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Tonoharu: Part 1 Paperback – September 30, 2014
- Print length128 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTop Shelf Productions
- Publication dateSeptember 30, 2014
- Reading age16 years and up
- Dimensions5.56 x 0.35 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-100980102367
- ISBN-13978-0980102369
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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 : 8.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.56 x 0.35 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,045,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #495 in Sports Journalism
- #2,201 in Historical & Biographical Fiction Graphic Novels
- #2,609 in Literary Graphic Novels (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Customer reviews
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Customers praise the artwork as fantastic and extraordinary. They find the unique style simple yet detailed. Opinions differ on the story quality - some find it great and interesting, while others feel it's terrible and lacks an interesting plot.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the art content of the book. They say it's an excellent book for artists and art enthusiasts. The artwork is praised as extraordinary.
"...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..." Read more
"Great Story, Great Artist..." Read more
"Interesting Book but......" Read more
Customers like the artwork quality. They say it's good, with a unique style that is simple yet detailed.
"...The attention to detail in the artwork is superb, and the story itself is interesting and conveys its meaning well...." Read more
"...The artwork is really nice, with a unique style, simple strokes yet very detailed and full of things to explore in each panel...." Read more
"I should have listened to the critical reviews. I liked the artwork, but the story is terrible and cringe...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the story. Some find it interesting and well-crafted, while others feel the story lacks depth and there is no real plot. The artwork is praised, but some readers feel the story lacks interest and is disappointing.
"...The attention to detail in the artwork is superb, and the story itself is interesting and conveys its meaning well...." Read more
"...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...." Read more
"Story ok art Extraordinary!!! 5/5..." Read more
"...I liked the artwork, but the story is terrible and cringe...." Read more
Reviews with images
Great Story, Great Artist
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2019I 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.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story, Great ArtistI 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.
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2019
Images in this review - Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2019Sorry, 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 :-/
- Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2023I 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.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2020I 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.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2014Pliant 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.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2019Amazing art work, this person deserves much recognition.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2019Interesting 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?
Top reviews from other countries
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Yuri RadaelliReviewed in Italy on April 26, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Bellezza gentile, poesia in immagini
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 HaddaReviewed in France on March 11, 2018
4.0 out of 5 stars amazing story
if you like the idea of traveling but you are kind of scared this book can give you a small taste
- NelligReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2014
3.0 out of 5 stars Tiny fragment of a good story
Good stuff, but I couldn't help gobbling it up in 20 minutes, and the story barely gets started. That's expensive entertainment.
- TrevorBReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 7, 2019
2.0 out of 5 stars Nice graphics but dull
Found the autobiographical narrative dull. Not much more I can say.