I sadly wasn´t able to download this title in time before it was archived - just spotted it in my archived titles. Giving five stars so as not to affect the books success. Kind regards, Katie

I quite enjoyed this one! The illustrations were lovely, and the story vaguely familiar and wonderfully retold. I will say that nothing particularly blew me away about this one, but I definitely had a fun time reading it.
3.5 stars.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this graphic novel! I really enough this version of the fairy tale! I think the art was really well done and fitting to the story. I really would like to read more by these creators!

It was a great and fresh piece to get my hands on. It took me a minute to finish it and then to review but I have truly enjoyed myself while reading it. I I found the art style really refreshing and impressive. The story itself was capturing and much more intense than i thought it woould originally be but i have found the pacing good and story moving along quickly without haste. I'll keep my eye for more of this authors work for sure!

The art was very beautiful and magical, I feel like it was what stood out the most. In general, the story was entertaining. It's a good novel to spend the afternoon, I definitely recommend.

A really enjoyable and fast-paced graphic novel retelling the Japanese story of the thumb-sized samurai. With lore and beautiful imagery (the images are incredibly clean and detailed almost as though you are seeing screenshots from a modern Disney movie), this was a novel I read in one go and am likely to pick up to read when I need a quick pick-me-up inspirational story.

Highly enjoyed and recommend.

<i>I was provided with a complimentary copy of this graphic novel by Oni Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, which I leave voluntarily.</i>

A very sweet and beautiful short story about a tiny man rising to his fate.

Once upon a time, an old couple prayed for a child. And their prayers were heard, by a spirit in the sky, that manifested into a child no larger than a thumb. But when he grows into a young adult, the darkness that the spirit was trying to escape from catches up with him.

The illustration in this graphic novel was truly beautiful. somewhat disney-ish, with a touch of manga. Especially the scenery was gorgeous.

The story was short, felt a little rushed, the training arc leading up to fighting the big bad almost completely skipped, save for a couple pages... but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

I slept on this ARC for more then I care to admit.
What a stunning little book. Starts out deep in a Japanese themed folklore tale, where we find out the history behind the creation of thumb sized Issunboshi. Deliberately thumb sized to impress upon you the message of the story. I enjoyed some of the representation of some of the Japanese mythology. Though that is the only rep you'll find. The novel is very fast paced and small, it wouldn't have been easy, but other representation could have been fit in there.

The only thing that really bothered me was some of the dialogue and cliché phrases, very American, and not in theme with the style of the novel. And the story arc, likewise. Follows that typical American hero story arc.

Overall, the imagery is beautiful and the messaging and symbolism carries through well. I'm glad there are graphic novels like this out there for kids to pick up

A very interesting graphic novel that uses its black-and-white presentation quite well! Love the action sequences here.

The artwork was beautiful. The storyline was very interesting and kept me motivated to read more. I would recommend!

Growing up Little One-Inch was one of my favorite stories (I read it in Florence Sakade’s collection and also in the Island Heritage book), so I immediately requested this when I saw it on NetGalley.

And maybe my expectations were calibrated properly. If I didn’t know the story, maybe I would’ve enjoyed this more. Lang made the story more epic than it was—I get that’s what happens with graphic novels, but maybe I’m just too attached to the original. When you love something, it can be hard to read something else loosely based on it.

The art was gorgeous, and I liked the new characters. I just would have much preferred something more based on the original story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press!

Although I found the story entertaining and inspiring, I feel that everything happened too fast and several details (that would have made everything better, were forgotten). On the other hand, I would have liked it to be in full color, since the illustrations were very cool.

I enjoyed this retelling of the inch-high warrior. Lang did a great job of making Issunboshi a more rounded character with the relationship with his parents, Sen and Kenta, and his mentor (whose name escapes me). The artwork was stunning and honestly looks like the frame-set for an animated movie-which I think would be amazing! My only gripe is there is a beautiful full-color cover and when you open the book-everything is black and white. The artwork is still fantastic, but I was expecting color illustration so I was a bit let down.

I can't believe this took me so long to continue reading. I was fortunate to receive a copy via Netgalley for a review and I just wish I'd gotten to reading it sooner. It is quite wonderful.
A heartfelt, passionate story about an 'inch-high samurai' as his mum called him. Issunboshi is a Japanese folklore-inspired story about a tiny warrior, with a sword fashioned from a sewing needle, who must save the world from a powerful oni. Though this seems to be something of an abridged version of the original fairytale, this was immensely enjoyable.
I think the theme of 'even the smallest person can make the biggest difference' is appropriately applied here. And I love how Issunboshi learns that people aren't born heroes, they become them

Despite the historical/fantastical setting, the writing has a modern edge to it which really lends itself well to the general humour of the writing. The dialogue is a nice balance of humour and heart and both are used just at the right moment.

As a fairly short graphic novel, we have little page time with the characters introduced, and yet I still somehow cared about them all and found myself especially anxious for Sen and Kenta when they entered the final battle. The whole cast of characters is so strong and loveable from the get-go that it was hard to imagine losing any of them so quickly.

As strong as the storytelling is, I have to say that this book's strongest aspect is its artwork. Simply stunning. The character designs almost reminded me of classic Disney cartoons, in that it's so stylistic and playful, but easily captures the expressions and personalities of the characters. It's just gorgeous, I could stare at it for hours. And the use of shading, UGH. Stunning. Even though it's black and white, the use of light and shadow is so effective. It brings the scenes to life. The artwork is so well drawn and styled that the panels often look like stills from an animated movie.

After thought:
Upon finishing the graphic novel and reading the author's bio, I'm not in the least bit surprised to learn that he has worked in animation for Disney. Which pretty much confirms my every thought regarding the art style. Such fantastic art, so energetic and alive on the page. I'm surprised I haven't seen more conversation surrounding this book. It's just gorgeous, from start to finish. And the lovely epilogue almost had me tearing up too. Bravo.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and the author for letting me read this. It was wonderful.

Issunboshi tells us the story of thumb samurai, a Japanese story, which explains how a warrior is born, but he is not born, he has to be forged, he must be able to discover his own courage.

It is a wonderful story, starting with the drawing style that reminds me of samurai champloo and samurai jack. the story is a new version of little thumb, where here he is a samurai warrior who must face the demons so that they do not end the world, but having superhuman strength does not mean that he is a hero, he must not learn to be one, and he will be able to learn from his mistakes with the help of his family, and a mentor and friends that he will meet along the way.

It is a graphic novel that is quickly read and enjoyed without any knowledge of the original history of Japan.
I recommend it to read and I would like to see it in the anime version. I feel that with the images of the landscapes and the characters it is a story that would be visually pleasing.

for me it deserves 5 stars out of 5

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

Issunboshi by Ryan Lang was really a very excellent graphic novel based on Japanese folklore about a tiny samurai destined to save the world. As a fan of Asian culture and stories, I really enjoyed this quick, adventurous read. Apparently, the author has worked in animation and comics before and it shows, with beautiful panels and artwork that look like they came straight from the Disney studio. I could easily see this as a movie. Very well done, only sorry I took so long to read it!

What a wild ride this was. Packed with actions, emotions and gut punching scenes, the story was told in beautiful artworks that captured me from beginning to end. Loving the fantasy, myth and folk tales this story was. It was incredible reading this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review

A great retelling of a japanese folklore!
I really had fun reading it. The characters are awesome and the action-scenes are brilliant. I can imagine it becoming a disney movie in near future.

After reading couple of other books on NetGalley, this one kind of faded into the background a little in comparison, it doesn’t have anything specifically wrong with that but it just didn’t catch me very well. I think this might be because it’s not directed for my age range specifically marketed to me but I did very much enjoy it and I would recommend it was intriguing the world was quite unique and I think the relationship in the story was relatable

Forst of all the cover art for this book is incredible! Really love it. I was unsure at forsy if this book would be my cup of tea but it was a great book! Highly recommend and I have gifted this for christmas!