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Lars Martinson
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Tonoharu: Part 1 Paperback – September 30, 2014

by Lars Martinson (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 36 ratings
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Daniel Wells begins a new life as an assistant junior high school teacher in the rural Japanese village of Tonoharu. Isolated from those around him by cultural and language barriers, he leads a monastic existence, peppered only by his inept pursuit of the company of a fellow American who lives a couple towns over. But contrary to appearances, Dan isn't the only foreigner to call Tonoharu home. Across town, a group of wealthy European eccentrics are boarding in a one-time Buddhist temple, for reasons that remain obscure to their gossiping neighbors.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    128 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Top Shelf Productions
  4. Publication date
    September 30, 2014
  5. Reading age
    16 years and up
  6. Dimensions
    5.56 x 0.35 x 8.25 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0980102367
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0980102369
  9. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Top Shelf Productions (September 30, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0980102367
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0980102369
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 16 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.56 x 0.35 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 36 ratings

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Lars Martinson

Lars Martinson

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
36 global ratings
Great Story, Great Artist
5 Stars
Great Story, Great Artist
I came upon this book after a video made by the author was put into my recommendations on Youtube because I watch a lot of videos about art, productivity, and studying Japanese among other things. It comes at a good time too, because my wife and I are considering going to Japan in the future as tourists, then potentially again later to work. Probably as an English teacher until I found my way into Software Development there. The story follows Dan Wells working as an assistant English teacher in a small town in Japan, struggling to find his place in Japanese society as well as among fellow expats. The attention to detail in the artwork is superb, and the story itself is interesting and conveys its meaning well. The reader will feel connected to Dan's emotion throughout the work, and it's a shame that the book is so short, but I have already ordered the second book because I can't wait to read it. I had to remind myself to go back, slow down, and appreciate the art work alongside the words because it truly is beautiful.
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Top reviews from the United States

Tristan S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story, Great Artist
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2019
Verified Purchase
I came upon this book after a video made by the author was put into my recommendations on Youtube because I watch a lot of videos about art, productivity, and studying Japanese among other things. It comes at a good time too, because my wife and I are considering going to Japan in the future as tourists, then potentially again later to work. Probably as an English teacher until I found my way into Software Development there. The story follows Dan Wells working as an assistant English teacher in a small town in Japan, struggling to find his place in Japanese society as well as among fellow expats. The attention to detail in the artwork is superb, and the story itself is interesting and conveys its meaning well. The reader will feel connected to Dan's emotion throughout the work, and it's a shame that the book is so short, but I have already ordered the second book because I can't wait to read it. I had to remind myself to go back, slow down, and appreciate the art work alongside the words because it truly is beautiful.
Customer image
Tristan S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story, Great Artist
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2019
I came upon this book after a video made by the author was put into my recommendations on Youtube because I watch a lot of videos about art, productivity, and studying Japanese among other things. It comes at a good time too, because my wife and I are considering going to Japan in the future as tourists, then potentially again later to work. Probably as an English teacher until I found my way into Software Development there. The story follows Dan Wells working as an assistant English teacher in a small town in Japan, struggling to find his place in Japanese society as well as among fellow expats. The attention to detail in the artwork is superb, and the story itself is interesting and conveys its meaning well. The reader will feel connected to Dan's emotion throughout the work, and it's a shame that the book is so short, but I have already ordered the second book because I can't wait to read it. I had to remind myself to go back, slow down, and appreciate the art work alongside the words because it truly is beautiful.
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3 people found this helpful
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K E E F E
5.0 out of 5 stars Story ok art Extraordinary!!! 5/5
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2020
Verified Purchase
I give the story a 3.9 out of five. But I give the artwork a10 out of five. Therefore this book it’s an easy five stars! The amount of effort and time and energy that went into this book makes it a masterpiece I can’t imagine how long this would take to draw even similar scenes didn’t seem to be copied during conversations they seem to be redrawn. Fantastic book for any artist or art admirers. If you’re looking for an amazing graphic novel as far as story goes there are better options but as far as just the sheer amount of single man hours put into the artwork you’d be hard-pressed to find something better.
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Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars Artwork is good, but story is cringe and terrible.
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2023
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I should have listened to the critical reviews. I liked the artwork, but the story is terrible and cringe. The main character acts pathetically and would be lonely and isolated in America if he acted like he did in Japan. I will not purchase the follow-on books.
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Manu C.
3.0 out of 5 stars Great art, empty story
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2019
Verified Purchase
Sorry, I really wanted to like this. I bought it after seeing a Youtube video from the author describing some of his battles against perfectionism (the video was great!).

The artwork is really nice, with a unique style, simple strokes yet very detailed and full of things to explore in each panel.

However, this really feels like a video game with beautiful graphics but not much of an interesting game play and no real plot. The story is pretty flat, empty, just makes you feel miserable, and lacks anything that would make me want to come back for the second volume. Sorry :-/
5 people found this helpful
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Daniel Elkin
5.0 out of 5 stars A book about communication, about connecting, about learning through our shared experiences and defining ourselves through the e
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2014
Pliant Press and Top Shelf Productions have released Lars Martinson’s Xeric Award winning Tonoharu: Part One in a redesigned paperback edition. This is worthy of celebration as Tonoharu: Part One is an amazing work and Martinson is an artist who deserves wider acclaim for the task he has undertaken in service of his muse.

Ostensibly, Tonoharu “tells the story of a young American who moves to rural Japan to work as an English teacher.” This is a framing device for something larger, providing a springboard for an examination of social mores, concepts of culture, ideas about the nature of language, and, above all else, how we connect with each other. These are big ideas of course, ones that require deft hands to balance without tipping. Martinson has those hands

In its 128 blue and black pages there is a certain heaviness to Martinson’s art, though none of it heavy-handed. Each panel bears dense cross-hatching of fine and uniform lines, an at-times nearly impermeable sieve that never diminishes a sense of space as he creates engaging perspectives with dynamic triangular compositions throughout. There is an almost obsessive attention to background detail. The energy released from Martinson’s ink creates a wave-like frequency despite the absence of nearly any curved lines. This visceral tension mirrors the protagonist’s painfully tense emotional interior, a tension also inherent in Japanese culture and the language barrier it presents.

And it’s subtle.

Upon first glance this appears to be a quiet book, one in which little happens that isn’t of a personal nature and almost whispered in hushed tones. The main character of the narrative, Dan, is ill-prepared for his adventure abroad, but this lack of preparation only leads to isolation, not danger. As the story unfolds, though, it seems that Dan has brought a certain amount of isolation with him to begin with. He’s socially awkward and has led a quiet life. What could have been a grand adventure for him appears to only to create a further spiral into the self, a place where hardly anyone, especially a guy like Dan, seems to be at home.

It is almost as if part of the story reflects the notion that you only find your “true self” by leaving your comfort zone. But this is misleading; there is something else going on in Tonoharu: Book One, some larger thing on the outlying edges that moves this from simple platitudes and navel-gazing onto a grander stage.

In his afterword to this book, Martinson writes, “The experiences that inspire me most are those that make me feel like the world is a huge, terrible, exhilarating place filled with untraveled roads, fascinating strangers, and endless possibility.” As Book One stands, one would hardly guess that Martinson harbored these feelings. Like I said, there is a continuous scent of quiet isolation throughout its narrative. Yet there are wafts of fermentation underneath, dark hedonistic secrets that arise in the freedom of “exotic locales” and different customs. This story is poised to be filled with torrid turns as Martinson completes subsequent volumes.

Still, at its heart, Tonoharu is a book about communication, about connecting, about learning through our shared experiences and defining ourselves through the eyes of others. The story of Dan becomes the story of us. This is the thematic sandbox in which artists build castles and Martinson is building Neuschwanstein.
2 people found this helpful
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Anil Thaplar
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb art
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2019
Amazing art work, this person deserves much recognition.
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Herovd
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Book but...
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2019
Verified Purchase
Interesting comic about the living of a western teacher in Japan. Maybe my expectations were higher but while I enjoyed the story didn't feel....satisfied with it. THis one feels kinda gloomy and miserable.....I guess just a little bit like LOST in TRANSLATION....actually that's how the book is described in the back cover. Is great fact to know that the artist took 10 years to complete the artwork of this. Maybe Vol#2 will be better?
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Yuri Radaelli
5.0 out of 5 stars Bellezza gentile, poesia in immagini
Reviewed in Italy on April 26, 2023
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Un'opera di incredibile delicatezza, semplice, attuale, narrativa, ma profonda e riflessiva. Sono rimasto spesso fisso a contemplare una pagina per un minuto. Sono felice di averla scoperta!
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Ach Hadda
4.0 out of 5 stars amazing story
Reviewed in France on March 11, 2018
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if you like the idea of traveling but you are kind of scared this book can give you a small taste
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Nellig
3.0 out of 5 stars Tiny fragment of a good story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2014
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Good stuff, but I couldn't help gobbling it up in 20 minutes, and the story barely gets started. That's expensive entertainment.
One person found this helpful
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TrevorB
2.0 out of 5 stars Nice graphics but dull
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 7, 2019
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Found the autobiographical narrative dull. Not much more I can say.
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