Never Open It: 2 stars
I didn’t quite connect with this one until the twist. It started bittersweet, then surprisingly turned into a revenge tale.
The artwork was very expressive, but, at times, too sketchy. On the other hand, the usage of red was great.

Empty: 2 stars
Slightly confusing but a reread cleared things up. In the grand scheme of things, childish curiosity ends terribly.

The Promise: 4 stars
The best one of the trilogy. This one had a good beginning and end and was easy to follow. Not to mention a final boss battle! Underachiever, lazy Yohio finally finds his love in the mysterious Tsuu. Very bittersweet yet satisfying.

I wasn’t familiar with these folktales before, but I definitely want to read more interpretations/the original Crane Wife. I like the pattern of helping animals can lead to interesting consequences. Also, that cover is so gorgeous. ( )

A collection of three stories reimagined from Japanese folklore. And that's probably why the plots unfold in abrupt and nonsensical ways.

None of the stories really pleased me, with the story of the monks and the pot of poison -- based on "Ikkyu-san" -- being the worst of the bunch. The retelling of "The Crane Wife" almost worked with all its romance and sacrifice. The first story, from the legend of Urashima Taro, is just a weird Japanese parallel to Rip Van Winkle. I might have been more impressed overall if the art weren't so loose and roughly sketched. ( )

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss.)

In NEVER OPEN IT: THE TABOO TRILOGY, Spanish-Japanese artist Ken Niimura adapts three Japanese folk tales into the graphic novel format: "Urashima Taro" ("Never Open It), "Ikkyu-san" ("Empty") and "The Crane Wife" ("The Promise"). Each of these stories involves a taboo of some sort: a box which should not be opened until needed; a pot that contains a delicious - yet allegedly deadly - substance; a door separating a lovely yet mysterious weaver from the man who's enamored with her.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/51504765305/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/51504765285/

With a minimum of dialogue, NEVER OPEN IT leans heavily on the artwork to convey these stories. And while Niimura's illustrations certainly are striking - with a color palate of just black, white, and the occasional red - I wasn't always entirely sure what was going on. Many of the action-packed panels, for example, left me scratching my head.

For some reason - the ominous title? princess Otohime's floating hair? - I expected this to be a horror book, and I was more than a little disappointed by its relatively tame and non-spooky subject matter.

Even so, if you dig fairy tale retellings, NEVER OPEN IT might just be for you. ( )