A Bride’s Story vol. 14

When Russia is breathing down your neck, what’s the best way to shore up ties between disparate peoples?  In the case of this series its forging bonds between the people of the towns and the people of the steppes, except that the latter clans need to get their own affairs in order first.  How are they planning to do that?  Through marriages, of course.  The catch being that the women of the steppes are proud and won’t take just any man to be their husband, which leads to a contest – a horse race to bring back an arrow with a red sash – before any matrimony can take place.  Amir’s brother Azel is leading the charge with his friends Joruk, and Baimat, and they’re no slouches.  However, they’re up against Jahan and her horse Kalshaka and being married to weakness, even for the sake of peace and preparedness, is not on her agenda at all.

What we have here is one of the most entertaining volumes of this series in a while.  The talk of war with Russia gives the outline of a long-term plan for the storytelling here, while the horse race and its aftermath allow for a thoroughly satisfying story to unfold in the space of vol. 14 itself.  It also gives mangaka Kaoru Mori a rare chance to show that she can craft extended action sequences as the horse race stretches through multiple chapters and takes on many forms.  Such as when Azel has to go hand-to-hand with Jahan at one point while they’re still on their horses.  It’s every bit as exciting as it sounds, and its enough to overlook the fact that the potential brides here are somewhat thinly sketched out in terms of personality.  There’s room for them to grow, of course, and another volume focusing on these characters would certainly be welcome after this one.