This was a good read. I had a good time reading it.

The illustrations were also good.

The plot though simple was quite engaging.

Thanks to the author and Netgalley for allowing me to read this manga.

I'm amazed by this story. I started reading it without expectations; because art is not one of my favorite topics; however, I loved how reading it was entertaining while introducing you to certain topics about ink painting, and it never got boring. The ending left me wanting to immediately read the 2nd volume and with the suspicion that the story will be deeper than we imagined.

I loved this, the art is beautiful, the plot and characters are so well created, I just was hooked , focusing on the MC discovering a passion for painting and his burgeoning friendship with a love interest. The only negative I have is that I want more

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the opportunity to read and review this manga. This was an interesting story that involves Ink painting and adult relationships. I appreciate the artstyle of the characters and the paintings. I am truly curious to see how the series continues on and I think if you appreciate Blue Period and I Hear the Sunspot, check this out. However, I think I wanted more to it than what was presented. Because of these points, I have to give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

Lord, this manga was actually SUPER good!

I didn't know what to expect, but I came out just tearing up and I have tears welled up as I am writing this review.

Personal Ratings : 4.5🌟

The Lines That Define Me tells the story of Aoyama and his encounter with an odd old man during his part time work. It turned out that the old man was actually a great ink artist, and that he took him in as his apprentice, in dues in how he appreciated the art. Its a journey of self-relevation, and showed how loneliness can be cured in the form of art ; an art which is also a form of culture cultivation. Moving and definitely made me moved reading it.

Personal Thoughts

Lord, this manga is super good. Its philosophical and it showed the loneliness of a boy, somehow cured by the art that he's somehow good at. Aoyama is such an interesting character, and he somehow reminded me of the characters from Kono Oto Tomare, where music became a source of escapism for them, and for this manga, its ink art, which is a form of traditional art that is instilled to create something beautiful , in sorts of what calligraphy is.

I loved this manga. It caught me by surprise. It showed how a person with a deep cut and trauma in their past makes one of the best arts and there's a difference in appreciating art and just admiring them from afar. Aoyama has a discern eye, and because of his pain, he somewhat understood the basis of becoming an ink artist. I loved his journey, and I loved his philosophies and I loved how kind he is. Honestly, I just wanted to hug him.

The mangaka did a great job in creating a plotline and a story that is moving and caught my heart. Its an appreciation of a form of art that is not practiced as much , and also showing how we can't judge a person by its cover. Humans are packed with potential and it takes one chance for a person to unleash what they have. Such a great manga and one that I would highly recommend to everyone.

Big thank you to Netgalley for providing an e-ARC of this!

Are you looking for an introspective novel that will make you think? Then look no further! The Lines That Define Me Volume 1 is here!

Most people know what it feels like to feel adrift in life – like we don't know what we want to do or who we want to be. For some, this period doesn't linger for very long. For others, it can make you feel as if you're drowning.

Sosuke Aoyama falls under the latter category. That is until he met Kozan Shinoda, a renowned suibokuga artist. Something about his art, and the process of making art, connect with Sosuke. Suddenly, it feels like he's found his purpose in life.

The Lines That Define Me Volume 1 is one story that gets under your skin, whether you want it to or not. Sosuke is going through something that I feel would resonate with many readers. Who here hasn't felt lost or unsure?

I love the concept of art being used as a life raft. Here it saves Sosuke, giving purpose to his life (and this story!). It's perfect, and I look forward to seeing how the rest of this story goes.

This is a beautifully illustrated manga that gives the readers a small introductory glimpse into the world of ink painting. The characters are intriguing, and I keep wanting to learn more and more about Sosuke Aoyama with every little bit of info that is revealed in his conversations.

The drawings are stunning, but the story is full of tropes and highly unpleasant in how it caters to male fantasies. Sosuke, the main character, is a good-for-nothing young man that is randomly picked out by the most prestigious ink painter in Japan, who is later so impressed by Sosuke’s comment on artworks that he goes out of his way to teach Sosuke how to paint. This, of course, then puts Sosuke into close contact with the old man’s proud, talented, fiercely competitive and drop-dead-gorgeous granddaughter Chiaki. Art criticism is grossly misrepresented. The idea that you can look at an artwork and perfectly intuit the artist’s personality and physical appearance is just preposterous. What’s worst is the sexism and fetishisation of the female protagonist, like the way Sosuke keeps dwelling on Chiaki’s physical beauty (her thorny personality is horrid though) and how his friend refers to her as a babe and wants to invite her to his event because she’s pretty and the group is currently a ‘sausage party’. The plot is cheesy to the extreme: a wise old master discovers a young hidden talent; the ingenious novice slowly learns the joys of painting and gains the approval of the hostile but essentially attractive heroine. I would not recommend this manga to anyone and definitely will not read the following volumes.

I unfortunately was not able to review this title because it got archived the same day that I was approved for it - however the concept really intrigued me and I will definitely be checking out the final version in the future!

Thank you to Kondansha for the opportunity, and I can’t wait to read this.

This volume has made this series a must-read for me. Absolutely mesmerizing from start to finish. The artstyle is beautiful, and compliments the story so well - but it was the story, and particularly the emotional aspect of the story that really hooked me. I was excited to read this one, but didn't expect to love it as much as I did.

This was a wonderful, wistful read that ended up being a lot more emotional than I had anticipated. The art was actually gorgeous, and I loved the contrast between the manga art and the ink paintings. I also really enjoyed learning more about the art of suibokuga alongside Aoyama, and as someone who doesn’t know a lot about art myself, I appreciated how thoughtful this approach left me. Speaking of Aoyama, I absolutely loved the character development in this story. We meet a handful of main characters in this volume, and with that heartbreaking ending, I actually can’t wait for volume 2. Please bring this to print, Kodansha!

Aoyama is a college student, drifting through life and unsure of where he's headed. Having lost his passion for life, Aoyama takes a job at an art gallery where he meets famous ink artist Kozan Shinoda. Swiftly taken under Shinoda wing. Aoyama begins to explore the world of painting with India ink and finds his interest peaked. Shinoda takes him in as an apprentice, teaching him the basics and nurturing his natural talents.

A bit of a slower paced manga, this is designed to make you reflect as it touches on the beautiful and intriguing traditional art of Japanese ink painting.

Thanks to Net Galley & Kodansha for the manga

The manga somehow educate me about traditional Japanese ink painting or also called as suiboku-ga. It begins with such emotional story and I enjoy reading it. It is not everyday you're able to learn something new and that's why I enjoy manga or books that able to educate me many sort of things, Putting aside that, the artstyle is so mesmerizing and I truly love it! This is such a gentle, wholesome and emotional manga for me.

Glorious. The story and artwork are both beautiful and soft. I was thoroughly entranced. I cannot wait to get my hands on volume 2.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

Another winner from Kodansha! The Lines that Define Me, Volume 1 by By Hiromasa Togami and Atsunori Horiuchi is an artistic manga about ink painting, but following this volume feels like it will take a deep look into grief and the character's lives. Just the whole volume was so intriguing and beautiful; I'm happy I got a chance to read it.

Thank you so much to the publishing company, Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for providing me with a copy!!!

Wow…I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did! I love how unique the storyline was especially since it’s in regards to ink paintings. I just couldn’t help but get sucked in and I read this in less than 30 minutes. This book got me hooked right from Chapter 1. I can already tell readers will be getting great character and relationship development as the series continues on!

I’m a huge shojo fan and I feel like nothing but a cute romantic read can get me through the day. But this one gave me the same feels. The romance wasn’t as prominent…But just seeing the main character discover a new passion hit me so hard.

This was a quick and easy read set around the main charcater finding themselves and dealing with all of thier stuff through artwork. It was a lovely story and I loved the drawings. It is a very well done manga novel and so enjoybale to read.

Beautifully told and Beautifully drawn.

This is a very gentle story about a young man who is able to come to terms with life through art. Sosuke Aoyama is a college student who manages to get some temporary work setting up exhibition space. He meets the exhibition artist but doesn’t know who he is really. The two of them hit it off and the artist, Kozan Shinoda, senses that Sosuke may have some talent because he manages to see things more deeply. The older painter decides to take the young man on as an apprentice.

Sosuke Aoyama is surprised when he realises that Kozan is really a popular artist and he is even more surprised when he is offered an apprenticeship. He agrees to this and steps into a world that is totally unknown to him. As time passes he recognises that he has a feeling for this kind of work and so he pushes into the apprenticeship with all that he has. Along the way he meets Kazan’s granddaughter and despite a bumpy start the two decide to work together.

This is just the first volume of the story and it will be very interesting to see where the author takes it. The artwork is lovely and the storyline is moving even though we are not given any ‘great reveal’ into Sosuke’s background. It is clear that there is a deeper story here because Sosuke reveals a little about his past. Now that he finds himself in this new kind of family of artists, he knows that there is going to be much change to his life.

I thought this was actually a really moving manga even though it wasn’t too emotionally heavy. The story presents as the story of a young man who is being mentored by a famous artist, but there are hints of other stories yet to be revealed. I really enjoyed reading this and I’m looking forward to the next volume. Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Although <i>The Lines that Define Me</i> is about <i>suiboku-ga</i>, or traditional Japanese ink painting, that's really only the vehicle through which the characters express themselves. Aoyama, the protagonist, is clearly not doing well from the moment we meet him, setting up for an art exhibit - he's worryingly lightheaded as he heads for the door and definitely on the thin side. That catches the eye of grandfatherly Kozan Shinoda, a renowned ink painter, and he immediately takes the young man under his wing, feeding him and then taking him around the exhibit. At the end, he invites Aoyama to come study under him, and there's a sense that this is not just because Aoyama clearly has an eye for ink painting, but also because there's something very, very wrong in his life and Shinoda wants to help him.

The hints are beautifully sown throughout the obvious plot about Aoyama learning this traditional art. His empty apartment, his obsession with painting as he learns it, and his comment to Chiaki (Shinoda's granddaughter) that he has money he doesn't know what to do with all point to depression from a terrible experience. Chiaki and Shinoda's other apprentice do eventually notice it - as well as the fact that Aoyama plainly isn't eating enough; even though he has money, he seems to exist on cup noodles - but the old man saw it right from the start. He's been trying to help Aoyama learn to cope by stressing the meditational aspects of ink painting, but clearly Aoyama is still hurting.

The art, therefore, is an allegory for Aoyama's life. There is beauty in sadness, but that's only if you don't overdo it and let it take over, and that's what Aoyama needs to learn. As allegories go, this is a good one, and even if you don't think art is your thing, I highly recommend picking this up, because like all good art, it's true meaning is in the eyes of the beholder.

So whimsical! Love how this story was told and all the artistic elements really touched me. The actual manga art style used was so unique and nothing like I've seen published lately and I really enjoyed that. Too often I feel like romance manga skips out slightly on having a more daring style, and this one does not.