The Lines that Define Me (vol. 1) Is Soskuke Aoyama, a college student. He meets an artist, and he's thrown into the world of ink painting. Because of this, he meets Chiaki, the artists granddaughter.
I really enjoyed this manga. The art was beautiful, and the plot and characters were pretty well done. I liked how ink painting was described in this; you can tell it's written with passion and is well done. I would definitely be interested in continuing

The Lines That Define Me follows a youth whose lonely existence is forever changed when he crosses paths with a famous ink painter and his granddaughter.

This volume is centered on the protagonist discovering a passion for painting and his blossoming friendship with a potential love interest. It's largely character-driven so not much is happening yet, but I really like the tone and direction of the manga.

With such a solid and promising pilot, I feel like this will be an immensely beautiful read. Can't wait to see where the rest of the series goes and what happens next.

Really loved this manga about discovering ink art and yourself within it.

I believe this is one of those rare lieces, when there are fun moments and moments that make you rethink about lost opportunities.

Highly recommended.

I’d never heard of ink painting before so getting to see the process of it and how stunning the artwork is was definitely a highlight of this manga.

This follows Aoyama and his journey of becoming an apprentice to a master ink painter. The man sort of puts him into a rivalry with his granddaughter which I thought was hilarious. The two of them fighting yet slowly becoming friends was a great development. I’m excited to see how their relationship develops in future volumes!

This was a good starting volume and it’s for sure left me wanting to read more in the future. If you like art, rivalries and pretty illustrations, check this one out!

3.5/5⭐️

Easy the best new manga I've read in the last two years. In one volume it managed to convey that it isn't just about art, but about loss, found family, and healing. One I'll recommend to both teenage and adul fans of the genre.

I received a copy of this manga through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What can I say to show how much I loved this manga!? I did not expect it to be this amazing but here we are…😅
This is such a beautiful story, the art is just gorgeous. The characters are highly lovable, especially the old master of ink paintings. The scenes with his wise and witty remarks are priceless. Aoyama is such a sweet and pure character with a sad past. I even like Chiaki who is tough on the outside but who actually has a kind heart.😊😊
Why do I get a vibe that Aoyama is actually a girl? Am I delusional? 🤔

Beautiful manga with a melancholy undertone. I'm a bit surprised this one isn't coming out in print- I hope there are plans for an omnibus eventually? This is one I would like to have on my library shelves.

I really enjoyed The Lines that Define Me.
After a chance meeting with a famous ink artist Toyama issued to apprentice under him.
I liked the mc Aoyama and am really looking forward to learning more about him in the next volume.
I also really liked Chiaki and can't wait till they start competing.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher/netgalley for an honest review.

*Thank you Netgallery for providing me with the opportunity to read this e-ARC.*

The story of The Lines That Define Us revolves around ink-painting its beauty and art. We follow a college boy, Sosuke Aoyama, who encounters the artist Kozan Shinoda who takes him as his apprentice. We discover and learn more about ink-painting alongside with Aoyama. This is a beautiful manga and I can't wait to read volume 2.

In The Lines That Define Me, Vol. 1, Hiromasa Togami (writer) and Atsunori Horiuchi (illustrator) present a new art manga with a lot of heart.

The story follows Sosuke, a struggling college student who bumps into a famous suibokuga artist at a gallery. He becomes captivated by the art medium, so he agrees to become the artist’s apprentice, entering into the world of Indian ink painting and finding himself along the way.

First off, with so many high school-centric manga, I love that we’re getting a slightly older protagonist. Sosuke is a lonely college student adrift in life, and the manga does a wonderful job of capturing that. There are these smaller, subtle details in the manga that help add to the believability. For instance, Sosuke’s barren apartment with barely even any furnishings feels like a really realistic portrayal of a broke college student.

However, some of the characters feel a little flat at first—especially Chiaki, but as the story progresses, gradually we start to see growth and more and more layers to them.

All in all, The Lines that Define Me is a bittersweet, introspective manga about self-discovery, art, and grief that I would recommend to fans of Blue Period.

"Everyone has someone in life who makes them think..."I'm so glad I met that person." To me, you were that person."


Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

❗This is a completely spoiler-free ARC review from Netgalley❗


So, recently I was accepted for a bunch of ARC reviews on NetGalley (yeap, I'm bragging) and I decided that for the one-week break I have between the end of my exams and the start of the new semester, I'm going to read at least one ARC a day and catch up. This is basically like a vacation for me. I'm so excited!! 😄😄


I will never not love mangas. Seriously, I love them so much. Whether they are dark and gory with bloodthirsty monsters or cute rom-coms with adorable young adults, they never fail to amaze me. This one falls under the category of the latter. Cute and undeniably attractive, artsy sophomores in college that will compete with each other for an art award but have undeniable chemistry. Where do I sign up!?

This manga was decently done, it hit all the right notes. The story was pretty intriguing. There wasn't any mystery or anything like that, yet I was still deeply invested in it and it looked promising from the start. It wasn't even anything too extraordinary, more like pretty simple actually. Boy with a real knack for creating ink art meets veteran artist who takes him in as an apprentice, and it is then he meets the very pretty, very talented girl (also an apprentice) he will compete against and the chemistry between them is off the charts. See? Pretty simple, right? Yet, I was completely hooked on it, from start to finish. It was just so adorable, how could I not?? 😍😍 I seriously can't wait to read the next volume.

I feel like it's pretty clear that I also found the MCs to be adorable. The old man was just the cutest. Just a sweet old man with mad painting skills, who sees talent in some loner kid one day and decides to teach him all he knows. The protagonist, Sosuke Aoyama, was pretty damn lovable, too. Shy, kind, and a little awkward, with a sweet face. Those are some of my absolute favourite traits in a male character (yes, I know I'm basically describing Timothee Chalamet, but come on, you can't tell me he's not a ridiculously adorable human being). Then we have Chiaki, incredibly beautiful, and extremely talented, a little cold on the outside but much kinder on the inside. She is a fitting contradiction to Sosuke Aoyama, which is one of my favorite tropes to read. I can't wait to explore more of them in the following volumes. Plus, their competitors-to-friends-to-lovers kind of vibe/trope they've got going on is looking very promising. Also, it's clear that there's major character development and backstories coming soon, for all the MCs, which to me, is really really important, and I really really can't wait 😍😍.


I would definitely recommend this.

It’s easy to see why people are raving about The Lines That Define Me. It’s a bit equal parts whimsical and emotional. I definitely see this being a big summer hit in 2022.

Especially for those who appreciated the art aspects of Blue Period, but struggled to keep up with all the theory of technique and jargon.

This story focuses on ink painting art in particular, but it’s clear that’s mainly a way to drive the plot of the story and connect the characters. This is more about the people than the art.

However, the art is nice – it has the sort of clean line work that almost sparkles? It’s a nice offset to the ink painting depicted throughout. I like the way color is used to share tone.

Thanks to Kodansha and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of The Lines That Define Me for my honest opinion.

Thank you so much to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.

This is a cute, educational manga with a hint of sadness. We begin this story at an art exhibition for ink painting. It's quite interesting to see the constrast between the art of the characters and background, and the style of the ink paintings. Everything is quite beautiful to look at.

Our main character, Sosuke, has a chance encounter with a master of this art. This old man adopts Sosuke as his apprentice, and we learn right along with Sosuke how to get the ink ready for painting, and how to hold the brush. One thing that is reiterated in this story is that the emotions of the painter are reflected in their work.

Along the way we find out that Sosuke is a bit of a loner, and has a sad air about him. We know that something happened in his past that he hasn't completely come to terms with. This is brought up at the very end of this volume, which gives it a perfect, but bittersweet ending.

Overall this is quite a relaxing volume to read, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in art.

This was super interesting!
It actually surprised me a lot and I'll definitely be looking into continuing this series. I'm interested in seeing how this story developes.

A very interesting manga with some good character interaction and some actual commentary on painting. The first half pacing can feel jumble but once the student meets the teacher the manga picks up.

The first chapter of The Lines That Define Me was confusing. Guy randomly gets fed and taken on a gallery tour by a famous artist – the main character is equally confused. As the story progresses this starts to make sense and, for me, the second half was more enjoyable.

I liked learning about ink art, the pictures that were painted and how the art reflects the characters. I’m not sure where the story is going but I do want to read another instalment to see.

'The Lines that Define Me, Volume 1' by Hiromasa Togami and Atsunori Horiuchi is a manga about a chance encounter between a younger and older man.

Sosuke Aoyama is a young man on his own until he meets up Kozan Shinoda. Unbeknownst to Aoyama, Kozan Shinoda is a famous ink painter and he invites the young man to learn to paint. This sets up a rivalry with Shinoda's granddaughter, who is also a student.

I really enjoyed this story of an encounter with a stranger that could save a life. The art is quite lovely. I liked this quieter story and I really want to know what happens.

I received a review copy of this manga from Kodansha and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.

Beautiful manga, love the art and the story is really interesting. The main characters are cool. The story is fascinating and I can't wait to find out more

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha, Hiromasa Togami, and Atsunori Horiuchi for the opportunity to read this manga in exhange for an honest review.

This story is about college student Sosuke who ends up being invited to analyze art with a strange old man. When Sosuke shows promise as a painter through his artistic view alone, the man invites him over to come learn how to do line ink painting. The old man is actually a very well-known artist, at least in the world of those who would recognize him, seeing as Sosuke had no idea who the man was. Knowing Sosuke has great potential, the man pits the college student against his own granddaughter in hopes of nurturing the unknown skills of a future artist.

I love the are in this manga. The flow is quick and each page, like the arttistic story it portrays, is carefully thought out with not too many words, leaving more room for the reader to admire the art of the manga. This series is a great story of inspiration and finding one's own path or skill that they may not have yet discovered in life. This series has a lot of potential and I think this will be one I follow!

[Thank you to Kodansha and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a voluntary, unbiased review.]

This was a quick read, but was very moving. I'd give it a 4.5.

The character development was gentle, mature and enjoyable. I almost cried when Aoyama made himself vulnerable in a scene near the end. I was disappointed when I got to the end because I want to know more!

The artwork was lovely with distinct character designs and "clean" lines that enhanced the story. I'm glad I picked this up and am looking forward to the next volume.