Chitei Ryokou

This is very good. This manga is a graphical retelling of a Jules Verne science fiction novel written in 1864. Jules Verne is responsible for other works which include " Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" and "Aroudn the world in 80 days", which spawned many adaptations since. What's important when it comes to manga is that 19th century storytelling combined with manga form produces a novel experience devoid of any usual cliches. There are no standard archetypes, no isekais no harems, no standard tsunder/kuddere/whateverdere archetypes. That makes it feel incredibly fresh. Good quality art helps this experience. However, being based of 19th century work stillleft significant impact, as characters behave quite differently compared to what we see in fiction today, and in 19th century apparently there was still space for a feeling of wonder and seeking unexplored parts of the world. That, in turn, adds more to the work's charm. Story: 7/10. It is based on a classic work by Verne, so it is sufficiently good. Turning it into manga has significantly compressed the work, as we only get 24 chapters in manga form, and likely a lot of text from the original is no longer present. However, it is still solid, and still a very good conversion. Art: 7/10: It is higher quality anime art without modern triangular faces. There's a small issue - there are plenty of panels with mostly empty background, but this is largely explained by both types of narrative of the original (lots of monologues) and the setting itself. The art is definitely above average. Character: 6/10. It is recommended to have some familiarity with 19th century literature, as characters have slightly different values, and this is noticeable. However, they're also resemble living people to greater degree compared to standard modern stock characters, and do not fit cliches. So, characterization feels old-fashioned (19th century old-fashioned), but more lifelike than a stereotypical character would be. Enjoyment: 7/10. It is fun, what can I say? Overall: 8/10. Highly recommended. The work feels a bit short but it is a very solid adaptation of a classic fiction story, and is definitely worth reading.