Manwha Review – Priest Volume One: A Prelude to the Deceased

This is my first Comicbook Bin manwha review for this blog. My work is currently published on the comicbook fansite Comic Book Bin in Canada. I am hoping to work/write for somewhere a lot more local to New Zealand but we just don’t have the volume of material or the population to support it here. I am very happy to have my work published on the Bin website but my sole priority is to try and lift the profile of Anime and Manga in New Zealand through my writing.

Priest Volume 1: A Prelude to the Deceased

Publisher: Tokyopop
Genre: Horror/Action – Older Teen 16+ Restriction
Author: Min-Woo Hyung

Reviewed by Julie Gray
Review originally published June 25, 2006

“The Darkness can be your salvation“

Priest was first published in Korea as a Manwha in 2000 by Daiwon C.I Inc. and is the story of Ivan Isaacs ( Priest); a holy man with a dark secret. Having turned his back on God during a moment of complete and utter desperation, Priest agrees to sell half of his soul to the devil, Belial, so that he can gain revenge for the death of his loved one, Gena. Whilst this may not seem like a fair deal, Ivan is also given super-human power and immortality as part of the pact with Belial. In return, Ivan becomes Belial’s personal executioner with a mission to destroy all traces of the damned on Earth.

The story is extremely compelling but contains many confusing elements. Since when did demons want to destroy their own kind? But as the story unfolds, the confusing elements seem to gel together quite nicely. Priest Volume One: A Prelude to the Deceased is a great read, not to mention the dark and furious art-work on the pages.

The art work in this manwha is very edgy and gritty. The detail is often rough and looks almost hurried but all of these things combined give the story a cold and dark, almost removed appeal. It’s a little hard to distinguish exactly, but the lines drawn around Priest are hard, desperate and bold, just like the character. This brings a depth of realism to the story.

As the story develops, several other characters are introduced, some briefly and others as main characters telling their own part of the story. The interweaving of storylines and characters is also refreshing and adds pace to the story.

Priest meets a few interesting characters in the first volume. We are introduced to Lizzie, an orphaned daughter of a gang of outlaws and renegades. We also get to meet the heretic Priest, Jarbilong who seems to have an avid interest in Priest’s dark pact with Belial. Pieces of the puzzle seem to fit together the more we are exposed to Jarbilong and his sinister plan.

Priest seems to be a man caught between a rock and a hard place. His struggle to maintain the balance between the human side and the side that has been ‘touched’ by the devil tends to be the crux of the story, allowing readers to see deeper into the complex character. For all his dark deeds, we begin to see vulnerability in Priest that allows for his human characteristics to come through. There is an old saying; “There are many things worse than death”. Priest is a man who has gone beyond the normal realms of suffering and has seen what waits on the other side. It would be very difficult to leave this story after the first volume, and we rate Priest as one of the better horror/action manwha’s.
 

You may view the original published article here.

Art Work: 10/10
Story: 10/10
Overall Rating: 10/10

Manwha Review: Real Fake Princess Volume One

Real Fake Princess Volume One

Author: I-Huan
English Adaptation: Ailen Lujo
Published by: Dr Master
Genre: Shoujo/Romance

Reviewed by Julie Gray
Review originally published October 23, 2006

Real/Fake Princess is the story of Tang Zhi Li, the daughter of the late Emperor. It is set during the Sung Dynasty, ancient China. The country is in the middle of a war shortly following the Jin Kang Rebellion. As a result of all the turmoil, Tang Zhi Li is entrusted to Tang Hui, a commoner who is instructed to escape with Tang Zhi Li. As a result, Tang Zhi Li has kept her true identity hidden and poses as Tang Hui’s younger sister.

Tang Hui is not happy about the fate of the princess and sets his mind to rectifying the issue by speaking with the local magistrate about restoring Tang Zhi Li’s title. During this period, the fate of the real princess is unknown to the magistrate and the people. This proves to be a slight problem for Tang Zhi Li because many women have come forward posing as the real princess and proving to be impostors. It is also a crime to impersonate royalty. Tang Zhi Li’s world is suddenly turned upside down when she is introduced to Zhong Lu Wu who holds the title of The Seeker and is the man tasked with locating the real princess.

Several other elements are introduced throughout the story which give the storyline depth and make it interesting. Although Zhi Li comes across as a stubborn little brat at the best of times, her temperamental mood is often balanced out with the equally as temperamental Zhong Lu Wu. Whenever the two of these characters meet, the storyline really begins to pick up pace.

The characters in this manga are great. They are well written and a lot of thought has gone into their creation. The character interaction holds this manga together, especially when the feisty Zhi Li and Lu Wu clash. You can almost feel the tension jumping off the pages. Stubborn and strong-willed, Tang Zhi Li is really hiding her feelings for Tang Hui who really only looks upon her as a younger sister. To make things even more interesting, although Lu Wu acts like he really dislikes Zhi Li, it’s pretty obvious that he is slowly beginning to fall for her.

What really makes this manga interesting to read (aside from the great characters) is the historical background behind the manga. Set in the Southern Dynasty of ancient China, the background pages at the end of the book give you a good idea of how the world must have been during the turbulent times of the Jin rebellion against the southern Song.

There are 165 black and white pages in this book and the drawing and animation is extremely detailed. In particular, if you pay attention to the amount of detail that has gone into the garments worn by the characters in this manga, you will see just how beautiful the art work is.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first volume of Real/Fake Princess. The characters are solid and the interaction between the characters is interesting. Although the characters seem to be somewhat emotional, this doesn’t detract from the story in any way and is actually very entertaining. The dialogue is never boring. Another great book from Dr Master, we are eagerly anticipating the next volume of Real/Fake Princess.

You can view the original published article here.

Manwha Review – Land of Silver Rain: Volume One

Manganews is one of the websites where I write manga reviews. I am an avid manga and anime fan but this has only recently (within the last 12 months) become something of a passion. I enjoy reading manga because it is a very different experience to reading a book and contrary to what many people believe, manga does not solely consist of teenage girls in short skirts and very little else. In particular, the kind of manga I prefer to read is classified as ‘Shonen’ and ‘Seinen’ manga which is traditionally manga that is read by men in Japan. I prefer the action orientated stories over the ‘Shoujo’ or ‘girly’ love story genre of manga. Thankfully, the lovely team over at Manganews allow me to choose some of the manga titles to review so I get to have a little bit of flexibility with the material.

This is one of the first manwha reviews I wrote for Manganews: (‘Manwha’ is the Korean version of manga).

Land of Silver Rain

 

Author: Mira Lee 
Genre: Romance

Reviewed by Julie Gray
Review originally published April 16, 2006

The Land of Silver Rain is based in a fictitious world called the Land of Silver Rain (hence the title). Within this world exists several different races; Dokebi (who have two horns on their heads), and the offspring of Unicorns who inhabit another part of the world not far from the Dokebi. Humans are also featured in the story but we are given the impression that Humans are, for some reason, looked down upon, especially by the Dokebi. References to humans are made through-out the story in a somewhat negative light.

The main character of the story is Misty Rain, a Dokebi, who is treated like an outcast because of the differences in her appearance. A rather nasty character by the name of Thornpricker enjoys making Misty Rain feel out of place and unwanted. Ultimately, the rivalry between Misty Rain and Thornpricker is a consistant recurring theme through-out the Manga.

Thanks to Thornpricker, rumours begin to circulate that Misty Rain is human and not Dokebi. The main reason for this is that Misty Rain has black hair and only humans are known to have black hair. The story continues with the plight of Misty Rain and her inability to gain acceptance. This particular direction in the story builds the foundation for the rest of the plot in the first few chapters.

The storyline progresses through a few entertaining encounters between Misty Rain, and her nemesis, Thornpricker. The introduction of one of the other main characters, the King of Darkness, puts an interesting twist into the story. Various other characters play minor parts such as Misty Rain’s Granny, who is a Witch.

Although this Manga is written for the romance genre, there is very little romance happening at this stage in the story. The main focus revolves around several relationships, none of which are romantic. The struggle for Misty Rain to uncover her true identity is brought into the story early on. Misty Rain’s bond with the King of Darkness is also heavily emphasised. When Misty Rain was born she was given permission to live and grow up in the Dokebi kingdom by the King of Darkness. Because of this, the bond they share is questioned by suspicious Dokebi who think the King favours Misty Rain over others.

Prince Sirius’s character is introduced and he meets Misty Rain and ultimately finds his path and fate entertwined with hers. At this stage, the story takes on a different direction and becomes at times, humorous and entertaining. Although the characters seem a little transluscent, the themes introduced in the story make up for this by touching on such topics as morality, trust, honesty and respect.The characters themselves could definitely be improved with more depth. We know that there is a rivalry between Thornpricker and Misty Rain, but we are never really told why. This could perhaps be expanded upon a little more in the first volume.

The coloured pages inbetween several of the chapters are quite beautifully done. The male characters are all drawn in an overly effeminate style that blends in well with the story. We are given the impression that male and female Dokebi do not look that dissimilar to each other. The attention to detail in the costumes of the characters also really comes to life in the coloured pages.

The flow of the story, at times, does seem a little disjointed. At one stage in the story we are following Prince Sirius as he encounters the Wicked Queen who captured Snow White. This encounter does not really make any sense and doesn’t seem to blend in with the rest of the storyline. The only real connection we feel between the characters occurs whenever there is interaction between the King of Darkness and Misty Rain. Although Thornpricker’s character adds to the excitement factor whenever she is at her absolute worst, there really isn’t a whole lot more going on in the story. Prince Sirius’ character doesn’t seem all that compatible with Misty Rain. It is hard to envision that their relationship will develop any further than friendship at this stage in the story. Overall, the beginning of this Manga has some potential to develop further, especially in the area of the relationship between Misty Rain and Prince Sirius. I don’t think it would be quite enough to hold a reader’s interest.

You may view the original published article here.