Good Luck and Dear Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I chose a "Luck" and a "Green" to review today. If you're not wearing green... *pinches*



Good Luck by KANG E-Jin

Genre: Shojo
Length: 5 Volumes – 25 Chapters



           The art is pretty at a glance but it has a lot of anatomy problems through out, heads too big, prospective skews, odd poses, etc. Overall, its not bad, though, its pretty average. It does get messier as the volumes progress, as well. The backgrounds are

really lacking and the tones used sometimes are too repetitive or just rather odd looking. The pacing isn't great, either, so action scenes just look like still frames that are not connected. The amateur mistakes show through all too quickly as you read on.
           Rumored to be a person who only brings misfortune is tough, but its even worse when the person also believes it to be true. Can a girl who has had nothing but a terrible life find happiness when anyone she decides to get close to is destined to have a disaster?
           This manhwa is okay in just about every aspect, though some would call that generous. I could tell right from the beginning, when I opened it up, what kind of manhwa it was, too. I've tried others that look just the same, and they all are just as average or worse. I know that sounds harsh, but this story was actually more continuous than most I've read. It was disjointed, don't get me wrong, which is another problem I've had with manhwa in the past, too, but it had a start and finish that match up with out too much wandering. No random time skips, either, a big plus. Settings

and feelings seem to change instantly from chapter to chapter, at one point I suspected that the chapters were out of order because I thought one side of the love triangle had been resolved but it was suddenly a plot point again for some reason? Its just that the characters, and the story itself, sort of muddle around until everything is randomly fixed in the end, with out any sort of rational motive to connect it all. The main character is interesting, she's strong and willing to smile even though she is despairing, but she also changes indiscriminately from chapter to chapter. The many love possibilities sort of come and go around her, one she just randomly meets and then randomly disappears again near the end. He was rather pointless, except for giving advice to the main character to advance her relationship with the main love interest, which she takes back the next chapter. The poor side guy is even given several pages where it is heavily-handedly shown that he and the main guy are good friends and are in love with the same girl, but he is disposed of so quickly. Unnecessary plot twists, all of it, and hard to follow at the same time. The translation was choppy, too, which made reading it even harder (unfortunately another reason I avoid manhwa), though I don't usually factor that into my reviews. Why did I even bother, you may ask? I guess I was feeling generous? I don't know, but it definitely was not worth the time, even if it was amusing here and there. The color pages and faces were pretty, but it was a lie, a vicious trap.



1/5 Don't bother.

See, a very pretty trap.

Dear Green by Amyuu Sakura



Genre: Shojo
Length: One Chapter – 50 Pages



          The art is nice, professional, and has good movement. The eyes are large and expressive, and the hair is pretty and full of personality, too. Very enjoyable all the way

through.
          Shun's older sister is good at everything she does, and Shun has always been a rebellious child, so she's always getting scolded. It doesn't bother her, though, Shun continues her ways happily. Yet, when she meets a very forward boy who seems to like her for being her, she just isn't sure how to behave anymore.
          Very cute. Much fluff. Make smile. Enjoyable all the way through, even if it is a little cliché. Totally washed away the bitterness of the previous review and refreshed me. I'd like to see more of the main character, actually, she's a little naughty and her personality is fun. This taste was a good, well done story though. Much like the last one-shot I read by this author so I think I'll take a close look at their body of work...



5/5 Very cute and well done one-shot about unexpected love. 

Safe Again Today Art by Suhlah Park and Story by Jin-Soo Yuu

Happy Thanksgiving! Let the Christmas season commence! Not that stores haven't already done so as soon as Halloween was over. I hope you have a good holiday none the less, and enjoy the sale shopping if you go in for that.



Safe Again Today Art by Suhlah Park and Story by Jin-Soo Yuu

Genre: Shojo
Length: 2 Volumes – 14 Chapters



           I can't say that Safe Again Today has really original art, but it is well done. What I mean by that statement is, the character designs don't really excite, but they are cute/handsome and all around easy on the eyes. The best factor is the eyes, they have a simplistic look to them, but they show emotion really well and always look interesting. The body proportions are excellent, and there is variety to them, though, the clothes are pretty much forgettable. The hair, too, if you make the effort to look at it, it has good shape and motion, but it doesn't really catch the eye. The haircuts are modern, and the characters are given different styles through out, and the hair cuts don't make them unrecognizable, so that shows they all have different faces. Through the art, the personalities are conveyed easily, and make reading a breeze. The backgrounds are a little lacking, and photos converted to scenery are a little over used in my opinion, but the tones seen are not the typical ones used in other comics. This manhwa has a good aesthetic, and there's hardly anything to object against.
           A seemingly innocent household with a young woman at the center taking care of her younger siblings along with some other family members who are around her own age. Aliens living on Earth with out the knowledge of the major populace, wearing human disguises. These two things don't have anything in common, or at least, they shouldn't. But what if, these two situations are actually one in the same?
           I haven't reviewed a lot of manhwa, so I decided to re-read this favorite of mine. Safe Again Today is a little abrupt in it's ending but its a fun ride while it lasts and it is peppered with intriguing bits of information that make it feel almost real and definitely possible. The humor is also quite good,filled with unique characters and stupid gags alike its uncomplicated to find a laugh; all you have to do is pick a page. The pacing is slow and easy to follow, mostly dealing with the aliens trying to understand what it means to be human, or others trying to understand the aliens even though they are decidedly nonhuman. All of them, human and alien alike, have their foibles and their strengths. The diversity and the force of family that keeps them together really connects the reader to their plights and adventures. In fact, getting to know the cast is a joy from the very beginning, while actually understanding all that’s going on leaves you with something to mull over later. There's just not enough of it, unfortunately, but unlike that other canceled manhwa I've read (Kingdom of Zombie) the ending isn't in the middle of no where with out any kind of closure to speak of and a thousand different questions left. Sufficient character development has happened to allow for personalities to have been seen well enough and it goes out on a bit of a high note with a bit of a sweet ending instead of just abruptly ending. It really is the details that make this manga amazing, despite the cancellation. The forethought and planning are apparent and make the reading of the story intriguing and reward the reader for paying attention. Everything carries through, the character's mannerisms, their comments, the history of the alien's home worlds, it all pulls together to a large scale picture of this worldwide political intrigue with out having all the boring stuff. Its clear much fun was being had with all the alien designs and cultures and how typical it is of humans to simultaneously hunt down and also exploit these different creatures. It sure makes a very literal meaning for the phrase 'illegal aliens.' Strange, but heartfelt but at times slapstick, Safe Again Today is a fun read, but it also lends itself to re-reading very easily and nothing is better than a story worth re-reading.




4.5/5 Almost perfect, well rounded story that was canceled too soon. With aliens.

Just one of my favorite jokes. These two are also my favorite characters... of butt.

Kingdom of Zombie by Nojeok

So I learned from the Zombie Research Society that May is Zombie Awareness Month, so to prepare myself I decided to read some zombie manga. I hope these perspectives on zombies will help you be more aware of the potential for zombie outbreaks happening in your life time. Remember, always aim for the head, that is the quickest way to kill one!


Kingdom of Zombie by Nojeok

Art and story (c) Nojeok

Genre: Horror Shonen
Length: 1 Volume (sort of) – 11 Chapters

            Art is distinctive, it reminds me of something but I can't think of what, the eyes have a lot of personality and the character designs are all dissimilar. There is a 'realistic' feel it it, despite the chunky and gravity defying hair, and it has a very European palate to the structures as well as the clothes. Body types and movement is natural, and the clothes fit perfectly with detail enough to be looked at. The action sequences are also easy to follow. Backgrounds were good, too, with a few blank backgrounds. The zombies are done in a very cliched way, with tattered clothes and blank eyes, though they hold up well with the rest of the art.
           Van is tired of his day-to-day life working with the blacksmith who took him in and dreams of making something of himself and at least he has the tournament of champions to give him something too look forward to. So, when he is banned from going he sneaks out to watch it anyway. Waylaid by a noble offering him to go meet last year's winner by way of giving him a letter, Van rushes to the Gate so he can also catch the end of the tourney while he is at it. The Northern Gate has been the city's defense against the zombie horde outside ever since the plague started twenty years ago. When Van arrives, though, before his very eyes that protection is opened and a swarm of zombies surrounds him!

Good advice, Van.

           This is the first 'manhwa ' I have reviewed so I'd like to explain its difference from a manga, a manhwa is a comic that comes from Korea, as such it is read left to right instead of right to left. Why haven't I reviewed a manhwa before this? Well, I've not had a good experience with them in the past and so have avoided them in the last couple of years, this comic's cancellation doesn't really help that, but I haven't been ignoring them or anything but I've just been... wary. The saying 'once bitten, twice shy' comes to mind, but I've noticed an upswing with them lately, mostly thanks to lots of full color web comics, but some of the translations of theses are spotty, too, so only time will tell if any of those get reviewed here. I actually went into this fully aware of its canceled status, still the end crept up on me as I went. This manga had good potential, and even though it ends in the worst way (i.e. no discernible ending at all) I still really enjoyed it. Despite my misgivings, there isn't really anything to complain about in this manhwa, the art is very good and the story progresses in a natural, if a bit rushed, way. In fact things were just getting good, but I can't find any information beyond rumor as to why this was canceled so as a warning, you will get really into this and then be cut off so completely you will rage. Its a good ride, though, Van is interesting as a main character, despite the dopey vs. bad-ass personality trope. There could have been more character development for some of his friends, true, but there was potential for it for sure. The zombie parts were really typical, bordering on predictable, but not in an annoying way. In fact it was just getting around to the zombie stuff when it cuts off. Shame, I was looking forward to understanding some of the multitudinous mysteries laid down here. 

3.5/5 Cancelled, but still a good read.  




          As far as being a guide for keeping someone aware of zombies, though, it isn't very helpful. The characters are told to go for the head but they don't seem to understand it until it is almost too late. Still, a good point is brought up that everyone should abide by: Zombies mostly navigate by sound, so stay quiet when zombies are about and you may just get away with out them swarming you!

Well, I guess you can breathe.