This was, sadly, really hard for me to follow due to be unfamiliar with the world. The art was really pretty, though!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for the review.

Lovely illustrations, such a cute story about how atelier ryza was created, the pacing overall was great. The scene where Klaudia plays the floor was so beautiful.
Reading this made me curious about starting the game too

Thankyou Netgalley and Udon entertainment for providing me an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was so happy to see this! they really should more graphic novels/manga's from games! This was a really fast-paced funny read. Ryza is with her friends Lent and Tao on the island where they live. They are always looking for some advensture because they are a little bored of their little island. When they encounter alchemist Empel and his friend Lila, all the adventures will start.

The art of this mangs is so gorgeous, i read this one on my Kobo colour and it was amazing! This read also made me very curious about the other Atelier manga's!

Big fan of the Atelier video game series so was excited to check this out. I haven't played Ryza specifically but you can tell the manga follows the game story closely - the chapters fit together as if you're playing the game, including the MC arriving in town, asking to learn alchemy, told to go to the first gathering spot, etc. It's refreshing to have a single arc with a conclusive, uplifting ending as well. Ryza's story ends in a good place.

Riichu's art is adorable and loved the cover design as well. No complaints about the artwork in the book.

Overall a cute and delightful read if you're a fan of fantasy and alchemy. The one thing I'd change is to remove the few unnecessary fan service shots.

Hmph, I struggled with this one a bit, but I've come to find out it is based off a video game series. I really loved the art in this manga, that is what originally drew me to it in the first place. Though, without the knowledge of the video games, I found the story to be a little confusing and I felt like the characters were not properly introduced or explained. I expect that this would be a great revisit for fans of the video games, but coming into this cold I have to give it a 3/5 stars.

I think I am just not the target audience for this book. I really struggled following the story. The art was adorable though.

3 stars

Based on a video game series but this manga stands out on its own. The art in this manga are really nice. It does a good job at getting me interested trying out the games, and that's the best thing supplemental material can do for its series!

4/5! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you aren't familiar with the video game, the pace of this might be a struggle and make things confusing, as this is rushed, and doesn't give you much detail into the lives of our characters.

However, if you are familiar with the game, this will be a fun visit back into the world and adventures of Atelier Ryza.

Thank you to Udon Entertainment and Netgalley for providing this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Copy...I don't know how to approach this when reviewing this other I was not bored when reading it and felt lost in the world building cause I am not familiar with the franchise even though I heard of it.

My husband is a huge Anime/Manga fan - and so he wanted to check this Manga out! He wasn’t a huge fan of the story but did like the art. Just wasn’t for him but I’m sure others would like it.

I'm a fan of the Atelier games, so I was excited to see this adaptation. It was great to jump back into this world, with its lovely art and colourful characters. Reading this is a no-brainer for anyone who is a fan of the series, and provides a good starting point for new fans who might be interested, but want to experience the story without committing to a full game.

This is a decent read for people who have played the game to quickly re-experience some of the fun moments of Ryza and the crew again, but the keyword is definitely quickly here. 😅 For people wanting to get a taste of Atelier Ryza's story, the pacing makes it hard to really understand what's going on. It is a good attempt on wanting to not cut out on certain plot points and subplots, but it can get really confusing for a person who knows nothing about this world and this cast. This absolutely would have benefited from being told in at least a few volumes than the single standalone. The art was fantastic though and it really did make me want to go back to play the game again!

NetGalley Review

Star Rating: ★★★☆☆

I liked this one, but I feel like it was very rushed. It made some really big jumps. The main character goes from being a normal kid with nothing to a beginner in alchemy right in the beginning. Which is fine. She's told that she's got potential, but is gonna have to practice. Okay, I'm still with it. She uses alchemy to build a fully furnished house. Wait... what? They story was neat, the villain's (monsters) had potential to be super awesome. I thought the lady behind the portal was going to be something crazy and a huge part of the story. Nope, wrong. I thought the book had great bones and I'd love to see the whole story stretched out and all the holes filled in. I want to read other works by this author too, to see if it's just this one I don't like.

Like always though, read it and decide for yourself

Thank you NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately this didn’t really work as a manga. So much is crammed into this and rushed through, it took me a long time to read and it never felt exciting or even interesting enough.

The illustrations are great and we meet a lot of interesting characters. Ryza and her two friends Lent and Tao, Bos & his friend Lumbar who they used to be friends with, Klaudia who is visiting with her merchant father and Lila & Empel who are good at fighting and alchemy and are investigating the many ruins on the Island. But we eventually find out what they are actually doing.

Ryza and her friends are tired of the boring and ordinary days on the island and seek adventure. On one of their adventures gone wrong, they are saved by Lila and Empel and they meet Klaudia. Empel is an alchemist and becomes Ryza’s advisor. Ryza has the aptitude to become one too but unfortunately we don’t get to see much or actually almost nothing of her practicing. Same for her friends who are learning fighting and deciphering old books from Lila and Empel. I would have loved to see fighting practice or anything from those seemingly interesting books! It feels like they tried to cram so much into this manga that there wasn’t space to actually go deeper into anything interesting. So they create a hideout but again, no details on how it was actually created (alchemy?) and Lila and Empel decide to stay there too. Klaudia uses it to practice her flute music and the others practice whatever they’re learning from Empel and Lila but we never actually get to see them practice. Klaudia’s father is so weird.. Testing Ryza in elaborate ways, which again we don’t get to actually see in any detail, before entrusting his daughter to her. The other parents aren’t any better, hitting their child or getting super annoyed their child isn’t helping at the farm all the time. It does get a little more interesting when we learn what Lila and Empel are upto and they start to involve the group of friends but overall, this gave me a slight headache and little entertainment. This had potential but wasn’t executed properly.

I did not realize this was based on a video game when I started and have never played the game before. I’m sure if I had, it probably would have added more context or excitement to the story.

The art style was nice and I thought there was a lot of really nice detail included in the character designs. The female characters did lean a bit more into fan service design then I would have careful for, but that isn’t that unusual for manga either.

The story sounded really promising, but for whatever reason it just did not get my attention. It wasn’t bad at all, it just was really difficult to get through. I think they tried to include a bit too much in it, which made the text feel too dense and the pages looked cluttered and too full.

Beautiful art style and interesting storyline. It was a bit much packed into just one manga book / volume. I assumed this was going to be a series, instead of one completed story, so I felt a bit overwhelmed by the pacing. That is not to say, that "Atelier Ryza" is bad. Not at all. It made me curious to learn more about the characters and the world they are in, so I'll definitely look into playing the games at some point.

Having played the games, I obviously had to give this a spin. I found the art to be very cute but it felt a little.. cluttered. I wish it have been cleaner and given us more time to appreciate the charm of the individual characters instead of seeming to want to rush through something that is supposed to be very relaxing and slice of lifey.

That being said, the enjoyment I got out of this was because I was already familiar with the characters. I doubt someone new to the franchise would get as much out of it

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Atelier Ryza: The Manga: Ever Darkness & The Secret Hideout! As someone who has loved the Atelier series for a long time, and played the game this manga is based on, I can say it's a very faithful adaptation of the game and the art is simply gorgeous. I would recommend this to any Atelier fans!

tl;dr
A video game adaptation that reads like a video game, punctuated with some truly beautiful artwork.

Thoughts
I didn't know this was a video game adaptation when I started reading it, but it only took two pages for me to figure it out. The main character introduces herself as a normal girl from a normal town, and then I turned the page and was greeted with a stunning JRPG heroine design, replete with accessories, extra belts, and cute thigh highs, all lovingly rendered in delicate inks and detailed tones. The rest of the book follows suit, with plenty of beautiful artwork and attractive character designs. Settings are also beautifully illustrated, making a book that feels very good to look at. The story in contrast moves like watching only the cutscenes from a video game. Plot points are doled out in spoonfuls, with missions and battles spacing them out evenly in such a way that you can practically see "New Mission!" alerts pop up on the screen. I think the biggest weakness here is that we miss out on the actual game portions. Alchemy is a core focus of the story, but it gets skipped over regularly because it's gameplay. Fights are handled very quickly, often in a few panels, to make way for the next cutscene. Overall, this largely feels like a book for fans of the game who'd like to relive the story in a more digestible form. As for me, I'm genuinely curious about the game now - so I guess the manga did its job after all!

Inspired by the RPG game, you meet Ryza and her friends.

Resalin Stout, or Ryza for short, and her friends, Lent and Tao, long for adventure. One fateful day, they encounter two travelers, Lila and Empel, after trying to rescue a girl named Klaudia, which changes their lives forever. As a result of this encounter, the three friends uncover their true calling and unravel some dark secrets about their island.

It's been a while since I've delved into the world of manga, so stumbling upon this gem was a pleasant surprise! What piqued my interest even more was the revelation that it was adapted from a game. The book is brimming with charm and unexpected plot twists that kept me engaged. However, I wish it delved deeper into the intricacies of alchemy.

Ryza exudes bravery and an infectious cheerfulness that resonated with me. Her character had many standout moments throughout the book. Tao provided solid support and guided the characters through challenging situations. On the other hand, Lent's impact on the story seemed minimal, and I found Klaudia's character a tad annoying. Lila and Empel were intriguing characters with enigmatic backstories that were skillfully portrayed.

Overall, I recommend this book to fans of Atelier Ryza who are curious about experiencing the game's narrative in manga form and anyone who likes an intriguing fantasy with a solid story.

Happy Reading, Paige ❤️ 📚

Thank you, @netgalley and @udonent, for the complimentary ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.