Snow and Ink Volume 1 Review
Neneo is an infamous murderer who has been sentenced to death, only to be saved at the last minute by being ‘bought’ by Freya, the wealthy heiress of the Gibson family. The two seem to be worlds apart, but are actually outcasts: Neneo for his crimes and Freya for being responsible for a recent economic crash that cost her her inheritance. As the pair embark on a life in exile, they grow closer and decide to forge a new future together, despite the trials that may await them, and the past that refuses to let them move on.
At the bottom of the contents page, we have a small quote from the mangaka, saying that the title refers to ‘a phrase people use to mean “complete opposites”’ which I think is interesting and creates a striking image right away. Ink is black, deep, liquid, with potential for boundless possibilities. Snow on the other hand is pure, white and cold, but can be melted down when confronted with an opposing force. This is supported in the imagery and text too. Neneo is from a lower-class background, and it’s heavily hinted that it was his village’s poor circumstances that led to the massacre of his family, as well as his own harsh punishment and disdain for modern society. He also speaks more harshly and resorts to violence as a means of getting things done. Then there’s Freya: upper class and from a closeted background, where she was surrounded by only the wealthiest, never exposed to the ‘real world’ and therefore was taken advantage of, until (whether directly or indirectly) she ended up causing the collapse of the economy, and of course, those who lost their jobs see her as public enemy number one. Her communication is much more subdued, often taking what’s thrown at her and never talking back. The idea to have these two people, from completely opposite ends of society, is a fascinating idea, especially with the unique backdrop of 19th century (I assume – due to imagery of steam trains – but it’s not explicitly said).
When the pair do come together, there are plenty of quiet moments as well as some internal conflicts going on, showing that they need to grow together and help each other find a way to forge their own paths in an unforgiving world. It’s not often we see a more mature (i.e. non-teenage) couple in manga, and a more physically intimate one too. We don’t see any sex on page, but it’s clear they are together in that way, and they’re drawn very intimately too, so we don’t get silly moments of them blushing whilst holding hands. Instead we get them sharing a single bed, talking to each other about their insecurities and showing absolute devotion to each other. So if you want to read about a couple actually being together, rather than the ‘will they or won’t they’ dance, then this work may be a delight for you, especially if you’re a history buff for the time period.
But I personally couldn’t get invested in the couple at all, because of how fast their ‘courtship’ went.
At the start of Chapter 1, Freya purchases Neneo and the pair are cold and brutal to each other. By the end of the same chapter, they are together and living peacefully in a snowy cabin. I had to stop reading then for a moment and Google whether I’d been mistaken. Had I picked up a series that’s a sequel or spin-off to another work? Did I miss additional reading material elsewhere that would make this make more sense? But no, this is the mangaka’s first work, and the couple just get together that quickly. I wanted to be invested in their struggles, and I did mean it when I said that it’s nice to see a couple JUST be a couple, rather than the build up to it, but I just couldn’t care about them because of the pacing. There’s no clear moment when the pair go from enemies to lovers, no panel that makes it clear where sparks start to fly, they just kiss and that’s it – they’re ‘ride or die’. I feel that if any story could do with the ‘slow burn’ trope, it would be this series; considering their traumatic backgrounds, it would make sense for them both to be distrustful of the other, to have all the emotional walls up and wonder what the other person has to gain from the arrangement. But none of that comes into play here, which is a shame as there’s a lot of potentially fascinating writing material here.
The pacing issues also affect the story as a whole. We never get a sense of who the individual characters are before they get together. Neneo is the clearest by far; he’s more of an action person, someone who acts before they think, which comes across in the beginning. Freya however is described as ‘emotionless and numb’ from the back cover, but you never get that sense of her character from these pages. I was expecting Weiss from RWBY levels of coldness (both she and her fiancé Halvard look like Weiss and Whitley respectively from RWBY) but it’s clear that Freya feels deeply about her mistakes and also treats Neneo with kindness from the start. As for the bulk of this volume, the story hastily has Neneo and Freya accepted into Halvard’s project and working alongside him, with little to no conflict about Halvard taking issue that his fiancée has chosen another man as her partner. There are a few set-ups for future conflict, such as the Gibson family trying to gauge where Freya went, and Neneo’s branding on his hand as a criminal will cause problems in the future, but to me, it’s like the ink has barely had time to set and dry before we’re racing off to the next plot point.
As mentioned, this is Miyuki Unohana’s first work, and whilst I wasn’t a fan of the writing, I can’t complain about the art. The cover and instantly striking character designs make a good first impression, and they continue in each chapter. The snowy backgrounds feel cold and unwelcoming, the steam trains and period setting feel lived-in and detailed, and the horror flashbacks for Neneo are intensely drawn too. Jan Mitsuko Cash provides the translation and it reads well, but there are no translation notes at the back which, considering the time period, I think could have been a benefit. For example: the black triangle branding on Neneo I assume is a reference to the symbol used in Nazi concentration camps, but then there’s mention of the Donner Party, which apparently is a big part of American history, but that went over my head upon first reading.
Sadly Snow and Ink and me seem to go together like oil and water; there’s a lot of really good ideas in here, and clearly the mangaka is a history buff, but I just couldn’t get over the hurdle of the couple getting together so quickly with little to no chemistry. If you’re a fan of historical dramas, and don’t mind a hasty courtship, I’m sure this viral hit from Japan will strike a chord with you, more than it did with me.
