Candy by Qing Hui Lin and I am Alive by HOM

Happy Chinese New Year! Its the start of the year of the rooster, and the year of the monkey is over. I don't really know what that means though, except that its an excuse to make and eat Chinese food and find a manhua to read, too. I'm already feeling a bit like the gif below; I'm pretty sure that is a bad omen...

Candy (or Donuts in the Candy Jar) by Qing Hui Lin

Art and story (c) Qing Hui Lin

Genre: Shojo
Length: 2 Volumes – 10 Chapters



           The art is okay, the profile shots are a little wonky, but everything else is passable. There's not really anything special, though. A little angular, I guess, I mean I can't really think of anything else to say about it.
           When a high school girl wakes up to a note from her parents saying that they will be on a
trip around the world for the next year and that she is to survive off of money they left her, she's sent over the edge and forced to change every aspect of her life. Plus it seems like nearly every one at her new school is watching her constantly, even a boy who picks fights every time he sees her!
          I'm pretty sure I've mentioned the why behind my aversion to manhua and manhwa, but I'll say it again, I've been burned before and more often than not I'm disappointed in them on a ratio much higher than manga. I try to be open minded and give them a chance once in a while, like I did for this review but considering the several hours it takes to read, write, and create a post its better to actually find something to like instead of just some mediocre love story full of big eyes and tropes. It does not put me in a good or generous mood when I get to typing, that's for sure. So, I've probably already given it away, but this story was nothing special at all. The love aspect is rather unbelievable, and the main character is a little too combative to be likable. Truthfully, I found her annoying and deserving of everything she gets. The love interest isn't much better, he treats her bad then he treats her good, and then he's back to mean again and it's hard to blame him considering she screams at him as soon as she sees him. Every chapter is the same, too, somebody picks a fight with her, she fights with them, the love interest shows up to save her, she fights with him, then they are alone and he hugs/kisses her and she fights with him. Two volumes of it was more than necessary to set up a hate to love scenario but it just sort of ends with her giving in just because they knew each other a kids even though she doesn't remember it. Plus her jerk parents aren't given any sort of redeeming, either. Considering she gets upset about them abandoning her its all rather unsatisfying on that front, and all the others. I'm not even going to bother writing anything more but the score.


1/5




I am Alive by HOM

Art and story (c) HOM

Genre: Slice of Life
Length: One Chapter – 7 Pages

         The art is simple and realistic with good detail. The coloring is really nice, too.
         Tale of conceit written from the perspective of a pencil. A mechanical pencil.
         A nice, short tale about knowing when to give credit where it belongs and not getting too focused on yourself, and, also, how to be a humble pencil, I guess? Rather more a cautionary tale than just something for pure entertainment. Interesting nonetheless.

4/5? Its hard to score such a short story but its worth the half a minute it takes anyway.