Forum - View topicSoul to Seoul by Kim Jea Eun (tokyopop)
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darkhunter
 Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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After reading the first volume of Soul to Seoul, the thing that stuck out of my head is good character with a laid back atmosphere. The most important thing about shojo manga is the character and their relationship and Soul to Seoul's character are pretty well laid out. The story is actually believable (than other shojo) and takes place in New York.
And what shojo doesn't have a love triangle around the corner. The art is the usually bishonen, and I notice some of the guys dress like girls sometimes (Capri pants anyone?), but then it's not common to see a Korean here in k-town dress girly too. I think it's a nice follow up to Hot Gimmick and an easy read for non-shojo fans. Last edited by darkhunter on Tue Jan 24, 2006 12:53 am; edited 2 times in total |
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wanderer
 Posts: 77 |
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I liked the first volume, too. I really enjoy the artwork and how the characters are drawn, and the unique clothing designs. I like the art in most of the manwha I've read but I usually give up on them pretty quickly because the story ends up being non-existant (to me, anyway).
I think this one may be different. It seems to already be following the generic shojo trend of popular- boy taking an interest in not- so- popular girl, but the love triangle that may emerge would be interesting. I also like that the characters look different and have different cultural backgrounds. I hope that some of those cultural differences and similarities between the characters are featured and explored more in depth in future volumes. The best friend (who is half black, half korean), I forgot his name, but I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with his character. I found him to be more interesting than the other two. 
Its hard for me to put my opinions into words (sorry!) but I really liked this one- simply because it was so different it caught my attention. |
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darkhunter
Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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You are right that it's kinda different, which caught my attention, yet it still too kind of similar to work.
As for the Character, I felt it was interesting, not because of the relationship among Kai (half Korean, half white), Spike (half Korean, half African American) & Sunil (full Korean). Kai's sister, Gelda is a very complex character to understand too. Especially now that they given hint that there could be something between her and JJ (the homeless brother). Sangyul Choi, the Kai's cousin also comes into the mix and stir up things. Romance is part of the story, but it also deal with cultural identities, especially for Spike. I have to agree with you, I wonder if the story is still good after volume 2. But so far it has good protential to be soething bigger. |
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darkhunter
Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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Volume 2 start out with a bang...literutelly as spoiler[Kai kill a chinese gang leader. Gelda found out her adoptive brother's rock star secret and is now deeply in love with him...and so is her friend. Sunil still doesn't trust kai and think he's dangerous but she somehow fall for his charm. And Sangyul Choi is envious of Kai's goodlook and how he can speak speak english...somehow he wish he could be like him. Kail obvious have feeling fo sunil through his nightmare. The biggest addition is kwon as he's korean but part of the chinese gang and he's going to torture kai by targeting the one he love. Perhaps being a gangster isn't all that crack up to be. Kai is about to find out the hard way.].
All these character have interesting role and thier emotion is realistic. Reading this felt like watching a typical triad/romance/comedy korean movies. The story is entertaining, even though volume 2 ended too quick. Yes, gang life is glorifed in korea..many hit movies have gangster in them. But even here in l.a. many asian american feel the need to be gangster, so it's not an unrealistic portray at all, and a world I know too well. |
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