Golden Japanesque - A Splendid Yokohama Romance -, Vol. 1
- Downloads：8464
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-24 10:52:03
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Kaho Miyasaka
- ISBN：197531977X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
In Meiji-era Japan， sixteen-year-old Maria wishes she can change her appearance。 If only her eyes and hair were different， maybe she wouldn’t be met with such fear， and maybe her own mother wouldn’t be so ashamed of her。 But when Maria encounters a handsome yet mischievous boy named Rintarou， her understanding of beauty—and herself—begins to change。 To him， Maria’s not just pretty; she’s straight out of a fairy tale！ A historical romance unfolds on the streets of Yokohama…
Reviews
Jenny
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This was really good！ Maria and Rintarou are solid characters and are already proving to be a cute （future） couple。 Rintarou himself is a character， equal parts caring and mischievous， and while that's not a particularly original personality combo Maria plays off of that really well。 Maria herself was a bit repetitive in her inner monologues， but given her situation it was warranted and didn't bother me too much。 The only complaint I have is the art can be a bit stiff in certain places， but when This was really good！ Maria and Rintarou are solid characters and are already proving to be a cute （future） couple。 Rintarou himself is a character， equal parts caring and mischievous， and while that's not a particularly original personality combo Maria plays off of that really well。 Maria herself was a bit repetitive in her inner monologues， but given her situation it was warranted and didn't bother me too much。 The only complaint I have is the art can be a bit stiff in certain places， but when it shines it really shines。A really solid first volume， I highly recommend for anyone looking for a cute historical romance！ 。。。more
Laura Grace
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VIDEO REVIEW HERE: https://youtu。be/U2ZpGNrXpyAThis was absolutely fantastic！ I did indeed felt "swept away" in this unfolding Yokohama romance and absolutely thrilled to dive into book two after I finish writing this review！Maria is instantly a character your heart goes out to。 While I don't think Rintarou is a bully， I do think he's a major tease。 On top of his teasing， Maria's mother is the WORST！ （The last time I reallyyyyy disliked a parent in a manga was Kazehaya's father in Kimi ni Todoke VIDEO REVIEW HERE: https://youtu。be/U2ZpGNrXpyAThis was absolutely fantastic！ I did indeed felt "swept away" in this unfolding Yokohama romance and absolutely thrilled to dive into book two after I finish writing this review！Maria is instantly a character your heart goes out to。 While I don't think Rintarou is a bully， I do think he's a major tease。 On top of his teasing， Maria's mother is the WORST！ （The last time I reallyyyyy disliked a parent in a manga was Kazehaya's father in Kimi ni Todoke。） She takes worst parent of the year award because she is harsh and cruel with her words that just bring down her daughter or show any kind of love towards her。 I strongly dislike her and thankful that Rintarou （and Maria's grandmother！） is there to spread some love into Maria's heart。 She desperately needs it。I wouldn't say I was expecting a "fluffy" read when I first started， I WAS fairly surprised at some of the topics that are presented。 We are seeing prejudice （even among family）， lack of self-confidence， loneliness， and almost assault。 （Thankfully someone intervened on that last one！） I didn't quite expect these things to play such a large role！ I think， however， it makes this story more compelling due to the times we live in today and something more than just a story of boy-saves-girl-and-they-fall-in-love kind of thing。 Nothing wrong with that mind you because I enjoy those stories a lot to be honest， but this felt more heart hitting and relatable。 （Though don't worry， there is still some angst mixed in！）Overall， this was a very strong first volume！ I'm super eager to keep reading this story and hope there are wonderful things in store for Maria！ <3 。。。more
S。Q。 Eries
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 In SummaryA poor， mixed-race girl catches the attention of a rich man’s son in Meiji Era Yokohama。 This is a historical series so it will require you to be cognizant of the social mindset of the time as you read。 However， if you’re good with that， you can watch the romance unfold between a somewhat gloomy Cinderella and an at-times immature Prince Charming。The ReviewThe title Golden Japanesque is a reference to the mixed heritage of Maria， the main character。 A resident of the trading port of Yo In SummaryA poor， mixed-race girl catches the attention of a rich man’s son in Meiji Era Yokohama。 This is a historical series so it will require you to be cognizant of the social mindset of the time as you read。 However， if you’re good with that， you can watch the romance unfold between a somewhat gloomy Cinderella and an at-times immature Prince Charming。The ReviewThe title Golden Japanesque is a reference to the mixed heritage of Maria， the main character。 A resident of the trading port of Yokohama， she was born to a Japanese woman but bears the blonde hair and blue eyes of the Western father she’s never met。 The story， an Ugly Duckling/Cinderella mashup， is simplistic， but getting a full grasp of Maria’s struggles requires an understanding of the particular challenges faced by a mixed-race person in Meiji Era Japan。Japan is an island nation， which means it’s not all that easy for its residents to mingle with other races。 On top of that， the Japanese government instituted a policy of self-isolation for decades。 That changed when Commodore Perry forced the Japanese to open their ports in the mid-1850s， which allowed Western technology and culture to make inroads into Japan during the subsequent Meiji era。 But Western ways weren’t universally accepted in Japan， and acceptance of Western things didn’t necessarily equate to acceptance of Western people。Thus， Maria’s blonde hair and blue eyes are deemed so different as to be abnormal and considered by some to be bad luck。 Maria’s mother has two strikes against her because she is poor and she is unmarried。 Having a child with such obviously foreign features is a heavy third strike， thus she forces Maria to dye her hair black and constantly keep her head down。There is also a more subtle detail of the story that I would’ve completely misinterpreted if not for the translation notes。 In Chapter 1， Maria’s unable to read the nameplate of the house of her mother’s new employer。 Later， she is unable to read the text of the book she’s asked to deliver。 Because of those scenes， I assumed she was illiterate， which made a subsequent scene of Maria in a library really confusing。 However， as the translation notes explain， Maria couldn’t read the nameplate and textbook not because she is illiterate， but because the kanji and writing style of those particular items are that obscure （which is something that happens with the Japanese language）。Anyway， if you’re okay with dealing with cultural and historical aspects like these， you can watch a rather straightforward romance unfold between this poor golden-haired Cinderella and her mischievous Prince Charming。And he is a mischief-maker。 Rintarou is the son of the rich family that employs Maria’s mother。 Although he’s fifteen years old， he pulls a grade-school-type prank on Maria – twice。 However， he also has an appreciation for Western things， thanks to his father’s business interactions with foreigners。 So when he discovers Maria’s true hair color， he’s not repulsed。 Rather he’s captivated。By the end of Volume 1， the “Splendid Yokohama Romance” hasn’t gotten very far。 But for Maria， who’s been bullied by boys all her life because of her coloring， having Rintarou call her pretty is earth-shattering。 And even though the main couple has barely gotten started， Miyasaka-sensei’s already laid the groundwork for challenges aplenty to the relationship。Extras include translation notes and Volume 2 preview。For more manga and book reviews， drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon！ 。。。more
Nat
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pretty straightforward with some nice art which is what i was looking for when i bought this， so i can’t complain。
The Georgia Book Belle
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Why so short！
Jillian -always aspiring-
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2021 Read #66This has to be one of the more compelling manga romances I’ve read in the last few years。 More， please！！
Angelina 💙
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im not sure i’ll continue w this
Rebecca
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3。5/5
Rebecca
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I'd accuse Kaho Miyasaka of not really knowing what she's talking about by using "The Little Mermaid" as a romantic metaphor for the heroine's looks， but she included the actual text of Andersen's tale in the volume at one point， so。。。maybe brace yourselves for an unhappy ending？ Or at least for Rintarou to make Maria sleep on a cushion outside his bedroom。**And that's one of the less messed-up bits of Andersen's original！ I'd accuse Kaho Miyasaka of not really knowing what she's talking about by using "The Little Mermaid" as a romantic metaphor for the heroine's looks， but she included the actual text of Andersen's tale in the volume at one point， so。。。maybe brace yourselves for an unhappy ending？ Or at least for Rintarou to make Maria sleep on a cushion outside his bedroom。**And that's one of the less messed-up bits of Andersen's original！ 。。。more
Beth
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A fairly straightforward romance set in the Meiji era， between a nice boy and a girl who's shy because she's mixed race。 I rather like the idea that Maria's grandmother is kind and accepting of her where her mother--perhaps out of a sense of guilt--continually berates her。 Of course Maria is gorgeous when her true colors are revealed。。。 and， of course， she is constantly put in situations where her hair dye is washed off。 ;）The character work is pretty good， in my opinion。 However， I don't get a A fairly straightforward romance set in the Meiji era， between a nice boy and a girl who's shy because she's mixed race。 I rather like the idea that Maria's grandmother is kind and accepting of her where her mother--perhaps out of a sense of guilt--continually berates her。 Of course Maria is gorgeous when her true colors are revealed。。。 and， of course， she is constantly put in situations where her hair dye is washed off。 ;）The character work is pretty good， in my opinion。 However， I don't get a good sense of place or time from the backgrounds， very straightforward sketches that look like they were traced from photographs and not developed from there。 。。。more
Shae
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TW: Bullying and Verbal Abuse from peers as well as parents。 This series is going to be a journey of self love for the beautiful Maria， who has been beat down by her mother for taking on the looks of her father， who is nowhere to be seen。 When a sweet boy comes into her life， he helps her see her beauty， and start to put some of the harmful things said to her in the back of her mind instead of the front。 Definitely want to continue this one。
-moonprismpower-
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Not super exciting but it was cute！ The art work is beautiful。 I’m interested enough to see where this goes。。。
Mark
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Rintarou just met a girl named Maria。。。 and， while they get off on the wrong foot， it all ends up coming out in the wash。 But it’s Meiji-era Japan， so it’s not like they’re going to exchange Line IDs or anything。 Still， once Rintarou knows Maria’s secret， it’s going to take a lot more than polite society to dissuade him。。。This book is okay。 It is perfunctorily okay。 I don’t especially love straightforward historical romances typically because if I want to see women being treated as less than equ Rintarou just met a girl named Maria。。。 and， while they get off on the wrong foot， it all ends up coming out in the wash。 But it’s Meiji-era Japan， so it’s not like they’re going to exchange Line IDs or anything。 Still， once Rintarou knows Maria’s secret， it’s going to take a lot more than polite society to dissuade him。。。This book is okay。 It is perfunctorily okay。 I don’t especially love straightforward historical romances typically because if I want to see women being treated as less than equal I can just log on to the internet。If you are less bothered by that， however， I think that this isn’t bad。 Maria is half-foreigner （nationality never revealed） by way of her father， who loved her mother then left her。 Maria takes after his side of the family， which means she sticks out like a sore thumb amongst traditional Japanese society。And traditional is the word。 Maria is the very definition of downtrodden， being tormented by her peers and treated like a burden by her mother （far and away the worst character in this book）。 She’s got no hope until Rintarou begins to take an interest after a fateful rainfall （this scene is probably the best done part in this volume）。Up to that point， Rintarou is a typical teenage boy， by which I mean。。。 a jerk。 It’s 50-50 whether his initial teasing is him taking an interest in her or if it just falls to the wayside once he sees her true self and comes to love her。 It feels like the latter， honestly， and that’s not a great look。Eh， I am being mean。 If you want something that’s existing within its time， this is fine。 My own thoughts immediately go to The Apothecary Diaries， which is also historically set， but has a heroine going against the norm。 Atypical， sure， but more interesting by half。3 stars。 I might read the second book。 Adjust up if you love these types of stories and appreciate a fairy tale quality to your narrative。 I didn’t hate it， but I read it last night before bed and had to skim it over this morning so I could recall any of the plot points and that pretty much says it all。 。。。more
Cress
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