Thank you, NetGalley for the preview of this graphic novel. 

Blissful Land by Ichimon Izumi is a lovely manga with beautiful artwork, rich with Tibetan culture. I have always been a fan of slice of life mangas and this was a perfect read.

This is a very sweet story, I loved all the little details both in the illustrations and in the accompanying text, you definitely get the sense of the world these characters inhabit - but don't read this when hungry I implore you unless you want to be made even hungrier!

This was a lighthearted historical story set in 18th century Tibet, featuring a young doctor's apprentice and his newly arrived bride. The art is lovely and captures both the culture and the slice-of-life vibe very well. I wasn't as invested in the relationship between Rati (the bride) and Zhipa as I'd hoped, but I did love all the medicine-making and cooking scenes. 

Recommended for lovers of historical fiction manga.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

A fun, happy, and energetic manga with a great main character. There is a lot to love in this manga.

I received a free copy of this eBook from The author, Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Khang Zhipa is thirteen years old and is training to be a doctor . When a Bridal party stops by his family's inn and apothecary, he meets his bride to be who quickly moves in to live with them. Will he survive? Read on and find out for yourself.

This is a pretty good slice of life manga which is the first of a series. If you enjoy slice of life historical manga, be sure to check this book out wherever manga books are sold. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2620737527

Un Tibet ormai ormai perduto, fatto di villaggi isolati, pastorizia, agricoltura e duro lavoro, portato avanti col sorriso da persone semplici.

E' qui che Kang Shiva, tredici anni, vive e porta avanti con entusiasmo  il suo apprendistato come medico, imparando a riconoscere e a trattare erbe e fiori e prendendosi cura con dedizione degli abitanti del suo villaggio montano.

E un giorno, tornando a casa, trova una sposa e il suo corteo installati a casa sua: una ragazza graziosa e misteriosa, che arriva da una terra distante, per sposare... lui.

Inizia così una storia che si dipana nella vita di ogni giorno, rivelando l'esotica quotidianità di un luogo e epoca ormai perduti.

Un primo volume piacevole, ma che manca dell'accurata, squisita precisione grafica de I giorni della sposa di Kaoru Mori, e della complessità dei suoi personaggi.

Blissful Land is the most enjoyable character driven manga I have ever read, I need more of it! 
Blissful Land follows Khang Zhipa a Tibetan doctor's apprentice in the 18th Century when he meets his future bride Moshi Rati and it is the cutest thing. Khang is a sweet young boy who cares about everyone in the village and is a great help to his family.

The friendship between Khang and Moshi is so sweet, they are suited to eachother and Moshi develops a great relationship with Khangs sister.

The art in Blissful Land kept me enthralled from the first page. It is definitely a character driven manga without much plot but it is suited to this. Through the manga I was able to learn more about Tibetan culture, a culture I'm not that family with. 

*ARC received from Kodansha Comics via netgalley*

Set in 19th century Tibet, Khang Zhipa is a 13 year old doctor's apprentice who loves collecting herbs and helping people who are suffering and in need of medical help.  When A peddler and his family stay for a one night visit, the peddler leaves his daughter Rati, who is Khang Zhipa's betrothed, to live with Khang Zhipa's family until the wedding.  Rati and Khang Zhipa start to learn about one another as the two continue to do different task together. 

Izumi does a great job making sure that the characters emotions are depicted extremely well.  The story all seemed to flow nicely, especially paired with the artwork.

Blissful Land was a wonderful story set in a Tibetan mountain village in the 18th-century. We follow Khang Zhipa a 13-year-old boy, who was an apprentice healer. One day his bride-to-be arrives in his home and we follow him and his family life after that.

First of all, I really liked Khang Zhipa, he was a very mature boy for his age and I really liked his personality. He was a wonderful character that genuinely enjoyed helping others, he loved what he did and was not ashamed to share his love for his work with others. 

Moshu Rati was also a sweet girl, even though she got betrothed to someone she didn't know, she didn't wasn't mean or spiteful to Khang Zhipa or his family and showed, throughout the story, a very mature personality. She wanted to learn and help the one she was going to marry.

I found his family was funny and supportive and I really appreciated that I could see their daily life. 

I have to say, while I read this I had a big smile on my face. The artwork was amazing and very detailed from the setting to the clothing, the author did a beautiful job drawing everything. 

I'm in love with this story and I want to read the next volumes. I recommend this manga to everyone who wants to read a light-story that leaves the reader with a warm and happy feeling.

Khang Zhipa is a 13-year-old doctor living in 19th century Tibet. He's obsessed with his herbs and making everyone feel better and happy, but so focused on his studies and learning and plants that he doesn't realize that the pretty new bride living at his house is his fiancee until it's painfully spelled out to him.

Luckily, Rati is patient, kind and empathetic, and yearning to fit in with her new family.

Together, maybe she and Khang Zhipa can find happiness.
~
I saw this pop up on the NetGalley feed last month, and while I generally don't read much manga, this was was interesting because it takes places in 18th century Tibet.

The illustrations in this are breathtaking, and honestly, Tibet is the main character in this story. I sped through the interpersonal relationships between Khang Zhipa and Rati (because they were kinda boring) to hone in on the background.

Most panels are painstakingly detailed, providing a wealth of history and home. I also loved the clothing details—particularly the juxtaposition of Rati's ornate attire and Khang Zhipa and his family, which reinforces the fact she is literally a stranger from another land (and that she's a dyer and cloth-maker).

The relationships are okay, but feel very similar to a lot of other manga that I've read (this is why I rated it three stars instead of four). Same with the characters. I did like that Khang Zhipa was so focused on helping people despite his over-empathetic soul (he gets squeamish over injuries because he keeps imagining how much pain people are in), and his little sister Pema's getting-int0-everything nature.

The highlight, once again, is Tibet itself. From the breathtaking mountains overshadowing flower-filled valleys, to the villages with their long fields and sturdy buildings, to the many herbs and plants and animals and people—it's depicted as a beautiful, beautiful place where people and nature work together.

Also, it's almost breakfast here and all of the food looked really good.

There was

so

much

food

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Khang Zhipa has a heart of gold at his young age of thirteen. He is a devoted doctor’s apprentice and taking hours upon hours a day collecting herbs for medicines. After long days in the fields, his work usually does not end. There is the drying of herbs and boiling and stirring of herbs to make medicinal salves and teas. He is not complaining, because he loves his work and helping people. 

One evening after another long day, an entire group of a wedding party seeks shelter in his town and home. Among them, is a young bride, close to Khang Zhipa’s age. As the two of them become acquainted, the bride’s entourage has left the town and left the bride to stay! At this point, he finds out, that he is her betrothed…or at least that is what it seems to be. It sort of ends on a cliff hanger. 

But Khang Zhipa stays devoted to his cause and does not become too flustered about what the others are saying about his gorgeous bride that was so eager to get to know him. He rather enjoys her company and help with the herbs at the moment. 

***

The cover of this graphic novel is gorgeous. I wish it was more colorful on the inside pages. The premise of a love story set in a Tibet village is what drew me to this novel. It sounded wonderfully foreign. It is one of the places on my bucket list to visit. 
Since volume one of this series served as an establishment of characters, there wasn’t much culture other then the family and medicinal aspects explored. But it was enjoyable to read and I would give volume two a try. 
I also looked up some of the Tibetan foods and liked the pages at the end with extra graphics. 

I received a copy of this title from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you.

Blissful Land vol. 1 is a really cute start to what I'm sure will be a really lovely series.

The story follows Khang Zhipa, a doctor-in-training in 18th century Tibet. One day he comes home from picking medicinal herbs and finds a group of strangers staying in his home. Before he knows what is happening, Khang Zhipa finds himself engaged! Fortunately, the bride-to-be is cute, and awkward, but with a passion for dyeing material, a passion that links nicely with Khang Zhipa's passion for plants.

The art in this book is really sweet, and on occasion absolutely hilarious. Khang Zhipa has a tendency to get a deer-in-the-headlights look about him, and his face just cracks me up. The story is really adorable too and I'd definitely be interested in reading the rest.

Blissful Land is a gentle slice-of-life manga set in 18th century Tibet.  It features the usual slice-of-life ingredients: sweet main characters, a community/village of gentle souls supporting them, and the dealings with every day life.  Yes, it is idealized; but this is manga and you aren't reading for the realism.

Story:  13 year old potential herbalist Khang Zhipa is surprised to find a girl brought to the village on the back of a tradesman - the traditional way of transporting a potential bride to her new home.  The girl, Rati, is sweet and pretty and very helpful around the house. Zhipa is curious about her but really, he is completely obsessed with his medicinal herbs and succeeding his father as the village doctor.  Zhipa may be oblivious to girls but there is always something going on in the village that will help him to get to know his Rati better.

The premise of the story is simple: Zhipa is completely preoccupied with his herbs and then finds he has been affianced to Rati and she is staying with the family until the wedding.  So the two will slowly learn about each other: Rati's love of dyes and textiles and Zhipa's obsession with herbs.  Meanwhile, Zhipa will care for the villagers and they will bring all kinds of slice-of-life issues he will have to solve/cure.

The illustrations are lovely and although no one is going to take this as a true historical, it is an enjoyable read.  Sometimes, it is nice to get lost in another time and era and the simpler times therein. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

'Blissful Land #1' by with story and art by Ichimon Izumi is a story that takes place in 18th century Tibet and tells a sweet story of two people in the beginning of their relationship.

Khang Zhipa is a doctor's apprentice.  He does his job by findin herbs and turning them in to medicines and teas to help people.  One day a bride-to-be named Moshi Rati and her wedding party stays at the home he lives in.  He learns that she is to be his bride.  The stories are of the early adventures they have picking herbs, learning to trust each other, and Zhipa's constant amazement at how capable and smart Rati is.

I really liked the stories in this manga.  There isn't a ton of conflict besides Zhipa's insecurities, but the stories won me over with their earnestness and how nice they were.  The art is good as well. It's a black and white story, and their is a lot of detail in the scenery and especially the clothing.

I received a review copy of this manga from Kodansha Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.

A beautiful and engaging text and illustrations. I found the mixture of text and graphics to be perfectly balanced for the story.

Lovely illustrations and a cute simple story. The tale of a young man in Tibet learning to be a doctor who returns home to find his 'bride' (betrothed) waiting for him. The young man is only interested in medicine and when she arrives is still mainly interested in medicine but finds her interesting and cute. It's a lovely simple slow tale with little romance but is a nice tale and drawn wonderfully, a nice read. 

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest review

The art of this comic is very easy on the eye and the main characters are likeable. However, with such an exotic setting and distant cultural background I had difficulties finding myself engaged in the story,

I received this manga from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.


A wonderful healing manga.

Meet Khang Zhipa, he is a doctor, or should we say doctor’s apprentice? He just LOVES herbs, like, he will get lost looking for herbs, get spaced out while thinking about herbs. But he is a good doctor, even though injuries make him back away (though apparently that has to do with that he can just feel the pain and wants to help people). He tries everything to make everyone happy, evidenced by the first patient we see in this book, a friend of his. He ends up staying up late just to make the medicine, and why? Because he wants to see his friend smile again. Aww!
I just loved how eager he was to learn, and how he was open to also telling and explaining to others how things work.
I do have to say that I was a bit confused, according to the blurb he is 13. At times, he indeed acts like this, but more often than not he acts 15/16-ish (not to mention he also looks like more that age in the serious scenes).

I hadn’t read the blurb, I just based my decision on the fact I saw this one on Twitter + the cover. So, I didn’t know about the bride-to-be thing, but from the moment she entered I knew she was our MC’s fiance. I had such a big laugh when she stayed and our MC just broke in a panic because the bride was left at his house, and then he found out she was his bride. Parents, maybe next time tell him he is getting a bride? Or did you tell him while he was in his dreamy herb space? 😛

I just adored our MC and his bride, they were just so cute together. I am sure their marriage will end up fine. She listens to him, is eager to learn, is cute, sweet, likes him for who he is, worries about him, makes him food, and he is eager to tell her things, explain things to her, worries about her, let’s her do things that most man may not allow their woman to do (like the colour/dye thing), tries to find out when things are wrong (there was a moment she was unhappy and he was trying to figure out what was going on but he had no clue how to do it). I don’t see love yet, but I can see that happen. For now friendship and getting to know each other is most important, they still have years to go before the marriage happens.

I was a bit worried about the arrival of our MC’s childhood friend. Please, please, let this not become a love triangle. I know, this is set in 18th Tibet, so there is a 0% chance at it, but I am just worried. I don’t like the guy and I wonder how these two are friends.

The MC’s family was such a delight. We got the little sister with the big attitude, a father who is a doctor and who is also quite funny, and then there is the mom. I just had such a laugh when the father and son had a moment and mom had heard everything, or when dad planned some things to get his son and bride-to-be together and mom was there again. I guess dad has a lot of time on the couch (or whatever goes for couch in Tibet) the coming nights. 😛

There are tons of delicious mentions of Tibetan foods, and I kind of wish there were recipes at the end, as they do look yummy. In the end I just went for googling those dishes and drooling all over my computer (sorry).

The art. A bit dicey. There are some absolutely beautiful, gorgeous, pretty scenes and plenty of details. A bit in the vein of Emma/Mushishi. But then there are the expressions on the characters and those really ruined it at times. Sometimes they fit, but quite often it just looked out of place, which is a shame.

I can’t wait to see where this story will go, will our MC and his bride get closer together? Will our MC get some challenges so he can truly show his awesome doctor skills? What kind of foods will we read about?

And of course, I would highly recommend this one, and I am eagerly awaiting the second volume.

Blissful Land is, like its name suggests, a comfy slice-of-life manga with an idyllic setting in 18th century Tibet. It is the story of a 13-year old boy who is a doctor’s (his father) apprentice, and who loves everything there is about herbs, and healing and seeing people happy in his village. So, the story is also pretty much relaxed, just telling us about the life in his village, his surprising new bride that was arranged by his parents, Rati (another teen like him who has a passion for dyeing and weaving) and their slowly building friendship (romance is pretty much non-existent in this manga).

The best part of the manga may be the soothing atmosphere it creates! Like, I normally don’t like meandering plots, or the ones where there is not direction, but here I was like – go on, I am just going to relax and imagine myself in the lush mountainous landscape of Tibet. The artwork also shows a lot of care towards the costumes, the food, the culture – there’s even sort of a mini-guide at the end – and it is all beautiful with the right amount of detail. The only thing odd may be the weird expressions at times – at most times, people are just smiling, smiling and then there’s Khang Zhipa with his owl-eyes, and lost expressions when he is flustered or thinking about herbs, respectively.

On the whole, though, this is a nice relaxing manga you can entertain yourself with.

This is a very sweet all-ages slice of life manga about a young couple preparing for an arranged marriage that takes place in 18th century Tibet. If you think that sounds kind of like A Bride's Story... you're correct! The art isn't nearly as intricate and so far neither is the cast of characters, but it has a very similar feel. I think Blissful Land might be aimed at a slightly younger audience (the protagonist is 13, and so far there's no nudity or violence) but all in all I think fans of one will enjoy the other.