Review by C.J. Bunce
It’s easy to fall in love with Arisa, the charming lead of cartoonist Yudori’s new manhua novel Lovers of the Empire, its first volume now available here at Amazon from Fantagraphics’ new Takumigraphics imprint. Arisa is the pretty daughter of an upper class merchant in the Joseon colonial era of Japanese-occupied South Korea. Readers catch up with her in 1929 and her relationship with a similar-age boy named Jun who lives with her family at a time of cultural and technological shifts in the Eastern world.
Yudori’s simple historical love story and her precise, beautiful renderings of the leads and their era come together to deliver an Eisner Award-worthy graphic novel that will appeal to readers of manhua and manga, historical novels, and young romance.
Arisa’s household includes her father and two people he watches over, a boy named Jun and his mother, a typical house servant–the remaining family of a man who once helped Arisa’s father years ago. Jun escorts Arisa in public as her protector and dutifully reports back to Arisa’s father. The shifting times of the novel begin in this relationship. Only a few years ago it was Arisa’s father who was at a lower class level and Jun’s family from the higher class, but his father lost their status via a change in the ascension rules. His dissatisfaction with his lot in life led to his death in an altercation with a police official.
Arisa accepts her place in the world with a certain gusto. She ignores other girls her age who disparage her for trimming her eyebrows like Hollywood movie actresses, wearing modern Western clothing and sporting modern hair styles, while speaking in Japanese and English–the traditional locals stick to Korean.
The story is a typical YA love story, with Arisa as the lovely, headstrong heroine, thoroughly modern as she gets away with defying social norms in favor of Western ways–something she can only do because of her father’s social standing. Jun is the awkward boy who marvels at her beauty and forward nature, but he denies his feelings and instead criticizes her at every turn for her defiance of Korean tradition. He is a complete jerk.
Beyond the beautiful art, and the appeal of Arisa, my main takeaway from the story is a question. Can Yudori successfully take this vile romantic male lead and find a way for him to atone for his rudeness and hateful ways in future volumes so these two kids might get together in a way doesn’t leave Arisa with someone below her station and simply beneath her in every way?
The trope is a familiar one, especially in historical romance. Think Maria and Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music, or Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. These guys are complete jerks, and yet the era and circumstance leave the heroines stuck with them as their best of few options available to them. Here Jun is almost irretrievably bad–he’s not a typical bad boy in the modern sense, but a rule follower, the kind that is difficult to root for. Although there are no comedy elements here, this story may be following the framework of Jane Austen’s Emma more than Pride and Prejudice.
Yudori’s storytelling is superb. Her storyboarding and sequential building of each character while infusing elements of history via foods, fashion, and social interactions means the reader is fully immersed in this era. You’ll probably walk away feeling at a loss, not knowing what happens next, and wondering what political upheaval will get in the way of Arisa’s upward trajectory and Jun’s need to grow up fast before the world, and Arisa, leave him behind. Extra design elements are sparse, but about a dozen pages with more detail prove Yudori has great talent and style. But most panels are devoted to conveying the emotion and feelings of Arisa and Jun in a very coming-of-age manner.
This is not your typical Asian graphic novel–the story is told in a very Western manner, which may make it more accessible to Western readers, and makes it a good entry point for the medium. So many Asian comics are in black and white, so the full-color artwork is a good surprise. Yudori’s soft tones settle the reader into a 1920s South Korea that feels familiar and authentic.
An appendix includes the author’s notes on her process for creating this story and insight into her personal interests and life.
The first volume isn’t really about romance at all, so the title Lovers of the Empire would seem to give away what’s coming next. It has a Herman Wouk quality. But the seeds of romance are planted, and the couple, however unlikely, is clearly destined to get together. That’s to be learned in Volume 2, available for pre-order here, due out in 2027, with a third volume in the works. (It would be far more fun if Arisa were to leave Jun behind to conquer the world like Rose in Titanic, but this seems more on a romance trajectory than a drama or comedy).
The first volume of Lovers of the Empire is a worthy read particularly for the lovely artwork and introduction of Arisa. Order your copy now here at Amazon, released in a full-color hardcover from Fantagraphics’ Takumigraphics imprint.
