There are a lot of clichés in From Far Away and you won’t see anything you haven’t read or seen before. It does offer a neat twist in that Noriko can’t speak the native language (finally, realistic manga about plunging into strange places!); however, that’s all that’s refreshing. None of the characters really stand out except for Noriko and that’s because she’s a very likeable character. She’s not stupid, she’s kind and considerate, a good observer and just an all-around good character. We aren’t introduced to many other characters in volume 1, but the ones that do appear are, well, dull.