kei_k's manga / #Shoujo(441)

last: vol 6 ch 2 // skimmed raws until vol 13. it was pretty good. i disliked the parts where the fake Sodam appeared and he even kissed her. >_< well, he didn't know. in situations like that, he had to do it because he wanted to hold on to "Sodam" despite feeling that he's falling for Jo Eun even more. What irked me was that he's being reminded of Sodam when he's with Jo Eun, but how come he didn't suspect her or try to like have her DNa tested too since she did it for the fake one? Anyway, it's too bad for Woo Jin/Seok Ho, but he wasn't her choice until the end... ugh.. just thinking about all the fake Sodam's sabotage for Jo Eun makes my blood boil.. and of course, Rak Ho just had to side with him 'coz "Sodam" is his first love and he refuses to believe anyone who opposes her. Btw, when the fake Sodam died, it was heartbreaking to see them blame her for it, especially the sister who scandalized her calling her a criminal, making her think that she's truly unlucky.. Ha... And even when the truth was revealed, they couldn't be together because they both didn't have the courage to face the other, especially Rak Ho, who hurt her too much with the fake Sodam's incident. It's annoying when even Seul Ha interfered, causing more misunderstandings. In the end, Jo Eun had to leave for San Francisco with Woo Jin. She refused his proposal after a year though, saying she really can't be with him because he and Ji Hong (Rak Ho) are related and she's always reminded of him when she sees Woo Jin. Btw, the ending was pretty sweet. So she gets to go to a house filled with her portraits, mostly sneaky ones, even one which was only the day before. Well, this is pretty stalker-ish, but as she said in the last line, "If it would be a stalker like this, I will never cry. Never Cry." She was really touched and it turns out that Rak Ho has been following her until that day when he finally gathered his courage to face her again. Note: Anyway, as for Seok Ho's story, he's actually an illegitimate child. He was taken when he was 9 because the official heir, Woo Jin, died in France. He underwent a plastic surgery to take over Woo Jin's identity. The grandpa promised that his mom and sister (Jo Eun) will be properly compensated and taken care of as long as he remains obedient. Btw, the issue presented in the beginning wasn't clear to me. Like, about the man with sad eyes who named her Jo Eun. So I believe it was said that the kidnapper died but the motive wasn't especially clear. He seemed to know the mother, but I don't think it was particularly mentioned how they were related. I mean, he even called her in the beginning to inform of the kidnapping. Was he a fan or a former lover? Hmm. I think this deserved more explanations since he played a big part on the story. You know, giving her the name and leaving her in the island. Also, what was that in the beginning anyway? Was it just a filler? The one with the heart of steel/heart of kindness stuff..

Hmm.. not very satisfied, but it was interesting.. Strangely, I was quite fine when Da In kissed a lot of males, especially vampires. Perhaps because thinking that this is supernatural, I shouldn't expect the normal attachments? Anyway, the most memorable parts would be when Kang Hoo's memory was altered. Seriously, I just get hurt every time I remember and think about it. Like, what if it happens to me in real life? Let's say my lover loses his memory and another girl who likes him take advantage of it and make it so that he'll be her lover while saying bad things about me that'll make him hate me... Like, there's no telling if it'd be like in fiction where somewhere within him, he truly feels our connection. There's no telling if he'd remember me. Usually, in fiction, it's made as if as long as the person truly loves the other, they'll remember him/her no matter what... But I can't even cling on that hope because this is reality and we have no real control over things like that. So anyway, just thinking about seeing my lover with another person, him choosing her over me and even hurts me on her command, I can't help but feel my heart in pain. Like, will he ever remember me? Will he ever come back to me? Until when should I wait for him? Should I continue to lurk around him until he remembers me, even when he chases me out? What if, after I decide to move on and let him live in the present, he regains his memories and want me back? What if by that time, I have already found someone else to treasure? Will I really risk my present to continue the past I couldn't? Or will I live in the present but keep wondering in the future, what could've been if I chose the other? Life is short. There's no telling until when we'll live. If I'd only have a few days to live, with whom shall I spend it with? (Okay, I totally got carried away from the story, but this really just stuck with me.)

Wish to own the complete set of this manga! Too bad the art in the last few chapters changed (looked rush and less detailed)...

Wow. I've seen this manga cover before, and started to read the synopsis because I read somewhere that this won an award. However, simply by seeing the word "terrorist," I was put off and decided to look at others instead. And then one night, as I finished re-reading Hana Kimi (one of my favorite manga), I read a reply from a comment recommending this manga. So, I searched for it and saw that there were only 14 "chapters." I was kind of wishing this was a longer series, so I was reluctant to start, but once I clicked the first chapter and saw the number of pages and its format, I realized that the "chapters" here were actually volumes and I got more motivated to read. So yeah, that's just the history of how I stumbled upon this gem. Now, let's head on to what I thought about it. Just with first few pages, I got myself into it because they talked about an alternate world and I was excited to see how things would go. Being transported to another world and meeting Izark, Noriko's case was by far the most realistic I've seen so far. With the constant language barrier, it was nice to see her making efforts to learn their language, rather than unrealistically being able to understand (You know how in most cases, they just magically understand each other). It was cute how she blabbed on and Izark kept mumbling "I don't understand what you're saying." Oh, Izark! I have a huge crush on him, but he's exclusively for Noriko, and I approve. He's very gentle and kind. He wanted to act cold but his pure heart just can't leave Noriko alone (though he finally did, at one point, because he was concerned for her safety). I loved the romance, especially because it grew overtime and there were no annoying rivals who plotted evil deeds to keep them away from each other with misunderstandings. I loved how their love was so strong, and how Izark's feelings were made clear to us, readers as well. He's very cute and innocent with Noriko. Though his love was both his strength and his weakness, being that his fate was dependent on what happens to Noriko, I liked this aspect because it balanced out Noriko's constant need of him protecting her. In this case, they protected and depended on each other. It's not just one way. It was a give and take relationship. In just truly loved them as a couple and as individuals as well. The minor characters were also adorable and memorable. They really acted out their parts well, and the adventures were exciting and relevant. I loved how they didn't seem like just fillers. Everything had its purpose and since we're talking about huge territories, it made sense as to how many important people they had to meet and save from the clutches of evil. Btw, I also liked how their companions didn't abandon them after realizing their true identities. Sure, they parted because the couple were afraid of this, but it felt nice to see them relieved on their reunion. The friendships they made along the way helped them to become stronger. Back to the story, it was touching seeing Izark struggle to fight against this intense power within him because he wanted to protect Noriko. He fought well, and he was not evil despite being a beast. He's helped even his enemies. He's just too awesome. I liked how the main antagonists were actually from the smallest country yet they were basically the ones who controlled the evil acts. They weren't made to be too annoying, and you somehow feel with them. Anyway, overall, I'd say, this is a very underrated manga in my opinion. The female MC may seem very weak as she's actually powerless and she cries a lot, but contrary to the typical damsel in distress who just st*pidly acts on her own thinking "she only wants to help," Noriko actually fought knowing her limits and she thought before jumping into situations where she could be a nuisance. Her sense of awareness made her stronger than the others. I'd definitely re-read this in the future. I want more Izark! ps. The part where he teared up when Noriko asked him not to look at her after her hair was horribly cut, and he felt so angry with Rachef making Noriko feel that way, was very touching. It clearly showed how much he valued everything about her. Then, after her hair was cut and he saw him with her hair back to the way it was when they first met, he felt nostalgic and it was just very sweet how it made him realize how much his love for her has grown overtime. Ah really, I'm glad it wasn't limited to Noriko's POV/narration. It was very sweet reading Izark's thoughts and feelings, too.

It was interesting, but surely lacked something seeing it ended just like that without us knowing more about the characters. I wanted to see them interact more, but anyway, their banter was pretty cute. I would've wanted Mimi to see more potential husbands while exchanging banter with Yuan Qing since it was the main point of her adventure, but meh.. And I really wanted to see how "ugly" that 1st guy was since she's strongly opposed.

Hmm, somehow felt rushed and dissatisfying. Wanted to know more about how Yuan Qing lived as Li Yue for 5 years, and how Mimi took care of her child Yuan Bao. Also expected to see more of the princess since she was presented as someone with a strong presence. Of course, I felt relieved that she didn't use her position to force herself on Yuan Qing, but I wanted to see more of her since she humiliated Mimi in the 1st season. Just.. You know, there were a lot of characters yet they weren't fleshed out at all so they felt bland. Also, I wanted to see Yuan Qing struggle a bit more since he's dealing with his family after losing his memory. It's a bit dissatisfying that he just accepted everything... As for Mimi, I understood how she felt like they had no foundation of mutual trust since they didn't really marry out of love. I was glad to see Yuan Qing reach out to her first though, this time, with sincere feelings of wanting to get to know each other.

Hmm totally dissatisfying romance.. I mean, there were a lot of misunderstandings that need to be straightened out and I think they needed to spend more time together. I liked how Richard was not a playboy though. I wish his past was more tackled though. And that thing with Sara... Okay, so I hope that he's just guilty about her and didn't hold romantic feelings, otherwise, it'd suck to be seen as her even for a moment.. Anyway.. It was interesting and cute, but certainly needed more.

re-read on: 08/11/16 It was cute and interesting, but definitely needed more. I wanted to see how the love between Mai and Yaezou blossom from being rivals for Sen. It's not very common to see couples, like this, you see. So just leaving us like that is very dissatisfying. I wanted them to hang out more and get to know each other more before shoving to our faces that they fell in love with each other. I'm not sure how to feel about Mai and Sen's kiss though. Well... Sen and Minami already broke up at that time and he was on the process of moving on, so I guess it shouldn't really matter much. Yeah. I guess I can take that. Since Minami was the one to break it off, I guess she had no right to restrict Sen that way. It's enough that they're still mutually in love, though not as much as before. They could just work it out from there.