I found the history in this comic to be very interesting, especially not being familiar with Manga or Buddhism at all. It was interesting to see the history of Buddhism portrayed in this manor. I found that this comic had quit a bit more nudity than other comics I have previously read in the past. I also found it strange that it was mostly the children that were running around in the nude, but I guess that must be a part of their traditional history. I am assuming that the only reason why I find this interesting is because I am an american and this is not as socially accepted here as it is in china. The story had a great pace and kept me very entertained throughout the story. The characters and their quest were also very dynamic and left a good impression on me.
I found the art in this novel to be extremely heavy, and intense there is a lot going on and they are very detailed which for a story that is about the beginning of the quest of the enlightened one I found that it was very suiting considering Buddhism is very intense and detailed. The foreground has just great pen detail I really loved the style of the drawings, It's simple in the places where it needs to be which balances out all of the heavy details through out the rest of the spreads. I feel that with the detailed backgrounds that it really helps the characters stand out, and draws you right into the most important part of the page. I also really enjoyed the way that the panels were divided into shapes that were not always square.
I also looked into the mermaid saga, I found this story really awesome just because it was so unpredictable the main character dies and comes back to life and spends the whole time traveling across japan trying to find a cure for his imortality. Along the way meeting other people in his situation. I also liked that it put a whole new twist on what I believed to be such a beautiful creature that was just blessed and beautiful, I never thought of them to be the slightest bit bad or evil. And the myth of eating flesh weather mermaid or human to stay young and or live forever to be fascinating. I also loved how vibrantly beautiful the colors were in this comic. they were super impressive, it was a nice changed to see such a vibrancy.
