difference between the male and female characters), but I don’t think that’s so much the point.  Not being able to tell what’s going on, though, is a good reason I can’t write a good review for this.  It may not be the point, but it leaves me with little to talk about.

The story is basically about this couple living together and having a relatively happy, normal, mundane life while enjoying the pleasure of each other’s company.  They’ve got their ups and downs with family and work, but they can always come back to each other.  I kind of liked this about it, because in that way, it manages to be a story like Sand Chronicles that the reader has a better chance of… connecting, or associating with the story and characters.  I may not be an animator, but I can understand being frustrated with a job and wanting to do something else where the grass is greener.

The art and general lack of direction in the story also make this an extremely dream-like read.  Normally I would automatically fail any story where I can’t tell what’s going on, but again, that’s sort of the point… or maybe the point is that the two characters are living out the dream of so many people?  I don’t know.

A good read, and I liked it a lot for being something different.