In my middle school library, a small shelf of graphic novels was placed in the reference section, far away from the regular young adult fiction. I spotted them when I was browsing encyclopedias, and the cover that caught my eye first was volume one of Aqua by Amano Kozue. Picked it up and immediately fell in love with the idyllic world and gorgeous art. I’ve reread Aqua/Aria a few times now and despite having read thousands of manga at this point, it’s still my top favorite today.

His fluffy feathers give me great joy. Very nice shot!

I am extremely jealous of you rn. Southern Africa is top of my bucket list for prime birding locations. What a pretty lady!