Following last year’s superb Raging Clouds, Yudori returns with the first installment of a new historical romance series. The book also marks the debut of Fantagraphics’ new imprint devoted exclusively to East Asian comics: Takumigraphics.
Buy Lovers of the Empire: Vol. 1The new series transports readers to 1920s Korea, where two teenagers from different social classes are forced into an uneasy alliance. Arisa Jo is the daughter of a wealthy merchant, representing the new elite class in a tumultuous sociopolitical climate. Jun Seomoon is a reserved country boy, but his humble standing masks his family’s history as nobility until the prior class system was abolished at the close of the 19th century. When Jun is selected by Arisa’s father to be her escort in the big city of Gyeongseong, the two teens are forced to find common ground.
Yudori infuses the book with rich historical details and elaborate fashions and architecture, making for an immersive trip to the past. She also inserts chapter breaks and concluding pages of illustrated author’s notes with even more information about the era, ensuring that readers come away with an education as well as an intriguing tale. It’s evident that she enjoys the research as much as the world building, resulting in a book brimming with authentic details.
The characters are clearly defined, with the haughty, modern Arisa a seemingly polar opposite to the traditional, subdued Jun. At least in this initial outing, that vast chasm between the two proves to be insurmountable, with early stirrings of attraction but no feasible path forward, making for a love story with precious little romance. At this stage, their relationship is all set up with no payoff, marking the only somewhat dissatisfying aspect of the book.
Yudori’s full-color artwork continues to impress, although her page layouts and character expressions adhere closer to a more conventional teen manhwa approach compared to her first book. Her linework is incredibly clean, marrying the exacting precision of Chris Ware with a strong graphic design sense. The book is simply a delight to look at, a visually rewarding step back in time enhanced by its well-researched period details.
