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Posts Tagged Manhwa

Review: Chocolat (Vol. 05)


Manhwa-ga: Shin JiSang – Geo
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: June 2008

Synopsis: “Kum-Ji may have started following Yo-I to get close to her favourite boy band, DDL, but it’s E-Wan of Yo-I that she can’t get out of her head! With E-Soh’s confession still heavy on her heart, a confused Kum-Ji joins her fellow fan girls in strategizing for the next tour. But Barbie, the fanclub president, has other ideas. When a surprise attack leaves Kum-Ji bruised and beaten, it’s E-Soh who becomes her knight in shining armor!”

It’s girl loves boy, girls love band, girl hates other girl and boy loves girl who loves other guy, in volume five of Chocolat. It’s a slice of life drama, spiced up with trendy clothing and beautiful boy bands. Kum-Ji is the character’s lead and most of the book follows her as she deals with unrequited feelings, boy-band crushes and a dangerous fan club leader who sends flunkies to crack the skulls of her self-proclaimed enemies.

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Review Themes: Yen Press!

 

Since I have a backlog of new release reviews to catch up on posting, this next week is going to be dedicated to some new books from Yen Press, including today’s review for One Thousand and One Nights! Another theme with focus on older releases will begin next week.

And to round out the reviews, have a little news: Originally announced back in November 2007, Yen Press’s upcoming boys’ love releases by Lily Hoshino have been recently posted on online retail stores and in Yen Press’s book listings. Titles include Mr. Flower Groom, Love Quest and Mr. Flower Bride. Yaoi fans may remember Lily Hoshino as manga-ka of DMP’s Alone in My King’s Harem and My Only King.


Review: One Thousand and One Nights (Vol. 04)


Author: Jeon JinSeok
Artist: Han SeungHee
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: May 2008

Synopsis: “Sehara meets Sultan Shazaman and discovers that his brother’s distrust of women not only comes from Fatima’s betrayal but also his mother’s traumatic death. And while Sehara is away, Shahryar continues to play his dangerous game with another girl. Will Sehara’s next night story be enough to stop the sultan’s wicked ways?”

After a long wait for faithful readers, volume four of One Thousand and One Nights finally arrives! This book continues the fine balance between story and present events as Sehara tells the ailing Prince another story, while he himself got to hear a disturbing true story from the prince’s brother, Shazaman. With this glimpse into Shahryar’s dark past, Sehara is determined to defeat the dark pain inside the Prince before it consumes him.

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Review: Nabi the Prototype


Manga-ka: Yeon-Joo Kim
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: October 2007

Synopsis: “A young girl is kidnapped by her father’s political enemies… a bride-to-be embarks on a journey to her new home, but her escort has other plans… and a tough boy falls for the orphan girl he’s supposed to protect… In these moving, poetic stories, people are often not what they seem, while love comes from where you least expect it.”

Nabi the Prototype is a collection of six short stories, most of which are all directly connected to each other. The thing that maintains this as a collection of short stories over a continuous story with a couple shorter ones tacked on is that though directly connected, the bulk of the stories are not presented in chronological order. Upon first reading, this may seem a little odd to readers but it’s a unique way of keeping readers interested, if not at least a little confused at first.

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Guest Review: Soul to Seoul

Manga-ka: Kim Jea Eun
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: 13+
Released: January 2005 – March 2007
Volumes: 5

Synopsis: We follow the fast paced life of a young half-Korean, half-Caucasian boy named Kai on his journey through the streets of Harlem. With piercing blue eyes that put everyone around him under a spell, Kai finds himself learning how to kill before learning how to love.

When you open the book it feels like you can instantly tell what the story is about. There’s the classic love interest, in this case a Korean girl named Sunil, who happens to fall into this strange world by secretly following Kai down onto the dangerous streets of Harlem. Once discovered, Kai’s best and only friend, Spike, instantly falls in love with her. He asks Kai to hook them up, but instead of doing what he’s asked to Kai steals her away creating a rift in their friendship that lasts the entire series. So that’s what Soul to Seoul is about; just another stereotypical friend versus friend over a girl right? Not even close.

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