I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! In no way does this affect my rating or review.

All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication.

Content Warning: Death, Gore, Suggestive language, War/Fighting Matches

”Where I am going, I must go alone. Death walks with me.”

After Sadakyo discovers her fiance brutally murdered on the battlefield, she decides to embark on a quest to bring him back--even after death. She carries his body home with the help of a scavenger named Masamura. Once her fiance is laid to rest, she sets out on a treacherous journey to hunt down the Mask of a Thousand tears.

Inspired solely by tales of legend, Sadakyo warily accepts the company of Masamura on her travels. Mysterious, quiet, and sullen Sadakyo is the opposite of outspoken, enthusiastic, determined, and light-hearted Masamura. Naturally, the dynamics between two characters with such different personalities keeps the reader engaged with where their interactions will go. It feels almost inevitable that the pair will eventually fall for one another, but Sadakyo is determined to save her fiance from the black spring.

There were some instances where I felt that this plot was paralleled Monstress, but only in the beginning. A girl searches for a mask with magical powers but also deals with the dead. A strong-headed female protagonist will stop at nothing for the ones they love in both. There’s even a scene of wild dogs attempting to attack the main character, but in The Mask of a Thousand Tears, Masamura comes to the rescue. A couple of pages in, these plots diverge their separate ways.

The artwork is pretty, but has an unfinished quality to it. This is my personal opinion, but I would love to see more depth with less of a sketchy-appearance to the images. Despite that, the style is appealing, especially in architectural scenes.

This graphic novel series definitely encompasses an engaging story. I’ll be picking up the sequel to continue on with these characters to see how everything will play out!

Vulgarity: Minimal.
Sexual content: Minimal.
Violence: Markedly.

My Rating: ★★★1/2

I very much enjoyed reading The Mask of a Thousand Tears (Script by David Chauvel / Art by Roberto Ali)
The artwork is beautiful and the story had me hooked from page one. Would definitely recommend this for people who like medieval Japan and adventure stories. Will definitely read part 2.

**Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this graphic novel***

This story examines and explores the lengths that humans will go to in order to honor a promise. Masamura accompanies Sadakyo after her a pivotal moment in her life and starts an adventure for the Mask of a Thousand Tears. They travel across great lands in search of the mask which is beautifully portrayed in the amazing artwork. Masamura and Sadakyo have an unspoken bond and attraction that I'm assuming will be explored in the next second part. I cannot wait to see what happens next!!!

Usually I do not complain much when it comes to graphic novels or DNF any of them as far as I am able to read and enjoy the illustrations. But sadly I had to DNF this one. The reasons are purely mine. This is one of those graphic novels which I would get to enjoy as a physical copy. I struggled so much while trying to read the dialogues and the art sequence.
I feel like I was reading the sequel of another story when I started reading this one. I could not enjoy this graphic novel at all. The story is confusing for me. I couldn't follow any of the characters. And I just couldn't feel anything about the story or the characters. It's historical, war time fictional story with some scenes of violence and relationships. I just couldn't get into it as I was having trouble reading the graphic novel.

Sadly, I will have to get my hands on the physical edition of this one to be able to understand the story.

Thank you #NetGalley for the copy.

What a beautiful book! The art is breathtaking, and the story hits you right in the feelings.

I'm definitely going to read the next one. To be recommended!

This book was amazing! Strong plot! Powerful characters! A plot that held my attention the entire time!!!! I couldn’t put it down. I needed to find out what happened next!

Wonderful! Good art, a compelling story, and it left me eating more. 10/10 will read anything that comes after this~

Wow I completely loved this I can’t wait for the second volume to come out because I need to know what going to happen to these characters. The story is essentially a woman traveling with an unwanted companion to get an ancient artefact that will help her get her fiancé back from the dead. The characters are really well developed and you gradually learn more about them throughout the story I still think there is a lot more to learn about these characters and I can’t wait to do so. The art style is stunning and absolutely brutal it doesn’t hold back on the gore. I loved this and will buy the physical book when I can.