Legend, Vol. 4 | By Kara & Woo SooJung | Published by Yen Press | Rated Teen – Modern-day student Eun-Gyo Sung is saved from a fall on the subway tracks by the mysterious and attractive No-Ah, who tells her that his sister has been kidnapped. She agrees to help him find her, and is soon swept into the past on a quest to recover the seven fragments of the legendary Seven Blade Sword.
In volume four, Eun-Gyo, No-Ah, and their recently acquired companion, Ho-Dong, encounter a mansion in the wilderness. They are invited to stay the night by its beautiful mistress, who turns out to be an enemy sent to kill No-Ah or otherwise separate him from Eun-Gyo. Fortunately, No-Ah is able to see through the girl’s nefarious plot, and though he is badly injured, he manages to survive thanks to a surprise rescue by a cryptic young man whose true identity is not revealed until the end of the volume.
Though Legend shows promise, its success at this point is still somewhat shaky. The characters are all interesting and fun to read, the art is extremely cute, and there are enough twists and mysteries in play to keep the story at least moderately compelling. Unfortunately, the obliviousness of the story’s heroine is extremely difficult to swallow, and this damages both her believability and the credibility of the tale overall. Eun-Gyo is repeatedly addressed as “mistress” and “princess” by the various characters that turn up in the story, and is quite obviously vital to the recovery of the Seven Blade Sword, but even after four volumes she seems to have not caught on. The story’s pacing is weak as well, and though by the end of the volume things seem to finally be picking up, it may be too little, too late for some readers.
That said, there is enough here to compel most readers into the next installment, which will hopefully move Eun-Gyo’s character forward along with the story as a whole.
Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at PopCultureShock.