lastblossom reviewed Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride 1 by Midori Yuma
Beautiful artwork and competent writing power an extremely familiar fairy tale storyline that should satisfy fans of the genre.
It's one of the most enduring stories of all time: A young woman of impassable beauty and impeccable morals is abused by her family for years until a prince appears to take her from her broken life into one that treats her like the princess she is. At last she is rewarded for her years of selfless kindness and excellent housekeeping when someone in a place of power sees the true value of her and her heart. There's definitely a supernatural element. There might even be a splash of revenge on the side. This iteration also includes a very tender look at the trauma of growing up with abuse, and how much the victim learns to internalize their own blame. Quite frankly, the first bit where she was stuck with her family was hard to get through - by design, of course, but WOW. Her family is terrible. Her new …
It's one of the most enduring stories of all time: A young woman of impassable beauty and impeccable morals is abused by her family for years until a prince appears to take her from her broken life into one that treats her like the princess she is. At last she is rewarded for her years of selfless kindness and excellent housekeeping when someone in a place of power sees the true value of her and her heart. There's definitely a supernatural element. There might even be a splash of revenge on the side. This iteration also includes a very tender look at the trauma of growing up with abuse, and how much the victim learns to internalize their own blame. Quite frankly, the first bit where she was stuck with her family was hard to get through - by design, of course, but WOW. Her family is terrible. Her new life is great, with a cast of fun characters to support her as she slowly learns to accept that she deserves to be treated like an actual person.
And that's kind of all we get for the first volume. The ayakashi world-building is interesting, but not in-depth (yet), with a few details that make it stand out from other stories. Her magical power manifests in making the world's most awesome breakfasts, which literally imbue the person eating it with magic. There is some sexy blood-licking as well. But for the most part, the story is just setting up all the characters for whatever conflict is to come. There are very few surprises, but the familiarity is comforting, and very competently written. If this is the kind of story you enjoy, The Ayakashi Hunter should be a very satisfying read. The art is delicate and confident, with some really great expressions from the story's villain, and there are plenty of sexy (but low spice!) moments to be had. The translation is very easy to read, and flows naturally. There are a lot of places this could go from here to distinguish itself from similar stories, but so far, it's a great start.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics from an advance copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.