The Water Dragon's Bride Graphic Novel Volume 7 cover image

A modern-day girl, Asahi is pulled into a pond and is whisked to a strange and mysterious new land.  She meets a boy, Subaru, the son of a prominent family from a nearby village, but his mother immediately dislikes Asahi and plots to sacrifice her to the god of the Great Lake.  The Water Dragon God wants Asahi to be his wife, and though she refuses, some locals still see her as a priestess.

As The Water Dragon's Bride, Vol. 7 (Chapters 25 to 28) opens, the country of Naga is in turmoil.  There have been very few days of rain since the “Water Priestess” disappeared.  Who is the “Water Priestess?”  It's Asahi, and she didn't disappear so much as that the Water Dragon God returned her home to the present day.

Now, Asahi's reunion with her family is joyful, and she enjoys the little things, such as sleeping in a comfy and warm bed.  But every time she is near water, Asahi thinks she hears the Water Dragon God calling her...  Also, another god wants to talk.

[This volume includes the four-panels comics, “The Water Dragon God's Chill Zone” and bonus pages.]

THE LOWDOWN:  The Water Dragon's Bride manga seems to take place in Japan's distant past, or at least an alternate world version of it.  Here, there are gods and dragons... and dragon gods.

The Water Dragon's Bride Graphic Novel Volume 7 is the first volume of the series that I have read in almost a year – since I read Vol. 4.  It is not hard to catch up with this narrative, even if you have missed several volumes, dear readers.  Creator Rei Toma offers a story that is simple and is only complicated when it comes to matters of the heart.  Like Toma's other work, such as Dawn of the Arcana, The Water Dragon's Bride is a quick, breezy read.  It's gentle sense of magic, however, will gently pull readers back to its story every time.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Rei Toma will want to try the “Shojo Beat” title, The Water Dragon's Bride.

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7.5 out of 10