3 stars

An unexpected meeting between a college student and a famous artist proves to be the start of something new.
When Sosuke Aoyama met the artist Kozan Shinoda, he quickly became his apprentice and soon enough developed some interest in the art of ink painting.

Unfortunately, this manga lacked story. The whole volume evolved around Sosuke meeting the famous artist and becoming his apprentice. There was no obvious reason for why he was chosen as an apprentice other than the fact that he holds chopsticks in a specific way. Towards the end o the volume we get a small hint about Sosuke's life but, without further elaboration. All of this made me feel like the volume ended too quickly.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found myself really getting invested in this one by the end of this first volume. What starts out as a story of a young man pulled into the world of ink painting to basically motivate an old man's granddaughter, Throughout the volume, the rivalry turns into a more towards genuine admiration of each other's work. I want to see that kind of healthy competition continue between our two leads as they strive to be the best artists they can be.! This was a very calming read that I ended up liking very much!

Probably a bit mature and it took me a while to get into the story when compared to other manga but i love the concept of following these artists, the way the professor explain the art and what the student must learn i think is very well done and i am really interesting to see what happens next!
I have a full review here: https://youtu.be/Y4tSrfntfWI

so cute, and THE ART ??
EXCUSE ME??? It was so well done!
I can't wait for volume 2!
thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for providing me with an EArc of "The Lines that Define Me" n exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5 🌟
First and foremost, I'd like to express my gratitude to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me with an e-ARC of this manga.
Now, this is a 5-star manga read to me. From the first page till the end this manga captured me. I really loved to read every single character's story and its developments.
The author implies that your artwork reflects your feelings and it somehow hits different to me. It's really an undeniable thing that words and drawings had been used to convey your feeling. IT'S ALL THE LITTLE THINGS.
Last but not least it was really a heartwarming read to me 🤍

The art alone is worth the read.

This book took me by surprise. I don't know what I expected from a series focused on ink paintings, but like the students in the middle portion, I was captivated once it unfolded. I have so much hope and expectations for this book that it makes it a little hard to talk about, nevertheless, I will try.

Aoyama is a college student who, while working at a part-time job, meets a strange old man who feeds him and walks him through an ink painting exhibit. The old man, impressed with Aoyama's instinctual insight and analysis of the genre, offers him an apprenticeship. It turns out, the old man is actually a famous ink painter who wants to train Aoyama to be the ink painter to rival his granddaughter, Chiaki.

What I love about this series so far, besides the beautiful art, is how the narrative is similar in structure to a typical shonen sports manga. The main character is a talented ingenue with a unique insight that adds to their field, the rival is a veteran with a physical or psychological problem preventing them from being the very best, and both are brought together by a love of the game/art and unite against a common enemy pushing each other to be the best versions of themselves along the way.

It has art, the hint of romance, and tropes I love. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Sosuke Aoyama is a college student out to help his fellow friend in a part time job until an old man unexpectedly greets him into an art exhibition and takes him from one to one painting asking his opinion on each.
Suddenly the guards enter the gallery and greets the old man and our protagonist comes to know that the old man is the greatest suibokuga artist, Kozan Shinoda, himself. Shinoda brings Sosuke into the world of Ink painting and eventually he finds connection with the art and Shinoda.

One of the best manga volumes I've read in a while. Beautifully written with great dialogue and an intriguing story line. The story itself was very well-paced and really hit me on an emotional level. Cannot wait to read more of this series.

5/5 stars

I received an ARC of this manga, and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Aoyama is an ordinary college kid. One day, he helps set up an exhibit when he's stopped by an elderly man. The man walks him around the exhibit, asking for his thoughts. Aoyama later finds out the man is a famous ink painter. The man invites Aoyama into the world of ink painting. A total beginner, Aoyama is unsure of himself, especially since many others would love to have the opportunity to work with the famous artist.

If I had to describe this manga in three words, I would choose gentle, beautiful, and wholesome. The art is really well done (including the illustrations of the ink paintings!) We don't know a lot about any of the characters yet, but I love that their personalities are reflected in their art. Aoyama, in particular, is a character I want to know more about!

This volume is enough to draw you in without giving away much of the story. The ending of this volume has me curious about what direction this manga will go in; I do suspect that we might get some enemies-to-lovers romance though.

Other readers have compared this to Blue Period, but I can't say anything since I have not read that series. This manga is about ink painting, though it doesn't come across like a textbook or info dump. I really enjoyed all the ink painting scenes!

I recommend this to slice of life and art fans!

Content: clean

Aoyama is a college kid who took a job helping set up an art exhibit. On his way out he bumps into an older man who asks him to join him for lunch. While they're eating the man comments on the way he holds his chopsticks. He then invites him to look at the art exhibit and is impressed at Aoyama's interpretation of the art. It is revealed that the man is a well respected artist. Before he has to go judge the art he asks Aoyama to become his apprentice. The sensei specializes in ink painting and his granddaughter is also his apprentice. The rest of the title is a really intriguing story about Aoyama getting to the sensei and his granddaughter and learning how to paint. The title ends with them both saying they don't know anything about each other which has me intrigued to know more.

Actually is 3.5 stars

Thank you so much to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for providing me a digital copy of the book in exchange of a honest review

The Lines That Define Me it's about Aoyama, a first year college student that somehow befriends a famous ink painter and becomes his apprentice, in that way he also meets his granddaughter, Chiaki, and they start a comradeship out of both of them being apprentices of a famous ink painter.

Since it's the first volume of the series, we don't get to know much about the characters, the art is beautiful and I really liked the story, but I didn't get to connect with the characters, probably thanks to the lack of background history. My favorite manga series always give me some background of the main characters since volume 1, that's why I grow so invested in the series, but in this case, even though I really enjoyed the story, the art was beautiful and I really liked the characters, I wasn't too invested in the history, I didn't have something to connect or have empathy with these characters.

Anyways, at the end of the volume we get to know a little bit more of our main character and some comments that make me believe we are getting this background in the next volume, so I will continue this series.

A great start to a story about one young mans journey into the world of ink painting.
I feel like we are gonna see the rivals to team-mates arc turn into a rivals to lovers story in future volumes and I really look forward to it.
I do feel like it's a little to sophisticated for young adult audiences, but I would gladly be proven wrong.

Story: The premise of the story intrigued me just talking about art. But when I just saw the ink art I immediately was sucked in. I wanted to do ink art for quite some time now and this just reminded me I should pick it up. Also the way he got into art through this exhibition was beautiful. My first exhibition I visited when I was to japan was a calligraphy exhibition and had a similar feeling.
The story and especially the start gave me the vibes of a slice of life comedy but it's starting transform into drama as well. I like the premise and how it's developing and I'm excited to see the further character growth in this manga. If you like art manga like Blue period or crayon days, I would recommend this. Also the granddad is hilarious.
5/5

Art: The main art style is nice but not something that stands out, but as it is an art manga it leveled the overall image of the manga up for me. The ink paintings were beautiful and I could totally imagine and feel what Aoyama said about the paintings. I think the art style conveys everything you need.
4.5/5

4.5 stars! This story is very unique and really portrays the character development in depth within a single volume which amazed me. The feeling embedded into their brushes and each stroke they do onto their artwork was very beautiful.

The Lines That Define Me centers around Sosuke Aoyama a college freshman who faces isolation and loneliness until a chance encounter brings him into the world of art. What stood out to me about this story are the themes the first volume touches on. The creators Hiromasa Togami and Atsunori Horiuchi touch on the loneliness that can accompany the transition from adolescents into adulthood. As well as how chance encounters and the kindness of strangers can also change your path. I believe readers will also relate to both paths presented in this work; that of someone who has deviated their life to honing their craft and that of someone who appears to be natural gifted. All and all I believe this will be an enjoyable read for many.

This was beautiful and I’ll definitely be continuing this series. And if I’m being honest this made me want to pick up suibokuga.

If you want something like Blue Period but without the massive amount of shoving an art lesson in your face this is perfect.

The Lines that Define Me may be one of the most beautiful manga works that I have read in a long time. Artist journeys seem to be a popular trend in manga recently, but I am absolutely loving it. You might compare this story to Blue Period, but it solidly stands on its own and takes on a different focus. The protagonist is thrust into the world of ink painting when he happens to impress a famous artist who decides to take him on as an apprentice.

The art in this manga complements the subject of ink painting very well. The art isn’t flashy. There is a quiet, subtle aspect to it. The characters and the limited use of background art show a deep appreciation for and connection to the subject matter. We learn early on that negative space is an important aspect of ink painting, so if you pay attention to the way negative space is used throughout the manga panels, it reveals so much about the characters without any dialogue. Masterfully done visual storytelling.

I am absolutely going to be buying a physical copy of this manga, and am very interested in reading more as new volumes are released.

The Lines That Define Me Vol. 1 was a lovely opening volume to a new contemporary manga. I recently watched the anime Blue Period, and both stories show how art changes the protagonist, who until then felt adrift, although they have slightly different focuses. So it's obviously a popular theme at present; but it's one I like. The illustration here was beautiful done, the characters were well presented and the story line was interesting. I would certainly be keen to keep reading, to see how Sosuke progresses in his art journey. If you already know Blue Period, you are sure to like this too, but I also recommend it to anyone who likes contemporary, self-exploration stories and art.

This Is a light sweet story.
Clean read.
It’s about a student who gets taken under the wing of a famous ink painter and how he learns the art form.
I love it and can’t wait for the 2nd volume .

The art style is pleasing to the eyes.

What a beautiful beginning to a story about art and the power it has to bring people together and help them grow.
Aoyama is just drifting through life until a chance encounter with a famous and renowned suibokuga/sumie/ink art artist that takes a liking to him and invites him to become his apprentice. Aoyama knows nothing about ink art but is intrigued enough to try. This is how a story about art, relationships, and life experiences begins.
It's definitely a slow burn type of story, but I enjoyed the beginning and I look forward to following along to Aoyama's story.
The art style is pretty standard for this kind of story, but it helps set up the emotional moments and display the beauty of ink art perfectly.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for the early read intro to this great series!