Recommendations "Manga I Like", by TheRedArmy - Otoyomegatari, or "The Bride's Stories"

Hey folks. Just discovered we have a manga sub, so I thought I would go ahead and talk about one of my favorite, _Otoyomegatari_, roughly translated as _The Bride's Stories_, by Mori Kaoru. You can find a link on mangareader.net [here](http://www.mangareader.net/otoyomegatari/1/4). This site is more ad-heavy than I remember, so an adblocker of your choice is recommended. The story takes place in the 19th century, in central Asia. It primarily follows the lives of various people who live in the semi-nomadic lifestyle of the tribes south of Russia during this time period. Ms. Mori does her homework on her chosen time periods, and you can bet the majority of ideas, traditions, and dress you see here are mostly historically accurate. Otoyomegatari actually follows a few different stories, but we begin (and in some ways, revolve around) Amira and Karluk. Amira, the daughter of a chieftain of a fully nomadic tribe, was married off to Karluk, the son of a chief in a rural village near the Caspian sea, in an arranged marriage. The hook that was interesting to me that made me want to get into the series was the stark difference in ages. Amira is 20 when she gets married - her groom, Karluk, is only 12. Although we begin with Karluk and Amira, we eventually follow several different people - the travels of Mr. Smith, who was visiting the town where Karluk and Amira live for academic research; we encounter a woman who finds a dear friend in the public baths of Istanbul; a pair of young twins in another village coping with the fact that they'll have to marry someday, possibly to someone who isn't extremely wealthy (the horror!); and back to one of Amira's friends in her village, when love starts to come her way. The art is absolutely gorgeous - Ms. Mori might be the best pure artist I've ever encountered in manga (granted, I haven't read that much, but enough to see enough different art styles and artists). The detail and level of precision is extremely impressive. I heard from the person who (inadvertently) recommended the manga to me say that others thought the story was plain and dull - that there was not much conflict or tension to revolve, or there wasn't enough drama. His assertion was that the tension was there, but it wasn't plainly obvious. The tension existed between characters, but they did not come out and say it outright, but if you understood the character, you could see the pieces of conflict fall into place. I agree with his assessment. Karluk and Amira is a great example of this - although they are very happy together, there are a lot of things they have to work out, and there is occasionally tension between them as a result - almost like how a real marriage works. :p Ultimately, this has become one of my favorite stories I have ever read, and Ms. Mori can have all my money for the rest of time. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes stories with a little less action, a little less fighting, and where the tension comes from between characters who almost all mean well. If you're interested in the time period or historical dramas in general, this might also be appealing to you.