A Bride's Story, Vol. 1 (Volume 1)

Otoyome Gatari (its romanized Japanese title) is the latest work by Mori Kaoru, one of the most highly regarded manga authors in Japan. She's the creator of "Emma" and "Shirley", two works about turn-of-the-century England that are renowned for the quality of their art and (in the case of Emma particularly) their historical accuracy. Mori's craftsmanship is amazing. Her work abounds in detail, each panel lovingly crafted. She outdoes her previous work on "Emma" in "Bride's Story". I can't recall any other manga with such glorious attention to form, costuming, and backgrounds. This Yen Press edition does full justice to the quality of her work. Unlike a lot of Manga releases, this is hardcover and in a somewhat larger size, which allows more visible detail. Even though the paper is a little pulpy, the quality of the reproduction is as good as any I've seen. The story is set in central Asia not too far from the Caspian Sea (possibly in Turkey since the Turkish language is mentioned) in the mid 19th century. The story is a slice-of-life tale about the odd-couple marriage of a 12-year-old town boy to a 20-year-old daughter of a nomadic family. This is not played up in any perverse manner like the age difference might suggest; the boy is wise for his age, and the woman is dedicated, cheerful, and a model wife, content to wait for him to mature. She fits into his extended family quite well, though she's maybe a bit too eager to please. Her steppe upbringing has given her some talents a bit alien to the family's town habitat, though; she's a superb horsewoman, archer, hunter, and wild game cook. This is a scenario that's not unheard-of in the culture in which it is placed, and Mori handles the story with delicacy and tact. The characters are likeable and mostly respectable. The family structure is not contemporary, but can easily be understood and sympathized with. The story is mostly slow-moving slice-of-life stuff, but it has its moments of conflict and excitement, especially in the conflict between her new and old families. There is a small amount of nudity, but it's reasonable within the context of the story and is not pandering. The loving care lavished on detail in the drawings of clothing and other handicrafts is stunning. Far fans of great art, the women's clothing itself is worth the purchase price. Ms. Mori is a fanatic for thorough research, and it shows in every page. This is an excellent story and a true work of art. If you liked "Emma", and if you love history, beautifully detailed artwork, and quirky characterizations, this book is for you. This was licensed by Yen Press quite a while ago, and it certainly was worth the wait. It'll be several months before the volume two release, and I'm expecting more of the same.

If you have to ask why this review (and reviews in general to date) have all been five stars, then your missing out on a true manga treasure. The story: Twenty year old Amir has been sent to marry a boy eight years her junior (Karluk). This she has dutifully done, and these first five chapters dwell largely on how she and her new family are acclimating to this. Chapter four gives us a little insight on, what I'm sure will become, a future trial for the new couple (and their new family) to try and overcome. All in all, the first five chapters might be a bit slow in pace for `throttle jockeys' but the story progresses and is told well. The artwork: I've long been a fan of series like Oh (Ah) My Goddess for the sole reason that the artwork is so spectacular (other than Fujishimasan can't draw the frontal view of an ear to save his life). A Bride's Story puts most of the other manga that I've lavished so much time (and money) on, on notice. And what notice? The bar has officially been raised. Closeup panels are almost bursting with detail, and even though a bit of that detail slips in some of the `pull back panels' the overall experience is undeniably first rate. Even if the story was terrible (which it isn't) the artwork would carry this title a long way. The book: I have to enthusiastically agree with another reviewer here and say that Yen Press did real justice to this title by releasing the first volume in a quality hard back. The pages are good stock, and well bound. The wrap around dust cover is very attractive, and overall the book is just a pleasure to dive in to. The total package has left me hoping that the entire run is done in the same way. The cost: Some others might make a complaint here, but I'm not going to. A $16.99 retail cost might seem a bit high, but with much lower quality paperback manga going for at least $9.99 the extra seven has produced a very high quality product. As of this writing, Amazon is selling A Bride's Story Vol. 1 for $11.55 and the paperback of Oh My Goddess! Vol. 38 for $8.79. For a difference of less than what a Starbuck's coffee costs, I'll take it any day of the week. If you haven't taken the time to read this rare manga treasure, do. As long as you have realistic expectations about the story itself, you won't be disappointed.

The artwork is breathtaking. I'm not expert, and I'm certainly no mangaka, but I do understand some of how a manga is put together in the art phase. A lot of artists use shaded cells for textured clothing, and this is true in this manga as well, but for the more simplistic textures or patterns. The more complex the pattern on the clothing, or any of the artwork, it is far more likely to be hand drawn in this case. The visuals are stunning, with a keen eye for detail. The story is slower paced. If you're looking for dramatic conflicts, or fast paced action, you're in the wrong genre. Myself, I like the slower paced, slice of life style of manga only so much (it's a good break), but I found myself drawn into this story and hooked. My brother recommended this one to me, and I thought 'meh, seems pretty but kind of dumb'. When I finally bought it and read it, I was floored.

Awesome introduction to the Silk Road Cultures. A beautiful rendition of 19th century Silk Road and the various cultures across it. Many wonderful and strong woman and male characters with equally brilliant narrative on the society functions of men and women of that time. It doesn't shy away from male characters who see women as objects to be traded away either. However, it tries to protray a more balanced, stable, and pragmatic way that the cultures handled marriage, family life, engagement, etc with a British Anthropologist being the reason we meet so many interesting characters. It also goes into how Russia was pushing their borders and how some people on the silk road turned traitor to extended family to have access to Russian cannons and rifles. It also tries to protray the need for a guide to help against robbery on the road. It is beautifully illustrated by Kaoru Mori who is a brilliant artist and detailed enough to perfectly put ink to paper to draw realistic animals in motion. All the characters are charming in their own manner and it isn't hard to follow their individual stories and struggles across the Manga Series. I originally read it in my library before deciding to purchase all of the currently available books and hopefully the remaining as well as this series it still on going. Sincerely, Katherine, Canada

It has some spectacular illustrations. It is instant eye catching when you see it. Has a real story to complement the illustrations.

Oh my favorite Manga! I love this story, the flat lands and the history

O mangá é fantástico, como tudo que a Kaori escreve. Essa edição é linda e elegante, com jacket e capa dura. O meu pedido chegou antes do prazo da entrega, mas durante todo o processo eu não consegui rastreá-lo, o que foi bem estranho (isso nunca aconteceu com nenhum pedido feito na Amazon antes). Sem falar que a jacket veio rasgada nas laterais pk o mangá não foi bem embalado. Resumindo, amo o mangá mas não sei se eu compraria dessa loja de novo.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this Deluxe Edition! I was expecting a lot less I confess, but was blown away when I got the actual thing in my hands! It got a dark brown hard cover, covered with a perfectly well printed colorful dust cover. The dimensions are bigger than your usual manga: 21*15cm There are no color pages inside, but that is because the mangaka herself didn't provide any colored pics (beside the book's covers) in the original books/chapters in japanese. Inside, the printing is very well done and the wonderful artwork is really given justice to, it's a shame they didn't use a whiter paper and also the blacks could have been deeper, but that is really me looking closely at it. I appreciate the fact they left the original sfx in jap and simply added up the eng text close to it, instead of replacing them. Good translation. I won't enter in commenting the actual story, it's simply amazing and very unique, the details Kaoru Mori put in each page is breathtaking, you can really feel a whole world being brought to life under her penmanship and crafting. I highly recommend! And damn, now I wish there could be a deluxe edition of Emma too! ;__;