Fantasy

Spirit of Wonder

Few things can make me smile from ear to ear and make me feel good about life in general. I get this feeling whenever I watch a Miyazaki movie. However before I discovered Miyazaki, I was reading ‘Spirit of Wonder’.

This is arguably one of the most beautiful manga’s ever created. This work is far and above standard manga fair. It’s a special piece of printed history that deserves to be on everyone’s shelf.

Set in the late 19th Century, in Bristol England, a young Asian girl, Miss China is the owner of the Tenkai Tea and Boarding House. However not everything’s going well as one of her lodgers Breckenridge (a completely mad scientist) is always late with the rent and Miss China is finding it hard to run her business and make ends meet. Meanwhile she’s pinning after Jim who’s actions seem to imply that he’s actually out for the flower girl,..but we all know better.

I dare any warm blooded male to not fall in love with Miss China after reading this series, in the same way that guys fall for Amelie after watching that movie. While the story might seem girly, it has got something for everyone.

The one aspect of this book that will make you revisit the work again and again is the artwork which is absolutely breathe-taking. It’s seriously detailed and has an incredible amount of sheer class in every single page.

Artist/Writer: Kenji Tsuruta
Letterer: Studio Proteus’s Toren Smith
Publisher: Dark Horse