Blissful Land (Vol. 1) by Ichimon Izumi

Khang Zhipa is a 13-year-old doctor’s apprentice living in a mountain village in 18th-century Tibet. One day, when he gets back from collecting medicinal herbs, he finds a bride-to-be and her wedding party will be resting at his home for the night. The bride’s name is Moshi Rati and it turns out she’s actually Khang Zhipa’s fiancee from another land, here to stay! Enjoy this heartwarming slice-of-life tale woven by a kind-hearted boy and his mysterious bride.

Format: ebook
Narrator:
Performance:
Story: 🌑🌑🌑🌓

LOVE THE COVER!

Blissful Land, as the name suggests, gives off a serene atmosphere mirroring the hardworking but peaceful life of the mountain villagers. Even the supposed conflicts, if you can call it that, were the simple everyday, amusing sort that were resolved in a calm, reasonable way.  

The manga is set in the 18th century at the time when people get betrothed at 13. Khang Zhipang is a pure-hearted boy more fascinated with herbs than with girls. He treats Moshi Rati as a friend which I think is a great way to get to know your future wife. Moshi Rati is a cute, sweet girl who fit right in her fiance's household. She listens with a smile when Khang Zhipang goes on and on about herbs. I think they're perfect for each other! I just hope we don't get one of those third party conflicts in the future volumes because that would be so cliche!

Khang Zhipang and his dad were the village doctors and the manga serves as a primer for Tibetan traditional medicine. This is good if you have an interest on the subject and I commend the amount research the mangaka did on Tibetan culture. However I tend to gloss over these panels because I don't even recognize most of these ingredients. 

Overall, Blissful Land gives us something different from the usual high school setting. Tibet here feels like a mystical place and I get a fantasy vibe as well even though it's really slice of life. The mangaka's respect for Tibetan culture was very apparent and all the cultural aspects were handled with care.

I recommend this manga for those into historical, slice of life with a dash of romance.

P.S.

I received a copy of Blissful Land  from Kodansha Comics  via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

SOUNDTRACK

To Heal
Underworld
Oblivion With Bells

[instrumental]