Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Young Woman and the Sea is a semi-autobiographical, fully fantastic graphic novel set in Japan. The story revolves around a female artist who moves to Japan and is inspired by the nature and the characters there. According to the synopsis, the story is told "in the manner of Lewis Carroll,' and the artist "lets characters out of legend lead her through pictorial landscapes." The characters that the artist meets include a tanuki, a raccoon-like creature that is native to Japan. Along the way, she learns about Japanese culture and mythology.

Overall, The Young Woman and the Sea is a graphic novel about Japan that will appeal to fans of Hayao Miyazaki, who the artist references in the story. One highlight of this book are the multiple pages dedicated to Japanese nature, which are truly beautiful to look at. That is where the art excels. I had a problem with how the characters are drawn though. This is probably unintentional, since the artist seems to respect Japanese culture, but the Japanese characters are drawn like caricatures in racist political cartoons. To be fair, this may just be the artist's style of drawing people. If you're intrigued by the synopsis, or if you're a fan of graphic novels about Japan, you can check out this book, which is available now.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of The Young Woman and the Sea by Catherine Meurisse.

The Young Woman and the Sea follows an artist as she travels across Japanese landscapes guided by characters from Japanese legend.

Catherine Meurisse uses her own memories and experiences to create this lovely graphic novel.

My only critique would be that whilst I had no problem reading it, the script in the speech bubbles could be difficult for some.

I absolutely loved the landscape scenes in this graphic novel! The detail is super impressive and the colors are beautiful. I thought the characters were good but ultimately the story wasn’t for me. On a technical level, the actual writing was hard to read, I think it would’ve been beneficial to type it instead of having it being hand-written but maybe that wouldn’t have worked in a cohesive way with the art style. Thank you for the review copy!

Erratic to the point of being bonkers, this unattractive look at the beauty and value and import of Japanese nature as seen by a young woman on an artist's residency comes from someone whose work I've found disagreeably below par three times before now. I really must pay more attention to whom I download... One and a half stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

We all know the ol' adage, "Don't judge a book by it's cover," but that's exactly what I did here. When I saw that beautiful cover, I barely even glanced at the synopsis before hitting the "Read Now" button. Unfortunately, this just wasn't what I was expecting, both when it came to the art and the story. I also had a pretty difficult time understanding what I was reading. I wish this one had worked for me, but I had to DNF it at 50 pages in.

Well, this book was not what I was expecting...

I was expecting some gorgeous, heartfelt story from the way the cover was drawn. What I got instead was a comical story about an artist trying to revive their artform while staying in Japan. At least you're not dragged along before finding out this book might not be what you thought. In the opening pages you meant a talking tanuki (raccoon) who gifts the artist a paintbrush. The artistry in this book was gorgeous! Particularly, the background was drawn beautifully with the characters being less detailed so as to not take away from the beautiful landscapes being drawn. I don't know many who will find this comic book funny as it is a very certain type of humor relying on misunderstandings and misadventures but as long as you go in with any open mind you are certain to find some enjoyment.

I got this book for free from Netgalley in exchange of a honest review.

This was… fine, really.

The somewhat humorous, slightly fantastical experiences of a French artist on a residency/retreat in Japan. The use of cultural misunderstandings slid between relatable and condescending, and I was…bemused to find the use of a talking animal in what I feel like I had been led to believe was a memoir.

I’m unfamiliar with this artist’s work, so my expectations were set from the dominant image on the cover, which I still think is very beautiful, and the landscapes and nature drawings lived up to that in the interior illustrations. Everything else very much did not and while there’s nothing wrong with the quirky, sketchy, more emotionally expressive rather than accurate or aesthetic style, it was just kind of a tonal shock for me.

Ultimately I just think I was very much not the intended audience for this piece.

(I read this arc in exchange for a review)

This is the story of about wanting to paint, but it never happening.

The book was not interesting if you just looked at the story, but the landscape drawings were beautiful. The characters, however, were not. The contrast between the nature drawings and the not so detailed characters was odd.

The storyline is hard to follow and the mythical animal, the tanaki, is a strange touch in what could have been a cute little graphic novel.

I would not recommend it for the writing quality, but I have to admit that some pages deserve a look.

beautiful beautiful story and art that accompanied me during a windy afternoon. this was my first graphic novel but certainly won't be my last!

"Men always like to see themselves as champions, whether of creation or of destruction. Now and again, nature reminds them she got here first and she knows what's what." (pg. 103)
Beautiful graphic novel filled with serene illustrations that transport us to a little rural town in Japan. The story revolves around nature and art and the way both are deeply connected. Some fantasy elements can be found throughout the story which made it even more magical.

This is a beautifully illustrated, charming graphic novel. There is a sense of humor in Meurisse's art style, particularly when depicting people. It provides the perfect contrast to her loving and detailed depictions of landscapes and elements of nature. The two combined work amazingly well together, and the story flows seamlessly.

There are elements of fantasy, though I would categorize this more as magical realism. If you're a fan of Ghibli films, this story will appeal to you (and they're referenced in it as well).

"Are we all connected by our relationship to the earth?"

The illustrations within this wonderful book are absolutely stunning, and the way that the story is woven throughout both the words and the images makes me want to read more of Catherine Meurisse's works.

(I'm particularly fond of the illustrations on page 84, 95 and 111.)

5/5 stars.

Gorgeous illustrations make you long to be in rural Japan
We prefer the temporary which, when renewed, points to the eternal.

The Young Woman and the Sea contains a story of an illustrator travelling through rural Japan to paint nature. Along the way she is visited by a tanuki (talking and mischievous racoon) and meets another painter who prefers to work with haiku until the perfect picture comes along. We learn of folktales involving love triangles and natural disasters also loom from over the sea. It is a serene read Catherine Meurisse offers to us, beautifully illustrated and full of love and wonder for the disappearing Japanese countryside (occasionally marred by large concrete walls to guard people from tsunamis). If I can’t understand anything, I can at least feel something, right? the narrator mentions, and feeling is certainly something successfully evoked by this book. Recommended for anyone interested in Japan!