Showing posts with label manhwa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label manhwa. Show all posts

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Little Queen


Title: Little Queen

Author: Yeon-Joo Kim

Genre: Manhwa, fantasy, magic

Summary: June is a candidate in the running for the selection of becoming the Queen of Light, the most revered position in the land. The Queen of Light’s duty is to keep the King of Darkness at bay as well and reign over the kingdom.

June has a rival, however. Lucia is widely considered by many to be the perfect candidate for the position – cool, poised and calm, Lucia is the epitome of grace and elegance while June is wild, brash and rough when compared to her. It seems clear that Lucia, and not June, is much more suitable for the position.

But as with every heroine in manga/manhwa titles, the protagonist must triumph over the enemies, so to speak. June appears to be a master at acting (even if she isn’t much good at anything else) and is able to charm her way through the judging panel, at least, and puts herself in the lead for the position of Queen of Light. Why she wants the position when all she can do in economics is to blow things up, but murky reasons lie deep beneath her scary exterior. June is determined – that much can be said for her – and for reasons of her own, she is dead set on protecting her childhood friend, Sejuru, who is said to be, in reality, a demon. And when June wants something, June will get it, no matter the means.

This manhwa is also a little of a love triangle as June finds Lucia liking Sejuru, but the problem is: Sejuru follows no other than June…for the time being, at least.

The manhwa sports plenty of action as well as demons crash into the Academy in the second volume, and if you enjoy pretty boys + action + a reasonably good plot, then try Little Queen. June, Sejuru and Lucia are characters not to be missed…not if you want June’s boot in your face. ^^

Opinion: Well, haven’t I said enough in the summary? Shojo manhwa with lovely characters. Is it just me, or are all manhwa so prettily drawn? Most of the ones I’ve read, anyway. It’s not as diverse as manga where I can find a million and one different styles of drawing. Korean manhwa seems to adhere to a basic rule of drawing – and I’m not complaining much yet because it’s really quite pretty and pleasing to the eyes.

I find Sejuru to be the typical ‘pretty boy’ although I would prefer it if he did away with that headband thing that he wears…he would look much nicer without it, methinks.

All characters have that bit of angst within them, and Sejuru is no different. By the end of the volumes, you might want to squeal and huggle him a little. ^_^

Oh dear, this isn’t supposed to be entirely about Sejuru. Pretty boy-ness has taken over me~!

I think that Little Queen’s plot is confusing in the first volume (it abruptly jumps back in time without much of a warning) but then it evens out and gets better in the next three volumes. You might be confused a little at some points, but generally you’ll understand everything perfectly. June is a refreshing character who does things her way and manages to bulldoze through everything and everyone except Sejuru, who seems to obey her every whim. It’s rather heartening to see these two stick through everything together (although Lucia does get jealous!).

Yuki, another character who is on the judging board for the Queen of Light, is determined to prevent June from holding the revered position. He instead chooses Lucia as the ideal candidate, but as the judging board is made up of many other people other than him, will he succeed…?

(It helps that Yuki’s a sweet ass too, doesn’t it? All cute and lovely boys. Priests who smoke. Hmm.) ~rage-chan

Rating: 4 out of 5 for the whole series, and 3.5 out of 5 for the first volume.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Title: President Dad

Author: Rhim Ju-Yeon

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Summary: Ami Won is a seemingly normal high school girl whose life is turned completely on its head after her father won the presidential election to become one of the youngest president of South Korea. To ensure Ami's safety as she is now the daughter of a very prestigious man, her aunt hires a bodyguard for her. Fahrenheit is a very unusual bodyguard indeed as he has the ability to change his appearance and voice (seemingly without disguises) at will. In order to better protect Ami, he disguises himself as a teenaged girl and joins Ami's school.

But there's not just Fahrenheit. A 16-year-old boy comes on the scene, and apparently, he's a veteran when it comes to fights and wars. Moo-Hyun is also one of Ami's classmates, and he becomes entangled in the web that is Ami Won and Fahrenheit.

Opinion: Although President Dad's art is clean and uncluttered, the plot is slightly confusing and rather disorienting, to say the least. I find the many chibi and 'unreal' scenes in the manga slightly annoying when a really sombre mood would have been best. Some bits of the plot don't quite make sense either, but overall, the art is really lovely and quite sophisticated.

(I especially like Moo-Hyun.)

^_^ President Dad spans only 7 volumes long, so think about finding a place where you can borrow and read it. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but hey, you never know until you try, right?

Please leave a comment if you've already read this and let us know your thoughts! Feel free to recommend something we should read and talk about if you have a really good novel/manga that you feel is underloved. ~rage-chan.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Monday, April 21, 2008




Title: Neck and Neck

Author: Lee Sun-Hee

Rating: T (for older teens)

Opinion: Neck and Neck was drawn by a Korean artist (do they call them manhwa? Is that the art or the artist?). It spans only eight manga volumes but I think it's a pretty nice addition to a bookshelf if you enjoy manga, especially those with a shojo theme. 'Neck and Neck' has nicely drawn characters (and drool-able boys) and a suitably interesting plot. The little chibis drawn at irregular intervals are a nice touch as well.

The main character is a girl named Dabin Choi, who is the daughter of Korea's most important figure in black market. (In other words, a criminal.) Dabin's childhood friends are Eugene and Shihu, and it turns out that both of them like her, but Dabin only likes Eugene. Add in an antagonist (Black Rose) and Black Rose's twin (Lily) and a tough guy who actually likes Lily, and you get a wonderfully shojo but enjoyable manga nevertheless.

Overall, I would say that if you're looking for a worthwhile investment in manga, yet don't have much money to splash on thirty-odd volumes, try 'Neck and Neck'. ~rage-chan

Rating: 4 out of 5.