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

late marking. read long time ago, not sure if I'll re-read anytime soon. [translations seem on indefinite hiatus]

I really liked it, as the heroine is not whiny and stup*d. She's in fact, talented and adorable. There's not much romance, but the scenes are cute, and I liked how Narumi reacted to her all those times. It would've been better to see more of their married life though. I wanted to see them become more intimate, especially after seeing that they'd actually have 2 kids after 10 years, and Ochi's still around teasing Narumi. XD A note though, there were times when I was just like, "Huh! Did you really desperately need SP to solve your problems? Did you even try to go to a hair salon first?" But anyway, since I'm not very into fashion and its trends, even when they make it as if the hairstyles they present are awesome or perfect, some of them just look plain or weird to me. Hehe

late marking. read long time ago, not sure if I'll re-read anytime soon. [translations seem on indefinite hiatus] I skimmed the raws for the remaining chapters and though they become happy in the end, I feel like I'm not very satisfied with how things ended up for Ji Wu (who's actually Jio/Gio when romanized). I'm glad that thhe sister Cha Ye Rim took interest in him, but I would've wanted to know more about him too. It's too sad that his 10-year unrequited love was not reciprocated, but if Ye Rim could've loved him better, then that's good. I disliked how Cha Gong Myeong was vague about his feelings for both Aram and Nan Hui.. Like, Nan Hui raised her hopes when Gong Myeong told her he likes her for real now, but his reaction towards the phone charm that Aram gave him just made her realize that perhaps he's still in love with her. Even when she tried to deny it and delude herself in the happiness in front of her, she just had to make him choose when Jae Ha broke up with Aram on her birthday. She asked Gong Myeong to stay with her, and if it's necessary for him to take Aram personally when she had a lot of other friends who could've helped. When Gong Myeong insisted that whatever it is with Nan Hui, he'll deal with it later, as the situation calls for immediate care for Aram, not her. Well, I can't blame Nan Hui for wanting to end things like that. It's that feeling, "Will he always run to Aram and leave her when she needs him?" It's like she's not his priority at all. I hated his cowardice. Sure, it's not easy to forget or be indifferent to someone you loved for 5 years, but is it really worth it to hurt your special someone for that person? Can you really just keep on relying that he/she will understand it anyway? That's not easy at all, bro. You need to be insensitive.

late marking. read long time ago, not sure if I'll re-read anytime soon. [translations seem on indefinite hiatus] Ch 20// Skimmed through the raws.. Glad that Park Ha showed remorse towards his faults. Seol Hui was annoying until the end. Mega Princess Syndrome who wanted both and ended up with none. It was really annoying when she pulled that "something happened last night, don't tell me you don't remember" stint. At least Park Ha only put up with it for a bit and chased Jin Hong immediately. Really. He's one of the few violent and arrogant dudes who truly repented and showed remorse after hurting the female lead. Appearance wise, I liked Hee Won better, and his personality is actually good, until he felt scary for the kidnapping case in the end. Well at least he didn't really hurt Jin Hong. I liked that in the beginning, he stood up for his belief that he didn't want to date Seol Hui when he didn't see her as a woman because she'd only end up hurt, then gave in to Park Ha's constant blabbering, and at least tried to date her. Too bad, she just couldn't get out of sister-zone. Oh well, it's her fault too because she kept on dragging Park Ha even when she had the chance to finally be alone with Hee Won. This manga is good in a way that it clearly shows not to be too greedy or else you'll end up losing what you're supposed to have.

ch 20 // skimmed the raws. as usual, abrupt ending. like, the problem isn't resolved until the last volume then it just suddenly ends as soon as they get back together. (Yeah, it's always like this. After the main couple gets together, they'll break up and won't make up until the last chapter and we'll only be given a few pages of lovey dovey after the conflict, when we should see more progress now that their issue's solved..) Also, as usual.. birth secrets and kidnapping the strong female lead and be rescued by male MC. XD [translations seem to be on indefinite hiatus]

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.