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*:Man (Manga/Manwha/Manhwa) ia Reviews in order of title P to Z:*
(Note: Since I'm still a bit Korean illiterate, my reviews so far are more based on aesthetics and panel flow (from what I can translate). Also, while you may find yourself disagreeing a lot of times on the reviews, try to remember that these are simply my opinions. X_X.
Extra note: Soonjung and Shoujo are comics directed towards female readers in that they're more feminine with usually femine male characters. Shonen and action comics are usually directed at male readers in that usually the better looking characters are female characters.
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P to Z
:Review Guide:
(English Title (usually rough translation) / Korean Title - (Author - Man-ga/wha/hwa) - Appropriate reading age/type of story - Volumes read, publishing date.)
(Review)
(Note(s))
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Pretty / Pretty (Ha, Shihyun - Manhwa) - Teen/Soonjung, Volumes 1-6 (of 6 out so far). Creation date: 1988. Release date 1999-? - Published by Mink Comics. Reviewed in summer, 2003. - View Images Page
There's a famous old story about a prince from that comes from the sky/heavens. One day, while camping with her uncle Hyogoon Shin, Kirin Shin stumbles across a handsome guy in the fields who she talks with and views the sky together with. It's later when she goes back to her uncle, the guy disappears, leaving her to wonder who he was and if she'd ever see him again. It's back in school that she daydreams about him, comparing him to the prince from the old story, only to discover him coming towards the school. Having rushed to him, she shouts asking for them to be a couple together, but unfortunately he's wearing earphones, so he can't hear. To both their unfortunate surprises, Kirin's mom appears immediately afterwards, and introduces Kirin to the guy, who turns out to be Jeyoung Eun, her "6-chun" (term for people whose parents are cousins or in other terms, her second cousin -I think that's the term-). Apparently, Jeyoung is her cousin from the US, who's come to attend high school and live with the Shin family. Joohwe, Kirin's best friend, falls for Jeyoung herself and entangles into this love affair possibly gone wrong. Also, a model, who later turns into a singer who's in their class named Yohan Chun confesses his interest in Kirin to her. Later, Kirin meets and rivals to host a tv show with Gyulhwa Kim, who also seems to be connected to Jeyoung in the past. As the story progresses through the volumes, a clause that might permit Kirin and Jeyoung to be together is revealed to Kirin, which Jeyoung has known all along, but a question that arises in the last released volume is: will they tell each other they know about it? And what will Gyulhwa and Yohan do to keep them apart?
It's obvious this story is meant to be a love story between Kirin and Jeyoung, because on the back cover of every volume is the exact words: "Kirin X Jeyoung" with a different picture each time of them in cartoon form together. But what makes this story involving and intriguing is the elements that keep them apart, such as the fact that they're known as cousins (though distant), where even when Kirin's best friend Joohwe asks suspiciously why the two seemed so close together. Also is the friction between Jeyoung and Yohan, which Yohan is oblivious to since he assumes Jeyoung as simply Kirin's cousin (at first). Though the manhwa was made in 1988, the art is absolutely fantastic, and would rival any story made in these current years. Seriously, I'd recommend this story to anyone who wants a solid romance or a start on reading manhwa in general. There's a bit of humor, a lot of romance, teenage angst, drama, and the covers are pretty awesome. One side-note to add though is that on the cover of volume 2, the necklace symbol on Yohan Chun is a Buddhist symbol (NOT a nazi symbol!), with the legs of the symbol pointing to the left, which distinguishes it from the nazi symbol, with the legs of the symbol pointing to the right. One reason to note that is because there's a vast misunderstanding of the symbol, in that the Buddhist symbol with its legs towards the left has been around far longer than the nazi symbol (think hundreds to possibly over a thousand years).
Note(s): If you judge a book by its cover, then you'll definitely love Pretty, because seriously, the covers and inside art are terrific.
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R2D2/R2D2 - (Shin, Mi Young and Jo, Eun Ha - Manhwa) - Teen/Soonjung - 1-4 (completed) 2002-2003. Published by Issue Books. Reviewed in summer, 2003.
The story starts out with a set of odd characters who are nearing the end of their high school days, from the rich kid who needs to pass the college entrance exams, Jekal-V (who's first name sounds like gahlbee, a meat form of food) to the tough girl, Joo-Gumgi, who's looking out for her poor friend P-Bada to the rich girl Ma-Rony. Eventually, though, the story revolves around a strange, angelic or demonic, sort of person named Ha-Yan, a love triangle between him, Ma-Rony, and P-Bada, and a love story that entangles between Jekal-V and his new tutor, Song-Tommy.
It's hard to say objectively whether this series is good or not. For me, the first volume was slow, but absorbing with less words and more actions drawn (since I can't read much Korean at the present). The second volume brought the story to full speed, though, with a question on who Ha-Yan really was (an angel or demon?). Though, what grasped at me was the ending of the story, which tugged at me personally. In short, I liked the story, whether or not it ended too quickly or contritely. Besides the story, though, the art is wonderfully done.
Note(s) : If this story evolved more, it would've been a classic if it already isn't. (Something like the Awakening, by Chopin.)
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Same Gender Paradise / Dong-sung-ee-sahng-hyahng (Lee, Sangun - Manhwa) - Teen/Soonjung, Volumes 1-3 (completed), 2002-3 - Published by Sugar Books. Reviewed in summer, 2003.
At first, one of the main characters thinks back to childhood in which the person and another promised to marry. The story then starts from there 10 years later. Jung Suk Ha (Sukha Jung) and her male best friend she met on the internet, Park Bong Bin (Bongbin Park) aren't exactly entering their new high school together as "normal" students. Sukha's first love was a girl, while Bongbin's first love was a guy, and they are both homosexual, in which the chatroom they first met at was called "Same Gender Paradise" (the word for same gender, "dohngsung", can also literally mean homosexual). Before school starts, Bongbin and Sukha sneaks into the school office and changes his school name to Hyobin Park (the reason is that the name Bongbin can usually be twisted into "bongpahl", an insult/joke sort of name). While Sukha has her sights on the rigid and somewhat psycho, yet extremely beautiful Dani Un, Bongbin finds himself getting along well with a guy, that was spying on Dani, named Oojean Dong; and they both call each other Jean and Bin for short. As Sukha tries to figure out and get close to Dani, she discovers a guy that seems to always be around her, named Jeesup Kim. Later on, the story gets complicated, as people from Sukha and Bin's past appear and a twisted love story of Dani unravels.
At first when I rented this story, I had no idea what the title meant in English, so I just read the story. The beginning part of the story was a huge surprise, and at a point in reading it, I took a break and looked up the title's English meaning. Thinking on it, there was no doubt that if I had understood the title before, I probably wouldn't have been as surprised by the beginning part of the story. Anyhow, the art of the volumes was awesome, and the characters were all well-drawn aesthetically. As for the story, it was even more interesting, with a lot of humor mixed into the drama of the story. What's even more hilarious is how Tidus from Final Fantasy 10 the Playstation 2 game makes an appearance (though I'll try not to spoil how) ^_^. Overall, this is so far a wonderful series, and I really enjoyed reading it (to the point that I bought the first volume for a keepsake.) Update: The ending was...a surprise, but I think it all fits in somehow. You can find the scanlation of the manwha (translated) at JAnimeS.
Note(s) - Volume one will make you laugh like crazy.
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Sandwich/Sandwich (Shin, Jeesahng & Shin Jeeoh - Manhwa) - Teen/Soonjung - 1-3 (completed), 2001-2002. Published by Issue Books. Reviewed in fall, 2003 - View Images Page
Teyeon Na has always been the best-behaved of his brothers, his eldest, Teyman, and elder, Teysu. He's been known to always obey his parents and elder brothers' words, to which one day he enters a store to buy cigarettes for Teyman; Teyeon is underage. It's there he stumbles upon a girl who's shoplifting. Upbraiding her for stealing, he's given a kiss from the girl, and a nut from the chocolate she stole in his mouth, to which the girl notes he's now an associate in her crime. Later on, Teyeon and his friend Shinhye discover Teyeon's current elder girlfriend hanging out with Teyman. Meanwhile, Teyman is telling Shinhye to stay away from Teyeon. As relationships entangle, Teyeon discovers eventually that love is in the air, just not for Teyeon.
The story can be redeemed by its ending. As melodramatic as the first two volumes were, the ending is a surprise catch. The drawing wasn't first-rate, but the story was pretty good. One thing to note is that the authors of this story were the same for Chocolat, so this story was somewhat of a predecessor (in art, but not plot-wise).
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Spring Spring / Bohm Bohm (Lee, Young Yuu - Manhwa) - Soonjung - Volumes 2 of 2 so far. 2002-? Published by Issue Comics. Reviewed in late Spring, 2003.
Left by her mother some odd years ago, Yu Dangbi lives by herself and works to stay alive, both in school and in finances. It's one day that a teen her age comes to her house, which is more like a shack, looking for her, talking in a rude, yet laidback tone. She takes offense until revealing that she's Yu Dangbi, to which the teen male hugs her and tells her he's glad to finally meet his "daughter". He (Jimmy) later reveals his age is 27, minus 10 years, being 17, and a tape recording from Dangbi's mother, but gives a dark stare when Dangbi asks him of his family. As that mystery appears, Dangbi deals with a new student and admirer, the rich student named Won Dan, and Lee Yuka, a poseur of being rich, who actually works sometimes for her family's fish store. Jimmy eventually comes at odds with Yuka when meeting her at the fish store, when he calls her an "ah-joo-mah" (married or old woman), to which Yuka takes great offense. Later on, with discoveries, blackmail, and Jimmy entering as a student Dangbi's high school, while calling her his daughter, any reader can ask, "What next?"
One rule of thumb for reading most soonjung stories is to never start reading during the plotline, meaning, start from the beginning and read to the end, because you miss out on key facts and important character analysis otherwise. I started reading from volume 2, buying the volume immediately since it was from Lee Young Yuu. My mistake was reading it before volume 1, since I was utterly confused. Reading volume 1, then through 2, I finally figured everything out, and the story was enjoyable and sheer fun. Also, one note is that Dangbi calls Jimmy "Jimmy", as to "dad". Another note is that Lee Young Yuu does well in differentiating her characters with a new art style, partially different from K2 Kill Me Kiss me.
Note(s): Seriously, why does Jimmy call Dangbi his daughter?
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Starlet Princess (look at Kaguya-Hime)
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Star Ocean Second Story / Star Ocean Second Story (Azuma, Mayumi - Manga) - General/Teen/General) - Volumes 1-6. Reviewed in spring, 2003. - View Images Page Update: Volumes 1-7 (completed). Reviewed again in summer, 2003.
WHAT, YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THE GAME??? Okay, okay. Claude C. Kenni, the son of a high-ranking general in the Earth Federation goes on a scouting mission with his father and other crewmates. There, Claude gets ported to another world and meets/saves from a monster a girl named Rena. They end up trekking and meeting travelling companions on the way to a continent (forgot the name, sorry). Apparently, people have been sent by ship only to not return from the continent. As the story develops, Claude, Rena, and the other associates find themselves in the midst of the possible destruction of the universe (well, the universe being taken over by really evil guys).
This series is intriguing, and definitely, supremely well-drawn. There's adventure, fighting, romance, comedy, and drama all in a few volumes. One thing to note is that this series has been reprinted 7 times in Korea due to the high interest in the series. Another thing to note, which is unfortunate for me, is I can't seem to find the rest of the series for purchase. Update: I finally got the last volume, but for one thing, I was surprised that it WAS the last volume. If you've played the game, the manga ends during half the storyline. If you haven't, you'll find that the ending was a bit rushed, and the gathering of characters a bit too unreal, even for fantasy standards. Still, I liked how the manga ended, leaving questions as to the fate of the protagonists if you haven't played the game. Also, the last volume had extra stories of the protagonists, so it wasn't too bad.
Note(s): I'm not telling which character was voted the best of all the Star Ocean 2 guys/girls/creatures. ^_^. Update: Hint that any true Star Ocean 2 fan should know: Possessed.
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Theory of Boy Evolution / Soh-nyuhn-jeen-hwa-ron / Japanese title : Shonen Shinka-Ron (Kusanagi, Toshiki - Manga) - Older Teen/Shoujo - 2000 - Published as Issue Comics Special - One volume story (completed). Reviewed in summer, 2003.
Rising star, Mizuki Asoh, a 16 year old singer and actor seems to be having the time of his life, except for one thing: he has a 14 year old son named Sana Fujisaki. Even stranger is how Sana looks exactly like Mizuki, sometimes filling in for him at public events. No, there's no cloning involved. Instead, Mizuki Asoh is actually 29 year old Naoki Fujisaki, and though with a young face and body, a single father to Sana. As the story unfolds, a romance between Sana and a female star named Shiho blossoms, while the origin of Naoki's pop career name Mizuki Asoh and his past is discovered.
Though this story has a sequel 4-volume series named Theory of Boy Evolution Plus, this manga in itself was awesome in its story execution, drawing, and its focus on its characters. That would primarily be a reason why the story was continued with the sequel. As for the mood of the novel, I'd say that the beginning was funny, and towards the end, where a lot of major facts were revealed, the story became very heavy and somehow twisted. Trying not to spoil the story, I'd have to note that there is a bit of teenage masochism depicted and a mature theme towards the end of the volume. I definitely would recommend this to only those over 16 or 17.
Note(s): How does Naoki stay so young???
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Waiter's Story / Waiter's Story (Jung, Sang Hye - Manwha) - Teen/Soonjung - 2001-2002 - Published by Zooty Comics - Two volume story (completed). Reviewed in fall, 2003. View Images page.
One day in a bar, Sookat's telling Gareen that they need a new waiter for the pub. Gareen notes he's going out for groceries and on the way back discovers a young guy that's huddled against a tree. Giving him tons of food, Gareen thinks of hiring the young guy, who is revealed as Remony, for the pub. When the two get back to the bar, Sookat angrily dismisses Remony as too dirty, until he takes a shower. Once clean, Remony is hired and introduced to Gareen, Sookat, and Enessu. Stories unfold at the pub as a party occurs, a woman named Jace reveals to her lover Tommy that she's a transvestite male, Enessu's first love story reveals, a boy's love writer enters the pub, a girl named Maxi thinks she's uncared for only to be surprised by her worried father, a man talks of his travels with the man hired to kill him, etcetera. Eventually, the stories wrap up into a story of the pub itself from 5 years ago, in which Gareen notes of the original pub owner, his late father, and the meaning of being a waiter/bartender.
What was fun about this story was that it was a set of multiple stories. It didn't draw out into a lengthy, cumbersome series, and was straight to the point in the end. The side-story "Smile" was also intriguing, or at least disturbing, but I think it was more of a fan-service of Remony and Sookat for the fans.
Note(s) - The boy's love writer part of the story was hilarious. There was an actual written page of a story in the manwha about grouping together some of the 4 main characters.
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Yureka / Yoo-Reh-Kah - (Kim, Yoon Kyeong (artist) and Son Hui Joon (author) - Manhwa) - Teen/Action - 2000-? Published by Hacking Comics - Volumes 12 out of 12 so far. Reviewed in late fall, 2003. View Images page.
Yureka is based around people in real life and mmorpgs, especially the mmorpg called Lost Saga, where Roto, Boromiru, and Adohl hang out after school. The three get into adventures, usually forgetting them sometime later, like their bout with the Lovely Angels, a pair of thieves in the game who are in real life "Lovely Angels", a pop singer duo. Eventually Roto stumbles across in real life at his brothers' mmorpg store a woman in the picture taking room (where ALL parts of a human are imaged into digital form). That woman leaves behind a disk labelled Yureka that Roto eventually accidentally uses, finding himself playing as that woman in the Lost Saga, and find out about Boromiru and Adohl's trips without him. They eventually stumble across the warrior named Basara whose strength is incomprehensible. Later on, when Roto is back in his own form, he finds Yureka the npc, who he was playing before and later fights alongside her in the tournament of battles, where various characters fight versus each other in pairs. In the tournament, there's Ohrukashia and Rohu the witch and swordsman, Rafa the priest and her npc guardian John (who she sacrifices her game life for), Case and Judy the "Lovely Angels", and various other characters that play it out in the tournament. During which, Roto and Yureka somehow get Piriyang the item store npc out of her matrix confinement at the store to see the tournament, possibly with a hack from Yureka. Eventually, during Roto and Yureka's fight with Adaron and Alpha, a demon comes and interrupts the tournament, which is being broadcasted on tv in real life. Later a new quest to defeat the demon king that is bringing an onslaught onto the human towns emerges, with several characters brought into new classes. Orios eventually appears, in a sniper mmorpg where Roto and him shoot each other, ending the game, and helps with the quest in Lost Saga to defeat the demon king, which goes awry by various ways. The story is left off where a monster possibly even stronger than the demon king (which everyone was running away from) appears after Roto and Yureka's solving a puzzle which involves the appearance of monsters, and causes the game to go awry in real life.
This is one heck of a manhwa, one I found out about from JAnimeS. When the word in description "mmorpg" appeared, I knew I HAD to read this. Anyhow, I wasn't disappointed, considering this manhwa has multiple plot twists, humor, drama, and fun. There's the instance of Roto, who's in love with Piriyang the npc, who's in love with Adaron the player killing mugger. Another instance is Roto's character, which is that of being mean to most real life women (within the game, such as the Lovely Angels or Rafa), and being a genius who studies in the morning before school starts, unlike his real-life and in-game friends Boromiru and Adohl. Another instance to be brought up is the AI (artificial intelligence) of the npcs like Piriyang, John, and Yureka. Mind you, this is no Hack rip-off, due to the date of copyright and huge difference in story and format. For instance, players of mmorpgs play in their own bodies, which are digitally imaged, save for scars and amputations, which are replaced, hence the problem of the Lovely Angels being easily identified in-game by Roto, Boromiru, and Adohl. Also, mmorpg terms such as Player Kill, NPC, etcetera, are easily explained to those who haven't played mmorpgs, which is good (though I already knew those terms...) To sum it up: This manhwa rocks, and if it's ever translated into English, it won't be soon enough.
Note(s): Roto doesn't admit to schoolgirl fans of the television broadcast of Lost Saga's tournament that he's THE "Roto", which makes him even more of a mystery. Why he chooses in-game Piriyang the npc to a real-life girl makes the boundaries of AI limitless.
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*:Back to Main:*¡¡
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