Temperature of Orange (Veil #1)

A romance unfolds in steamy snapshots in this lush and dreamy full-color manga, the English-language debut of Kotteri!. In a nameless European city, a tall, redheaded police officer meets an aristocratic blind woman—or maybe she just always keeps her eyes closed—and offers her a job at the station. Soon they are inseparable. The story is less a narrative than a series of tantalizingly brief scenes, some only two or three pages long, allowing the reader glimpses of the attractive duo at cafés, parties, and an art museum, or sprawled together on a couch. These moments are cryptic, elegant, and erotically charged, with a cool, sexy style reminiscent of French New Wave films. The art pauses fetishistically on sensual details like pastries, coffee, cigarettes, and above all fashion, including militaristic boots and kepi caps. Short text sections offer hints at the characters’ inner thoughts (“The voice was at my feet, but then in the next instant, I heard it from the sky”), but for the most part Kotteri! admires them from a distance. This manga is all vibes, but the vibes are impeccable. Fans of classic European cinema and Parisian chic will want to check it out. (Apr.)