Just Listen to the Song! (Fujimoto / Tōda)
Tatsuki Fujimoto (Chainsaw Man, Fire Punch) and Oto Tōda(To Strip the Flesh) released a one shot on July 4, 2022, titled “Just Listen to the Song”…
It’s so short that I don’t want to give a description ahead of time. It’s only 18 pages long, and available for free, so if you’re interested you should go read it.
Tōda used to be Fujimoto’s assistant (helped Fujimoto draw his manga) in the past, so it’s no surprise that it looks similar to Fujimoto’s own works.
The message of the manga is pretty clear, one of the reasons this one shot is so short is to not dilute this point: Don’t overanalyze art!
If this were the first work of a mangaka it’d be an open letter to society itself. Given Fujimoto’s track record and how his own series have been overanalyzed in the past, however, it’s clear who the intended audience is.
When interpreting a work, usually the most important element is the content itself, the elements that are part of it, and the themes. Often times, especially with longer works, readers combine these elements with interpretation to form conclusions that hadn’t been intended by the author. This concept is called Death of the Author, when interpretations outweigh the creator’s original intention.
Sometimes, context is necessary to understand why something was made a certain, who the author is, where they live, previous works, their cultures, etc. Just like with content, however, you can twist individual points enough to read something that wasn’t written and see something that wasn’t shown. In this case, Fujimoto is telling the reader to focus on what’s in front of him and just listen to the song.
When it comes to getting answers, just getting them handed to us on a silver platter simply isn’t as engaging as working it out ourselves. The problem comes from finding something with unclear purpose, we might feel compelled to try and find meaning to it. When lacking context or intention, it’s not easy to gauge whether someone meant a particular scene or dialog to have a deeper meaning than found at first sight. You can’t rely on certainty.
It also doesn’t help that Fujimoto sometimes seemingly adds things “just” because they are cool. Sometimes carefully examining and discussing different parts of a work can help you gain a better understanding of the message, but it can also be twisted by seeing ghosts that aren’t there. At some point, it’s good to stop and remind yourself to just listen to the song and enjoy the lyrics. Sing along, and you get a great melody.
