A Bride's Story

Otoyomegatari
Otoyomegatari manga volume 1
乙嫁語り
Genre	Drama, Historical, Romance
Manga
Written by	Kaoru Mori
Published by	Enterbrain
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	fellows!
Original run	October 2009 – ongoing
Volumes	3
Anime and Manga Portal

Otoyomegatari (乙嫁語り, Otoyomegatari^?) (licensed in English as A Bride's Story) is a historical romance manga by Kaoru Mori. It was published by Enterbrain in the magazine fellows! and is so far collected in 2 tankōbon volumes. The manga is licensed in English in North America by YenPress. Volume 1 was released in a hardcover format in May 2011. Set in Central Asia in a rural town near the Caspian Sea during the early 19th century, Otoyomegatari is the story of a young woman, Amira, who arrives from a distant village across the mountains to marry Karluk, a boy 8 years her junior. The story unfolds among details of every-day family and community life. However, the peaceful atmosphere is disturbed when Amira's family demands to take her back to their village.

Characters

Eihon Family

Descended from nomads, but for several generations have lived in a village. But they still follow their culture of a patrilocal society, which mean when a man marries, his wife joins him in his father's home or compound, where they raise their children.

Amira Halgal (アミル・ハルガル, Amiru Harugaru^?)

The heroine of the story. Twenty years old and Karluk's bride. She stems from a different (semi-nomadic) tribe. She is skilled in archery, horse-riding and hunting. A free-spirited, adventurous woman, she is more open and outgoing in her day-to-day activities compared with the rest of the women in the family, who are noticeably more reserved. Despite the large age gap between her and Karluk, she genuinely loves him. Unknown to Amira, many of the men she encounters look down on her because she is considered old for a new bride, and long past the traditional age when women in the society have started having children.

Karluk Eihon (カルルク・エイホン, Karuruku Eihon^?)

The male protagonist of the story. He is the youngest son of Akunbek and Sanira. Twelve years old and Amira's husband. He works very hard to be a good traditional husband to Amira, but struggles to form a deeper relationship with her due largely to him being uncomfortable around her stemming mostly from his young age. Karluk is considered an oddity in that he is younger than his bride; traditionally the bride is usually many years younger than the groom. Men often treat Karluk with pity, since they fear that his wife will be too old when he gets mature enough to have children with her.

Mahatbek (マハトベク, Mahatobeku^?)

Karluk's grandfather.

Balkirsh (バルキルシュ, Barukirushu^?)

Karluk's grandmother, descended from the same clan as Amira. Reserved and sensible, she serves as a confidant to Amira, due to their shared background.

Akunbek (アクンベク, Akunbeku^?)

Karluk's father. Serves as one of the village elders due to his wealth and status. While he is a traditional man, he is also very understanding and is very supportive of Karluk and Amira's marriage.

Sanira (サニラ, Sanira^?)

Karluk's mother.

Seleke (セイレケ, Seireke^?)

Yusuf's wife, and Karluk's sister.

Yusuf (ユスフ, Yusufu^?)

Karluk's brother-in-law. Seleke's husband. Married into the family.

Tileke (ティレケ, Tireke^?)

Daughter of Seleke and Yusuf, and Karluk's niece. Loves falcons (hawks in the English version).

Tokcan (トルカン, Torukan^?)

Eldest son of Seleke and Yusuf, and Karluk's nephew.

Chalg (チャルグ, Charugu^?)

Middle son of Seleke and Yusuf, and Karluk's nephew.

Rostem (ロステム, Rosutemu^?)

Youngest son of Seleke and Yusuf, and Karluk's nephew.

Henry Smith (ヘンリー・スミス, Henrii Sumisu^?)

An English traveler and researcher living with the Eihon family. He has been researching the customs, language, and culture of the tribes and peoples. Left the Eihon family to return to England after being warned of rising tensions in the region with the Russians. It is hinted that he might be an English intelligence officer sent to Central Asia as a part of The Great Game with Russia. After leaving the Eihon family, he was captured by the Russian military under suspicion of spying, but was later released with the help of Amira and Karluk.

Eihon Family Relatives

They continue to live a nomadic lifestyle.

Uncle Umak (ウマクおじさん, Umaku ojisan^?)

Commissioned an ornate scabbard in the city, which Karluk and Amira deliver to him.

Residents of the Town

Pariya (パリヤ, Pariya^?)

A young woman who befriends Amira. Daughter of Togo. Introduced in chapter 6. Pariya has always struggled to be a traditional woman in the society, but her habit of speaking her mind regardless of situation creates a lot of uncomfortable situations. Pariya is attracted to Amira's free-spirited nature and the two become good friends. She is very good at baking and skilled at creating extremely elaborate designs in her bread. Taught Amira how to create bread designs.

Chagap (チャガップ, Chagappu^?)

An old man who raises sheep, and told of wolves living around Soma Lake. Introduced in chapter 1.

Halgal Family

The family Amira was born into. They are nomadic during the summer. Introduced in chapter 4.

Azel (アゼル, Azeru^?)

Amira's eldest brother, a serious and stoic man.

Joruk (ジョルク, Joruku^?)

A cousin of Amira and Azel. Often speaks about food.

Baimat (バイマト, Baimato^?)

Also a cousin of Amira and Azel.

Aterui (アテルイ, Aterui^?)

Amira's younger sister. Killed by Numaji.

Karahiga (カラヒガ, Karahiga^?)

Also Amira's younger sister, and died after marrying Numaji.

Other

Numaji (ヌマジ, Numaji^?)

A man notorious for his wealth and brutality.

Tarasu (タラス^?)

A young nomadic woman living with her mother-in-law. Introduced in chapter 12. Married into her current family at age sixteen, but in a few years became a widow of its all five sons as per tradition that dictates that a widow with no children marries one of her husband's brothers. Since her father-in-law also passed away, she helps and keeps company to her mother-in-law instead of going back to her own family. She becomes romantically involved with Mr. Smith.

Tarasu's mother-in-law (タラスの義母^?)

An old nomadic woman. She wishes for Tarasu to have a future with a loving husband and won't accept any marriage offers that would make her daughter-in-law unhappy, including the one from her uncle. She tries to convince Smith to marry Tarasu, but fails. Later marries Tarasu's uncle in order to secure a good match for her.

Tarasu's uncle (タラスの叔父^?)

The brother of Tarasu's father-in-law. A wealthy, agressive man that wants Tarasu to be a second wife for his son. He reports Smith to the town's authorities which leads to Smith's arrest and later marries Tarasu's mother-in-law.

Ali (アリ^?)

Smith's guide to Ankara. Introduced in chapter 15. He is associated with the local military, which is often takes advantage of, and resourceful, taking advantage of a situation as he sees fit. He is unmarried, but expresses interest in finding a wife when he feels he has obtained sufficient financial stability.

Volume list

No.	Japanese		English
	Release date	ISBN	Release date	ISBN
1	15 October 2009[1]	ISBN 978-4-047-26076-4[1]	May 2011[2]	ISBN 978-0-316-18099-3[2]
2	15 June 2010[3]	ISBN 978-4-047-26586-8[3]	October 2011[2]	ISBN 978-0-316-19446-4[2]
3	15 June 2011[4]	ISBN 978-4-047-27328-3[4]	March 2012[2]	ISBN 978-0-316-21034-8[2]

Reception

YALSA nominated the first volume for its 2012 "Great Graphic Novels For Teens" list. ^[5]

Otoyomegatari was second place in the annual japanese manga award "Manga Taishō" 2011. She was surpassed by Chika Umino's "3 Gatsu no Lion" by only 20 points. ^[6]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4047260762/
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} http://www.yenpress.com/a-brides-story/
3. ^ ^{a b} http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4047265861/
4. ^ ^{a b} http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4047273287/
5. ^ http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/greatgraphicnovelsforteens/nominations.cfm
6. ^ http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=288737

External links

• コミックナタリー Power Push 乙嫁語り/森薫 official 'behind the scenes' website (Japanese)
• The Bride's Stories (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia (English)