Pellua Iyagi aka A Tale of Felluah 9/10

 This is my favorite manhwa (Korean manga) and dear to my heart. I fell in love with the art, the melancholic plot and gray characters were wonderful, too. "Pellua Iyagi" aka "A Tale of Felluah" is a romance story set in a fantasy world based on medieval type politics and society, not magic, or fighting. The arrogant Orthez has to marry the cold-hearted duke Arthur from another kingdom, both seem disinterested in each other at first, but learn to open up eventually.

Orthez Acryl is the Duke of Tesa's eldest daughter. She is a beautiful young lady who managed to capture the heart of the kingdom's crown prince. However, rather than become the crown princess, she requests marriage to an Earl of a far away land called Fellua, Arthur Laprez. We learn that this courtship is anything but romantic, like royalty back in the day, this arranged marriage is supposed to make both families stronger and richer. The wedding happens right away and they become husband and wife. Both Orthez and Arthur seem content with a loveless marriage, but that mutual feeling doesn't last long, once they spend more time together.

I appreciate that the writer created a more authentic medieval setting than most mangaka, think of Jane Austin type of novels. A marriage in this world means having lovers and mistresses, since marriages were based on politics. There is plenty of gossip, wars (we only hear about), and different societal norms (like producing a male heir as soon as possible). While our main couple seems to follow that route, things eventually start to change, and they fall in love with each other. That's the whole plot, nothing too ordinary or out of the ordinary happens, and yet, I absolutely love the story telling, pacing, funny moments, and the art in Pellua Iyagi, the author manages to capture the feelings of sorrow so well. Some panels are drawn in "chibi style" for comedic relief, which I enjoyed.

 

 

Orthez tends to have a very immature side, for example, even though they don’t consummate their marriage, she still holds her pride and asks that Arthur sleep in the same bed with her, so the castle doesn’t talk. Arthur seems to act nonchalantly toward how she expresses herself. However, he is never rude to her and actually listens to what she has to say. The romance is one I would expect to see back in the day when men and women were not so lovey-dovey as you see in shoujo portrayed in modern days. There aren't many romance mangas I've read that made me feel so invested in characters like this one.