Line by Yua Kotegawa

Title: Line
Author: Yua Kotegawa
Publisher: ADV Manga
Genre: Manga; Young Adult Thriller
Rated: Older Teen (violence, some gore, intense situations, language)

Summary: Normal. Carefree. This was Chiko's life before the day she found the cell phone. Before the voice on the other end said she had scant minutes to save the life of someone she'd never met. Now, accompanied by her classmate Bando, Chiko has just one night to stop a series of gruesome deaths before they can occur.

Art: Black & white; simple backgrounds, pretty characters.
Story: A quick, intense one-shot that kept my interest all the way through. It read more like a Japanese novel than a manga, but without the length of an actual novel, which was nice.
Characters: Everyone was a little odd (especially Bando), but Chiko's strength fit the story.

Comments: While simple, it was interesting and I enjoyed the short burst of intensity it brought to my evening.

Recommend?: If you like time-clock thrillers, it's worth the one-sit read.

A Bride's Story 1-2

Title: A Bride’s Story
Japanese Title: Otoyomegatari
Author: Kaoru Mori
Publisher: Yen Press
Volumes Read: 1,2
Genre: Manga; Adult Historical
Rating: Adult (some nudity)

Summary: Acclaimed creator Kaoru Mori (Emma, Shirley) brings the nineteenth-century Silk Road to lavish life, chronicling the story of Amir Halgal, a young woman from a nomadic tribe betrothed to a twelve-year-old boy eight years her junior. Coping with cultural differences, blossoming feelings for her new husband, and expectations from both her adoptive and birth families, Amir strives to find her role as she settles into a new life and a new home in a society quick to define that role for her.

In Volume 2, she struggles to remain with her new groom despite the wishes of her family, who would see her wed another. Will Amir be able to preserve the bonds she has cultivated in her new home?

Art: Black & white: Absolutely beautiful with exquisite detail.

Story: Where I should have been bored with the simple act of following this family in their everyday lives, I found myself engrossed with every frame, studying every panel closely before moving onto the next. The slow feel of most of the chapters is relaxing, and before you know it you are lazily drifting along, thoroughly enjoying the simple act of something as mundane as making bread.

Characters: Simple and immensely fascinating, you can’t help but fall in love with the whole lot - and be dazzled by the sheer foreignness of them compared to our life and time.

Comments: I expected this to be boring and was amazed how enraptured I became within just the first few pages. I could feel just how much time Kaoru took on each frame and savored them, which made the whole story experience all the sweeter. I cannot wait to read more of this series.

Favorite Bit: Amir – she is so fun and loveable, and even with her “elevated” age she is still a child and I adore her greatly.

Recommend?: Definitely, yes!