VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
CARTOONIST: Rei Toma
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Abby Lehrke
LETTERS: Monaliza de Asis
EDITOR: Amy Yu
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0958-8; paperback (November 2019); Rated “T” for “Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK
The Water Dragon's Bride is a shojo fantasy romance manga from writer-artist Rei Toma (creator of Dawn of the Arcana). It was serialized in the Japanese shojo manga magazine, Cheese!, from 2015 to 2019. VIZ Media published an English-language edition of the manga as an 11-volume graphic novel series from 2017 to 2019.
The Water Dragon's Bride focuses on Asahi. A modern-day girl, she is pulled into a pond and is whisked away to a strange and mysterious new land. She meets a boy, Subaru, the son of a prominent family from a nearby village, but his mother immediately dislikes Asahi and plots to sacrifice her to the god of the Great Lake. The Water Dragon God wants Asahi to be his wife, and though she refuses, some locals still see her as a priestess.
As The Water Dragon's Bride, Vol. 11 (Chapters 41 to 43 to Last Chapter) opens, the Water Dragon God continues to weaken because he previously transferred his powers to Asahi. Now, he wants to return Asahi to her world before his powers disappear, but when he sends her home, this god will die. Although she struggles to stay with him, Asahi knows that the day when they must part is coming – sooner than either realize. Is it truly the end for these two star-crossed lovers?
[This volume includes the four-panels comics, “The Water Dragon God's Chill Zone #1-3” and bonus manga.]
The Water Dragon's Bride manga sometimes suffered from a sense of the sameness. As the series approached its conclusion, however, it recovered some of the edginess it showed in its earliest chapters.
The Water Dragon's Bride Graphic Novel Volume 11 is the final volume of the series. Creator Rei Toma has more surprises in store for her readers. Vol. 11 depicts the love between Asahi and the Water Dragon God at its most passionate. I found myself racing through this volume, hoping for a happy ending, and Toma does not disappoint. The resolution is off-beat and edgy, and she makes us work for our happy ending; real love is bittersweet, and it doesn't come easy. Toma offers the perfect ending because she leaves us wanting more.
To that end, Abby Lehrke makes the most of this volume's sparse dialogue, as she captures the wanting, the desperation, and the yearning. Monaliza de Asis splashes her lettering like glittering water droplets throughout the art, helping to give this timeless tale of love an ethereal quality. So, dear readers, The Water Dragon's Bride gives me the substantive ending for which I had hoped.
9 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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