“A girl falls in love and devotes herself to them, but they don't conform to her expectations, perhaps because she looks at them through a blurry curtain.” Telling the story of highschool sweethearts turned strangers as their identities see them take different path, “Silkscreen” explores the complexities of love and loss.
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Isaki Uta has an undeniable knack for capturing beauty through gorgeous/lush visuals and poignant narrative. This was previously established in her previous work in both “Mine-kun is Asexual” and “Leaper” acting as standouts within the Doujinshi format (short independently published works with mangaka having full ownership). “Silkscreen”, released in tandem with celebrating LBTQ+ pride, may act as the most impactful and stunning work from Uta to date.
The romantic and crisp visuals of Uta reflect a universal sense of beauty that can exist within everyone, regardless of gender or orientation. In addition, the work is wonderfully expressive in conveying emotions to evoke a cathartic reaction around the themes of love and loss. Most importantly, Uta understands the power of impactful panels imbuing the work with several page spreads which focus solely on her artistic ability – there is one panel which shows the protagonist tearing at her work that is particularly awe inspiring. Overall, “Silkscreen” contains stunning visuals that will appeal to many on presentation alone.
The narrative, while a pretty standard love story steeped in love and longing, is executed impeccably and makes smart use of exploring a past relationship to show how it can manifest insecurities in later life. Essentially, a chance meeting allows the protagonist deeper introspection into her developing sexuality during her informative year and the scars that left as she tried to force them into a different role. A competent love story first and foremost, Uta conveys great understanding of the LGBTQ community and the importance of telling tales that will appeal to a wide audience.
Irodori, under their imprint Irodori Sakura, does an exemplary job of brining this title to digital – a high quality release with gorgeous typeset and text layout. For those hesitant to take the dive into digital manga (this work being only available in that format), this release is an idyllic starting point to understand the care that goes into the translation. Overall, the benefit of mangaka working direct with the publisher gives an impression of their artistic expression being fully realized with the direct input they have at all stages of the release.
“Silkscreen” is a beautiful story backed by stunning visuals, a true treat for manga fans even those who are not used to titles with an LGBTQ focus. Ultimately, the book captures beauty and tragedy with a universal appeal to create an unforgettable experience – don't miss out on this one!
