Words cannot express how much I adore this series. I'm rereading through it for the umpteenth time before I read the newest volume for the first time. Here I am more so reviewing the entire series so far as opposed to just the first volume. To be honest, I would personally find it unfulfilling to read the first volume alone, not because it is not good, but because the world opens up so much more in later volumes.

There is something so refreshing about this series. I would compare the feeling it gives me to that of Studio Ghibli movies, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Adventure Zone podcast. Genuine and kind, like a good hug. It's a very relaxing, slice-of-life style read, but it never crosses the line into boring, oversimplistic, or superficial. There is generosity, but there is also honesty. There is legitimate tension and intrigue that makes you want to keep reading, but it's not the edge-of-your-seat kind of suspense books tend to be praised for. This is different, but not in any way worse. Reading this feels leisurely, luxurious almost.

I know this is all very abstract, but the feeling reading this gives me is really its best selling point in my eyes. On a more tangible level, though, the artwork is immaculate, transcending the usual standards of manga (not that I have anything against the more typical manga-style comics). There are so many different characters, subplots, and moving parts, but it all works so well together and you never feel lost or overwhelmed. It is my understanding that much of the details are historically accurate, which, though not necessary for a good story, is always a bonus for me.

I recognize that the marriage of a 12-year-old boy and a 20-year-old woman is very weird and not okay. That being said, it is my understanding that in the time and place of that culture, it would have been viewed as much more normal and acceptable. At one point in this first volume, the uncle seems startled at the age gap, but it is then shown that his surprise was not at the fact that a child is marrying an adult, but at how old 20 is to be a bride. While I think we should reflect critically on the past, I also don't think we should ignore the parts of history we don't like for the sake of modern audiences' enjoyment. Further, it is not at all depicted as a romantic or sexual relationship, but rather more platonic or even familial. It was an arranged marriage, she did not make the decision to marry him, and they had never met before the wedding day. It is not my favorite part of the series, to be sure, but I personally don't find it reprehensible to include since the portrayal is both historically accurate and not romanticized.