Manga Review – The Ocean of Secrets Vol 1 by Sophie-chan (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Manga
Length: 176 pages
Publisher: Tokyopop
Release Date: May 16, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1427857149
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in The Ocean of Secrets series
Source: Gift
Rating: 3/5 stars

“Lia, a 17-year old orphan living by the Atlantic is swept away by the ocean currents during a ruthless storm. She is then saved by Moria and Albert, a duo of illegal runaways on their magical ship! Her normal, mundane life suddenly becomes a supernatural adventure as she learns about the powers of their kind and their relations to the human world. But Lia soon discovers that there is a dark secret hidden in a mysterious kingdom. Join Lia as she unlocks the truth behind an Ocean of Secrets!”

I was really excited to read the first volume in this new YA fantasy manga series. The story sounded amazing. I ended up being a bit disappointed, the whole book is okay but never really drew me in.

The idea behind the story itself is a fun one. However the whole explanation of the magic system in the beginning was very lecture-like and was an awkward info-dump that bogged down the flow of the story.

Additionally the dialogue between characters comes off as very simple and awkward. The whole story was fairly simple. I would have liked more explanation behind the four kingdoms and their magic up front, but maybe done in a story format rather than a lecture.

The illustration is simple but well done. It’s very no-frills; I prefer a lot more detail in my mangas. The characters were easy to distinguish from one another but not very engaging. The story panels were easy to follow but, again, overly simple for me.

Overall this was okay but not great. I thought everything was too simple and plain; I was expecting something magical but ended up with a child-like story with awkward dialogue. The illustration was similar; decently done but with very little detail. I had high hopes for this series but ended up just wanting…more…from it. I don’t plan on continuing the series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge
– YA Reading Challenge