Another historical masterpiece (I dare say that from one chapter) judging from the amount of research she put in for Emma. It's a pity this one is not coloured.

Very beautiful, well-drawn with high attention to detail, which is clear from the very first breathtaking panel in the intricate patterns of textiles, ornaments, and clothing. Some panels, can be works of art on their own.

True to its "slice of life" and "historical" label, Otoyome-gatari is basically about the day-to-day lives of these people in a village of some ancient middle-eastern territory. I'm not well-versed in the history of that time, but as far as I can tell, it's not based on a major historical conflict. I mean, the historical aspect doesn't add anything interesting besides the clothing, textile, architecture, etc. nothing to the plot. They're hunting rabbits and that's the plot of an entire chapter. And nothing else happens. It's as interesting as buying a whopper from Burger King. And there's a spot where there's some conflict, but you're just kind of like "are you serious?" and it feels really cardboard-y.

I was hoping for character and story, but it's lacking. It's dull. The main female character is portrayed as a one-dimensional, perfect, slightly vapid, being. The romance is between a 20 year old woman and a 12 year old boy who hasn't even gone through puberty, which I didn't even realize until like a couple chapters in, because she alternates between acting like she's 12 herself or his mother. It's just so boring. I read up to Ch.10, then got too bored to continue.

It's a good series to appreciate the art, or learn how to draw, and maybe get a sense for that place and time period, but not for entertainment. Should take a look, but don't expect anything out of the story. Once you read the first chapter or so, you've read the whole thing.

Also, just a note, some nudity, but nothing sexual.

... Last updated on December 22nd, 2010, 9:41pm

The art is beautiful i have to give credit for that, but for the rest it reads like a history book and is rather boring overall, and yeah i know its slice of life but still it could have been interesting

I wanted to give this manga a try, and so I did.

Sadly, I was so irritated with the lead women characters. It is the annoying strong male, weak female mentality between the main relationships.

Amir is supposed to be 20, but she acts like a 12 year old. Her husband is supposed to be 12, but actually acts like a 20 year old. The 12 year old is already wonderfully mature, understanding, with subtle wisdom, but the 20 year old wife can act very childlike.

Amir is very talented at hunting - skilled with a bow, skilled on a horse, skilled at taking down sorts of animals of all sizes - but then needs the small preteen boy to save her life like the usual damsal in distress. Really??

She is constantly meek, leaps up at any chance to cling to her little husband in every chapter, is panicy, and for however reason is falling in love with him. Additionally, The relationship seems to be perfect and calm from the very start, with immediate attraction and bonding. I was hoping for a little bit more of journey and a learning process between the two, and to see what it was like for an adult bride to deal with such a situation. Sadly, again, this was missing. There is no stress between the two; the only thing that happens is a bad fever and a brief stint of people trying to get Amir back. Then the story takes a turn and focuses on something else.

The Western Anthropologist's love interest is no better. She is meek/timid, eyes casting down, and has a tendency of running off.

Kaoru Mori is great, but the potrayal of these female leads is getting very disapointing. It was like in "Emma" - while I initially enjoyed the story, the character of Emma had a tendency to take off from William (She did this at least a couple times; she sees him, then turns around and runs the other way) blushed every second page, looks down at the ground, faints, surrounds herself in muted melancholy even when others show kindness and friendship to her...and has the tendency to need William to catch her everytime she needs help, gets hurt, whatever.

I'm not sure if Kaoru thinks it is all sweet, cute and romantic, but it isn't appealling, and it's very old fashioned. Maybe I am just strange little minority, or maybe I'm just too old on account that I'm pushing my mid 20's, but I am more drawn to stronger women characters - and more equal, dynamic relationships.

The supporting female characters are oddly the more stronger ones. In the case in this series, I really liked the grandmother, who really is a solid matriach and stands up for what she believed in. I also reasonably liked Amir's friend, the unconventional girl who isn't very good at some of the household chores, and doesn't let go of the chance to beat up on a boy (including her possible betrothed) or open her mouth to tell it like it is.

It's funny in a way, Kaoru Mori makes poor main female roles, but she can actually do a decent job at making the other minor/supporting ladies more developed, tougher, and less one-dimensional.


Overall, the impact of the plot was a bit weak for me, with empty dialogue being apparent or prolonged unnecessary scenes. The parts that are supposed to be a climax felt a bit forced too. Unfortuntely, it felt like work having to read towards the end. There are some solid parts, but not enough to keep me going.

For the record though, the art is absolutely beautiful. So for the eyecandy market, you won't be disapointed (Though I do wonder if it is too beautiful....the characters are all perfectly clean, tidy, clear skinned, attractive, gorgeous attires...it might be a tiny bit too unrealistic, considering they are supposed to be Tribal Nomads travelling and living off amongst harsher lands. Normally these people are quite tough, and it shows from their reality of daily life. But, a minor complaint)

I really wished I could have liked this series, I really do. But it was just a bit more of a miss for me. And I am the type that enjoys realism, and real authentic storylines and dialogue - but in this case there was a lack.

Originally I only read this because of the comedy tag, but was disappointed to realize the comedy is almost nonexistent. The story seems to alternate between very light romance and tradition/cultural drama. Some of the themes are very serious, but at the same time everything is portrayed in a positive family friendly way which is a bit confusing and breaks the immersion.

Overall well made but ultimately forgettable manga.

I absolutely love the way the art and plot is executed, but NOTHING INTERESTING EVER HAPPENS

4/10 for the effort. If somebody else was writing the story this manga would go a long ways

Painstakingly researched portrayal of different lifestyles in Central Asia during the 19th century. Be it marriage, clan resolutions and territorial disputes or hunting, bread baking and needlework - no matter how mundane they seem, Mori Kaoru depicts them down to the smallest detail. And it is this unerring accuracy that brings her work to life. The atmosphere is so rich that one feels like a member of the settled families or the restless nomads.

Highly educational/ non-instructive: ★★★

... Last updated on January 20th, 2015, 8:42am

I gotta say I'm disappointed in Kaoru Mori over this manga. Her art is beautiful, yes, but I was just disheartened by the fact her character killed those rabbits. I thought Mori would have more sensibility and sensitivity, but I guess not. She could have revealed her character's determination through something less cruel. Emma is better.

The art is amazing and very detailed. You can tell that the mangaka tried hard to portay the rural life of Central Asia. And, also, she must have done her research in order to grasp the atmosphere of that era. However, her themes, like a marriage between a 20 year old woman and a 12 year old child (with big puppy eyes and child-like appearance), plus, her persistence to win his affections, are disturbing to me. And by the way, I've read this manga up to a point to form an opinion as to what it has to offer other than that. I couldn't continue reading it with an open mind as other readers here and thus I left it.

... Last updated on April 23rd, 2022, 7:05am

(Against the avalanche of positive reviews, I strongly urge you to read this one before picking up this series. Because I regret ever picking it up, and urge anyone in search of anything this manga purports to provide to look elsewhere.)

Otoyomegatari is a manga about life on the Mongolian steppes. As you may have gathered from the tags, or the description, it attempts to be a "cute" upbeat story. There is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with the premise (well, maybe a little bit -- we'll get to that.) The way the manga is executed however, which may seem innocuous at first, becomes extremely disturbing in later volumes. To explain how and why, we'll need a little more context.

Otoyomegetari has a shifting point of view. It does not just cover one couple, either, or one family, or even one village, but attempts to be a sweeping portrait of different lifestyles across Asia and eastern Europe during this period. The first couple it portrays is a newly arranged marriage in a small village on the Mongolian steppes (arranged marriage may not be a particularly cheerful subject, but they like each other well enough and the respective families that negotiated the marriage are both more or less good people in their own ways, so all in all a pretty cheerful set up.)

(Stick with me, I swear this is going somewhere.)

As was mentioned, you might imagine this is not a particularly gritty portrayal of what small time village life on the Mongolian steppes actually looked like -- and you would be *mostly* right. Disease is virtually not existent, the deaths can be counted on one hand (and only happen to villains anyways.) Everyone is sparkly clean, daily village work is portrayed as a fun collective task.

The problem is that this manga does not contain itself to being a happy go lucky story set in some parallel universe sixteenth century Mongolia where everyone is civilized and there are no problems. Very real problems are introduced, such as war, poverty, slavery, the lack of rights for women (in some chapters they're bought and sold like cattle), polygamy, and other issues.

The problem is there is *no* tonal shift whatsoever. I mean that in the worst possible way you can imagine. All these serious issues show up at various points, but never is there the slightest hint that maybe any of these horrible, horrible events could possibly be wrong. The series, impossibly, keeps its upbeat attitude, and ends up portraying all of these ugly aspects of the medieval world as "fun" and "quirky" aspects of its happy-go-lucky self.

I can not stress enough how disturbing I found this in later volumes. Slavery? Oh so fun. Don't you know all slaves just wanted to help and serve their masters, just like all those adorkable manga maids? War? Haha those silly Russians never learn. Famine and disease? Dohoho, look at how cute these people terrified from dying of incurable diseases are. Polygamy and literal harems? Obviously a consensual joy for all involved.

This is like the evil alternate universe version of Leave It To Beaver. I'm half expecting a chapter about how much of a silly fun fun fest the bubonic plague was.

The mangaka's completely uncritical, un-ironic, and upbeat portrayal of the ugliest aspects of medieval civilization (or lack thereof) is extremely disturbing. Some of the things that happen in this manga are horrifying, and should make you step back and gasp but instead are portrayed happily as part of the most f***ed up sitcom on earth. I wish I could go apologize to all the people who lived through these horrors, 'cause this is just complete disrespect.

If you want a happy, upbeat romance let me give you a few suggestions off the top of my head; Akagami no Shirayukihime (look, its even another medieval-style fantasy), Boku wa Hajikko ga Suki, Shiawase Kissa 3-choume. There's tons more out there. Just do yourself a favor and turn around and go read something else. Anything else. 'Cause this is crap.

(P.S. The fact that anyone called this manga "educational" is a huge joke.)

... Last updated on April 18th, 2015, 12:14pm