4.3 colorful satrs

omigosh the colors!
but ends in cliffhanger (i'll read the next one)

In a fantastical Silk Road, a little family of three (mom and two brothers) are hunters excuse me seekers of 'Aweto' ( a plant-thingie that grow over earth deidities called 'chadolo'). I must confess that 90% of the book I was deeply mad with the MCs because they cause endless pain with their work, robing villages of aweto (very valuable because healing properties) and destroying their way of life at times.

Xinyue is the younger brother who with his drums directs insects that are like hounds looking for aweto. Qiliu is the older brother, has wings like a dragonfly, flies , and is a fierce fighter (and no doubt has his own motivations in search of the royal aweto, a cure-all that is said to give immortality). Bu Ren Niang is the mother who cares and feeds them. We will soon see how the whole family is put to the test.

The story is embedded, according to the author, in western Chinese traditions. And, as several comment, it feels like watching a movie, rather than reading a story. The setting full of fantastic beings in like one of Miyazaki's works. The colors are amazing in their diversity with what appear to be watercolor. Pretty.

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{Esta vez en castellano:}

En una antigua y fantástica Ruta de la Seda, una pequeña familia de tres (mamá y dos hermanos) son cazadores, perdón, buscadores de 'Aweto' (una planta-cosita que crece sobre deidades de la tierra llamada 'chadolo'). Debo confesar que el 90% del libro estaba profundamente enojada con los protagonistas buscadores porque causan un dolor sin fin con su trabajo, robando a los pueblos de aweto (muy valioso por sus propiedades curativas) y destruyendo su forma de vida en ocasiones.

Xinyue es el hermano menor que con sus tambores dirige insectos que son como sabuesos en busca de aweto. Qiliu es el hermano mayor, tiene alas como una libélula, vuela, y es un luchador feroz (y sin duda tiene sus propias motivaciones en busca del aweto real, una panacea que se dice que da inmortalidad). Bu Ren Niang es la madre que los cuida y los alimenta. Pronto veremos cómo se pone a prueba a toda la familia.


La historia está inmersa, según el autor, en las tradiciones de China occidental. Y, como comentan varios, se siente como ver una película, en lugar de leer una historia. El escenario esta lleno de seres fantásticos como en una de las obras de Miyazaki. Los colores son asombrosos en su diversidad con lo que parece ser acuarela. Hermoso.

Termina en cliff-hanger, y espero ver el siguiente volumen pronto.

The artwork in Nie Jun's graphic novel "The Hunt Is On" is simply awe-inspiring, perfectly matching the tone of the story and giving the feel of a story forgotten by time. I found myself a bit lost in a couple moments, not sure how the story took that turn, but I really enjoyed the twists and I'm looking forward to the sequel and following Xinyue to this adventure. Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for providing an ARC.

Really fantastic and immersive world. The translation was a bit rough at the beginning but it’s very nice overall. The world reminds me of Avatar the Last Airbender in a very good way, but meeting a more plant world than elements. I look forward to seeing what else the world has in store

The Hunt Is On by Nie Jun is a Chinese comic book modernising some traditional folktales. The illustrations are charmingly ancient looking, the colours are in those warm reds we associate with Chinese opera and the story is not as simple as might first be thought. While this is only a first volume that ends with a cliff-hanger we are given enough to hope for the classic epics featuring many twists, betrayals and complicated love triangles in this chase for fortune, land fertility and eternal life.

The art was soso beautiful and really captured my attention! I really loved the beginning and the cultural aspects of this book, its great at pulling you in emotionally for the first part.
However, right near the end a lot of plot twists occur which are a surprise but they felt rushed and confusing. The art was still beautiful and captured these moments well however the pacing felt a little odd. As the beginning was quite slow (but nicely paced) but the end felt rushed. However, this might be all down to it being the first book in a series.
Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a free copy to review.

Beautiful art work and interesting story. Only criticism is that some plot points seem rather sudden.

3.5 stars *may change
Haha. What?
I’d like to start off by saying that the art in this is gorgeous. Nie Jun is a cartoonist inspired by Japanese, Chinese, and European cartoons and it really shows in his style. It’s a very colorful graphic novel that goes along with its fantastical Beijing-esq world. I really did think the culture aspects of it were quite lovely. From the costuming, all of the market people, and the myths, it was a wonderful thing to see being illustrated.
That being said, I have no idea what happened in that story. We have characters at the beginning but then they don’t show up again or they show up and have a purpose but then they don’t follow through on that purpose. And then some weird plot twists I still don’t quite get. I mean, this is a first book in a series, so who am I to say that it makes no sense if there’s gonna be a follow up? Still, the plot was a bit weird.
I mean, it was a pretty book. A bit forgettable.
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an arc.

Nie Jun’s evocative invocation at the start of the book powerfully parallels the deeper themes that run through the story. Though he has travelled far from his homeland in the western region of China, Jun says that his home has always stayed with him. Connection and longing for home is a strong, yet unnamed theme in the book. Tribes express an almost primeval urge to not lose their connection with their earthen home, dreading the possibility of being forced into a nomadic life. They fight to preserve a harmonious and spiritual way of life, rooted in the connection to their physical homeland.
The key theme of the plot is the conflict between that gentle way of life and the strong forces that seek to sever the connection between the people and their land. The life-force of the earth and nature is personified in the form of powerful, ancient and vulnerable ‘chadolo’s. When the chadolo is destroyed, the link between humans and the forces of nature is lost, and a deep sorrow follows. The story, aided by the dreamy, ethereal imagery, flits easily between the physical world and the spiritual world.
Qiliu, the central character, feels the pull of both forces - that of harmonious paganism, and that of loyalty toward the capitalistic each-man-to-himself world of his family. The conflict between these forces is reflected in the history of China that Nie Jun alludes to in the invocation, and promises to be the theme that drives the series in the volumes to come. Jun expertly meets his aim of evoking a desire in the reader to learn more about the disappearing native culture of his homeland.

Rating: 3.5

The art is beautiful, don't get me wrong, but I couldn't quite catch what was happening towards the end. The fact that the mother wasn't real and the brother "killed" the main character was very abrupt with no buildup whatsoever. One moment he stole plum suckers for her and the next he slit her throat. If anything, the buildup might have been lost in translation and the emotions couldn't quite transfer over to English.

Despite this, the start of the book was absolutely beautiful. The art is gorgeous and fitting for the Eastern style. I would read the next book in the series to see if there is any development different from this one. Overall, the book is a nice read, but I am unsure for what demographic due to the sudden violence towards the end.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Lerner Publishing Group for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.


Yaaaaaaz, this was everything!!!
The art was so so beautiful and the story even better.
I find it hard to judge comics and manga cuz there are two elements to the rating process.
This one gets 2 five stars from me, a 5 for the graphics and a 5 for the story.
I will be waiting for the sequel.

ARC Copy...first ARc review of the year! So beautiful and lavish watercolour art and cultural fantasy on display here. Uniquely Chinese culture in feel and I mean outside and within the country. I can see the schools ordering this.

Three things I loved about The Hunt Is On by Nie Jun.

1. Such unique artwork! The images, colorful and boldly designed, really stand out and quite memorably so.

2. Wonderful fantasy! The inclusion of supernatural elements alongside very human characters was stellar. Just the right amount of dreaming included.

3. A bracing adventure! Nie Jun keeps the plot moving, and there's enough going on this book to capture older and younger readers.

Recommended reading for graphic novel lovers.

4/5

Seekers of the Aweto: The Hunt is On, by Nie Jun is an exciting beginning of what seems to be a fantasy/historical story with absolutely beautiful artwork with deep, fascinating folk and myth base.

We start off looking upon the journey of 2 brothers, Xinyue and Qiliu, travelling from place to place in search of the rare and valuable aweto.

To be honest I’m still a little confused as to what aweto and chadolo are, so I can’t explain much more. Because this world and lore is so vast, I know it’ll take a lot more than this first instalment to fully realize the extent.

That being said, I am so excited to read more of this interesting story and world. I don’t get much exposure to anything Chinese, so to see all the love the author ha put into this is amazing and I’m grateful for his passion.

That artwork though!! Utterly beautiful! The use of colours and tones and lighting is so beautifully done. I don’t see many graphic novels/manga/man wha with artwork as stylized and colourful as this anymore, so I was completely stunned. The artwork was the most amazing thing about this book. I would gladly read the entire series just for the artwork. Lucky for me, the story is compelling too. Win-win all around.

I am so interested in finishing this series, and I can’t wait for book 2.

*I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

“I was born in Qinghai,” says the author, Nie Jun, in a brief introduction, “…and the culture of that region has always been dear to me. I have carried it wherever I go, though over time, it has almost completely disappeared. I hope that this story, with its air of mystery, will inspire readers all over the world to find out more about my native land”. I believe Jun will be successful. I want to know more, already, and I’m halfway across the world, opposite China, in a Spanish-speaking, America-owned tiny island in the middle of the Caribbean. In one word, like Jun wanted: I’m inspired. I want to know more, because there’s nothing quite like learning the myths of foreign, far away cultures, seeing the similarities and differences in how our ancestors tried to explain this world. Jun’s work provides plenty of space for such an exploration, and every second of it was intriguing.

The Hunt is On is the first book on The Seekers of Aweto series. The volume does a lovely job of presenting its characters, world and mythical lore, through gorgeous, watercolors that seem to amplify the magical quality of each page. This is easily the book’s strongest asset; the art style is beautiful. It’s vibrant and thoroughly colorful, with a dream-like quality that reminds me of Studio Ghibli. The story itself, however, remains engaging, if slightly rushed.

The book follows a group of "aweto seekers”: Xinyue, his brother Qiliu and their mother. They travel across a fantastical version of the Silk Road, hunting awetos to sell on the marketplace. The awetos grow upon the head of chadolos –earth deities that seem to bless the soil on which they slumber and perish once their aweto is harvested, destroying the livelihoods of the tribes surrounding them. Xinyue and his family are hunters, and their work is neither nice nor pretty. This means that our protagonists are morally ambiguous, which adds to the story’s mystery.

My one complaint is the pacing. Everything covered in The Hunt is On could’ve been better handled if split into two volumes, giving us more time to get to know the characters, and fall in love with them, before the plot throws them head-first into chaos. But this is a small gripe; one that doesn’t really diminish my appreciation of the book.

I’m truly eager to see where this goes!

Trigger warning: The art style is so peaceful, so calming, it can be misleading. There are few panels of brutal violence, with blood and flying heads, and they always felt unexpected. Thus, I advise caution to parents and guardians considering this for small children; it’s clearly meant for teenagers, at the youngest.

Without a doubt, what marks this graphic novel is its art, its illustrations are beautiful, magical, and pleasant, it is an art that I feel favors history a lot; Now in terms of the rhythm of the story, it was somewhat confusing, and in parts very slow, without a doubt a second installment is expected, it is a story that can be greatly favored, if the narrative and dialogues for its second installment improve.

The art of this was cute and I especially loved the art of the little chadolo-it was so adorable!

I’m undecided right now if I’ll continue on with this. The ending of this graphic novel clearly indicated that that will be a sequel, but I am not totally sure if I want to read it, While I liked some of the art and the concept, I felt like the pacing of this graphic novel was a little bit off, and the plot was a little bit confusing, Some things got explained all at once near the end and I think more exposition near the beginning could have helped the story,

Not my favorite type of art, but it's nice in its way. The story is cute and different and the little deity thingy is adorable! Wish it was longer, because you don't get much of a story before it's finished.

The art style of this book is gorgeous, the watercolor style makes the emotions so much more poignant. I also enjoy the Xinyue's moral ambiguity throughout this book it felt unique in it's own way especially in comparison to his brother. Also the baby chadolo is the cutest thing since Baby Groot, possibly even more so.

This book is a page turner you find yourself invested before you know it and the cliffhanger will make you desperate to pick up the next book.

4 baby Aweto stars!

I must admit that the graphics and the colours in this book were stunning.
The Hunt Is On is a Chinese graphic novel that follows the story of two seeker brothers named Xinyue and Qiliu who, alongside their mother, go around hunting god-like creatures called Aweto. In one of their missions, Xinyue comes across the baby Aweto and secretly becomes its caretaker. I loved the story and the turning of the events and can't wait for book 2 to come.

Love the beautiful art; the watercolor theme has to be my favorite part about this book. The story is very engaging and I’m looking forward to seeing what is going to happen to the brothers in the story.