Theo is a young mechanic and handyman in Yellow Town it’s so called because the exhaust and steam from the city creates yellow clouds that block out the stars. He stumbles upon a girl named Mia who has fallen from the sky and torn one of her wings off. She can’t remember who she is, and feels alone and scared, so Theo reads to her every night and starts to build her a new wing. Unfortunately they are being followed by bad men who want to sell Mia as a commodity to the highest bidder. She unleashes a terrible power and manages to fight them off, but she falls into a deep sleep with a high fever. Theo, though injured himself, ventures into the Sage Forest for medicine that can help her. Will he succeed?

The art is really what caught my eye here. It’s very loose and sketchy, unlike the other manga I’ve read. The shading is done with loose hatching, and for the most part there isn’t much of it. It looks as if there is a gentle, diffused light throughout the whole book; in part due to the clouds covering the city, in part due to the sweet nature of the story.

This one felt a little too cutesy to me. The figures are very cherubic, with short statures, round faces, and big eyes. The dialogue was overly sweet for my tastes and the obvious romance felt a little cringy to me as an adult. The target audience, middle readers and teens, would likely be more receptive to it.

That said… it’s kind of a sucker punch. The story goes from 0-100 pretty quickly with the fantasy elements. There is potential here for a story with more depth. I may try another volume to see how it goes.

– Kathleen

Nicke. Beyond the Clouds: Vol. 1. 2018.