A university dropout called Lin Chu-sheng runs away from home to pursue her dream despite her parents' disapproval. She plans to look for an easy job to get by but ends up working for a funeral company. She wants to quit on her first day of work, but her pride makes her put on a brave face and keep going. Soon she realizes her problems are still solvable, compared with the things made definitive by death. The overwhelming impact of death leads her to give up her willfulness and face her problems again.
Out of all the inexplicable things in life, relationships, especially ones with our family, are the trickiest. The Funeral Concerto depicts such relationships realistically: a man burdened with high expectations from his father lives and dies alone, a sick child postpones her wish to depart this life for her mother, a cenotaph is prepared for a body still not found, and the fight for inheritance among members of a large family, which we all hear about so often.
How exactly should we spend the last stage of our lives?
For this affecting graphic novel, comic artist Rimui visited funeral companies and conducted rigorous research on traditional Taiwanese funerary practices. She integrates the daily work of funeral directors with moving stories of various characters before they or their family breathe their last breath. Through the perspectives of funeral directors, she ingeniously explores, in a workplace story, subjects such as humanity, relationships, regrets, and reconciliations. The variety of stories unfolding around the protagonist, Lin Chu-sheng, make The Funeral Concerto ideal for a movie or drama series adaptation.
A 21-years-old dropout from a prestigious university. She runs away from home and ends up working for a funeral company. She is upright and naive. The impact of working as a funeral director makes her reflect on how she deals with things in her life.
A 33-years-old man who has given up on his dream and inherited his family's small funeral company. He is mild-tempered and staid. He independently takes care of his chronically ill father, who is becoming weary of living.
A 26-years-old senior funeral director who works for Yang-ching to repay his kindness. He likes to frolic and scare rookies, but he is a hard-working and reliable coworker.