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MANHWA REVIEWS

Legend, Volume 5

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Legend, Vol. 5 | By Kara & Woo SooJung | Published by Yen Press – As this volume begins, No-Ah is still recovering from his nearly lethal encounter at the end of the last volume, and as she watches over his sleeping form, Eun-Gyo wonders for the first time just how difficult No-Ah’s path has been. Though No-Ah’s poison-induced injury seems to heal with miraculous speed, Eun-Gyo has found a new determination to protect him instead of the other way around. Refusing to be protected, No-Ah stubbornly heads off on his own, unfortunately leaving the window open for a new enemy to sweep in and capture Eun-Gyo. The enemy takes the form of deceased customs officer Sook-Chung Park, but his true identity is far more disquieting.

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Legend, Volume 6

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legend6Legend, Vol. 6 | By Kara & Woo SooJung | Published by Yen Press – As the confrontation between No-Ah and Toh (the fourth blade of the Seven Blade Sword) continues, Toh reveals his true mission–to keep the blades of the Sword from being collected together, thus preventing world chaos, a consequence of which No-Ah was previously unaware. When Eun-Gyo arrives in the middle of it all, it becomes clear that she is not herself but instead Joo-Ji, the central blade of the Sword, who chose to be reborn as human in order to be reunited with her lover, which unexpectedly turns out to be No-Ah. When No-Ah meets her, however, he is only concerned about what has happened to Eun-Gyo, whom he is determined to protect in this life. Meanwhile, Ho-Dong searches frantically for Eun-Gyo, revealing his own past-life agenda–to reunite with Joo-Ji before No-Ah can steal her away from him again–as well as his current allegiance as a spy working for the same side as trickster Poong. Horrified to discover that No-Ah has reached her before he could, Ho-Dong reverts into a young man, the true form he has been hiding all along. As the volume continues, the web of past loves becomes even more tangled when the true identity of No-Ah’s sister, Seo-Hee, is revealed.

This volume is simply packed with new revelations, each contributing to this series’ sudden burst of new life. After several somewhat tepid volumes, this series is finally coming together and the effect is quite stunning. Each of the characters has gained new depth with further revelations regarding their past lives, particularly No-Ah and Ho-Dong who are being pulled in multiple directions by the often-conflicting motivations of their past and present selves. No-Ah’s lack of clear memory makes his position particularly complex, while Ho-Dong’s clear, painful memories make his especially poignant. “You must be more furious than sad,” teases the ever-smug Poong upon Ho-Dong’s return to his original form, “Isn’t that why you’ve decided to stop being a spy? You want to try to steal Miss Eun-Gyo from No-Ah, right?” adding cruelly, “Didn’t have the confidence to seduce her as a kid?”

Both No-Ah and Ho-Dong are in unenviable positions–No-Ah becoming more and more aware of the fact that the quest necessary to save his sister may have grave, far-reaching consequences and Ho-Dong being continuously faced with the same heartbreak time and time again–and with the lines between “sides” blurring further with each chapter it’s difficult to judge either of them by their choices. That the story’s creators have managed to paint all of this in such varied shades of gray is largely responsible for the success of this volume, and though their decision to withhold so much until this far in may have cost them some readers earlier on, the payoff is substantial. Even Eun-Gyo’s dense single-mindedness has taken on a newly rich tone as it becomes clear that she is, on some level, being manipulated by emotions generated by her past life. Only No-Ah, from his unique perspective of being both aware of and detached from his past life, is able to truly separate the feelings of his past self from his own, giving him a peculiar advantage over most everyone else.

After waffling on this series for so long, it is a pleasure to be able to finally recommend Legend. Though it gets off to a slow start, this series is a great choice for fans of shojo adventure manga and may appeal especially to those who have had difficulty embracing the art style in much of Yen Press’ manhwa catalogue. Though I personally prefer the clean, solid look of manhwa titles like Goong and One Thousand and One Nights, or even the quasi-alien look of something like 13th Boy, many manga fans consider those style to be hard or flat–words that could not possibly be used to describe Kara’s artwork here. With its flowing, wispy, undeniably cute art style and new air of romantic drama, Legend finally establishes a strong place for itself in Yen’s current lineup of girls’ manhwa.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

One Fine Day, Vol. 1

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One Fine Day, Vol. 1 | By Sirial | Published by Yen Press – “Our fine day starts here. Would you like to join us?”

One cold, dreary afternoon, a rain-soaked cat is invited home by a mischievous young mouse and a big-brotherly dog. Their green-roofed house is difficult to find, they say, “At the end of the path of blue and red bricks,” where a young man named No-Ah soon discovers that his pair of house pets has become a trio. This sweet, simple scenario serves as a short prologue to the first chapter of One Fine Day, perfectly establishing the series’ whimsical tone and showcasing its greatest strengths from the get-go. As the volume continues, No-Ah, along with cat (Guru), dog (Nanai), and mouse (Rang) tackle life’s daily challenges, such as picnics, baking cookies, and the common cold.

Make no mistake, One Fine Day is a mess. From uneven world-building to a complete absence of plot, it lacks nearly everything required for coherent storytelling, even on the most basic level. Fortunately, it is an utterly delectable mess, poised to enchant would-be critics with the power of children, puppies, and frolicking teapots.

Much of the cast is made up of animals who resemble humans (like Guru, Nanai, and Rang) or people who resemble animals, such as No-Ah’s bird-like friends, Mr. and Mrs. Raspberry. A few are furniture. In fact, the only decidedly human characters of any consequence are No-Ah and a much-feared magician, Aileru (whose relationship with No-Ah is complicated to say the least). Like many aspects of One Fine Day, its anthropomorphic landscape is only marginally explained, which diminishes its effectiveness, if not its charm.

The series’ supernatural elements are no less confusing. No-Ah is either a “novice magician or a “monster magician” (depending on when you ask) who, by the author’s own admission, “gets younger every chapter.” His magical abilities (largely undefined) are in some way related to the infamous Aileru, No-Ah’s childhood friend/bully/other, who is able to do things like turn people into animals and even summon fairies under the right circumstances. Beyond that, the universe’s supernatural ground rules are anyone’s guess.

Not that any of this matters in the slightest. The story’s real magic is in its most ordinary events, as seen through the eyes of its four-legged protagonists. Everything their father-figure does is magical from their perspective, and this “magic” is is a product of unabashed love. While the anthropomorphic appearances of Guru, Nanai, and Rang are undeniably adorable, the real purpose of their portrayal as human children seems to be that No-Ah views them as such. One of the series’ sweetest moments, for instance, is an early chapter in which No-ah teaches his “children” how to bake cookies. While No-Ah’s back is turned, both Rang and Guru mark the dough with their footprints (in blatant disregard of accepted kitchen hygiene). Though Nanai is desperate to join in, canine duty prevails, leaving him with nothing to do but whimper pathetically at the untouched dough before him. Recognizing Nanai’s predicament, No-Ah’s response is to place Nanai’s paws in the dough himself. It’s a small thing, as is nearly everything that happens in this story, but it is exactly this kind of playful affection that makes up the heart of One Fine Day.

Perhaps the series’ most consistently delightful aspect, however, is its artwork. Alternating between crude sketches and elaborate fancies, Sirial’s drawings overflow with warmth and whimsy, matching the story’s tone perfectly. From No-Ah’s comically unmanageable hair to Rang’s footie pajamas, everything that could be labeled as “cute” is also an essential tool for expression, contradicting the series’ haphazard feel.

At its best, One Fine Day is a trippy little stroll through the lives of its mostly-anthropomorphic family and friends. At worst, it is a jumble of incoherent anecdotes that somehow manages to be both visually appealing and intensely heartwarming even in its clumsiest moments. Either way, it’s a bit irresistible.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

One Thousand and One Nights, Volume 8

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One Thousand and One Nights, Vol. 8 | By Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok | Published by Yen Press – At the end of volume seven, Sehara sacrificed himself to save his sultan by offering to accompany the crusaders out of Baghdad as Lord McCloud’s bard in exchange for the safety of Shahryar and company. This volume begins as the events are being relayed to Sehara’s sister, Dunya, revealing further details of the exchange including an unexpectedly touching (and unusually erotic) good-bye from Sehara in which he kisses the end of Shahryar’s sword. Devastated and filled with self-loathing over his inability to keep Sehara with him, Shahryar prepares to fulfill his promise to allow Ali to finally take his revenge. After hearing of Sehara’s departure, however, Ali’s desire for vengeance has been swallowed up by regret over his own inability to protect the woman he loved and he instead flees the palace, leaving Shahyar with these words: “Take him back if he is that precious to you.” This call to action shakes Shahyar out of his pitiful wallowing and he departs immediately to seek out the Caliph with the intention of raising an Islamic alliance to defeat the crusaders in Jerusalem. The rest of the volume follows Shahryar as he faces new treachery from his brother Shazaman, while also hearing, finally, the true story behind his wife’s betrayal.

Taking a step back from the previous volume’s political message, volume eight once again focuses on the story’s emotional center by reminding Shahryar what’s really important, and by that, of course, I mean Sehara. Sehara is the heart of this story both for Shahryar and for us, and though he barely appears in this volume after the first few pages, those pages are honestly luminous. The scene in which he kisses the end of Shahryar’s sword (yes, I really do mean his sword) is erotic–probably intentionally so–yet the purity of Sehara’s intentions keeps it from becoming at all lascivious. This quality of Sehara’s is actually the secret to the series’ real beauty as it washes over all of Shahrayr’s ragged anger and pointless cruelty, restoring what is best in everything it touches. The kiss is a perfect example of this–an act of love pacifying an instrument of violence. It is a powerful image, truly, besides being one of the most romantic things I have ever seen.

Though the volume as a whole suffers a bit from Lack of Sehara (a potentially deadly condition) the story of Shazaman and Fatima is important indeed, leaving Shahryar in an uncertain place on every level–something that seems necessary if he’s to ever become a man worthy of Sehara’s devotion. It’s difficult to feel the level of sympathy I think is intended for Shazaman and Fatima, even after their story has been told, since vengeance is rarely an attractive quality. But revenge is a staple of this story’s setting and of course Shahryar’s own hands are soaked in more blood than anyone’s.

This series’ art continues to capture my heart, with its elaborate costuming, lush backgrounds, and dreamy character designs. The characters’ potent beauty and expressive, thickly lined eyes are undeniably characteristic of Korean comics–a style clearly not to everyone’s taste, though I’ll never quite understand why.

Despite the fact that this volume’s greatest impact is made in its first few (glorious) pages, it is by no means uneven and remains thoroughly compelling to the end. With just three volumes yet to come, One Thousand and One Nights continues to be one of my greatest reading pleasures–intensely moving and gorgeous to look at. No fan of storytelling or dramatic romance should miss this series.

Volume eight of One Thousand and One Nights will be available on August 4th, 2009. Review copy provided by Yen Press.

For more of my ramblings on this series, check out: One Thousand and One Nights, volumes 1-6, Ash vs. Shahryar, and One Thousand and One Nights, volume seven.

One Thousand and One Nights, Vol. 9

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1001nights9One Thousand and One Nights, Vol. 9 | By Han SeungHee & Jeon JinSeok | Published by Yen Press – With the disgraced sultan Shahryar on the run and brother Shazaman hot on his trail, the Caliph names Emir Jafar as temporary sultan of Baghdad, passing on to him the task of taking back Jerusalem from the western invaders. Though he has no choice but to comply, Jafar has other matters on his mind such as uncovering the truth about Shazaman and Fatima. Thankfully, with a bit of luck and a bit more stealth, Jafar stumbles upon a horrifying secret which reveals that Shahryar is, stunningly, the sane brother, despite his history as a misogynistic serial murderer. Meanwhile, Shahryar and Shazaman face off in the desert as raging storms turn the terrain into a flash flood zone. Over in the western camp, King MacLeod is putting the moves on Sehera, by which I mean giving him books, namely 14th-century Chinese historical novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms which becomes this volume’s story-within-a-story.

Like volume eight, this volume suffers a bit from the affliction I like to call “Lack of Sehera,” but there is plenty of plotty goodness to fill the void, particularly concerning the history of Shahryar and Shazaman’s relationship with each other and with their childhood friend Jafar. With current events juxtaposed against scenes from their childhood, it’s hard not to feel pain for both brothers and impossible to avoid the question of just how both of them became so irretrievably twisted as adults. Though, thanks to Sehera’s influence, Shahryar has begun to seek a kind of personal redemption, Shazaman’s emotional wounds remain open and untreated, infecting him to the core.

Aside from this volume’s drama between brothers, a real highlight is Sehera’s retelling of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which ends the volume with a painful lesson for MacLeod who may be about to learn that despite Sehera’s devotion to duty, his loyalty ultimately belongs to another. Though what appears here is obviously just a tiny fragment of the original Chinese epic (which stands at 800,000 words and 120 chapters) it is more than enough to entice readers to seek out the source material for more. This was, apparently, a strong motivation for its inclusion in the story, as the volume’s endnotes reveal writer Jeon JinSeok’s desire to introduce the testosterone-heavy novel to a new generation of female readers who may not have been otherwise encouraged to check it out. Though I’m unable to speak for the young women of South Korea, I can certainly confirm that his plan has worked on me.

With several characters’ lives hanging in the balance (really) by the end of the volume, the tension in this series shows no sign of letting up anytime soon, and with only two volumes remaining, readers face a single burning question: how to survive the wait until the next volume.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

One Thousand & One Nights, Vol. 10

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One Thousand and One Nights, Vol. 10 | By Han SeungHee & Jeon JinSeok | Published by Yen Press – While reading Sehara’s translation of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it becomes clear to McLeod that Sehara is leaving him, though this realization comes too late for him to stop it. Unfortunately, as Sehara rushes back to Baghdad, he is met with the news of Shahryar’s death, throwing him into a state of deep despair. Meanwhile, Shahrayr (not quite dead) finds himself in the care of the Nauar Gypsies, one of whom beseeches him to travel east to seek out his “other half,” whom Shahryar now recognizes to be Sehara.

Though Sehara and Shahryar spend the entirety of this volume apart, the volume is a gift to BL fans and anyone else who might be hoping against hope that their highly eroticized relationship actually turn to romance. Not that anything happens, of course, but there is a sense that if our story’s heroes ever manage to find their way back to each other, it will be a warm reunion indeed.

Fortunately, the romance is well-earned and should hold up nicely, even with Shahryar’s bloody past as an obvious moral obstacle. “You were already dead, drowned in a whirlpool of sin,” a gypsy tells Shahryar. “And then someone brought you back to life.” It’s a tricky business–letting a character with so much blood on his hands realize happiness–but writer Jeon JinSeok has worked hard to create a situation in which this could be palatable. Now with only one volume remaining, we’ll soon find out what Jeon really has in store for the characters he’s so carefully tortured. Er. Nurtured.

With the stakes so high in the main story line, it might be easy at this point to dismiss Sehara’s stories-within-the-story, but fortunately The Romance of the Three Kingdoms (even in such an abridged state) is far too compelling to allow it. Part of what makes this series work so well is the fact that Sehara’s stories consistently move the primary tale forward, rather than acting as diversions. And part of the series’ charm is the fact that these stories are at least as important to their storyteller as they are to the sultan they are meant to entertain–a truth delightfully accented at the end of this volume as Shahryar sets out disguised as a bookseller in hopes of luring a distraught Sehara out of hiding.

Every aspect of this series remains engaging–storytelling, plot, characterization, artwork–crafted into a kind of ultimate fantasy with its lush, period settings and unapologetic violence. Fans of escapist romance could hardly find an escape more delicious than One Thousand and One Nights.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Reading Club, Vol. 1

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Reading Club, Vol. 1 | By Cho Ju-Hee & Suh Yun-Young | Published by Udon Entertainment | Rated: Older Teen (16+) – Eun-Sae is thrilled when dreamy bookworm Kyung-Do asks her to volunteer with him to clean up their school library. Unfortunately, a couple of surprises await her as she takes on this new task. Though Kyung-Do is clearly interested in reading everything in the library’s sprawling collection, he shows very little enthusiasm for actually organizing the place. Secondly, the collection includes a book with some sinister supernatural qualities that may have played a part in several tragic deaths, including that of Kyung-Do’s father. Can Eun-Sae save Kyung-Do from meeting the same fate?

Reading Club is billed as “Korea’s first horror comic for girls,” and while I can’t speak to the accuracy of that statement, I can vouch for it being very effectively geared to its target audience. The first volume favors story over romance, but with an intimate feel reminiscent of the plotty romance novels that drew me in most as a teen, like Mary Stewart’s Touch Not the Cat or The Gabriel Hounds. Her stories were always favorites of mine, marrying heart-stopping fear and heart-pounding romance, all experienced through the tight POV of her sophisticated heroines. Though Reading Club does not stick with Eun-Sae’s POV for the entirety of its first volume (nor is Eun-Sae the equivalent of Stewart’s snappy young ladies of leisure) the effect is the same. Plot is the focus of the volume throughout, but it is Eun-Sae’s feelings that drive the story, whether she’s fighting off ancient evil or boldly taking the initiative with her new crush.

One particularly refreshing aspect of the story, especially for young female readers, is the reversal of traditional heroine and hero roles. While Kyung-Do is portrayed as a passive beauty who sparkles only in the presence of good books, Eun-Sae is all action, vowing to protect her delicate boyfriend from coming to a tragic end. This reversal is never played as parody and Eun-Sae in particular is wonderfully nuanced, despite limited “screen time” in this volume. She’s sometimes brave, often lazy, occasionally dishonest, and definitely driven by hormones, just like any teen. Kyong-Do is more of a mystery, both to Eun-Sae and to us, which is exactly as it should be so early on in this kind of story.

Reading Club‘s greatest weakness at this point is its length, or rather its lack thereof. Though the series’ first volume effectively introduces both its cast and major plot points, so little is understood about the book’s sinister powers (let alone the mysterious “Reading Club”) even by the end of the volume, there is a sense of shallowness to the story’s supernatural elements that could be avoided by revealing just a bit more. Presumably deeper insight is yet to come, but it would be nice to have a stronger taste early on to better whet the appetite for future volumes. Though the volume delivers a sufficiently spooky premise along with some genuinely frightening imagery, the connection between the two is not yet solid enough to hold up under scrutiny. Why does one of the book’s victims commit suicide, while another is simply found dead with a creepy severed tongue? The story’s mythology has not yet been explored deeply enough for us to know, keeping real terror safely at arm’s length.

The series’ artwork is sparse yet vivid, helping to set the story’s dark, tense tone right from the start. Its character designs are unremarkable yet nicely distinctive from one another, helping to shape characters immediately within the story’s plotty framework. Unfortunately, the volume’s text is less easy on the eyes, printed in a small, cramped font that is sure to force some readers into squinting from page to page.

As the first of Udon’s manhwa catalogue I’ve had the pleasure to read, this volume fortunately leaves me wanting more. For smart teen romance paired with genuine chills, Reading Club is a promising choice.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Roureville, Vols. 1-3

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rourevilleRoureville, Vols. 1-3 | By E. Hae | Published by NETCOMICS – Evan Pryce is a an acclaimed reporter for the New York Times, whose most recent story has earned him a spot on a terrorist hit list. When coworkers at the Times make it clear they want him out of the vicinity until things cool down, he is shipped off to the middle of nowhere to investigate a tabloid-esque ghost story tip, very much against his will. Having spent ten days searching vainly for an off-the-map town called Roureville, Evan is about to throw in the towel when luck appears suddenly in the form of a flustered priest who unintentionally leads him straight into the town. Though the ghost story appears to be unfounded, Roureville is fishy from the start and after Evan manages to score a place to stay with a quiet young local named Jayce, the townspeople make it very clear that they wish for him to leave, enough even to resort to attempted murder. As the series continues, Evan becomes closer both to his reticent host and to the town’s carefully protected secret, ultimately discovering that he shares more in common with them than he ever would have suspected.

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Sarasah, Volume 1

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Sarasah, Vol. 1 | By Ryu Rang | Published by Yen Press – High school student Ji-Hae has an obsessive, long-time crush on her classmate Seung-Hyu. She pursues him relentlessly–so much so that she’s pushed him to the point of utter disgust. When her elaborate birthday scheme (involving an enormous banner, a hall full of floating feathers, and a note reading, “You are mine. You can’t get away.”) finally pushes him to the brink, he accidentally pushes her down the school stairwell to her probable death. Ji-Hae finds herself waking in a new world, where she is told that it is not yet her time to die and that she must return to the living world. Horrified by the prospect of returning to a life of humiliation and unrequited love, Ji-Hae begs to be able to just stay dead, but instead is granted the opportunity to return to a former life–the original source of her discord with Seung-Hyu–to rewrite her soul’s own history in hopes of earning a second chance at love.

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Sugarholic, Vol. 1

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Sugarholic, Vol. 1 | By Gong GooGoo | Published by Yen Press | After the house she lives in with her mother and grandmother is destroyed in a landslide, twenty-year-old slacker Jae-Gyu is sent away from her rural hometown to live with her older brother in Seoul. With little money and even less optimism, she gets off the bus in the big city, only to lose her money and make an enemy (a good-looking but arrogant guy whose shirt she accidentally tears) right off the bat. Things get no better once she finds her brother, who is obviously engaged in shady business and really doesn’t want her around. She does find some refuge in her best friend, Hyun-Ah, whose family moved to the city a few years back, but even that is marred by the re-emergence of Hee-do, a childhood playmate Jae-Gyu bullied repeatedly, who is now an up-and-coming pop star harboring a long-held crush on her. Then to top things off, she gets embroiled in the middle of some kind of dangerous family trouble involving the torn-shirt guy (a martial artist named Whie-Hwan) who insists they pretend they are in love with each other in order to save himself from being sent out of the country.

From the very beginning of its first volume, Sugarholic is the perfect example of the girls’ manhwa formula at work. A plucky, outspoken heroine is thrust into unfamiliar territory with a couple of good-looking but complicated guys, at least one of whom she initially despises. At least two other manhwa series I’m currently reading (both Goong and Comic spring immediately to mind) have roughly the same setup, for the most part. Thing is, despite the formula, each one of them is wholly engaging and a lot of fun, and Sugarholic is no exception.

Jae-Gyu is slovenly and unfocused but also unconcerned with her appearance and utterly without guile, which makes her an extremely appealing heroine. Her relationship with Hee-do (the childhood playmate) reveals some of her particular quirks, for though she’s terrified of the “revenge” she’s sure he’s planned for her the one thing that never occurs to her is to apologize (at least not sincerely) for all the awful things she remembers doing to him. She is also completely oblivious to his feelings for her, both past and present, which admittedly he has never expressed with much skill. Still, the most touching scene in the entire volume is a memory of their childhood in which Hee-do, heartbroken over seeing Jae-Gyu cry, attempts to comfort her by kissing her on the forehead. Hee-do’s awkwardness is nearly pathetic (in preparation for confessing his feelings, he inexplicably finds it necessary to balance his latte on Jae-Gyu’s head, causing an inevitable mess for her and thwarting his efforts completely) yet unexpectedly believable and quite sweet. It’s hard not to root for Hee-do, in all his blundering sincerity, though Jae-Gyu seems indifferent to his adorable personage (which, paradoxically, makes her more interesting and likable as well).

The obvious trouble brewing, both for Jae-Gyu and Hee-do, is the situation with Whie-Hwan who has managed to convince Jae-Gyu (or at least himself) that she actually owes him on some level. Though the volume ends without resolution, it seems likely that Jae-Gyu will find herself going along with his fairly insane proposition, whether by choice or otherwise. Though Whie-Hwan’s backstory is definitely compelling, it’s difficult to like him much at this point in the story, especially when it seems unavoidable that he will end up getting in the way of whatever chances Hee-do (who is much more sympathetic and appealing) might have with Jae-Gyu. That said, he’s also likely to provide some of the story’s best conflict and future plot twists, so it’s valuable to have him around.

Gong GooGoo’s art is very much in the typical style for this kind of manhwa, with the characters’ exaggerated lips, “floofy” hair (as Jae-Gyu describes Whie-Hwan’s), and heavily-outlined eyes, along with its shojo-style backgrounds and panel layouts. There are many who profess a distaste for manhwa art, but I must say I have quite a strong affection for it. There is a solid feel to manhwa art I can’t quite put my finger on that draws me in consistently, and Sugarholic absolutely achieves that feel.

Ultimately, the best recommendation I can give for Sugarholic is that when I finished this volume, I immediately wanted to read the next. The characters are attractive and idiosyncratic, the story is engaging despite its predictability, and above all, it is just a lot of fun. If you love girls’ manhwa, Sugarholic is a must-read.

Volume one of Sugarholic will be available in August of 2009. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Sugarholic, Vol. 2

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sugarholic2Sugarholic, Vol. 2 | By Gong GooGoo | Published by Yen Press – Thanks to the power of guilt and her desperate need for cash, Jae-Gyu finds herself being reeled in by Whie-Hwan’s proposal that she pose as his girlfriend for a month. Meanwhile, childhood “friend” turned pop idol Hee-Do is dreamy-eyed over a photo of himself with Jae-Gyu, snapped by a fan during their recent encounter (to the extreme dismay of his handlers). Unfortunately, things continue to be difficult for Jae-Gyu in this volume as she faces her new life in the big city. First, she is easily lured into a quasi-prostitution scenario by some unscrupulous coworkers of her friend Hyun-Ah. Later, her brother’s borrowed apartment falls through, leaving her on her own. With all circumstances leaving her more and more dependent on Whie-Hwan for her survival, Jae-Gyu begins to feel a bit attached, but is she in over her head?

Nothing earth-shattering or even truly unexpected happens in this volume, yet the story’s characters remain quirky, charming, and generally fun to read about, which is definitely its primary draw. Jae-Gyu’s childlike tactlessness and oddly random sense of responsibility make her a unique heroine even within a common manhwa mold, and Whie-Hwan’s frequent loss of cool keeps him from fully becoming a genre cliché. It is Hee-Do, however, who provides true mystery in this series with a personality that, at least at this point in time, is just too weird to unravel. This is not a liability by any means. Though his single-minded devotion to Jae-Gyu (who is apparently still anticipating some kind of revenge) is undoubtedly a tad creepy, it is also inexplicably sweet. Lingering over the cell phone photo of himself with Jae-Gyu running away from him he muses over how little the photo does her justice, thinking, “You’re the kind of person who sparkles most when you’re moving.” He’s a character who lives so completely in his head it’s astounding that he’s able to function in the world at all, let alone as a public figure, which may be the secret to what makes him so fascinating.

Further insight into Whie-Hwan’s past is still too vague to be quite compelling in this volume, though it certainly promises future intrigue. The same could be said for the brief sidestep into the story of Jae-Gyu’s brother, which fades into the background all too quickly. Yet, even without major plot development, the volume maintains momentum, thanks to its messy, likable characters.

Though so far lacking the heavily addictive quality of Goong or One Thousand and One Nights or even the fantastic strangeness of 13th Boy, Sugarholic remains a fresh, fun addition to Yen Press’ lively lineup of girls’ manhwa titles.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Time and Again, Volume 1

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TimeAgainv1 Time and Again, Volume 1 | By JiUn Yun | Published by Yen Press – Baek-On Ju is lazy, selfish, frequently drunk, and generally rude. He’s also a gifted exorcist, who makes a living hiring out both his talents and those of his companion, Ho-Yeon, a martial artist who acts as his bodyguard. Though this episodic volume hints at tragic histories for both characters, it is mainly concerned with their involvement in the tragedies of others. Some of their clients (such as a mother and son plagued by by the ghost of the son’s wronged wife) are suffering tragedy caused by themselves, while others (such as a couple horrified to hear that their newborn son is destined to die in his teens) face tragedy that has been dealt to them by fate. Included, too, are a couple of seemingly unrelated stories (one gruesome, one sad) which match the others in tone, if not in particulars.

Though this volume’s storytelling is somewhat uneven, especially in terms of character development, there is more than enough to chew on for readers interested in ghost stories, or even eighth-century Chinese culture. The author includes a little bit of Tang Dynasty history in the volume’s end notes, and though she deliberately states that this comic is a fantasy and not meant to be faithful to history, her interest in the period is evident throughout. The stories are steeped in a solemn stew of religion and folklore, finding their inspiration in Chinese poems (like Li Bai’s “Writing in a Strange Place”), Japanese fables (“The Tongue-Cut Sparrow”), and other sources of varying East Asian origin. Even its original title is borrowed from a Goryeo Dynasty-era Korean poet. Though the result of all this inspiration is not nearly as profound or thoughtful as one might expect, the book is intriguing and emotionally affecting all the same.

Though Baek-On is sought out mainly to rid people of their woes, quite frequently there is actually very little he can do for them, as most have created (or had created for them) circumstances from which there is no easy escape, a truth that few of them are able to receive gracefully. The parents of the infant fated to die young, for instance, are unable to accept the fact that there is nothing that can be done to change their child’s future, and even go so far as to camp outside Baek-On’s home until he will give them some kind of hope. That the “hope” he is able to offer them will cause future misery for their son is obvious, though the parents’ insistence on pursuing it anyway is both painfully understandable and inexpressibly sad. The laws of fate and karma held as truth in the story’s universe are unyielding and indifferent to pain or compassion, just its people are stubborn and undeniably human, unable to compromise present happiness to avoid long-term tragedy. What makes this manhwa work best, however, is Baek-On’s bad humor and irreverence juxtaposed over so much grave suffering, providing a wry perspective on the failures of humanity (including his own).

The characters of Baek-On and Ho-Yeon are yet undeveloped, though there is a lot of potential in these early stories. The characterization is very much like the story’s art at this point–surprisingly sparse in places and occasionally difficult to follow–like a work not quite finished, yet still well-formed enough to have a recognizable shape. The story’s paneling in particular is confusing at times, without a clear path for the eye to follow, yet just as with its characters, the story is intriguing enough to inspire some extra effort.

Though Time and Again gets off to a somewhat rocky start, its ominous tone, historical setting, and idiosyncratic characters are certainly encouraging, and suggest strong potential for its future as a supernatural series–a refreshing addition to Yen Press’ manhwa catalogue. I definitely look forward to future volumes.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

U Don’t Know Me

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U Don’t Know Me | By Rakun | Published by NETCOMICS – “I realized that the reason the two of us couldn’t stand forever in the same place wasn’t just because I couldn’t keep up with his height–a height, by the way, which began outgrowing my own little by little.” – Prologue, U Don’t Know Me

Seyun and Yoojin have been close since childhood, raised like brothers by their parents who were best friends–so much so that when Seyun’s father made the decision to take on the debt left by his own father, Yoojin’s parents offered to take Seyun in as their own child to ease his burden. Though Seyun’s father refused the offer and moved his family to a cheaper neighborhood to tough it out, Seyun and Yoojin remained friends, despite the distance and their ever-shifting lives. …

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Full House, Volume 1

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FullHouse1Full House, Vol. 1 | By Sooyeon Won | Published by NETCOMICS – Ellie is a young, independently-minded, Oxford educated screenwriter living in London, far from her native Korea, on an estate called Full House, left for her by her recently deceased father. Having given up on romance with her childhood friend Felix, who became frustrated with her lack of interest in a physical relationship, Ellie is content to live the life of a single career woman in the house she so loves. Her happy existence is disrupted, however, when she is evicted from the house by its new owner, scandal-ridden matinee idol, Ryder Baye. Following her eviction, Ellie lingers on a street corner, pondering her future and vowing to complete the screenplay she holds in her hands. A gust of wind blows the pages into the street, and as Ellie struggles to gather them up, her foot is run over by a passing car, the driver of which turns out to be none other than Ryder Baye.

With Ryder already embroiled in scandal, he and his handlers pamper Ellie in the hospital, hoping to keep the accident out of the news. In a burst of anger and desperation, Ellie suggests that Ryder marry her so that she can recover ownership of her home, an idea which–much to her surprise–is pounced upon eagerly by Ryder’s manager, Miranda, who is anxious to prove that Ryder is not gay. Finally agreeing to a false engagement with a guarantee she can return to Full House (which she will share with Ryder, whom she hates), Ellie begins her new life in the public eye, for better or worse.

Though the setup is classic and so far predictable, Full House has a number of things working strongly in its favor. First of all, Sooyeon Won is delightfully wordy, crafting pages of pithy banter between determined enemies Ellie and Ryder as well as long pieces of narration that read more like a novel than a comic. Though this is the same style responsible for the deliciously overwrought melodrama of her well-known boys’ love series, Let Dai, here it reads as stylish romance with a vintage theatrical feel. Ellie’s quick wit and sharp tongue make her an unconventionally appealing heroine, more interested in her career than her appearance or any other traditionally feminine concerns. Ryder is thoroughly enjoyable as her foil, whose only goals are to do his work and carry on his affairs without hassle. That he is especially drawn to the house that Ellie would do anything to keep gives them one piece of common ground, though this romantic comedy is guaranteed to be volatile for a good long time before either of them recognize it.

Another point in this series’ favor is NETCOMICS’ English adaptation, which reads surprisingly well, even capturing a genuinely British feel in the dialogue, something that is helped along significantly by the decorous third-person narration that accompanies much of the volume. Not having read any of the volumes of this series released by its former licensee, Central Park Media, I can’t compare the two, but considering NETCOMICS’ poor early track record with translation, it seems important to mention how nicely they’ve done with this series so far.

Sooyeon Woo’s art, though not as detailed or beautiful to look at as her work on Let Dai, has a light, sketchy feel that complements the breezy tone of the series, aided further by her playful paneling which keeps the pace brisk despite the abundance of dialogue. Both art and dialogue look clean and crisp in NETCOMICS’ online reader, even at its lower-resolution setting, and even the smallest text is readable against the series’ backgrounds, something that can’t be said for Let Dai.

Despite its questionably believable plot and obvious setup, this series has enough spark and energy behind it to easily propel readers into its second volume. Its fast-paced banter and classic romantic comedy feel make Full House an appealing new addition to NETCOMICS’ manhwa catalogue.

Volume one of Full House is available from NETCOMICS online.

13th Boy, Vol. 1

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13th Boy, Vol. 1 | By SangEun Lee | Published by Yen Press – High school girl Hee-Soo is so certain that classmate Won-Jun is her “fated love” that she confesses her love for him on television in front of nine million people. Won-Jun initially accepts her feelings and agrees to go out with her, but then dumps her without explanation after just a month. Unable to accept the break-up and determined to discover its true cause, Hee-Soo resorts to unsavory measures such as going through Won-Jun’s wallet and stalking him both in and outside of school, during which she has several run-ins with Won-Jun’s friend Whie-Young, who always seems to be lurking just at the right moment. As it turns out, Whie-Young has feelings for Hee-Soo which he’s carried since they met as children, an acquaintance Hee-Soo seems not to remember. Meanwhile, Hee-Soo has a talking cactus, Whie-Young has unexplained magical powers, and both Whie-Young and Won-Jun have some kind of inexplicable bond with a female classmate named Sae-Bom, potentially supernatural in origin.

13th Boy is lively, idiosyncratic, thought-provoking, and just a wee bit confusing, at least in its first volume. The title refers to Hee-Soo’s thirteenth boyfriend (Won-Jun, incidentally, is number twelve), “…the fated 13th boy who would be my first love–and my last,” so reads the narration just a few pages in. Though I went in initially believing that the “13th boy” must refer to Whie-Young, by the end I wasn’t sure of anything anymore, least of all this. Almost nothing that is introduced in this volume is explained in a satisfactory way, yet the story’s characters and quirky sensibility are so oddly charming, I can’t help but wish for more.

Hee-Soo is a deceptively timid character–sweet and shy on the surface, she becomes downright forceful (even strident) in her aggressive pursuit of Won-Jun but her belief in their common destiny is so sincere, what might otherwise be irritating just reads as kind of cute with an undertone of pathos. If nothing else, her strong sense of purpose on the subject is at least several hundred times more palatable than the weepy clinginess she thankfully leaves behind early in the volume. Won-Jun at first appears cold and even quite cruel, but there’s a sense of longing hidden under his thick layer of resigned indifference that leaves me wanting to know more.

The character who has captured my deepest interest at this point, however, is Whie-Young–a tangled mess of mystery and contradiction with unexpected kindness on the side. At the end of the volume, when it looks like Won-Jun might actually be Hee-Soo’s fated love after all, my heart was quite broken for poor Whie-Young despite the fact that there is obviously a whole lot of story yet to be told.

Where this volume falls short is that it poses many more questions than it answers, and while mystery is obviously a great way to keep readers hooked into a story, there are just too many random elements introduced to keep things even remotely cohesive. Whie-Young’s powers, the unexplained bonds, the obsession with “destiny,” the talking cactus–each of these things is genuinely fascinating and nicely whimsical, but with not even one of them explained by the end of the volume there is a sense that the story is wandering towards nowhere. Hopefully this is not actually the case.

SangEun Lee’s art is a definite highlight, especially for those of us fond of the particular charms of manhwa. The character designs are as quirky as the characters themselves, with seriously enormous eyes that make the boys especially look rather like aliens. The cactus (Beatrice) looks like an invader from a gag comic against the flowery shojo-style backgrounds. While this might seem jarring in another comic, here it simply matches the story’s playful, otherworldly quality.

Though 13th Boy‘s first volume is scattered and undeniably uneven, its appealing characters and sense of fun provide ample incentive to lure readers into the next volume. I can definitely be counted as one of them!

Volume one of 13th Boy will be available on June 9, 2009. Review copy provided by Yen Press