Goong: The Royal Palace 2 by Park SoHee: A-

April 6, 2009 by 2 Comments

From the back cover:
With the wedding ceremony complete, Chae-Kyung and Prince Shin are finally newlyweds… but now they have to spend their first night together! And, as she tries to get accustomed to life as a princess, homesick Chae-Kyung finds no comfort in her haughty husband who seems determined to antagonize her at every turn. Will the crown prince’s attitude ever change? Is the dream of marital bliss doomed to be a nightmarish marital blunder?!

Review:
As much as I enjoyed volume one, this volume is even better.

It begins by outlining the procedures of a traditional Korean wedding, including a nifty scene where Shin and Chae-Kyung are being conveyed across town via palanquins through a very modern downtown area. Cool as this is, it’s what happens next that’s truly worthy of praise. There are a few chapters that consist almost solely of conversations between Shin and Chae-Kyung and they are absolutely fascinating. They’re both very complex characters with their own way of looking at things, and even though Shin does seem to do more than his share of the antagonizing, Chae-Kyung is also pretty prickly at times. Still, even though there’s a lot of bickering going on, it’s never frustrating to read.

There’s also not as much comedy this time, which I appreciated, since the art during those segments is so unappealing. Still, the comedy in this series is pretty amusing, as it grows from the story rather than interrupts dramatic moments. A great example is the scene where Shin and Chae-Kyung, about to spend the afternoon smiling for the public as they ride along a parade route, practice mouth-stretching exercises beforehand. It’s basically a two-page spread of them contorting their faces in amusing ways and is very cute.

Lastly, I am enjoying the further development of the other prince, Yul. His late father was older brother to Shin’s father, and so was the original Crown Prince. In fact, when the old king and Chae-Kyung’s grandmother promised that their grandchildren would marry, it was actually Yul that the old king had in mind. When Yul’s dad died, however, the line of succession shifted to Shin’s dad and ultimately to Shin himself. Yul’s nicer, if more melancholy, than Shin and since volume one has remarked more than once on Chae-Kyung’s cuteness. There’s a nice scene between Yul and Chae-Kyung in this volume and one can’t help but think how much happier they both would be if the marriage had taken place as originally conceived. There’s a great part at the end when Yul watches the happy couple drive off after school, in which he says, “You’re in my seat.”

Also, the end of this volume—involving Chae-Kyung’s growing physical attraction to Shin—leaves one very eager to read the next. Luckily, I have it on hand.

Filed Under: Manhwa Tagged With:

Click 1 by Youngran Lee: C+

April 6, 2009 by 6 Comments

From the back cover:
Joonha is a normal, healthy boy of sixteen who has cruised through life without too many problems. Imagine his surprise when a recent trip to the bathroom suddenly reveals that he’s not normal at all! With a shriek of “Oh, my God!!!,” he finds himself missing, well, something he never thought he could live without.

As it turns out, his family is abnormal in the weirdest possible way. After puberty, their chromosomes undergo some kind of mutation, which converts their bodies into the opposite sex!

Review:
There are a few things that bothered me quite a lot about Click, even while I think it’s fundamentally fairly interesting and I plan to keep reading.

1. Before spontaneously turning into a girl, Joonha is the most thoroughly infuriating chauvinist pig imaginable. He treats girls like his playthings in an attempt to teach them the feminine virtues of obedience. When the girl he likes confesses to him, he blows her off, saying that it’s her duty to “wait gracefully until you are chosen.”

2. When Joonha begins to live as a girl, he’s more tolerable, but I can’t help but think that this is because he suffered such a tremendous blow to his pride. The remorse he shows for his past actions is more along the lines of, “I should have kissed her” rather than “I shouldn’t have treated her that way.” It’s still ultimately about what’s in it for him.

3. None of the other characters are really all that likable, either. Joonha’s friend from childhood, Jinhoo, comes closest. The fact that he merely expresses mild disapproval of Joonha’s treatment of girls, however, speaks volumes.

4. Joonha’s parents are annoyingly chipper and dim. When he asks why they didn’t tell him about the family’s tendency to change genders, they claim they forgot about it. Yes, I know, I always take stories with wacky premises too seriously, but this is just too ridiculous to be suffered quietly.

There are a few good moments scattered throughout, though. My favorite is the scene in which Jinwoo and Heewon (the girl who confessed her feelings to Joonha) share their hurt feelings about Joonha’s sudden disappearing act. The art is also quite nice. It’s interesting to note, too, that once Joonha begins living as a girl, he doesn’t embody the same ideals of feminine behavior that he once held.

At this point, it’s hard to care about the story or any of the characters, but I plan to give it a couple more volumes at least to see if it gets any better.

Filed Under: Gender Hijinks, Manhwa Tagged With: ,

Goong: The Royal Palace 1 by Park SoHee: B+

April 5, 2009 by 1 Comment

I reviewed the first volume of this long-running manhwa for Comics Should Be Good. Check it out!

This volume was published by ICE Kunion in May of 2006, after which the series languished in licensing limbo. After a delay of over two years, volume two was published by Yen Press in July of 2008 and the series has been coming out every few months since then. As of January 2009, there are currently 18 volumes published in Korea.

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10, 20, and 30 1 by Morim Kang: B

April 4, 2009 by 4 Comments

From the back cover:
Krumb is a clumsy, scatterbrained widow in her 30s whose teenaged daughter, Rok, is forced to take care of her. Belle is Rok’s jaded, twenty-something cousin suffering from a messy breakup with her boyfriend. The president of Krumb’s company has proposed, and she is posed to become a married woman once again, but Rok, who dreads the thought of growing up and its attendant responsibilities, hates men and is sure to complicate matters.

Review:
10, 20, and 30 features three female characters in different decades of life. Rok is seventeen and rather anti-romance, Belle is 26 and being pressured by her family to marry, and Krumb (Rok’s mother) is 36 and a widow. They each have a particular guy who fancies them, but whom they’re disinclined to accept for various reasons. Initially the story cycles between them, but once Belle is disowned by her parents for refusing to marry the male friend she’s been sleeping with and moves in to mooch off Krumb (her aunt) and Rok, there are more scenes with the three of them together.

Because of the setup of the story—particularly the wise-beyond-her-years teen saddled with a scatterbrained parent—and the whimsical artwork, 10, 20, and 30 feels like a sitcom at times, but there are still some nice moments that elevate it beyond mere comedy. Much of the volume focuses on Belle and the pressure she gets from her parents to marry. She balks at the idea of marriage, since she has “never really been free in [her] entire life.” Still, when her putative groom hooks up with someone else, she’s surprisingly upset. Another scene that made me smile was one in which Krumb and her boss (who has recently proposed to her) surreptitiously glance at each other during a company meal.

I had a bit of a hard time getting into the first few chapters, but beginning in chapter three, I found that the characters and art style were really growing on me. Too, there’s a warm feeling to this series that I find very appealing. It even improved my mood when I was feeling rather grumpy. I’m very interested to see what happens next.

10, 20, and 30 is published by NETCOMICS. The first two volumes were released in print editions but the others are only available online. According to the site’s update schedule, the chapters of the seventh and final volume of the series will appear throughout April 2009.

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Hissing 6 by Kang EunYoung: B+

March 30, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Ten years ago, when Sun-Nam’s father and Da-Eh’s mother had an affair, the result was Da-Hwa, their half brother. In high school, Sun-Nam and Da-Eh began dating without being aware of their family connection, but in volume five all of that came out into the open. Da-Eh reacted badly, saying some nasty things to Da-Hwa that she immediately regretted. When he was hit by a car and hospitalized, his family rallied to his side.

Volume six picks up with Da-Hwa’s awakening in the hospital. Da-Eh makes good on her vow to treat him more kindly and fusses over him in a major way. It’s very sweet to see all of his siblings get together and lavish attention on him, though he is still so eager to please that he tells them he feels fine even when he’s in pain. The scenes of all of them together are happy indeed but so fraught with tension that I had to flip ahead to see what was going to happen.

As far as final volumes go, this is a very satisfying one. There’s a good balance between humorous and more emotional moments. Every subplot is resolved, but not in a way that feels too tidy. The only complaint I could make is that Sun-Nam’s irritating brothers made it all the way through the series without contributing much of anything to the story.

I started off disliking Hissing, but by the end I kind of loved it. That’s pretty amazing.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

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The Devil’s Trill by Sooyeon Won: B-

March 23, 2009 by Leave a Comment

The Devil’s Trill is the fourth volume of NETCOMICS’ Manhwa Novella Collection—an anthology of short stories from Korean authors. This particular volume is by Sooyeon Won, creator of Let Dai. Melodramatic in the extreme but entertaining nonetheless, I reviewed it for Comics Should Be Good.

Filed Under: Manhwa, Supernatural Tagged With: ,

Very! Very! Sweet 3 by JiSang Shin and Geo: B

March 23, 2009 by Leave a Comment

When volume two left off, Tsuyoshi’s girlfriend from Japan, Erica, had made the trip to Korea to see him. In this volume, it’s made clear that the relocation is permanent and she enrolls in the school that he and Be-Ri attend. She proceeds to be incredibly irritating for the duration of the volume.

While I dislike Erica extremely, she is at least useful in prompting some cool moments from the two leads. For instance, it’s very satisfying when Be-Ri criticizes her for not caring about anything but Tsuyoshi, saying, “It’s sad that you think the most fun thing in life is a guy. Personally, I think it’s disgusting.” Similarly pleasing is the scene where Tsuyoshi calmly informs her that coming to Korea is “a life-changing decision” for him and that he’d like her to stay out of the picture.

On the negative side, it seemed that Be-Ri is more crude and profane in this volume than she has been before, though it never really approaches the point of tastelessness. And even I had to giggle at the discovery that the precious ceramic item treasured by Tsuyoshi’s family as an heirloom of their Korean ancestry is actually a chamber pot.

When a series can be consistently entertaining despite the intrusion of an unlikable character, I’d say that makes it a keeper.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

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The Adventures of Young Det 2 by Gyojeong Kwon: A-

March 23, 2009 by Leave a Comment

The prologue that began in volume one continues and is concluded in this second volume. It’s the story of Lazarus, an immensely talented human sorcerer, and the Ferat, leader of a race of seers whose prophecies always come true. As the rest of the world begins to react to the prediction that a great dragon will be summoned to lay waste to the world, Lazarus and the Ferat remain holed away, enjoying their magic lessons and each other’s company. They’re largely oblivious to the fact that sorcerers are being targeted by frightened humans seeking to prevent the summoning of the dragon, and are caught unawares when an attack is launched against the Ferat and the people she leads.

One of the things I like most about The Adventures of Young Det is how even little things can turn out to be important. For example, Lazarus and the Ferat each have a magical specialty and talk a lot about the specifics of high-level spells within their disciplines, which makes sense for a plot featuring an exchange of magical knowledge. However, it turns out that understanding how these spells work is also crucial to appreciating the prologue’s surprising outcome.

The main story begins in the second half of the volume. Det and Osen are two young men living in a secluded village. Det, in particular, is restless and can’t abide the notion of settling down there, inheriting the family shop, and never doing anything special. In the final chapter, they set off on their journey.

At first, I’d wondered why Kwon began the series with a prologue, but now I see the advantages. When Det and Osen encounter a woman who is clearly descended from the Ferat’s people, for example, we readers recognize her for what she is. Too, making it so firmly clear that the Ferat’s prophecies always come true makes it seem possible that the heroes’ quest, whenever they actually embark upon it, might actually fail, which is seldom a real concern in typical fantasy fiction.

Compelling characters, surprising plot twists, beautiful art, politics, magic, romance, and tragedy… If any appeals to you, then you should be reading The Adventures of Young Det.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manhwa Tagged With:

U Don’t Know Me by Rakun: A-

March 15, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Seyun and Yoojin grew up together because their fathers were close friends, and even after Seyun and his family move some distance away their friendship endures. Now in high school, Seyun is doing his best to get Yoojin to notice him in a romantic way, but Yoojin seems oblivious until the day one of his friends tells him, in a case of mistaken identity, that Seyun is “a well-known manwhore” at his school. Yoojin finally releases his pent-up emotions in a violent sex act—which I’m happy to say is not treated as being okay—and he and Seyun eventually become a couple.

Drama ensues, but always grows out of the story and the strong characters. Even the sex scenes focus more on the characters than the act itself—several times the way the boys converse throughout reminds me of similar scenes I’ve seen in the works of est em. The art is also quite lovely—I didn’t learn until the penultimate chapter that Rakun is actually Yeri Na, creator of Do Whatever You Want—with a clean but expressive style. One particularly nice panel features Seyun embracing a ghostly image of Yoojin while thinking, “What do I have to do for you to look at me?”

What I like most U Don’t Know Me is that it moves beyond the moment of consummation into more real-life concerns about being in a gay relationship. Seyun frets a lot, for example, that he can never give Yoojin children, be someone Yoojin could introduce to his employers, or fulfill Yoojin’s mother’s dream of a beloved daughter-in-law. When Yoojin’s parents eventually discover the boys’ relationship, their kindness actually makes Seyun feel worse, like he’s betraying them by robbing Yoojin of his future. It seems awfully rare that a boys’ love title actually touches on these issues.

U Don’t Know Me is not your run-of-the-mill boys’ love story. The complexity of its plot, its characters, and their emotions combine to offer an engaging reading experience on par with some of the best titles in the genre.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Boys' Love, Manhwa Tagged With:

Moon Boy 1-6 by Lee YoungYou: C+

March 10, 2009 by Leave a Comment

When boy-crazy Myung-Ee Joo was in the fifth grade, she picked a fight with her popular classmate, Yu-Da Lee, after he warned her to stay away from an older boy with a bad reputation. She told him to meet her in the alley behind school after class, intending to apologize, but he never showed up. Even weirder, the next day at school no one but Myung-Ee remembered he had ever existed!

Five years later, Myung-Ee’s family has relocated and she has transferred into a high school rumored to have many attractive male students. There, she runs into Yu-Da again—now a member of the student council—but he claims to have no memory of her. Later, one of the other student council members, Sa-Eun Won, turns up at Myung-Ee’s house to have another go at erasing her memory and ends up telling her the whole story: both she and Yu-Da are descended from a species of rabbits that once lived on the moon. That’s why their eyes glow red at night. Their predators are the fox tribe, who feed on the blood and livers of the rabbits.

Yu-Da is a very special type of rabbit—the “black rabbit”—whose liver, when fully grown, has the ability to grant immortality to the one who consumes it. Back in fifth grade, the fox tribe kidnapped him and altered his personality. The other members of the student council are all foxes ordered to guard him until his liver reaches maturity, at which point it will be used to awaken their queen.

Myung-Ee, like any plucky heroine, vows not to let them hurt Yu-Da and soon meets up with some members of the rabbit army. Over the course of subsequent volumes, she works on improving her fighting skills so that she can save him. Of course, even though she is very human in appearance and considered inferior by the other rabbits, she makes incredible progress and soon can hold her own in battles with low-level foxes. While the main plot essentially stagnates until volume six, there are a few other subplots, including revelations about Yu-Da’s personality and abilities, a couple of boys with feelings for Myung-Ee, and the introduction of some mysterious new characters who claim to want the rabbits and foxes to live in peace but have a rather violent way of showing it.

Moon Boy has a lot of flaws, but the unifying theme among them is inconsistency. The exact nature of Yu-Da’s personality, for example, changes a few times before the final version of the facts is set forth in volume five. Belated additions and story tweaks are sprinkled throughout, too, like in volume four when Yu-Da’s liver, originally useless until fully grown, suddenly becomes “deathly poisonous” before that time. Also, the story shifts radically in tone from serious combat to unfunny comedy, including the most banal school festival chapters I’ve ever read (and trust me, I’ve read plenty).

The art exhibits a similar problem. I’m not a big fan of the style in general—some of the characters look way too young, others have astoundingly improbably hair, and the combat scenes are very hard to follow—but it gets even more unattractive in the “comedy” segments. Occasionally, though, there’ll be a panel or page out of nowhere that actually looks pretty good.

And, really, the same can be said for the story as a whole. Yes, it has many problems, but sometimes it’s almost good. Invariably, these are the more serious moments, and I have to wonder how much better I’d enjoy this series if all attempts at comedy were excised. Volume six had the least comedy of any so far, and is probably the best of the lot. I just wish I could believe that the latest story developments are really heading to something satisfying instead of another meandering excursion to Dawdleville.

Review copies for volumes four through six provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manhwa Tagged With:
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