Originally posted Aug. 3, 2009
By REBECCA P.

My thoughts
I picked up From Far Away on a whim. I’d heard about it before and decided to give it a read. From reading the cover I could tell it would be a lot like Fushigi Yugi. Even from the first few pages I felt like I was reading a watered down copy of Fushigi Yugi. I even looked at the dates they were released. Fushigi Yugi came out in May of 1992, Far Away in November of 1992 (hm… I could do a lot of comparisons). However, that aside, does Far Away stand as a notable title or a “been there, seen that” title?

In the beginning of the story we’re introduced to Noriko, a calm, laid back and sweet young girl who’s been having strange dreams about a parallel universe. She ends up getting caught in one where she meets the handsome Izark. However, the two quickly learn they can’t speak the same language. They slowly begin to form a friendship and Noriko takes to learning the native language. Of course, it’s no simple affair as Noriko’s presence fulfills an ancient prophecy.

There are a lot of clichés in From Far Away and you won’t see anything you haven’t read or seen before. It does offer a neat twist in that Noriko can’t speak the native language (finally, realistic manga about plunging into strange places!); however, that’s all that’s refreshing. None of the characters really stand out except for Noriko and that’s because she’s a very likeable character. She’s not stupid, she’s kind and considerate, a good observer and just an all-around good character. We aren’t introduced to many other characters in volume 1, but the ones that do appear are, well, dull.

Speaking of dull, I’m sorry to say that I found volume 1 to be very dull. The dialogue was slow and didn’t offer much spark. The story doesn’t really move much and goes at a slow pace. I actually found it to be a hard manga to read because of that and it has little to offer in refreshing material. I will point out again; this is an older manga so it has the classic ’90s style. I’m fond of it myself and it doesn’t leave for much disappointment (though simplistic).

Can I recommend reading From Far Away? I’m not sure. This is only the first volume and some series have slow starts and get better while some stay dull. I won’t recommend From Far Away unless you’re a huge fan of manga like Rayearth or Fushigi Yugi. While it doesn’t have a lot to offer, it could have potential. Give it a read if you’re up to it, but don’t be alarmed if you find disappointment.