Opera meets sci-fi in this wonderfully interwoven thriller about family and revenge. The art in this is absolutely phenomenal and I can’t help but root for the main girls. Every page I wanted to know more more more about Yan and the rest of the cast. There were times where I was a bit confused, but I’m sure most of my questions will be answered in the continuation. Very strong start for the series! [7/10 rounded to 4/5]

Thank you Titan Manga and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I’m intrigued by this and I think I will keep an eye out for future volumes.
Mystery, thriller and a bit gruesome.
Girl who should be dead seems to have come back?

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

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Yan Vol.1, by Chang Sheng
★★★★☆


This was such an interesting concept. We see the life of Yan Tieh-Hua, who is a Peking Opera performer with her mother. They don't get along, but one day while Yan is at school, she senses something is wrong and rushes home to find her entire family – everyone at the Opera house – murdered, including her mother. Through news footage, we see that she confessed to killing them, even though we – the reader – know that she wasn't even there. Mystery 1: why did she confess?
Yan is arrested and taken to a research facility, where she vows to find out who did this to her family. Mystery 2: did she even confess at all?
Then it jumps to 30 years later and Yan is performing the Peking Opera for a livestream. She looks no different to before, but as she's ending her performance, she shoots and kills the Councillor's son, and people online go wild. Mystery 3: why does she look exactly the same as she did when she was just 15? She should be 45 by now!
Once the livestream goes out, events conspire to bring Yan into the orbit of a grizzly police officer, who once worked her original case but who is now retired, and a young girl who can see 5 minutes into the future. With their help, she'll face an even tougher challenge than the last 30 years have offered.
Mystery 4: what happens next?

I really liked the artwork of this book. It was gritty, really suited the action of the plot, and yet it was also beautiful. Whenever Yan came into the scene, she was always well presented, beautiful without being smutty, never made into this pin-up version that sometimes happens in comic books. She was a tough, but wounded girl who was fighting for justice.

I loved the idea of the plot, however once it got near the end of Vol. 1, I do feel that they tried to put too many things into it. The mystery of Yan's family and existence was good enough, but then came the girl who see into the future, the grizzly cop, the dead girl assassin concept, a giant robot attacking the city, a mysterious research facility and a potential apocalyptic future. It eventually felt like too many ideas had been crammed into the book, when the original idea was good enough to stand on its own.

Right now, I'm torn on whether I'll read the next volume or not. Maybe if it's on sale or available through Netgalley, I'll give it a go, but I'm not sure it's one that I'd religiously follow.

A beautiful and exciting manga, Tan is the story of a young teenage girl seeking vengeance for the murder of her family. Intense and fun of likeable, quirky characters, Tan is a truly enthralling read blending crime thriller and action with a touch of sci-fi.

Thanks to Netgalley and Titan Manga for this manga!
I'm not a big fan of live Chinese opera but I really loved the cover of this book and I've not read many Taiwanese mangas before.

In this manga we meet a 15 year old teenager Yan Tieh Hua, who is a Chinese Opera singer and seeks revenge on those who killed her family. She is sent to prison and falsely accused of killing her family.

She's back after 30 years with a spirited origami dinosaur now frog who's her ancestor. But the plot twist is that she died 10 years prior in a research facility. Hmm, interesting.

Yan Tieh Hua is followed by a 16 year old Go player, and a police officer who originally arrested Yan Tieh Hua 30 years ago. They become an interesting 3 person crew.

This is a very futuristic manga with a Chinese Opera Singer superhero. I loved the plot, love the non cutesy drawings and I can't wait to read the next volume!!

What grabbed my attention was the striking cover. It features the main protagonist, Yan Tieh Hua, wearing traditional Chinese opera makeup.

Yan is the sole survivor of the massacre that took out her entire family. She's framed for the murder and swears vengeance on the people who orchestrated the downfall of her family.

Thirty years later, Yan re-surfaces and sets out to get her revenge. This story is exciting! Yan Tieh Hua is a morally grey baddie, and I definitely have a crush on her. It's gearing up to be an exciting sci-fi vigilante thriller, and I'm hype to see how this story unfolds.

Wow. That is the first word that comes to mind but it most certainly does not cover how much I loved this. I stopped reading this one to pre-order this one because I was hooked from the start. The plot, the pacing and the art drew me in and the characters are fantastic. I adore Yan but Higa is fantastic and so is our jaded detective.

The action is fast-paced and amazingly executed with a hint of science fiction and fantasy this is a fantastic and addictive manga that I think will become one of my favourites in no time.