The Hunt is On, the first volume of Nie Jun’s Seekers of the Aweto graphic novel series, is something truly beautiful. Drawing inspiration from everything from traditional Chinese art to contemporary western comics, its watercolour style and vibrant, almost psychedelic colours are simply mesmerising, bringing a mythological adventure and the stunning world it takes place to life in a way that’s not quite like anything else out there. The Hunt is On is sheer artistic beauty on every page.

And the story that unfolds through those pages is an enchanting one. In a fantastical version of ancient China, it tells of a group of “Aweto seekers”—nomads who travel the land in search of rare creatures that are part plant, part worm, that a worth a whole lot in the marketplace thanks to their scarcity and strong medicinal properties. (Mythical though they sound, aweto are actually real—caterpillars with a cordyceps fungus growing from their heads).

Xinyue is the youngest of this particular group of aweto seekers, and has the unusual ability to control insects by playing his drum. His older brother Qiliu is part man, part animal, with big dragonfly-like wings, and their mother, Bu Ren Niang, has the wisdom, experience, and love that only a mother can bring. The three of them travel the Silk Road in search of aweto, with no end of troubles from other aweto seekers, and from the people committed to protecting the earth deities (chadolo) upon whose heads the aweto grow.

But the group’s latest aweto-seeking adventure takes an interesting turn when a baby chadolo starts following Xinyue around. Without knowing what else to do, Xinyue decides to take it with him, at least for now, until he figures out what to do with it. As you might guess, this child is more than just a regular earth deity, and might be the clue to finding the fabled celestial aweto that grants immortality to anyone who eats it.

With that setup, The Hunt is On sets Seekers of the Aweto on the path to being something enchanting. There’s something almost Indiana Jones or Uncharted-like in its story of rogue treasure hunters, but seen through a lens of myth, fable, and Chinese history, with a dreamlike art style and a sense of atmosphere that channels Studio Ghibli. It’s exciting, funny, spiritual, surreal, and poignant in equal measure, and brings all those moods together in a way that’s effortless.

The Hunt is On is a gripping read in its own right, but it’s also the first book in an ongoing series, and it lays the groundwork for what should be some wonderful developments to come. The relationship between Xinyue and Qiliu is a curious one, with two brothers who seem to love each other deeply but couldn’t be more different as people and in what motivates them—and for all the love they share, those differences bring their share of conflict that goes beyond sibling rivalry.

There are some fascinating other characters the aweto seekers meet who are only minimally involved in The Hunt is On, but seem like they’ll be a big part of the ongoing story, like Ashmi, a fierce warrior from a tribe of chadolo protectors who makes it her duty to find and bring home the baby that’s latched onto Xinyue. And in its final pages, this first book drops a shocking cliffhanger that’s going to make the wait for the next volume an agonising one.

If The Hunt is On is any indication, Seekers of the Aweto is going to be a series to pay attention to in the coming years. Nie Jun is creating something remarkable here.

OK, so there are some giant earth titan things, and they sprout a very rare vegetable substance, that if it doesn't grant eternal life can go a heck of a way to healing anything thrown at it. Two young brothers, human but with the ability to fly, and their mother, are hunting the stuff, and manage to snatch such a good piece it might well be from the mother lode. But one of the brothers also comes away with something else even more maternal – a newborn titan thing…

This is supposed to evoke the culture of western China, and manages at times to visually smack of the Silk Route, which is a plus in my book. I did fear it might look a little too manga, with its oriental origins, but it survived to be a hit in the French market and now both editions have been used to create the English language version. And it's really quite good fun. It reads very quickly, and while some of the action scenes demand too much of the creator for his art to be completely understandable and coherent, I found myself on board for this. What suitably looks like Asian watercolours give everything a unique appearance, while also borrowing from some kind of cave art style to add more of the legendary to the pages. This is a world where names are meaningful in the original Chinese (we get the translations, else I'd not have known), and where at each turn you're both reading a story with many standard fantasy elements and something utterly fresh to our eyes. Annoyingly, I couldn't find evidence of any second volume being in French as of yet, so I can't possibly guess as to when we get the whole of this story. Seeing as we're in cliffhanger mode at the end here (something you can guess at the halfway stage), that's a disappointment. But little else about this is.

ARC provided by Lerner Publishing Group via NetGalley

The Hunt Is On by Nie Jun is a Chinese graphic novel translated to English by Edward Gauvin, and follows the story of two brothers named Xinyue and Qiliu. They, alongside their mother, go around hunting god-like creatures called Aweto when on one mission, Xinyue comes across the baby of a Aweto they slayed and becomes its caretaker.

What I really loved about this graphic novel was the art. It had such flair and character, with beautiful scenery and vibrant colors. Every single panel and page felt alive in this series, and the cover art is what interested me the most.

However, the story itself wasn’t the most thrilling. At times, it bordered on being a typical mainstream fairy tale type of story which was fine, but it was riddled with pacing issues, questionable character motivations, and no real subtext to explain WHY what was happening in the main text was occurring.

Xinyue towards the last third of the story starts to show more character development, and it makes previous choices made by Xinyue in this graphic start to make sense, especially WHY he is taking care of the Aweto baby. But his brother Qiliu is a walking, talking trope that feels like he exists to just do whatever the story needs — be it the somewhat aloof but caring brother to suddenly being the antagonist. It’s such a quick change that even Anakin’s turn to the dark side feels more believable. The things Qiliu does towards the end truly had me surprised in the worst way because everything from beforehand established him as a very different character.

There was a bit more to this story as well, such as the village they visited at the beginning and a warrior who is chasing after them, as well as the mother and other mysteries. I had no problem with them being saved for future volumes, but we do get a giant info dump for several pages from the mother after a certain Qiliu choice that gave me hella whiplash and reminded me of THAT revelation scene from Crime of Grindlewald because of how out of nowhere it happened and how much got piled on.

Overall, I think for a younger audience this could be a very fun graphic, as the art is beautiful and it’s a very trope heavy story. I’m definitely interested in the rest of the series, but if it’s paced like this volume, I’m not too sure it’ll be an improvement. I do, however, look forward to being proven wrong.

The Hunt Is On by Nie Jun drops March 02, 2021.

This was a sweet fantasy graphic novel with a lovely art style and characters I couldn’t wait to learn more about. Though things were left a little bit ambiguous, I grew to like both Xinyue, the protagonist, and the cast of supporting characters. I get the sense that more will be revealed in future installments, which explains some of the ambiguity of the plot, so I’d quite like to keep up with this series. Great premise, sweet character dynamics, absolutely stunning art, and enough intrigue to keep me hooked - this one’s a winner.

The Hunt is On is a graphic novel based in Silk Road. In Silk Road, a rare being called the chadolo. The chadolo produces a rare thing that looks like a plant in summer, and a worm in winter: the Aweto. The Aweto is rumored to cure the ill, and the rarer Celestial Aweto is rumored to grant people eternal life. Xinyue, his brother Qiliu and their mother are Aweto seekers, people who hunt the Aweto and sell them to the highest bidder. But when Xinyue finds a baby chadolo, he has to change his priorities. What will happen next?

Can I just talk about how stunning the art is? I have never seen a graphic novel with art that beautiful. But, to be fair, I haven't read many graphic novels yet. To story was good to follow and not all over the place. There's not only character growth and a clear plot, but also good backstories that explain character's motivations. I couldn't put the graphic novel down!

I can't wait for the next graphic novel in the Seekers of the Aweto series!

Seekers of the Aweto: The Hunt is On is a magical graphic novel set in a land where Aweto give abundance to the earth and animals.
The story follows two brothers and their mother, as they set out on a hunt for a rare celestial Aweto. This trip, however, becomes complicated when Xinyue discovers a baby Aweto and reluctantly vows to keep it safe and hidden.
The illustrations in this graphic novel are absolutely stunning, and do an amazing job of drawing you into the magic of the story. The font is reminiscent of old school comic books, which is nostalgic but perhaps not quite right for the illustration style and target audience.
The storyline is easy to follow and engaging, and the characters have a depth to them not often seen in just a short segment of a graphic novel. I cant wait to read the next part!

I read and received this book for free through the publisher and NetGalley. Thank you so much! The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Seekers of the Aweto breathes in gentle watercolors and breathes out a poetic splash of adventure. What a gem.

The moment I saw the cover, Seekers of the Aweto: The Hunt is On reminded me of the Studio Ghibli spirit, particularly Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke. This fantasy graphic novel is about seekers who travel on the legendary Silk Road in medieval China hunting down the aweto. An aweto is a rare plantlike treasure that can cure the ill and can be sold for a fortune. There is the case of a rare aweto as well, a celestial aweto, that can grant eternal life. The two brothers, Xinyue and Qiliu, discovered an earth diety inhabiting an aweto during one of their outings at a village. But when the younger brother Xinyue found out a adorable diety child is hidden inside the parent diety and reluctantly becomes the caregiver, what will come of the relationship between the diety child and the seekers? And why are the diety’s village warriors trailing the family down?

This dream-like art style is amazing as it blends in well with the setting’s atmosphere, time period, and the themes of familial and environmental issues. There is a wonderful balance between the dark and light colors to emphasize which character is speaking or feeling in certain situations and how they interact with other characters. The characters are charming and not only do their personalities drive the story forward, but their backstories are incredibly compelling to get a sense of what they fear and what they desire. The stakes are visible and evident, intriguing the reader of what is going to happen next.

As this is the first book of the Seekers of the Aweto series, I really cannot wait for the next one! This is appropriate for young adults due to the sensitive nature of blood and violence.

Xinyue, his brother, and his mother are seekers hunting aweto, a rare plant-like treasure, on the Silk Road. He finds a baby creature that creates aweto and reluctantly becomes its caretaker, but others are after this creature too.