The Poetry of Ran Vol 1 is published by Titan Manga, written/created by Yusuke Osawa.
Vol 1 is available 6th December 2023 either directly from Titan Comics online or from your local comic book store, digital copies will be available to download from the usual content providers.
Synopsis
Perfect for fans of romance, poetry, and action, The Poetry of Ran is the story of warrior poet Torue who meets disgraced monster hunter Ran, and decides to compose an epic ballad of his deeds! In this high-fantasy tale there are monster who devour people and all their evil ― and the only way to banish them is to absorb these impurities.
Torue, a young bard struggling to make a name for herself encounters one such monster hunter, a young man name Ran and decides to travel with him to gain inspiration from his exploits!
Review
The Poetry of Ran is an intense story of a young bard, Torue, struggling to get her voice heard but determined for it to be heard somehow. Ridiculed for her lack of originality and voluptuous figure Torue must find a way to enable her to carry on her family’s legacy. Everything changes when a mysterious monster hunter arrives in the village giving her all the inspiration she could need but for her to gain more material she would have to convince the stranger to let her tag along on his quest.
The villager’s ask the stranger Ran, known as a Child of Impurity – a being who can defeat the evil Karma and taking on the evil themselves instead of polluting the nearby area, the villagers hope that Ran can help rid the village of this evil Karma using his powers he is the one who can defeat this immense evil. Torue sees this as the perfect opportunity to get the material she needs to create the most epic of ballads, if Ran agrees for her to tag along this could well be the opportunity Torue has been waiting for her chance to create a new sound that no one has heard and something that will make her the bard she was meant to be.
Ran’s journey takes him across lands in the hope of catching this creature and freeing those that it torments. On his way Ran meets others who are trying to capture this creature that offer their help but none have the ability of Ran, it is down to him and him alone to capture this creature and free the land of this evil, the time is now for Torue can she fulfill her destiny?
I was unexpectedly captivated with this story and at the same time pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The front cover had me expecting an almost horrific adventure but the story I discovered was different but in a good way. The story of Torue was wholesome and at times light hearted but underneath there was a tale of determination and grit from a strong character, running alongside this was the developing story of Ran and his quest to capture and eliminate the Karma this supplied me that action that I was craving but even this had a deeper undertone that took me deeper into the story.
Yusuke Osawa provides an addictive writing style that once you read the first few pages you are hooked and nothing else around you matters only what is set before you in the book. I am still finding my feet in the world of Manga and I am definitely enjoying my journey of discovery so far, if I am looking at this as a benchmark then I am definitely in for a good ride.
The artwork of the book was mind-blowing, each page captured the story perfectly and brought each page to life, the action sequences we mesmerising, the black and white traditional style really worked at telling the story and providing a visual journey into this mystical world.
Verdict
I really enjoyed this book alot more than I thought I originally would, it took me by surprise but most definitely in a good way. A blend of light hearted tale of discovery and action-packed hack and slash quest gave me a reading experience like no other. I would definitely recommend adding this to your collection, although this is available in both physical and digital I would recommend you pick up a physical copy as the artwork is definitely to be enjoyed in a physical form.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lastly thanks to Titan Comics for sending a physical copy of the book.
