kei_k's manga / #Strong Female Lead(273)

I liked Naru, but I think his character's development lacked in some aspects... I really had a crush on Shinah, though. He's good-looking, smart, and a gentleman. I was turned off when he let Juhi (the tutor) kiss him as she liked though, even if he claims he liked Ida since before. He's not good at fighting like Naru, and he seems to be a sadist/dominant male character, but if he were to be sincerely in love with me (and wouldn't even give others chance to flirt with him), then he's someone I'd really like to have. :p

I found Danbi strong but she really pissed me off. I couldn't feel the sincerity in the romance at all, until the end. I didn't like the romance at all since Danbi didn't seem in love at all and Hansol was easygoing until the end (ugh how could he just let the actress kiss him). Disappointing. Story had potential. Never really felt her connection with Bada. Really wish she was more sincere to Dohyun. She didn't need to pretend. But I guess it's fine that she at least tried.

The ending where Minha could suddenly hear was too unrealistic, but considering Hyojae's visit, perhaps that's the miracle they were waiting for.

Ch22

Gaon's evil but I liked his devotion for Yooi (except when he kissed Lida who disguised Yooi; even though he knew, he was desperate to kiss Yooi so he still kissed Lida)...

The art was superb. Both Hanzous were hot, and Sara was pretty. Part 1: Hanzou looked so hot strolling around the red light district, but I was kinda sad, too, 'coz he was such a flirt. When he saw Kaguya/Sara's scar, he thought the memory loss was also a plot against his master so he even reported her. It's good that he listened to her as he strangled her, though. He must've felt her sincerity so he finally believed her. It's good that after the ruckus, they didn't seem to be enemies after all. It was kinda sad, about the first love thing. You know, when Sara asked him why he liked her and he said she looked like his first love, which turned out to be her sister (who married Lord Nobuyasu, Hanzou's master). This first part was too short that I wanted more build up for their relationship. I mean, c'mon, he's a playboy. How can he change so easily? I wanted to see them interact more. Oh well, I guess that's expecting too much for less than a hundred pages volume. Part 2: Sara received a mission to marry Hatsutori Hanzou to investigate Iga's weaponry and steal the scroll of gunpowder's secret formula to prevent another war from breaking out (led by her brother). She immediately agrees, thinking it was the same Hanzou (her lover) she's gonna marry. While running onto the hanging bridge, excited to see Hanzou, it breaks and she's saved by a handsome shinobi who resembled her Hanzou, only to find out that he's actually the Hanzou-sama she's about to marry. She wanted to carry out the mission immediately at night before she marries him, but due to the unfamiliarity, they decided to do it after the wedding. Her Hanzou arrived to congratulate his relative, only to find out that the bride is actually his lover. She revealed her mission and asked him to believe in her, but of course, it was difficult for Hanzou too, especially when she sided with Hanzou-sama when Hanzou hit him with a stick. He left saying Hanzou-sama's a good person and she'll probably be more happy with him. As he's leaving, he notices an army approaching and goes back immediately. Meanwhile, Sara secretly acquired the secret scroll, but as Hanzou-sama's pursuing her for their wedding night, she resists until Rikimaru arrived and took her out. As they left, Hanzou-sama noticed the missing scroll and they were unable to escape successfully because of the trap laid out. Hanzou-sama was furious and decided that she can no longer live, but Hanzou arrived on time stopping him and informing them of the approaching army. At first, Hanzou-sama didn't believe them but an informant confirmed it. Sara said that they will be stopped if the secret scroll was delivered, so they took it again and Hanzou asked Hanzou-sama to believe in them. They were able to stop Sara's bro in time and the war was prevented in the meantime. Rikimaru, who was left, was released by Hanzou-sama and told him that he'd release him but they shouldn't come back to Iga anymore... It ends as Hanzou and Sara goes home to ask her father's approval for their relationship. Hanzou was very nervous and Sara kissed him to his surprise. Far away, her father, Oda Nobunaga, was watching it and said that his daughter was indeed wild for that act but he'll let her be for the time being. Anyway, I liked both volumes, but I wish there was more. Especially during the year they spent together after the last incident. Did Hanzou really stop his habits? I wanted to see him in his uniform more, too. Hehe.

Well, that was quite a long journey. I enjoyed the world HMR created for this, but I would've loved to see more of Bia's world incorporated to the story. It was enjoyable, but I was annoyed a lot of times with Bia's actions and behavior. She's very indecisive and troublesome to the point where, even though she's supposed to be a strong female lead, she just ends up being a damsel in distress. I was so irked, when in the last few chapters, she's gotten herself kidnapped by MuYeong AGAIN because she decided to ditch the guards to "talk" to GaYeon when clearly, the war has not ended completely. She's too naive until the end, and I think she's very self-centered, too. In the earlier chapters, I disliked how rude and willful she was. Sure, she's from another world and she's uncomfortable, but the least she could do was to at least quietly observe. It's not like she was really being abused. In fact, the times she's gotten hurt were truly because of her foolish actions and behavior. I would've liked her better if she were more firm with her decisions as well. Like, I was annoyed when she kept on betraying Yoo Baek for Mu Yeong. I mean, sure, he's basically clean in her slate since it was the previous Bia that was his target, but the way she acted towards Yoo Baek, who was actually nice and gentle to her, was too much. I just wanted to pull her hair when she admitted to herself that she liked Yoo Baek. Duh, she was always mean to him and even betrayed him for Mu Yeong. Sure, she's being kind to Mu Yeong because she believed that only he could help her go back to her world. But she's too foolish to trust an enemy that easily. It's not like she's the only one affected by her actions. She actually caused a lot of trouble to others because she kept on thinking only of herself. I mean, she's all alone in a different world and I understand that she wants to save herself, but if she just thought more clearly, she wouldn't have caused so much trouble. Anyway, I was still pissed a her towards the end, with the monster taking over Mu Yeong's form and luring her to come and leave Yoo Baek. She's very much tempted already! If she didn't see the reflection, she would've betrayed Yoo Baek AGAIN. Like, girl, make up your mind for once! I know Yoo Baek promised that when the war's over, they'll never have to part anymore, but Bia's just too self-centered that she can't even try to compromise. She acted spoiled until the end. Duh, Yoo Baek's an emperor and she's an empress. She's lucky enough that her workload's not being given so strictly and that Yoo Baek has no eyes for other women, and she's still like that. Ugh. I think the only times I liked her was when she was in her world and a few times when she's eating. LOL.

Yandere alert! I dislike Yerim (Nurse) very much as she was the master manipulator of most, if not all tragedies in this story. I'm actually surprised that Gayun didn't deal with her sooner. Of course I'm very bothered about how they couldn't differentiate Song Yi and A Ul when she only changed clothes and pushed back her hair a little bit. Their height difference is noticeable too. How about their voice? Haha. It's kinda ridiculous, really, but anyway.. I thought Gayun will discover SongYi's secret sooner especially because he had a lot of "..." moments while observing A Ul. Urk. But really, it sucks to be popular, eh? This manga made me realize that even more. That there could be people who desperately seek their love to be reciprocated to the point of threatening the other with their own lives. Like, duh. He's not even allowed to live for himself? If he were to take responsibility for the life of one person who threatens to commit suicide if he doesn't go along with her, then what would happen if more people would demand that? Where would that leave him? Poor guy. It's such a burden to be popular. Anyway, unlike other HMR heroines, I can take SongYi more. I mean she at least has really good points unlike the other characters. We can see here how even when she's neglected, she tries hard to be look after herself and even A Ul. She even sacrificed her life to fill in for A Ul while he can't attend the school since their parents care too much about his reputation, too. She's strong. She may have been manipulated by Yerim and may seem so indecisive, but I'm glad that the conflicts aren't as dragged out. For example, when she chose Seryun after his confession as Yerim instructed, she let Gayun go but quickly went after him after thinking it over. It's good that she was able to catch up with Gayun and he accepted her immediately. I'm glad he's actually not a jerk to her. Even when he found out about SongYi. I'm glad he didn't make a fuss about thinking she's doing it for revenge or something. For once, I really liked Gayun, too. Especially when he thought it over and still accepted SongYi after all (suspecting that something happened with Seryun included). Seryun is hard to ignore, though. He's such a sweetie. I hope he gets someone deserving, because he's innocent and sweet.