I loved the story line and concept, but I don't feel like I fully understood it. The artwork was amazing!

Uncomfortable read. Seems a bit problematic in a way that seems out of place for 2021. The illustration style was alright. Perhaps I am not the demographic for this title, as I am a person of color divesting from white authors writing about perspective that they cannot relate to.

Thank you, Europe Comics and Netgalley, for this free e-Arc. The following is my voluntary review.

This graphic novel about an author searching for inspiration and a sense of self was full of landscapes beautiful enough that I would love to have prints of them to display.

Unfortunately, the character design was not to my preference. I found it jarring, both visually and in contrast with the landscape and background images. I haven't read it in French, so I cannot comment on the competency of the narration, however the English version had no overt problems in grammar. I also appreciated some of the poetry incorporated into the dialogue.

The story itself was sweet, but at times a bit disjointed and the ending was a bit bland.

Overall, it was fine and worth reading once for the images, but it's not a work I would reread.

I loved this book. Usually this comedy comic artstyle for characters isn't for me but this story was so relatable. I went to Japan 4 years ago knowing about as much Japanese as the french illustrator that's our main character. And also the connection to Japanese nature I can totally understand and that's also mostly what's pulling me back there. I loved the landscape illustrations as and the way they explained small folk tales of the Japanese like the earthquake fish. I had them in Japanese history class (I am a Japanese studies student). Also the way the illustrations seemed to have something of the actual Ukiyo-e. I am a bit lost on how old Nami isconsidering they were talking about pictures drawn before 1900 where she was ten and then she mentioned sending her husband to Fukushima in 2011. But also that's charming. We often see Magical Realism in Japanese literature and this book combined it with it's own style. Also I think the Haiku part is interesting because Haiku in Japanese and Haiku in western languages are not exactly the same. It's hard because in japan we have sounds that can be a syllable but don't need to while in western speaking countires we only know syllables. Also I am not used to reading Japanese words in romanian letters anymore and the long syllables weren't translated in the way I am used to but in this case it just underlined the communication problems. As I am learning this language myself and I had the experience of going to Japan before I properly did so at university this book is extremely relatable to me and that's probably why I loved it so much.

I thought this book was interesting, not really what I expected at all. However, I wasn't the biggest fan of the art style, although that's my personal preference. I also felt like it kind of ended suddenly. I thought there should be more at the end, and it left me hanging. Overall though, I would be interested in checking out other books by this author.

The Young Woman and the Sea is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel about a young woman travelling through rural Japan to paint its natural landscapes. She meets multiple unique characters that help to guide her journey of discovery.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the stunning pieces of art and appreciated the incorporation of Japanese culture and stories. I did feel like the dialogue seemed awkward and abrupt, which made the storyline difficult to follow at times.
But I still think this novel is worth the read and would recommend it to those interested in art or Japanese culture.

Cute little graphic novel. I loved the art style!! I think the writing could have been a little less choppy but that may just be due to the nature of a graphic novel. Although, I have read some that flowed a little better than this one.

The art in this graphic novel is beautiful. The colors and textures give so much emotion to the story. They style of comic is reminiscent of OG newspaper cartoons, which I think greatly influenced the humor. With that in mind, the main character was a bit…obnoxious for me. They seemed a tad too oblivious to cultural cues that it made it a bit awkward to read at times.

This book was lovely, inspiring us to take the time to look around and appreciate the beauty of nature. It was a beautiful book with amazing artwork, will probably read again when life seems to be moving to fast.

The story is about a young illustrator travelling in Japan. I enjoyed the journey itself of the main character, who I discovered only later on represented the author/ illustrator of the comic herself, travelling and discovering nature in Japan. I also enjoyed the way there were several discussions about art and what some art works mean.

But it went downhill for me the moment I noticed the way the Japanese characters were drawn. It’s done in a very stereotypical way. And some of the characters’ ways of reacting to the Japanese culture comes over as ignorant.

I did learn a lot by the discussions in the comic around some philosophical questions and discussions about life/ art etc… and I also highly enjoyed the paintings of nature in the comic.

This book wasn’t for me. Their was a lot of Japanese references and references i felt were important to the story for me to attach to the characters or understanding what was going on. I also had a hard time picking up the tone of the story. Some thing seemed humorous while other stuff seemed serious. I think this book is probably really good to someone, I’m just the wrong person.

The illustrations of nature and the Japanese countryside are very beautifully drawn. Immediately they brought to mind the painting of 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa' by Hokusai who was later referred to in the anime. I wasn't so keen on how some of the characters such as the protagonist were drawn. I felt it took away from the aesthetic appeal of the wider illustrations. Perhaps the protagonist was drawn in a more unrefined way to demonstrate her difference in a foreign land as she referred to this difference a number of times when talking to the other painter and the tanuki.

The storyline itself is interesting and quite philosophical at times. There are many references to the power of nature and ultimately the hold it has over humanity. It could easily inspire one to consider their mortality amid the current climate crisis.

What was most frustrating regarding this anime was that of the ending. It ended abruptly and felt unfinished. I continued to scroll thinking that I had a corrupted file and that the end was missing but that was not the case. It doesn't work having such a sudden conclusion. There is a major lack of finality here and I felt robbed by the ending.

This was a short, sweet graphic novel following an artist at the beginning of her residency in Japan, as she discovers the country's natural beauty, culture and customs. It's greatest strength was the landscape artwork and beautifully illustrated flowers and plants - reflecting the subject of the artist's residency, and reminiscent of Japanese masters.

However, by contrast I found the scratchy, sketchy character design didn't fit well against the beauty and detail of the landscapes. The characters comedic moments, and the "cartoony" tanuki also felt a bit out of place (despite it referencing Studio Ghibli's Pom Polo). The plot also felt meandering and without focus - I didn't feel satisfied by the ending, and wish I could have seen the paintings produced by the artists and/or seen the main character's residency completed.

Overall, a nice read full of beautiful landscapes, but I would have liked the story to have gone deeper.

Edit: a few days after reading this, I'm going to lower my rating to a 2 star as a more realistic reflection of how I feel towards this graphic novel. Ultimately, this wasn't a favourite, and the beautiful backgrounds don't make up for the other issues I had with it. These characters unfortunately won't stick with me.

A story of artistry illustrated with care but lacking in depth. While poetic and mystical, the storyline felt meandering and I found myself skimming pages only to pause at the beautiful drawings.

The juxtaposition of the simple character designs and the detailed scenic landscape backdrops was unique to this novel. Although it was ideal for emphasizing the beauty of nature and how we all have a connection to mother earth, I felt that I more detailed subtle collection of figures could have elevated the story.

I received an advance review copy for free via NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily 📚.

I enjoyed this short graphic work meditating on larger philosophical questions about ourselves in relation to the natural world around us.

Spurred by her trip to a Japanese village, the narrator reflects on the the cultural differences between herself and the people here. She engages with stories of the land, myths and legends and more contemporary renditions of the works of Hayao Miyazaki.

I enjoyed the artwork, soft tones and a soothing colour palette that evoked a sense of tranquility. I liked her use of colour to portray emotions and capture the beauty around her. The larger pieces capturing the natural landscape were particularly stunning!

The ending captured the calmness in anxiety, through accepting what little control we have over the whims of nature.

Beautifully illustrated graphic novel, especially the detail in foliage and rocks. The art really made me want to linger over the pages and drew me into the story. Part memoir, part fantasy, I loved the way the story incorporated characters from art and legend and clashed Eastern and Western cultures. The cheeky Tanuki was a brilliant guide for the artist and brought a lot of humour to the book. I loved references to different artists and paintings and felt I learnt about Japanese culture and nature.. For me, the story ended quite abrubtly and I would have loved the story to continue. This book is a stunning piece of art in itself and many of the pages would work as stand alone prints. I look forward to seeing more work by Catherine Meurisse.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59478698-la-jeune-femme-et-la-mer

#EuropeComics #NetGalley

„the sea is my informant”

I had a great time with this graphic novel. getting to know Japanese culture and language together with the main character was a wonderful experience. The illustrations are beautiful, especially those showing nature, that I would see as pictures hung in my home.

I didn't enjoy the art style, the text font makes it difficult to read, and there wasn't a lot about the story that had me engaged in any way. A lot of this story felt appropriative, and left me feeling like things could have been handled better.

Let me start by saying that I found the art absolutely illusory and beautiful. The scenes were really grand-- the perspective of the illustrator will give you the feels of a movie filmed at wide angles from various directions.

Storywise, the plotline was simple, with more of the focus being on the landscape art and the cultural interactions of Japan. You wouldn't be able to find a concrete 'plot' as much, the book is more like an exploration.

amazing illustrations, exrtremely cute story about how nature and folklore is viewed and narrated in japan and the sacrality of it.
Meurisse does an incredible job in creating a piece of art that ivolve the reader in a poetic journey through the countryside of japan
I wish that the there was some backstory about the protagonist and that overall the book was a little bit longer