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A Chinese Fantasy #1
A Chinese Fantasy: The Dragon King's Daughter [Book 1]
A collection of Chinese folktales vividly adapted into manga!
This beautiful retelling of Chinese folktales highlights the relationships between humans and non-humans. Whether fantastical, like the love story of the Dragon King’s Daughter, or intense, like the bond between hunter and beast, this stunning collection of five stories delves into traditional Chinese lore and myth.
This beautiful retelling of Chinese folktales highlights the relationships between humans and non-humans. Whether fantastical, like the love story of the Dragon King’s Daughter, or intense, like the bond between hunter and beast, this stunning collection of five stories delves into traditional Chinese lore and myth.
208 pages, Paperback
Published September 27, 2022
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93 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 25, 2024
Pretty much exactly what I expected. The artstyle is really pretty though!
(This had been sitting on my bookshelf for more than a year LOL)
(This had been sitting on my bookshelf for more than a year LOL)
December 2, 2023
IT WAS SOOOO CUTE MY GUY. Like MI AMOR, ESO ES TAN LINDO, I loved it. The ending was cute but sad at the same time.🥹🥹😭
January 30, 2023
First time reading a manga and I just have to say it was delightful. So fun and such a wonderful new world 🤩 definitely going to read more.
March 16, 2023
this is so pretty <333
January 21, 2024
This story teaches me that it’s alright to pursue the things you want in life, as well as to do the right thing. It’s possible to have and do both. Liu Yi could have had what he found to be the only one he wanted, but he chose what was right instead. Almost immediately after (for her, quite some time after for him), she paid him a visit, unable to forget him. He was finally able to say what was in his heart, and she shared his sentiment and intensity. They both wanted each other more than anything else, second most to wanting the other to be happy.
In the end, all five stories received happy endings, and served to highlight the connection between dragon and human.
As of my first reading, I don’t have a whole lot to say about these five stories, however, I do recommend giving this manga a read. It was very lovely and I really enjoyed it. If you enjoy danmei or other Chinese novels, this one remains very cultural and pleasant, aligning with ancient Chinese stories and way of life.
The art itself is also extremely beautiful and well polished and I found myself staring at the dragon princess quite often. She is so mesmerizingly beautiful, the art and her surroundings only highlighting her qualities. Liu Yi at the end also looks quite cool himself by her side.
In the end, all five stories received happy endings, and served to highlight the connection between dragon and human.
As of my first reading, I don’t have a whole lot to say about these five stories, however, I do recommend giving this manga a read. It was very lovely and I really enjoyed it. If you enjoy danmei or other Chinese novels, this one remains very cultural and pleasant, aligning with ancient Chinese stories and way of life.
The art itself is also extremely beautiful and well polished and I found myself staring at the dragon princess quite often. She is so mesmerizingly beautiful, the art and her surroundings only highlighting her qualities. Liu Yi at the end also looks quite cool himself by her side.
April 15, 2023
I really enjoyed The Dragon King's Daughter. The other stories were short and didn't make as much sense to me, but I'm sure that was because I don't get the bigger cultural meaning. :)
November 16, 2022
Boredom is lethal. Come with me. I have just the thing.
A young girl who finds herself bored one day is introduced to the world of stories by her unusual companion and that is the basis of what ties the various tales we are blessed to share as we are told the stories quite possibly through the imagination of a young girl of whom we have no information about. Could she be a young goddess, perhaps the child of a hero away on a mission, or possibly just a normal girl with a magical companion to keep her entertained? We may never know but the stories within the book, although not all perfectly entertaining for all readers, shows great artistic skill with perhaps a bit of Hiroyuki Imaishi's style from the legendary Gurren Lagann anime (at least for the dragon Qian Tang as seen on the back cover.)
Of the stories the name sake of the book is my favorite by far and although I have not read the original "Dragon King's Daughter" myth I enjoyed the story of boy meets girl, travels far to save her, and still manages to need help to hook up even though she was practically offered to him for his bravery (she is not just a prize to be given away after all even if political marriages were indeed a thing.) Besides check out that front cover...I can understand why Liu Yi would have moved Heaven and Earth to help out the wronged daughter when she is as kind and cute as she was.
In fact my only problem with the book is an unfortunate choice of artistic humanizing in the "Falconer" tale where it is clear the body of a falcon was within the artist's skills but instead of a bird face they decided on a weird human like face with no beak. Honestly I thought it was supposed to be some sort of harpy instead of an actual falcon at first but at least the story was good even if it was short like the stories outside of the much longer main story. :)
A young girl who finds herself bored one day is introduced to the world of stories by her unusual companion and that is the basis of what ties the various tales we are blessed to share as we are told the stories quite possibly through the imagination of a young girl of whom we have no information about. Could she be a young goddess, perhaps the child of a hero away on a mission, or possibly just a normal girl with a magical companion to keep her entertained? We may never know but the stories within the book, although not all perfectly entertaining for all readers, shows great artistic skill with perhaps a bit of Hiroyuki Imaishi's style from the legendary Gurren Lagann anime (at least for the dragon Qian Tang as seen on the back cover.)
Of the stories the name sake of the book is my favorite by far and although I have not read the original "Dragon King's Daughter" myth I enjoyed the story of boy meets girl, travels far to save her, and still manages to need help to hook up even though she was practically offered to him for his bravery (she is not just a prize to be given away after all even if political marriages were indeed a thing.) Besides check out that front cover...I can understand why Liu Yi would have moved Heaven and Earth to help out the wronged daughter when she is as kind and cute as she was.
In fact my only problem with the book is an unfortunate choice of artistic humanizing in the "Falconer" tale where it is clear the body of a falcon was within the artist's skills but instead of a bird face they decided on a weird human like face with no beak. Honestly I thought it was supposed to be some sort of harpy instead of an actual falcon at first but at least the story was good even if it was short like the stories outside of the much longer main story. :)
January 25, 2023
For my full thoughts on this series, check out this video!
https://youtu.be/kpL7fNE7R5I
https://youtu.be/kpL7fNE7R5I
October 3, 2022
This is an anthology of Chinese stories, mostly involving dragons.
The first story, "The Dragon King's Daughter," was pretty cute. The terms "dragon" and "god" seem to be used interchangeably here. (I'm not familiar with Chinese mythology at all, really...) So the Dragon King in the title is a sea god who married his dragon-daughter off to another dragon god family. The new husband is negligent, verbally abusive, and unfaithful to his wife. She threatens to return to the sea and tell her parents, so her new in-laws chain her up so she cannot turn into a dragon or flee. A human boy stumbles into the gods' realm and sees her crying. She tells him her story so he offers to take a letter to her father to explain what has happened. He is mortal and it takes a month for him to reach the sea dragon god. I really liked this part because all the palace guards are carps and crabs. The carps especially were really cute!
When they discover what has happened to their princess, the sea kingdom is in an uproar. News reaches the sea dragon god's brother, who has such a terrible temper he has locked himself away in the palace dungeon to meditate. But when he finds his niece has been treated so horribly, he transforms into a vicious red dragon and takes his vengeance on the other kingdom. When the princess returns home, the human boy who carried her letter is treated like a guest of honor and all the sea kingdom celebrates.
The boy is rewarded with more riches than he could ever spend and returns home a wealthy but lonely man. He misses the princess because he fell in love with her as they watched her uncle tear the enemy kingdom apart. (It took like two pages. lol) But eventually their story has a happy ending! Unfortunately the rest of this book was not so lighthearted or enjoyable.
"The Story of How the Dragon was Found" is the next story. It's only a couple pages. And literally all that happens is a traveler catches a red fall leaf and puts it in his pocket, but it gets heavy throughout the day and when he checks on it, it has turned into a dragon egg so he releases it.
The last three stories are just about abusing animals. "Elephant Hunter" is about poaching elephants (except they are dragon-elephants). "The Man With Otters" is about a man who starves otters and then sets them loose to voraciously catch fish...for him. And "The Falconer" is about training falcons...by starving and depriving them of sleep. I hated all these stories but fortunately they were very brief.
There is another upcoming volume to this series called "A Chinese Fantasy: Law of the Fox." It has a cute fox-girl on the front. I might be curious enough to pick it up, just because I enjoyed "The Dragon King's Daughter" from this anthology so much.
The first story, "The Dragon King's Daughter," was pretty cute. The terms "dragon" and "god" seem to be used interchangeably here. (I'm not familiar with Chinese mythology at all, really...) So the Dragon King in the title is a sea god who married his dragon-daughter off to another dragon god family. The new husband is negligent, verbally abusive, and unfaithful to his wife. She threatens to return to the sea and tell her parents, so her new in-laws chain her up so she cannot turn into a dragon or flee. A human boy stumbles into the gods' realm and sees her crying. She tells him her story so he offers to take a letter to her father to explain what has happened. He is mortal and it takes a month for him to reach the sea dragon god. I really liked this part because all the palace guards are carps and crabs. The carps especially were really cute!
When they discover what has happened to their princess, the sea kingdom is in an uproar. News reaches the sea dragon god's brother, who has such a terrible temper he has locked himself away in the palace dungeon to meditate. But when he finds his niece has been treated so horribly, he transforms into a vicious red dragon and takes his vengeance on the other kingdom. When the princess returns home, the human boy who carried her letter is treated like a guest of honor and all the sea kingdom celebrates.
The boy is rewarded with more riches than he could ever spend and returns home a wealthy but lonely man. He misses the princess because he fell in love with her as they watched her uncle tear the enemy kingdom apart. (It took like two pages. lol) But eventually their story has a happy ending! Unfortunately the rest of this book was not so lighthearted or enjoyable.
"The Story of How the Dragon was Found" is the next story. It's only a couple pages. And literally all that happens is a traveler catches a red fall leaf and puts it in his pocket, but it gets heavy throughout the day and when he checks on it, it has turned into a dragon egg so he releases it.
The last three stories are just about abusing animals. "Elephant Hunter" is about poaching elephants (except they are dragon-elephants). "The Man With Otters" is about a man who starves otters and then sets them loose to voraciously catch fish...for him. And "The Falconer" is about training falcons...by starving and depriving them of sleep. I hated all these stories but fortunately they were very brief.
There is another upcoming volume to this series called "A Chinese Fantasy: Law of the Fox." It has a cute fox-girl on the front. I might be curious enough to pick it up, just because I enjoyed "The Dragon King's Daughter" from this anthology so much.
April 13, 2023
In some vague fantasy setting, a mysterious creature and an unnamed small child are bored. So the creature takes the child to the library and begins to read stories to them. While these two are technically the "main characters," right now they simply feel like a vehicle for the telling of the Chinese mythology featured in this manga. The myths are the focus. Those two are the stage. I wonder if they will become more fleshed out as the story goes on?
Okay! Now the myths! I absolutely LOVE fables, myths, and lore. I haven't read much Chinese mythology. I admittedly know more Korean and Japanese mythology, but I've never taken the time to look into Chinese myths. So, I can't judge how true to the original this author's adaptation is, but I suspect it is a retelling with the author's own flavor added into it. (I get this feeling from the character profiles at the end of the volume.)
I really enjoyed the main story from this volume, The Dragon King's Daughter. I love how Liu Yi respected Lingzhu's autonomy and refused to accept her as a prize in marriage unless that was what she wanted herself. Again, I don't know the original story, but far too often, the women that were saved in old myths were typically offered to their male saviors as brides without much say about what they wanted themselves. I love that Lingzhu was given a voice. I love that Liu Yi operated simply out of kindness, rather than for a prize or reward. Each of the protagonists were loveable, from the violent uncle to the princess to the human.
The other stories were very very short and I don't really know if they added anything to the manga or not? Like, just in this first volume, the overarching plot is just "Hey! Listen to these cool myths!" They just weren't as arresting or as fleshed out as The Dragon King's Daughter. The characters were a little flatter, like these were just added in to meet a page count requirement. I did still enjoy them, just not as much, which ended up giving the overall feeling of the manga starting strong with the main story, then just kind of petering out after that.
Nevertheless, I am 100% picking up volume 2 in February.
Okay! Now the myths! I absolutely LOVE fables, myths, and lore. I haven't read much Chinese mythology. I admittedly know more Korean and Japanese mythology, but I've never taken the time to look into Chinese myths. So, I can't judge how true to the original this author's adaptation is, but I suspect it is a retelling with the author's own flavor added into it. (I get this feeling from the character profiles at the end of the volume.)
I really enjoyed the main story from this volume, The Dragon King's Daughter. I love how Liu Yi respected Lingzhu's autonomy and refused to accept her as a prize in marriage unless that was what she wanted herself. Again, I don't know the original story, but far too often, the women that were saved in old myths were typically offered to their male saviors as brides without much say about what they wanted themselves. I love that Lingzhu was given a voice. I love that Liu Yi operated simply out of kindness, rather than for a prize or reward. Each of the protagonists were loveable, from the violent uncle to the princess to the human.
The other stories were very very short and I don't really know if they added anything to the manga or not? Like, just in this first volume, the overarching plot is just "Hey! Listen to these cool myths!" They just weren't as arresting or as fleshed out as The Dragon King's Daughter. The characters were a little flatter, like these were just added in to meet a page count requirement. I did still enjoy them, just not as much, which ended up giving the overall feeling of the manga starting strong with the main story, then just kind of petering out after that.
Nevertheless, I am 100% picking up volume 2 in February.
February 14, 2024
The main story here is the fairytale of the dragon king's daughter, where a traveler helps a sad, trapped girl who turns out to be the dragon king's daughter (there are a few quite moving scenes at the end of that story); there are a few short tales sprinkled in after that, some of which feel pointless ("There was a fisherman who had otters." "And?" "And that's it." "...Okay...") and finally a story of steppe-nomad traditions of training hawks, which is interesting from a standpoint of understanding how different people thought about animal care but may be disturbing to many readers as abusive to animals.
The art has its moments but is mainly simple and almost sketch-like in style, reminiscent of tagger street-art stickers.
The simplified feel makes this seem most suitable for readers aged maybe 11 to 14, though younger readers may need parental guidance about the animal care parts so they don't try that stuff on the family pet.
Content concerns: no swearing; no sex, though a cheating aristocratic husband is shown surrounded by his harem of hot side-chicks; alcohol at a party (one supernatural character gets drunk); cruel animal training practices (sleep/food deprivation, stress)
The art has its moments but is mainly simple and almost sketch-like in style, reminiscent of tagger street-art stickers.
The simplified feel makes this seem most suitable for readers aged maybe 11 to 14, though younger readers may need parental guidance about the animal care parts so they don't try that stuff on the family pet.
Content concerns: no swearing; no sex, though a cheating aristocratic husband is shown surrounded by his harem of hot side-chicks; alcohol at a party (one supernatural character gets drunk); cruel animal training practices (sleep/food deprivation, stress)
October 16, 2022
This is an anthology of 5 Chinese folktales, with the first taking up the most of the anthology, being the the an adaption of tale of the dragon king's daughter. While I have no insight into Chinese folktales, I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed the manga. While I felt the dramatic elements of the story could have used more frames, to develop and help those feelings sink in, I feel the comedy beats were on point and super funny (The red dragon is my favourite.) The art style is a little unique (not in a bad way, just new and a little jarring before you get used to it), but when seen in colour (the cover and back page) is just beautiful.
Would highly recommend a read.
Would highly recommend a read.
May 3, 2023
I would highly reccommend this book for those who are looking to get into Manga but either have not read anything else in the medium, or are unfamiliar in the format entirely. The Manga is mostly an anthology involving Chinese Folktales about Dragons - the Dragon King's Daughter taking up most of the book, which fortunately is also the best story. The art style is absolutely goregous and really instills a sense of wonder and whimsy while staying true to the time periods these tales were set during.
January 10, 2023
The main story, "The Dragon King's Daughter," is the draw here. I mistakenly thought this was a series in the vein of "The Water Dragon's Bride" or another "Daughter of" becomes a bride or something. The art is okay. Many panels have no text, so a lot of context is to be interpreted or lost by the reader. There are 5 stories in this short book, and 4 of them are only a few pages with little to no plot or point. If there are more released, I won't buy any other "anthologies" in this series.
March 15, 2024
This is a collection of short stories inspired by Chinese mythology/folktales. I really liked the first one, but since it was so long, the others fell flat as they didn't get very much page time. I also didn't understand the context of these stories other than they're being told by a frog to a small girl to keep her occupied. I will see if I can get my hands on book two to see if there's more to that story.
March 27, 2024
Damn good. The first story was pretty decent. And I enjoyed it a lot. But the rest of the stories were meh...
I am wondering why the author even added those stories. He could have focused on the first story and expanded the story. He could have expanded the lore about the relationship between a dragon and a human.
Overall it was good.
I am wondering why the author even added those stories. He could have focused on the first story and expanded the story. He could have expanded the lore about the relationship between a dragon and a human.
Overall it was good.
April 22, 2024
the dragons daughter tale was extremely sweet, and the other tales were interesting too! I wish the dragons daughter tale had been more fleshed out, but I understand that that wasn’t the point of this collection.
December 1, 2024
The first story is alright, the rest is very meh, with some chapters that aren't stories exactly as nothing really happens and there's no proper ending. I''ll give the second one a try, but I'm not convinced.
January 23, 2023
I really liked the main story. The other miscellaneous stories are okay but not as good (primarily due to shortness).
February 23, 2023
A standalone volume of Chinese folktales, they were entertaining and the art was pretty.
March 10, 2023
I enjoy reading the different stories.
March 15, 2023
I liked it.
January 2, 2024
Beautiful artwork, and very charming!
April 7, 2024
Simple in the best way possible. Delightful art. Neat storytelling. I really enjoyed this.
October 27, 2024
3.5 stars.
June 29, 2025
Cute art - fun stories but a little on the short side.
May 21, 2023
I read this book based on the cover and as part of the Asian Readathon. I’m glad I read this manga graphic novel. It was really good.
It was interesting to learn about Chinese folktales, since I’m not familiar with most countries fairytales and folklore. Reading this, it was fun to learn about some of China’s folklore and their versions of how dragons and elephants came about, compared to other countries folktale and fairytales versions.
After reading A Chinese Fantasy, Volume 1, I want to read volume 2 and inspired to read more folklore, fairytales, and fables from around the world.
It was interesting to learn about Chinese folktales, since I’m not familiar with most countries fairytales and folklore. Reading this, it was fun to learn about some of China’s folklore and their versions of how dragons and elephants came about, compared to other countries folktale and fairytales versions.
After reading A Chinese Fantasy, Volume 1, I want to read volume 2 and inspired to read more folklore, fairytales, and fables from around the world.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2024
This is an anthology where the first half of the volume is one story. I really enjoyed the art for the dragon characters in The Dragon King's Daughter. The other stories were so short I would only just start getting into them and they would end. I like the variety of the short stories in any case.
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