Scan barcode
hippolyta_vi's review
3.75
I liked some stories and tuned out during others but I'd still definitely recommend for anyone interested in anthologies, graphic novels, and/or Asian stories from a wide range of countries
oliviak07's review against another edition
3.0
An anthology that expands one's folktale environment, "Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories" is a rich collection for anyone who enjoys legends and fables alike.
Given the variety of authors, editors, translators, and illustrators, the graphic novel has a tale and a picture for everyone regardless of their preferred genre. My favorite tales included an array of both comedy and tragedy: "The Great Flood" (China), "Ghost Pepper" (Laos), "After the Rain" (Myanmar), "Urashima Taro" (Japan), "The Ballad of Mulan" (China), and "Hoichi the Earless" (Japan).
My only criticism about this collection was the lack of authors and illustrators who are of Asian decent. Yes, there are allies whose respect and love of the stories they drew inspiration from is immeasurable. However, this would have been a great chance to shine a light on artists and storytellers from the continent of Asia, or by Asian Americans.
I would like to find a way to include this anthology in my upcoming Graphic Novel Book Club, so that these tales of old can find a new and appreciative audience.
Given the variety of authors, editors, translators, and illustrators, the graphic novel has a tale and a picture for everyone regardless of their preferred genre. My favorite tales included an array of both comedy and tragedy: "The Great Flood" (China), "Ghost Pepper" (Laos), "After the Rain" (Myanmar), "Urashima Taro" (Japan), "The Ballad of Mulan" (China), and "Hoichi the Earless" (Japan).
My only criticism about this collection was the lack of authors and illustrators who are of Asian decent. Yes, there are allies whose respect and love of the stories they drew inspiration from is immeasurable. However, this would have been a great chance to shine a light on artists and storytellers from the continent of Asia, or by Asian Americans.
I would like to find a way to include this anthology in my upcoming Graphic Novel Book Club, so that these tales of old can find a new and appreciative audience.
bcrowes11's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
lavendermarch's review against another edition
4.0
This was a pretty good fairytale anthology. I hadn't heard the majority of the stories, which was really nice, and I had fun reading most of them. My favorites were "Frog Skin", "After the Rain", "The Great Flood", "Gold Sister, Silver Sister, and Wood Sister, "Ghost Pepper", and "The Legend of Asena". I was given a free ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 4 stars.
Individual Story Thoughts:
"The Lucky Teapot": I liked it. The tanuki was cute.
"#EndoftheWorld": Funny. It was about an elephant mermaid creature who thinks the sun has died and it's the end of the world. Short but cute. I enjoyed the social media.
"The Great Flood": I liked it a lot! It was a bit longer than some of the others, and reminded me a little of Noah's Ark, what with the flood and all. It was pretty good, and I liked the boy, the granny, and the mother. Not the butcher though. I didn't like the art in it all that much, however.
"The Demon with the Matted Hair": A fun one! I liked the art, and a haughty prince in trouble is always enjoyable to see.
"Frog Skin": Interesting. It reminded me of the fisherman who took the skin of a selkie and made her his bride. But with a happier ending. The young man was a bit silly! His wife seemed awesome! The lord was obnoxious, and I enjoyed seeing him get pissed off when the young man managed to do the impossible (with the help of his wife's parents, haha). I love the lord's mom! Also, this is probably my favorite story in the anthology.
"The Girl Who Married a Tiger": It was good with trickery and revenge!
"Ghost Pepper": It had nice art! It was really cute and funny, too!
"Two Foxes": Good. I liked the man and the yokai. All the trickery was entertaining.
"After the Rain": Awesome! I liked the friendship between Min and Yeik, and the romance between Min and the princess from the other country. Favorite line: "C'mon! When was the last time we went on an adventure?" "Last week, when you wanted to go to the end of the horizon, and you went down a waterfall." Hilarious! Good story!
"From the Journal of the Monkey King": Super short. I'm glad the magistrate's daughter eventually got out of that marriage.
"Urashima TarÅ": One I've heard before. Not much to say about it, except people are predictable.
"The Ballad of Mulan": Interesting style. Impressed she kept the secret of being a woman for so long! I liked that her companions all accepted her at the end.
"The Tiger, the Brahmin, and the Jackal": Hmm. Interesting. Conniving jackal. Good on him.
"Tongue Cut Sparrow": The old man was nice. The old woman got what was coming to her.
"The Legend of Asena": Cute! I liked the wolf and the warrior.
"The History of the Spectre Ship": A bit creepy, but had a happy ending. Nice art.
"Tamamo the Fox Maiden": Interesting. I'm glad it ended well.
"The Three Rhymesters": Meh. It was okay. I liked the wife.
"Gold Sister, Silver Sister, and Wood Sister": Kind of sad. Okay ending. Decent art.
"Hoichi the Earless": Poor guy, playing for the dead, The art suited the story really well.
"The Flying Ogre": Super short. Not sure how I felt about it.
Individual Story Thoughts:
"The Lucky Teapot": I liked it. The tanuki was cute.
"#EndoftheWorld": Funny. It was about an elephant mermaid creature who thinks the sun has died and it's the end of the world. Short but cute. I enjoyed the social media.
"The Great Flood": I liked it a lot! It was a bit longer than some of the others, and reminded me a little of Noah's Ark, what with the flood and all. It was pretty good, and I liked the boy, the granny, and the mother. Not the butcher though. I didn't like the art in it all that much, however.
"The Demon with the Matted Hair": A fun one! I liked the art, and a haughty prince in trouble is always enjoyable to see.
"Frog Skin": Interesting. It reminded me of the fisherman who took the skin of a selkie and made her his bride. But with a happier ending. The young man was a bit silly! His wife seemed awesome! The lord was obnoxious, and I enjoyed seeing him get pissed off when the young man managed to do the impossible (with the help of his wife's parents, haha). I love the lord's mom! Also, this is probably my favorite story in the anthology.
"The Girl Who Married a Tiger": It was good with trickery and revenge!
"Ghost Pepper": It had nice art! It was really cute and funny, too!
"Two Foxes": Good. I liked the man and the yokai. All the trickery was entertaining.
"After the Rain": Awesome! I liked the friendship between Min and Yeik, and the romance between Min and the princess from the other country. Favorite line: "C'mon! When was the last time we went on an adventure?" "Last week, when you wanted to go to the end of the horizon, and you went down a waterfall." Hilarious! Good story!
"From the Journal of the Monkey King": Super short. I'm glad the magistrate's daughter eventually got out of that marriage.
"Urashima TarÅ": One I've heard before. Not much to say about it, except people are predictable.
"The Ballad of Mulan": Interesting style. Impressed she kept the secret of being a woman for so long! I liked that her companions all accepted her at the end.
"The Tiger, the Brahmin, and the Jackal": Hmm. Interesting. Conniving jackal. Good on him.
"Tongue Cut Sparrow": The old man was nice. The old woman got what was coming to her.
"The Legend of Asena": Cute! I liked the wolf and the warrior.
"The History of the Spectre Ship": A bit creepy, but had a happy ending. Nice art.
"Tamamo the Fox Maiden": Interesting. I'm glad it ended well.
"The Three Rhymesters": Meh. It was okay. I liked the wife.
"Gold Sister, Silver Sister, and Wood Sister": Kind of sad. Okay ending. Decent art.
"Hoichi the Earless": Poor guy, playing for the dead, The art suited the story really well.
"The Flying Ogre": Super short. Not sure how I felt about it.
indeedithappens's review
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Stalking, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Violence, Confinement, Death, Alcohol, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Slavery, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, War, Gaslighting, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
overhillunderhill's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
This series continues to be very interesting and entertaining. I was very surprised to discover a story in both the African tales and in this, the Asian tales, that was basically the same with very minor details different. I'd love to see the path of how that story traveled
jentidders's review against another edition
3.0
This is an anthology of black and white comics by a variety of artists, adapting traditional Asian folktales, fables and parables from Japan, China, India, Laos, Indonesia, Tibet, and many more countries.
The book is aimed at middle graders, but there's much to enjoy here for anyone with an interest in traditional stories, and although a few of the tales were a bit confusing or seemed to end abruptly, I really enjoyed the majority of them and was impressed with the consistency of the art throughout.
Thanks to NetGalley and Iron Circus Comics for the digital copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
The book is aimed at middle graders, but there's much to enjoy here for anyone with an interest in traditional stories, and although a few of the tales were a bit confusing or seemed to end abruptly, I really enjoyed the majority of them and was impressed with the consistency of the art throughout.
Thanks to NetGalley and Iron Circus Comics for the digital copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
allysunsun's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a cool way to retell some lesser known Asian myths and fables through a graphic novel.
I really liked that I didn't know any of these stories, so it was a whole new experience! Since each story is a written by a different author and has their own illustrator the art and narration varies a lot. Most of the stories are beautfil with only a few being subpar.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would definitely recommend it if you're fan of folk tales and legends.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review.
I really liked that I didn't know any of these stories, so it was a whole new experience! Since each story is a written by a different author and has their own illustrator the art and narration varies a lot. Most of the stories are beautfil with only a few being subpar.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would definitely recommend it if you're fan of folk tales and legends.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review.