Manga Review | Those Snow White Notes Volume 1

Setsu is a shamisen player living in the Aomori countryside. However, after his grandfather passes away, his creative spark leaves him too, so he moves to Tokyo to try and find a source of artistic inspiration again. There he stumbles across a hostess named Yuka who dreams of becoming an actress, and together, they try to pursue their dreams.

Those Snow White Notes by Marimo Ragawa is a manga posed with the unique challenge of conveying music without, well … actual sound, and in my opinion, this manga succeeds. It portrays sound though visual allegory and I can feel Setsu’s love of music pouring through its pages. It truly manages to capture the struggles and joys of an artist.

However, I do have one main issue with the story so far, and that is with its pacing. I think volume 1 is way too fast-paced, and I wish it had hit the brakes in parts to allow the story time to breathe and for characters and relationships to better develop.

Lastly, I think it’s important to note that although this is technically a shonen, this is a coming-of-age story that centers around more mature themes. Essentially, this is a story about two lost souls trying to find their place in the world and pursuing their creative dreams—all the while struggling with inferiority complexes. I think that’s something I can personally identify with, so this story really resonates with me right now and hit hard in parts, and I hope to continue following Setsu and Yuka along on their journey.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kodansha, for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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