Otoyomegatari
A Bride's Story

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Slow-paced, methodical writing. It might require a little bit of patience when you first start off, but it is by no mean boring.

The story is very endearing. The author took her time to portray a colorful picture of various personalities. They felt alive and real, and you can understand them; what makes them happy, their personal struggles, their thoughts and dreams, all revealed in a natural way of story-telling. Kaoru Mori sure has lots of attention to details and aspiration for the culture. You'll see it clearly in the unique way she depicts daily activities, professions, religious beliefs, food, architecture,...

Talking about the art, it is ... outright gorgeous and consistently so.

Overall, there is a subtle beauty to this work that made me think it deserves a 10. I think you can rarely find gems like this.

Otoyomegatari is a beautifully drawn "Historical Iyashikei manga" focused around a Central Asian theme of Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan/modern-day Iran back in the 1800s. The synopsis is a bit misleading as while Amir/Karluk are the main characters, the majority of the series so far focuses around the adventurers of English explorer Henry Smith. It's a cultural manga depicting the everyday lives and tribulations of the people of the region with an emphasis on the social norms of marriage and the encroaching Russian empire of the time period.

Being an Iyashikei with an element of realism, the series does an excellent job blending the realities of life and its ... hardships at that time with a positive healing elements of community and people coming together. The social and cultural elements are historically accurate to the regions and explain the significance of a culture far separated from both Japanese and European sensibilities both through its beautifully drawn aesthetic, third person explanations of events, and the tones and words of the people of the region. For those with strict sensibilities this can seem jarring as the characters rarely jump out of character to "act Japanese" or "act European" and our "secret" protagonist Henry Smith becomes enamored and enraged with the way things are at various points, but this adds to the charm. Otoyomegatari tries to show a lens into the past that is less brutal than reality at times, but that still accurately mirrors those realities through the lens of comfy nomadic living and familial elements. I highly recommend it for anyone who has a curiosity for other cultures who can maintain an open mind about those cultures.

This manga at a glance seems to cover the Caspian Sea area in the 19th century but beware readers this manga is full of many historical inaccuracies! If you don't care about historical revisionism and are looking for a wholesome manga that's inspired by Central Asian themes then I recommend it. However bear in mind there are two stories instead of the one described in the description of this manga! So prepare for a lot of skimming if you're looking only for Amir's and Karluk's blossoming love for each other.

If you do care about the historical inaccuracies then read the example I typed below ... that is in this manga.

For instance in one of the chapters the girls of the village discuss how there is a temple for a made up fertility goddess that only women are permitted to enter. The closest goddess that would fit a fertility goddess in that area would be Umay but the fertility goddess mythos is not similar at all to Umay's actual mythos in real life. On top of this there is no gender exclusive only entry for entering shaman temples in the Caspian Sea region. It seems to be made like the other historical inaccuracies in this manga to increase drama and suspense for the reader.