Sekishoku Elegy (1969)

Blurb:
Seiichi Hayashi produced Red Colored Elegy between 1970 and 1971, in the aftermath of a politically turbulent and culturally vibrant decade that promised but failed to deliver new possibilities. With a combination of sparse line work and visual codes borrowed from animation and film, the quiet, melancholy lives of a young couple struggling to make ends meet are beautifully captured in this poetic masterpiece. Uninvolved with the political movements of the time, Ichiro and Sachiko hope for something better, but they’re no revolutionaries; their spare time is spent drinking, smoking, daydreaming, and sleeping—together and at times with others. While Ichiro attempts to make a living from his comics, Sachiko’s parents are eager to arrange a marriage for her, but Ichiro doesn’t seem interested. Both in their relationship and at work, Ichiro and Sachiko are unable to say the things they need to say, and like any couple, at times say things to each other that they do not mean, ultimately communicating as much with their body language and what remains unsaid as with words.

Red Colored Elegy is informed as much by underground Japanese comics of the time as it is by the French nouvelle vague, and its cultural referents range from James Dean to Ken Takakura. Its influence in Japan was so great that Morio Agata, a prominent Japanese folk musician and singer/songwriter, debuted with a love song written and named after it.

Source: www.anisearch.com/manga/18055

Texto de presentación:
¡Quiero dibujar manga! El sueño del joven Ichiro es la aguja que borda el trazo de su atribulada existencia en la telaraña de las emociones vitales. Estar dispuesto a sacrificar la vida entera en la consecución de un objetivo conlleva, en ocasiones, el pago del inexorable tributo de la soledad, e Ichiro asume el riesgo. El romanticismo que destila la relación con su novia, Sachiko, en medio de una vida en precario, brilla en el oscuro firmamento de la desesperación con un destello fugaz, pero grabará en nuestro recuerdo su inusitada belleza.

Fuente: www.anisearch.es/manga/18055

Testo della bandella:

Ichiro lavora nel cinema d’animazione, ma è insoddisfatto. Sachiko, la sua ragazza, è coinvolta nei movimenti di protesta e soffre le discriminazioni di una società maschilista. Il loro sogno è un sereno rapporto di coppia: ma la loro realtà quotidiana è fatta di noia, senso di oppressione e incapacità di comunicare. Apparso a puntate sulla rivista giapponese “Garo” tra il 1970 e il 1971, al termine di un decennio segnato da profonde trasformazioni politiche e culturali, Elegia in rosso racconta il disagio di due rivoluzionari mancati. Un romanzo disegnato ispirato alle controculture e alla nouvelle vague francese, una storia ancora oggi attualissima, una pietra miliare che ha aperto la via a nuovi modi di intendere il fumetto.

Fonte: www.anisearch.it/manga/18055