It is always a wonderful feeling when a cover buy is also a great buy because of the story itself. I have always loved the first cover (and the following covers) of Golden Japanesque: A Splendid Yokohama Romance, but the story is equally engaging! Maria is a young woman living in Japan during the Meiji-Era and is considered a “demon” by many due to her blue eyes and blonde hair. In order for her to try and blend into society better, her mother makes her “dye” her hair black and has her eyes covered with long bangs at all times. While Maria feels her mother is ashamed of her foreign descent, the handsome (and mischievous) young man, Rintarou, believes she is beautiful and someone right out of a fairy tale. As these two interact, Maria slowly starts to believe that maybe she really is beautiful too.

ADVENTURE: This story knows how to pull on one’s heart strings! While this manga may hit a lot of the “beats” of girl’s manga, the prejudice Maria faces from other people due to her having foreign blood is hard. While it’s not shown in a way that is graphic, the fear, shame, and loneliness that has been created as a result of those prejudices really shows in Maria’s actions. It doesn’t help that her mother seems to be the “loudest” in not loving her for who she is. Maria’s beginning story is indeed a painful one.

ACTION: One of the characters I am so deeply thankful for in this story is Rintarou. He is a fairly big tease and any action that takes place in this story, I would say it’s because of him. His mischievousness is what starts changing Maria’s world even if in the beginning it seems for the worst. He genuinely wants to help her see that the things she has been told by her mother and other people are not who she really is. In between giving her “gifts” and falling in a small lake (followed by an awestruck statement), there are not much “relaxing” scenes when he is on page.

ROMANCE: I absolutely loved the blooming of this historical romance! It felt like a natural progression and really enjoyed seeing Maria almost “struggle” with why she keeps thinking about Rintarou. He is a confident young man and that confidence can’t help but affect Maria in a way that I feel unsurprisingly leads into her having feelings for him. I am excited to see their story bloom further!

RELIGION: There is one mention of the word “demon” after a servant sees Maria’s blue eyes.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I expected this to be a “fluffy” read of sorts when I first started this manga, but while it does have angst and romance, the topics presented make this story much more than a story of boy-saves-girl-and-they-fall-in-love kind of thing. I have such high hopes that Maria’s story will become a more beautiful world and be a place where she feels (and is) loved for who she is without fear of judgment from others. (Or at least have the confidence where she is not afraid of other people’s judgment.) She is such a kindhearted character and am looking forward to seeing how Rintarou will help her see she is indeed worthy of love.