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Reviewed by Charles Webb Missing a volume of Sarasah between reviews has hurt the experience for me a bit. In part because I lost a bit of the script from volume 2, so it took a bit of scrambling to recall the events and characters of that book. But in addition to that, with the introduction of so many new characters* I had a bit of trouble following the plot given the art style which was something of a novelty with the first issue and is now kind of a hindrance. The reliance on similar faces with starkly angular features and the real lack of differentiation between characters made it a little harder to track main character Ji-hae's adventures. A brief plot reminder: the lead character, Ji-hae is a 21st century teenage girl thrust back into medieval Korea into one of her past lives, where she hopes to win the heart of her love. In this volume she finds out about a tragedy for which her past life was responsible and now she's scrambling to make good. Meanwhile, there's plotting going on involving the royal family and attempts from Chinese forces to kill the Queen - of course the nosy lead gets involved here as well. Ji-hae's personality comes into shape a bit more and while the impulsiveness is still there, she gets a little sympathy when she finds out that she was guilty of another girl's death in a past life. Having her confront it after the reveal strengthens the character better than her involvement in the various intrigues and political machinations of the plot. She also gets involved in a little dirty comedy involving the equipment of her male alter ego which worked and also showed how well she rolls with the punches. As with the 2nd volume I was charmed with this one, but the art - well, it kills it for me a bit. Given the visual similarities between the cast it's very difficult for me to follow the action. The androgyny and agelessness of the characters are maybe appropriate for the genre, but could benefit from some flourish to make them more distinct. *Maybe these characters were all introduced in v3, I don't know. A review copy of this book has been provided by Yen Press. Interested in writing for MangaLife? We're always looking for talented reviewers and columnists, so drop us a line!
Charles Webb
Editor-in-Chief, MangaLife.com
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17 August 2010
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