This beautifully illustrated, award-winning fantasy BL tells the story of Rita, a young man chosen by his village to become the “Dragon’s Bride”, and Ignat, the mythical dragon to whom Rita is sacrificed. Only the warmth of Rita’s loving determination is enough to thaw Ignat’s long-frozen heart in this sweeping mystical romance by rising star of the BL world, Moyori Mori.  A 2025 Chill Chill Award winner!

“If life is meaningless no matter where you are…” Rita, a lonely boy, is chosen as the “Dragon’s Bride” by the village custom. The ancient legend of the “Snowy Mountain Dragon” is now nothing more than a legend, but Rita, unable to find his role in the village, accepts the sacrifice while realizing that it is to reduce the number of mouths to feed. Rita, who was left alone and freezing in the snowstorm, is saved by Ignat, a beautiful dragon in human form. Rita’s eyes sparkle because the dragon really exists, and he is able to fulfill his role as a “bride”, but Ignat rejects him, saying “I don’t need a bride”. Still, Rita cannot give up, and he learns the secret of the ritual to turn humans into “dragons”. A silent dragon x a fearless sacrifice. A fantasy BL story of a non-human marriage that will heal your frozen heart!

I am familiar with this manga because I’ve been purchasing the Japanese copies (chapter by chapter) through Amazon Japan for my Kindle. Of course, I can’t read Japanese, but I absolutely loved the art. So I’m delighted that TOKYOPOP has translated the first volume and I can finally understand the manga fully.

This manga is beautiful. The art by Moyori Mori is unique to the manga-ka, so you can always tell which manga is theirs by the style. I love the character designs of Rita, who looks innocent and kind, and then Ignat–I find myself gravitating towards stories of human brides “sacrificed” to monsters, but Ignat is no monster. But I love how his dragon features are incorporated into his human side, and he is also beautiful.

Let me get onto the story! Rita is chosen to be the sacrifice to the dragon, and has no other purpose. When he meets the dragon Ignat, who is kind and protective of him (he rescues Rita when he is fading away in the freezing snow), and Ignat tells him he has no need of a bride and that Rita can leave, Rita struggles to find a purpose for himself.

(Click on the pictures to blow them up. All are (c) 2026 by TOKYOPOP.)

As Ignat and Rita live together (Rita’s leg has been broken and Ignat has worked to fix him up), Rita grows more interested in Ignat. Ignat is the last of the dragons, which shocks Rita, and Ignat tells him of a ritual to turn a human into a dragon–one his human mother performed and is the only known survivor of it. A person must consume a piece of a dragon’s body, and the transformation process will begin. But a dragon’s energy and essence is usually too strong for a human to endure, so they tend to die.

Rita and Ignat grow closer, with Ignat regularly protecting Rita and saving him from trouble. He gives Rita some of his dragon scales to ward off wolves and wild animals, as the scent of the dragon frightens them. Rita decides on his own to consume one of the scales to begin the “dragonification” process, determined to not leave Ignat alone and to become his bride. The role of Ignat’s bride is all Rita can see of himself, and he is drawn to Ignat, so he doesn’t mind the risk to his life if he can live it with Ignat in peace. Rita gets very ill, but survives consuming the scale.

There are some moments that suggest Ignat is growing feelings for Rita just as Rita is growing feelings for him. They go to a town further in the mountains and Ignat shows some jealousy and overprotectiveness when Rita runs into a childhood friend (and someone he used to love). When Rita gets into more trouble searching for his missing reindeer, he falls into a cave hidden by the snow. Ignat wonders if Rita has truly left him, but he desperately searches for him anyway, and when they reunite, it’s so sweet.

This story feels delicate to me as we witness Rita and Ignat relying more on each other, trusting each other, growing in feelings towards each other. The acceleration of feelings doesn’t feel fast, but careful, even when Rita comes to the decision to forever be Ignat’s bride. I have a feeling their love will be a slow burn over the series, but grow in passion as it continues on.

This is a gorgeous story with gorgeous art, and once again, I’m so glad to have an English translation of it. I knew from the Japanese version that I would love this book, and reading it in my native language confirms it. Such a beautiful story.

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Bride of Ignat, Volume 1 releases April 28th. It is available for preorder now directly from the publisher or from a variety of booksellers online.