Million Tears: Volume 1    by Yuana Kazumi Order:  USA  Can TOKYOPOP, 2007 (2007) Paperback    Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto Yuana Kazumi's Million Tears is a deep, psychological fantasy. Because of this, it is not the easiest story to follow, but it is a very interesting one. Hiromu's classmates seem to be disappearing, but no one else remembers them. He thinks he might be losing his mind, but his girlfriend Natsumi believes him. Things get even stranger when he meets a mysterious boy who insists on calling him Glorious. This boy is the key to a past life that Hiromu cannot remember, but if what the boy says is true, Hiromu is a monster, a destiny thief who erases people from existence so he can eat their souls. When Natsumi's soul is threatened, Hiromu must accept his past in order to save her. Then memories come flooding back – ones that Hiromu would rather forget. The cover and most of the chapter opening pages are drawn with wispy strokes reminiscent of a watercolor. This technique represents the state of Hiromu's memories, but unfortunately, it is not carried out in any of the story panels. These are typical manga drawings, although most of the backgrounds are simply screentones, which is not the norm for this type of manga. The third chapter, which has the most detailed panel art, is the easiest to follow. This is good since it is very important. However, it would be nice if all of the art was as detailed, for Million Tears is a very deep story and the reader really needs to pay close attention in order to understand it. It also does not help that the characters look a lot alike. Natsumi looks almost like Hiromu's twin except that she combs her short hair differently and the mysterious boy looks like a dark-haired version of Hiromu. This manga is a two-parter, but the end of volume one is not a gripping enough cliffhanger for casual fans to anticipate the concluding volume. Million Tears by Yuana Kazumi is filled with deep psychological drama, but some may just be too deep for those looking for lighter fantasy. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews