New Series Trial: "Yukarism" Chapter 1

Here's the first chapter of one of the series we are trialing called "Yukarism" by Chika Shiomi .  "Yukarism" is the story of a young man named "Yukari" who is born with the memories of his past life and so at the tender age of 17,  he is an Edo period novelist.  Yukari "meets cute" with Mahoro on the first day of the new school term and Yukari has the sense that even though he's never met Mahoro, he's knows her...and from there our story of the past and the present begins!

Links to "Yukarism" Chapter 1:  (Zip) (PDF)

Here are some links to supplementary information about Oiran vs. Geisha:

Wikipedia
Geisha Dolls

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Spoiler Alert!

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My First Impressions of Yukarism:
The first thing that struck me about this series is the AMAZING artwork.
The kimonos, the Edo period scenery, and the character drawings are gorgeous!  As for the story, I think it has great potential.  Yukari is sufficiently mysterious and Mahoro is very likable.  I'm a sucker for past life stories with dual story lines in the past and present, especially when they involve a mystery around the death of the characters in their past lives.

I've already peeked at the next two chapters and artwork gets even more amazing.  Also, there is some rapid story development, so I know the first three chapters will be very good.  The question is whether this level of quality and detail can be maintained through the life of the series.  I guess we have to see.

Next up is the "Ouran" 60-page sequel one-shot!