Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Manhwa-Best

Demon Diary

Plot
Demon Diary is a light story about Raenef, a newly appointed Demon Lord, and Eclipse, his instructor, who is both a powerful demon and a veteran of a human-versus-demon war. Because of his actions during the Hangma War (which are not elaborated upon), he became known for his cruelty and incredible power. However, when attempting to teach Raenef, Eclipse's 'anger' is often played for laughs.
The Bride of the Water God
by Yun Mi-kyung

Plot
Soah is a girl from a small village. She is a beautiful girl. She fell in love with Muhee whom she believes is Habaek's cousin and didn't realise that Habaek (child) and Muhee (adult) are the same person. Desperate village decides to scarifice Soah for becoming the Water God Habaek's bride in order to end a dry season. Habaek is a temperamental deity of the Water God. He was deeply fall in love with his wife Nakbin who died young but Nakbin has betrayed him without realising. Soah is surprised to be rescued by the Water God - Habaek from killing and she will has an exciting new life. Most surprising, Soah never imagined that she was to be welcomed guest in Habaek's magical kingdom. This story is related to Soah's faith, life and love.
Kill Me, Kiss Me
by Lee Young-you

Plot
Kill Me, Kiss Me is a story with two separate but loosely connected plots. The first, spanning only the first volume of the manhwa, centers around the high school girl Tae Yeon Im and her obsession over a handsome model named Kun Kang. Tae finds out that Kun goes to the same school as her cousin Jung-Woo Im, to whom she is almost identical in appearance. She makes a deal with Jung-Woo to trade places so she can get closer to the model of her dreams, though they settle on only one week for the switch. However, upon arriving at Pure Water High, she promptly gets beaten up by the gang member Ga-Woon Kim, apparently Kun Kang's closest friend. Despite this minor setback, Tae does not give up and goes back to the school the next day to continue her attempt to get closer with Kun. Most of the rest of the plot from this first story arcsexuality. involves Ga-Woon starting to develop feelings of attraction towards Tae, though still under the belief that Tae is really Jung-Woo, Ga-Woon starts to question his sexuality.
The second arc in the Kill Me, Kiss Me series spans the rest of the manhwa from volumes two through five, and has almost no connection with the first arc. The story now concentrates on the beautiful girl Que-Min Ghun, who although appearing innocent at first glance is actually incredibly strong. She attends the same school as Jung-Woo and after meeting him one day in the street, starts to develop a crush on him, going as far as trying to protect him from people like Ghoon-Hahm Che and his gang, the Yi Won. Eventually, Ghoon-Hahm offers an arrangement: in exchange for not beating up Jung-Woo, Que-Min will have to go out with the gang leader himself. Ghoon-Hahm and Que-Min start their forced relationship, and Que-Min finally gets Jung-Woo to remember her name and notice her.

Ragnarok
by Lee Myung-jin
Plot
Ragnarok follows the life and adventures of the warrior Chaos, who is an amnesiac that cannot remember anything from before the last two years in his life. He resides in the city of Fayon, inhabited by a long lineage of warriors. The newest leader in line to claim the head position of the village is a young woman by the name of Iris Irine, who trains with her close friend Chaos to become a suitable leader for her people. Meanwhile, Fenris Fenrir searches for Balder's reincarnation to bring about Ragnarok.
11th Cat
by Kim Mi-kyung

Plot
Cute and charming, yet not so bright little Rika is training to become a real wizard. The first step is to find a magic staff. Ah, that can't be too hard, can it? As Rika and Eujen journey deep into the forest in search of this wonderful magic staff, Rika loses her way. She winds up in an unfortunate chance encounter with the dark sorcerer who kidnapped the princess! Will Rika be able to free the princess and become a real wizard? Follow this cute fantasy story with Rika and find out.
The Tarot Cafe
by Sang Sun Park

Plot
In contemporary Great Britain, Pamela is the owner of a mysterious Tarot Cafe. After midnight, she receives supernatural clients who come to her for advice through tarot readings. From cats to fairies to vampires, they tell her their stories even as she unravels their past, present and future through her cards. In exchange for her advice, they pay her with beads of Berial's Necklace, which Pamela gathers for her own secret ends.
Priest
by Hyung Min-woo
Plot
Priest tells the story of humanity's battle against 12 fallen angels, led by the archangel Temozarela. Despite having fought for God in the battle against Lucifer, Temozarela and his cohorts shortly thereafter found that God had lost interest in them. Upon finding God has focused his attention on humans they decide to rebel against God in light of God's favoritism towards the human race. They descend upon Earth to 'play God' among the humans who build a temple and statues for them. For their rebellion and acts against humanity, God destroyed their temple and their statues were cast underground, with their souls being trapped within the statues.
Centuries later, there lives a Holy Knight called Vascar De Gullion, a killer of heretics in the name of God. After his wife and children were burned alive, Vascar De Gullion 'loses faith' and wanders the earth in a 'blood rage,' leaving a wake of slaughter wherever he goes. His journey comes to an end when he discovers a hidden cave with the statues of the 12 fallen angels. Temozarela talks Vascar De Gullion into giving his body to him in the hopes of exacting his revenge on God.
It is again centuries later that Vascar De Gullion is found alive and sentenced to be judged as a Heretic by Betheal, a powerful priest. Upon dealing with Vascar De Gullion, Betheal discovers from Vascar De Gullion that he is not who he is meant to be, but rather Temozarela. Temozarela plays with Betheal's only pride and joy in life, a child he saved from a heretic sacrifice. The fallen angel manipulates the child into brutally slaughtering a young woman, taking her arms and heart, and setting up a blasphemous ritual room with her blood. Once Betheal sees what his child had done and sees Temozarela laughing, he ends up killing the child with his own hands. Betheal loses faith in God and Temozarela takes Betheal under his wing as one of his disciples. Instead of turning in favor of Temozarela, Betheal acts as the Judas in this story, betraying Temozarela. Betheal devotes his life to study a way to trap Temozarela so that people can be free from him. This came in heretic invention of the Domas Porada. Betheal's body is needed to be the key in keeping the lock on this 'cage' locked. With his soul trapped inside the Domas Porada, Betheal enters a new life altogether with the power he gained from turning away from God. He is a now a kind of demon, called Belial.
Ivan Isaacs, the hero, is called upon to solve the puzzle that the Domas Porada presents. Upon solving it Ivan is cast onto a cross after witnessing his only love, Gena, die in his arms. It is then that Belial takes Ivan, who in the madness of losing Gena denounces God. Ivan is reborn as an immortal serving Belial. Because of Gena's death Ivan devotes himself for vengeance against Temozarela and his men.
The Priest story spans three distinct time periods; modern times, the Crusades and the Wild West, although it is primarily focused on the last period. Whilst featuring a large cast of heroes, anti-heroes and villains, a number of which enjoying in depth and detailed character development within the plot, the lead antagonist of Priest is Temozarela, whilst the main protagonist is Ivan Isaacs, a now immortal, 19th century priest who sold his soul to Belial, a former priest turned devil, in the pursuit of revenge and redemption after unwittingly unleashing Temozarela from the Domas Porada, a prison of sorts constructed by Belial (then Betheal) to imprison Temozarela.

I.N.V.U
by Kim Kang-won
Plot
16 year old Sey wakes up to the sounds of people in her bedroom. Moving men are packing up things, and her mother tells her, "I am going to Italy for five years," and leaves her in the care of a friend, Meja Kang. They are complete strangers to Sey and have a son named Terry her age. It turns out that the family have some issues of their own since Terry turns out to be a girl named Hali, who is pretending to be her dead brother to prevent her mother from having a break-down.
Deciding that she wants to depend on herself, Sey sets out to look for a job, and finds one at a gas-station. However in order to work there, she is forced to learn how to skate. Siho Lee, a guy in her class who happens to date her friend Ria and also be the one who got her the job, offers to teach her. It is later revealed that Siho owns the gas-station, when Sey gets in trouble with a customer and Siho has to pay for the damage. Not wanting to be in debt to him, Sey begins tutoring him after school for the mid-terms. Sey is uncomfortable being around Siho because he is a boy. Due to her mother's many lovers and the book her mother published when Sey was in middle school, the boys in her class thought "like mother like daughter". Sey has not dated at all and is known for hating boys. The fact that Siho lives alone is not a bonus to the situation. Siho later reveals to Sey that he and Ria broke up because he likes someone else. A conversation between Ria and Sey reveals that it was Sey Siho was talking about.
Despite everything, she and Siho end up in a strange friendship. While giving him notes one day, she experiences her first kiss, but that is interrupted by a door slamming her head. She refuses to acknowledge the kiss because it was stolen and that it happened with Siho, who is known for his wandering hands. At the end of book three, Siho manages to win a date with Sey based on a bet on how many scores he would get on his midterm. The date turns out to be a disaster since they were stalked by Siho's ex and Sey got Siho's Birthday cake in her face. After trying to escape from Siho, he manages to catch up with her and kiss her. Despite seeming to enjoy the kiss, she hits him and runs but forgets her cellphone. At school, as she tries to get it back from him, they accidentally set on the speakers and are forced to hide from the principal. A stressed out Sey tells Siho to leave her alone and that he always makes her do things she doesn't want to do. An angry and hurt Siho apologizes for butting in to her life and that he will leave her alone.
After school, Sey turns up at Sihos apartment to get her phone. Hurt from Sihos cold attitude towards her, she tells him that he has no consideration to other peoples feelings and rushes of to the elevator. Siho sneaks up behind her and asks her if she is afraid of him. Sey confesses that she is afraid of the situation since it was all new to her and that Siho did not make it better by doing what he wanted. Placing his chin on the top of her head, Siho apologizes to which Sey tells him he is heavy.
In volume 5, Siho and Sey have yet another argument, where Siho finds out that he isn't as far up on Sey's priority list as he thought. When Sey is at the hospital to gige Mrs. Kang some change, she runs in to him and his mother. It is then revealed that his mother suffers from brain damage, caused by a car accident. She and Siho had been hiding in the USA from his father at the time and Siho suspects that his father was behind the accident. In return for going with his father back to Korea, his mother receives medical care and is taken care of. Realising that she and Siho both grew up alone and that they are very similar, Sey takes Siho's hands as she tells him so. How their relationship develops is to be seen in volume 6.
King of Hell
by Ra In-soo

Plot
Majeh was a great swordsman in life but in death he is merely an envoy to the next world for the King of Hell: an old man who bosses him around and throws things at him. It is later discovered that he is a legendary swordsman who was placed in a magical realm where the fiercest warriors stayed, killing those who dared to attack him in one fatal swoop. The magical realm in which Majeh was sent is a place where martial artists who have honed their skills to incredible levels through horrendous or inhumane tactics are sent. As such that realm is legendary for the inhabitants' prowess in battle as well as their cruelty and delight in death and destruction. Majeh used his incredible martial arts abilities to easily defeat the inhabitants of the sealed realm with his trademark "Heaven's Arrows of Judgement" technique which he is still able to perform in his teenage form, albeit to a lesser degree.
I Wish
by Seo Hyun-Joo

Plot
This story tells the tale of a young woman whose family passes away. In desperation, she asks a magician to wish them back. However, the wish cannot be granted. She ends up becoming his assistant until she can decide on a wish he can grant. Just what is the most precious possession one must give up to have their wish granted?