The year 2021 has been rich in various and varied releases. Whether you like horror stories, historical tales or romances, very good series have appeared. This time, we will focus on The Elf and the Hunter, a story mixing slice of life and fantasy.
The Elf and the Hunter T01
The Elf and the Hunter is a series by Umetaro Aoi. Finished in 5 volumes, the series is available at Soleil Manga. Currently, 3 volumes are available in France.
And if, nestled in the heart of the forest, there was a workshop where an elf and a hunter make extraordinary objects, what would you ask them to make for you?
In a small cabin deep in the woods lives the elf craftsman Magritte, as well as the one who worships him without bounds, the human hunter Yura. Although they are of different ages and species, they stay together and create fabulous objects to meet various requests. What if you took a look at their peaceful life, woven daily in this forestry workshop?
Discover an excerpt from this first volume !
A gentle and soothing universe
This first volume takes us into the daily life of Magritte and Yura. Magritte is an elf, genius of craftsmanship. Yura, meanwhile, is an exceptional hunter. We follow them, page after page in the design of magical objects. Each chapter is devoted to creating a single object. This first volume is therefore composed of different short stories. However, the latter are interlinked. The atmosphere of this whimsical shonen is very different from the usual shonen. Indeed, no action, adventure and fights on every page. Umetaro Aoi transports us to a calm world, where we two heroes evolve peacefully. However, this does not prevent them from dealing with a few monsters. However, no bloodshed or fighting for entire pages. In a few squares, our hunter slays the monsters with his sword. Although this series is not action-packed as other shonen of this genre can be, it is still "addictive". Indeed, the more the boxes scroll, the more the desire to discover new creations is felt. What objects will Magritte create? And why will it create them? A dungeon to finish? A monster to slay? So many questions that push us to want to discover the rest of these adventures. There are also some comical passages in this first volume. Indeed, we find, among others, comic words, character or situation. These touches of humor reinforce the soft and relaxing setting that the author has been able to establish. In addition, the drawings are also very delicate and reflects the calm and serene atmosphere of the scenario. Our characters and the scenery are very well represented and allow us to appreciate a little more the discovery of this volume. And as a bonus, we have the five objects/potions of this volume 1 on a color page from the beginning of the volume, what more could you ask for? And one of the strong points of this series is that it contains only five volumes. We can therefore hope that the author will be able to take full advantage of the scenario and the characters.
Mutual admiration
Now let's focus more carefully on our characters. Magritte, our genius elf is a character both cute and full of talent. Yura, on the other hand, is a hunter with extraordinary talents, represented with class. These two characters fit brilliantly. In addition, each admires the other with passion. Indeed, Magritte is amazed by Yura's charisma and talent. The latter is always there to help him acquire the necessary ingredients for the realization of the objects. He is also a protector who will stop at nothing to protect his friend. And on the other side, we have Yura, who contemplates Magritte during each magical design. We feel that Yura is delighted to be with Magritte and that he would not trade his place for anything in the world. In addition, a complicity exists between our two protagonists. It's pretty cute to see how each acts with the other. We also notice the little touches that make their duo have a lot of charm. The pleasure of sharing a coffee or holding each other's hand during an ingredient search. All these little details are very touching. We quickly notice that a very strong bond unites our two protagonists, despite their different origins and ages. We also realize that feelings are present, however, nothing is clear since our two characters are not in a relationship, although they live together. Will a romance take place in the next volumes? If that is the case, we hope that it will remain in the background. The Elf and the Hunter was a very pleasant discovery. The story is soft, delicate and the graphics are magical. If you want to have a good time with a reading without headache, we strongly recommend this first volume.
