About the Mangaka

Nothing available on Song Yang sadly. Please drop me a line if you know anything!!

About the Manga

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I put of reading this till last because it was a totally new thing to me. Not only was it a new series, but also a new format. You see this is a Chinese Manhua. To be honest everything about this series is different to those of manga and manhwa.

The biggest change is the art style. I’m not sure if this is the format usually used in manhua, but here we have a more airy, light, sketch art style. The character designs are really interesting, and they’re awesome!!

Song Yang’s art is awesome, and consistent. It’s hard to really judge this art style, especially since this is the first time I’ve seen it. However those that I thought could have been flaws, when seen as a whole, actually looks pretty good.

To be honest the art style is more akin to the western comics I grew up with which used  a similar style. The cover for this volume is just awesome as well. It’s a perfect show piece for the style of the art used in the series.

The extra sections are equally amazing, full of pencil sketches of the art which I loved as well.

The story is interesting as well I have to admit. Rather than being told as stories usually are, this one is done from the perspective of the leads memory. It’s like he’s reading a diary he wrote of his past. As such a lot of the dialogue is done through thought boxes, though not all of it.

I don’t know anything of china, nor it’s history, but I found this story fairly easy to follow and understand. At two two volumes long I was a bit worried over this, wondering if the story would have a chance to really grow. However since it’s a single novel two volumes should be enough.

The story follows Ma Xiaojun during Chinas cultural revolution, both as he rebels against the system, and as he finds his first love.

I liked the flow of the story, which is a bit on the slow side at times, but in general is pretty good.

I was a little confused over apparent time skips however, especially towards the end of the volume. I was left scratching my head wondering what was going on really.

The other side that confused me was the Key thing, it’s set up as a obsession, but after it’s used as the hook once it’s dropped and doesn’t appear again, in this volume at least.

That said, I have to admit I enjoyed this. A new style in both art and format made an enjoyable read. However I can see it not being for everyone, rather I can see it appealing only to a niche audience. Nothing wrong with that, but I can’t see it becoming the next big thing.

I think for most people, the fact it reads more like a history text book will be a bit off putting. Also the lack of adventure, ecchi elements will be further off putting for the teens. However if you can get past that and give it a chance, I think it will attract a good audience.

There is one other thing of note to mention, this is a huge volume, running approximately fifty more pages than the usual manga, clocking in at two-hundred and forty pages. Which I found to be exceptionally good value for the cost.

Yen did an excellent job on this, which I’m getting a bit tiered of saying lol. Just once I’d love to say they did a crap job!! hehe kidding!! The quality of this volume is exceptional and I have to admit this is a series I will be following. Though since it’s only two volumes that isn’t saying much hehe.

I’m hoping this is the first in a line of Chinese manhua to come, this one really sparked my interest in the style. I really want to see more of it.

Where to Buy

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