New Manhwa

[omegaling]

No, that's not a typo. A Manhwa is Korean manga (thanks for GuyverFanatic for the info). Since the wait between Guyver mangas is so long, I desperately needed some other reading material to tide me over until #23 is released. It took me *months* to find something that really caught and held my attention, but found nothing. The two of the three series I finally did find didn't turn out to be from Japan, but from Korea, which I thought was kinda cool/interesting, seeing that all we knew until the explosion in manga popularity was the manga published in Japan.

Granted, I don't know the tastes of manga of each and every person here on the board, but here are my recommendations if anyone wants to check them out.

Les Bijoux: A fantasy/romance about a young boy named Lapis, born a "spar" (peasant) to an outcasted family, is the prophecised savior who will end the tyrannical end of the Habits (the ruling class) and liberate his people. In order to accomplish this task, however, Lapis must be able to look at his quest from two different points of view, and to do this, he is two people sharing one body; a young man, which is his most dominant form, and then occassionally changing to a beautiful young woman named "Lazuli". Both Lapis and Lazuli - two people of two minds and two consciousness sharing one body and one set of memories (got that? X_X ) must accomplish their own destinies; Lapis to save the spars from their ruling kings, and Lazuli to save the man in charge of the tyrannical rule.

The artwork of Les Bijoux is absolutely stunning. This is what drew my attention first, and then the storyline and complex, colorful characters made it for a very well-rounded series. Although this is predominatley a romance series, I really think there's something in it for everyone. Unfortunately, it's only five volumes, so it's a very short read.

Model Jae is a young Korean woman studying in Europe with dreams of becoming a famous painter. But, as it often goes, she falls into the catagory of "struggling artist" and is at a lack of inspiration. That is until one night, her friend drops off an unconscious drunk man at Jae's apartment, promising that he won't be a problem. Jae, like most sensible people, is uneasy with this idea...especially when the man walks into her room and drinks her blood.

As guessed, Michael - the "drunk" - is a Vampire, and a very vain one at that. Being an artist in his past life, he accuses Jae of having no passion in her art. Determined to prove him wrong, she strikes a deal with him; she paints his portrait if he gets to drink her blood...but only a little at a time. Jae finds herself at Michael's mansion along with the enigmatic young man named Ken and quiet, secretive maid named Eva. During her stay at the manor, Jae is determined to learn more about her host, while at the same time being caught in the middle of a vicious love triangle between her, Michael, and Ken.

I think Model might be more targeted for a female audience, but what really pulled me towards it was not only its unique art style, but the incredible mood it establishes. Unlike Les Bijoux, this one's still being published, so I have to wait for this about as long as I have to wait for the next Guyver

Anyway, these are truly some of the best manga - or in this case, manhwa - and I felt like I needed to share it with people. I feel you guys can be trusted with checking them out and appreciating them for what they are (both these titles are available at Tokyopop.com) and not turn it into some product of rapic fangirldom...but we'll leave it at that.

[Guest]

Hi Omega, if you are interested in Manhwa I know of some you would enjoy.

Chronicles of the Cursed Sword- Sort of like Inu-Yash mixed with Samurai Deeper Kyo. We follow Rey Yan in his jouneies to uncover his checkerd past. As he encounters friends enemies, and and feindish plot on his life one thing is cirtain when he Draws his Pasa sword Demon, God, and Man a like tremble in awe of his might.

Rebirth- Deshwitat L. Rudbic is a Vampire who has had a tragic existence, Who's love was murdered by his best friend. Reborn 400 years Later in a chance occurence with Ghost Hunters, Deshwitats Rage will shake the modern world to it's core.

I know I hamed it up good.

[guyverfanatic]

Rebirth, Ragnarok, and Priest are my favorite manhwa titles.

[Guest]

Oooooooooooooh! Reading material, I'll put these on my to look up list.