Eve Healy

Manga Review | The Beautiful Greenness by Miecohouse Matsumoto

Title: The Beautiful Greenness

Taro is an author, or at least he is supposed to be, but he has been experiencing writer’s block that has been impossible for him to overcome. In the meantime, he has been freelancing and writing articles for a couple of publications to make ends meet. Otherwise, he spends his days lounging about his apartment, depressed and alone. Life doesn’t seem like it will change anytime soon until he runs into a greengrocer hawking his wares. Taro doesn’t intend to buy anything, but the greengrocer targets Taro and offers him a deal he can’t possibly refuse: 100 yen for a carrot and spinach.

Despite Taro not knowing how to cook, he accepts the deal and spends the rest of the day complaining about the persistence of the greengrocer. That night, he discovers his bath is out of order, and the following day, he is forced to go out to a public bath, where he runs into the same greengrocer. The two get into an argument due to Taro’s poor attitude and homophobic comments, which prompts Haruki, the greengrocer, to buy back the produce. However, while heading back to Taro’s house, Haruki discovers that Taro might be hiding something tender and sad inside him. When they finally arrive, Haruki takes the chance to see if he can peel back Taro’s layers to find what secrets he has hidden within.

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Manhwa Review | Why Ophelia Couldn’t Leave by Joo Ahri

Title: Why Ophelia Couldn't Leave

Author(s): Joo Ahri

Artist(s): samo

Ophelia has lived a tragic life. She was the child of her mother’s love affair with a mercenary who helped rescue her from her poor life in the countryside. Unfortunately, their relationship soured and ultimately ended in tragedy as Ophelia’s father died on the battlefield. Ophelia’s mother moved on fairly quickly to a knight, who also ended up dying an untimely death due to disease. Then, she meets a baron whose wife is frail, and Ophelia and her mother end up living with them for a time. Once the baroness passes, Ophelia’s mother marries the baron, only for him to pass away from illness as well. Finally, after the funeral of her husband, Ophelia’s mother meets and soon marries the Duke of Arpad, where Ophelia meets her new stepbrother, Alexander.

The two don’t hit it off right away, but after the unfortunate carriage incident that takes the lives of both Alexander’s father and Ophelia’s mother, they are soon intrinsically tied together until Alexander comes of age and is able to take over the dukedom. Ophelia attempts to leave after the funeral, but Alexander begs her to stay, at least until he becomes an adult. Then, she can leave whenever she wishes. So, Ophelia stays, but as time goes on, the question of whether or not the carriage accident was truly just an accident comes back to haunt the family of two, and the undercurrent of Alexander’s taboo affection for Ophelia steadily grows. Will Ophelia be able to make it until Alexander’s coming of age? Or will she be swept away by the mysterious circumstances of her place in Arpad manor?

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Manhwa Review | My Way with You by u-pi

Title: My Way with You

Author(s): u-pi

Artist(s): u-pi

Giran doesn’t care about most things anymore. Since his father’s suicide as a child, Giran has been raised by his grandmother, who devoted her entire being to raising him all on her own. As a result, Giran feels wholly indebted to her and spends his whole life working hard so he can one day pay her back for everything he has received from her. Unfortunately, though, Giran’s grandmother passes away at home alone during his work. Wracked with guilt for leaving her to pass away alone and being unable to fulfill the many promises he made to her, Giran’s life and goals fall by the wayside. He spends his days simply going through the motions, unable to move on with his life.

That is, until one day, he is at a club and catches the eye of a beautiful man named Seon-gyeong. The two have this immediate connection and magnetism that Giran can’t seem to shake. Somehow, they are constantly and inexplicably drawn to each other until they finally spend day after day together. Without any official declaration from either of them, they end up living together and spending more time together than they do doing anything else. But, as time goes on and their flame and passion fail to wane, it is clear something darker is pulling them together. Where did Seon-gyeong come from, and why is Giran so drawn to him?

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Manhwa Review | A Man of Virtue by GGANG-E

Title: A Man of Virtue

Author(s): GGANG-E

Artist(s): Wook

Jinwoo works with his greatest enemy, Sangtae. Their rivalry began back in high school, where Jinwoo used to dominate academically. However, when Sangtae transfers to Jinwoo’s school, it isn’t long before Jinwoo roots himself firmly in Jinwoo’s spot, leaving Jinwoo permanently in second place. While this is frustrating, Jinwoo isn’t too worried about it. Of course, this won’t last forever. Sangtae is going to go to college, and they probably won’t ever see each other again, right? Wrong. As luck would have, Sangtae ends up working in the same company and even in the same department, and just as he did in high school, Sangtae rules the roost, leaving Jinwoo in the dust.

One evening, when Jinwoo is particularly frustrated by Sangtae, Jinwoo drinks excessively. Then, in his drunken stupor, he pukes on a haechi statue, drawing the beast’s ire. The following day, at random, Jinwoo is inundated by dirty fantasies to the point that he can barely function. Unfortunately, amid one of these fantasies, Sangtae catches Jinwoo trying to relieve himself, resulting in further embarrassment and rivalry between the two. Amid their fighting, though, Jinwoo realizes that he only gets the fantasies when he is near Sangtae, leading him to conclude that these are actually Sangtae’s fantasies.

With Sangtae mysteriously at the crux of Jinwoo’s curse, will he be able to team up with his greatest enemy to solve this issue? Or is this just one more reason to avoid Sangtae for the rest of his life?

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Manhwa Review | The King and the Paladin by IRINBI

Title: The King and the Paladin

Author(s): IRINBI

Artist(s): Park JiEun

Ezekiel is a noble paladin. For years now, he has been steadily building up his reputation, wealth, and standing in society in hopes of one day reuniting with his long-lost love Calli, and finally establishing a life with her. However, before finding her, he is appointed as the heir to a dukedom as the illegitimate son. Ezekiel accepts his role, and as the heir, he meets with the newly appointed queen of the kingdom. To his surprise, though, the bloody queen Calliope is none other than his long-lost love Calli. Before he can even express his joy, Calli captures him and forces him into a marriage ceremony right then and there.

Calliope has suffered for years under the power of her father’s concubine and her children. Her only reprieve from the suffering was the company of a mysterious man named Ezekiel, who was being kept and trained by the church. The two shared many sweet and intimate moments. After discovering the corrupt and salacious nature of the church, Calliope’s goal is to help rescue Ezekiel and take over her rightful place on the throne as its only direct descendent. However, upon making this decision for herself, she discovers Ezekiel has disappeared, and all she has to go on is the rumors that he has left to become a noblewoman’s concubine. Betrayed by her only love, Calliope goes on the warpath, ascends the throne, and with Ezekiel back under her thumb, she is determined to keep him by her side, even if it means destroying him in the process.

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Manhwa Review | Love Tractor by HmmYongYong

Title: Love Tractor

Author(s): HmmYongYong

Artist(s): AngryMonster

Sun Yool desperately needs an escape. His relationship with his father has been tenuous at best, and his relationship with his boyfriend hasn’t been going much better. While trying to keep the balance in his relationships, he’s also struggling through law school. Things are beginning to come to a head with Yool’s mental health when his mother talks him into going to his grandfather’s farm for a break since his grandfather is in the hospital, unable to keep up his home. Yool accepts the offer and leaves the city to escape to the farm.

Yool expects many peaceful days ahead. However, he doesn’t expect to find a big, burly young adult named Yechan, whom he briefly knew as a child. Yechan grows attached to Yool, and soon, the days with Yechan far exceed the days Yool has alone, and while he would never admit it out loud, Yool finds himself growing attached to the boisterous young man. But even in this idyllic scenario with the eye candy that is Yechan, the darkness of the life he left behind is ever-looming and threatening the fragile happiness he’s built for himself.

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Manga Review | Perfect World by Rie Aruga

Title: Perfect World

Author(s): Rie Aruga

Artist(s): Rie Aruga

Tsugumi has been in love with Itsuki since high school. They were never in the same class, but they would often share moments in the library or the hallways, and in these innocent times between friends, Tsugumi’s love for Itsuki blossomed. Itsuki was an active and popular kid, ready to take on the world. He dreamed of becoming an architect, and Tsugumi was prepared to support him. However, just as Tsugumi was working up the courage to confess to Itsuki, he gets a confession from someone else and begins dating her. Heartbroken, Tsugumi fades into the background of Itsuki’s life, and the two naturally grow apart.

Now, Tsugumi is a grown woman working at a job she loves as an interior designer. Deep down, though, she can’t shake the torch that still burns for Itsuki even after all these years. One evening, she is invited to a small reunion with her classmates, and Itsuki happens to be there. They hit it off immediately, which only fans the flames of Tsugumi’s dormant crush. Feeling like this might be destiny, she begins working up the courage to pursue him again, but as everyone begins to leave, Itsuki asks for his chair. He has a spinal cord injury from a car accident and is now wheelchair-bound.

This shocks Tsugumi, and she’s unsure if she can handle dating someone in a wheelchair, but as time goes on and she finds herself actively seeking out Itsuki, the fact that Itsuki is in a wheelchair begins to matter less and less. However, Tsugumi’s acceptance of the new Itsuki isn’t the only problem. Since his accident, Itsuki has sworn off love. Can Tsugumi break down the walls Itsuki has put up around himself? Or are they destined to forever orbit around each other?

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Manga Review | Ten Count by Rihito Takarai

Title: Ten Count

Author(s): Rihito Takarai

Artist(s): Rihito Takarai

Shirotani suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. He spends every day in fear of being contaminated. The only way he can make it through his day-to-day life is by covering himself completely and avoiding as much human contact as possible. As a result, Shirotani is always in long sleeves and long pants along with a set of gloves to protect his hands. Even with all of the protection, though, the moment he enters his home, he must strip completely and put the contaminated clothes away, then he has to wash his hands as many times as possible until they are chapped and bleeding. This is Shirotani’s routine.

At least it was, until the day his boss narrowly avoided being hit by a car. While parked on the side of the road, the company president received a phone call, which he took just outside the car. While on the phone, he failed to notice a car heading his way. Shirotani, seeing the oncoming vehicle, calls out to the president and reaches out to him, but at the very last second, his aversion to human touch stops him. Thankfully, though, a passerby on a bicycle saves the president. As it turns out, this savior is Kurose, a counselor at a psychiatric clinic, and the moment he sees Shirotani’s gloves, he identifies that Shirotani has germophobia.

Ashamed by his inability to save the president and from Kurose’s urging, Shirotani begins seeking help from Kurose. First, Kurose has Shirotani write down ten things he can’t do due to his obsessive-compulsive disorder – 1 being the easiest to achieve, 10 being near impossible. Then, together, Kurose and Shirotani go through each one and try to overcome them with exposure therapy. However, the line between counselor and patient begins to blur, and soon Shirotani is doing things with Kurose that disgust him, yet he craves it. Does Kurose truly see Shirotani as a patient needing treatment, or is there something more? And if there is more, can Shirotani overcome enough of his aversions to let Kurose in?

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Manhwa Review | Home Alone Together by Shin Yuri

Title: Home Alone Together

Author(s): Shin Yuri

Artist(s): Shin Yuri

Junwoo is a hikikomori – a young adult who has become a recluse. For the past five years, since graduating high school and after the death of his parents, he has holed himself up in his childhood home, where he spends his days in idle existence. The only thing he has to look forward to is the occasional visit from his neighbor Hanbit, a guy he’s had a crush on since he was a kid. Otherwise, his days are filled with severe loneliness and the self-loathing he hasn’t been able to shake.

One day, Hanbit comes by, implying that he might be moving in with Junwoo. This lights a fire under Junwoo, and he immediately assumes this is his chance to win over Hanbit. However, when Hanbit comes over, he brings along a stranger: Wooyeon. It turns out that Hanbit isn’t planning to move in. On the contrary, he is moving away to be with his longtime girlfriend. However, in fear of Junwoo being left alone unsupervised, Hanbit has the great idea that Wooyeon should move in with Junwoo.

Neither Junwoo nor Wooyeon seem jazzed about the idea, but both seem compelled to go along with it because of their affection for Hanbit. So begins the awkward orbiting the two have as they live together. Despite their disdain for each other’s company, slowly but surely, they grow to tolerate one another. And soon, that tolerance evolves into something more, something neither of them expected it would be. But these two have a lot of old wounds that threaten the peace they have created with each other. Will they be able to move forward, or are they destined to drown amid their surging trauma?

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Manga Review | Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku by Fujita

Title: Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

Author(s): Fujita

Artist(s): Fujita

Narumi and Hirotaka have been friends since childhood when they bonded over their love of nerdy hobbies. For Narumi, she loved manga and anime. For Hirotaka, his love of video games dominated everything else in his life. However, as their carefree childhood days flew by, Hirotaka soon realized that he cared for Narumi almost as much as his video games. Unfortunately, though, those idyllic days of childhood bliss faded away, and so did Narumi and Hirotaka’s friendship.

As adults, Hirotaka and Narumi end up working at the same office. While they don’t immediately kick off as friends again in adulthood, they find solace in each other’s company once they reveal that their previous obsessions have only intensified. Able to be 100% herself with Hirotaka, Narumi spends a lot of her time complaining and confiding in him, whether it be about her fujoshi-related hobbies, work concerns, or even her failing love life. Hirotaka, still infatuated with Narumi, faithfully stands by as her shoulder to cry on. One day, though, listening to another tale of woe from Narumi due to her various love interests leaving her because of her otaku hobby, Hirotaka takes the plunge. He asks Narumi:

Why doesn’t she just date him instead?

And so begins the struggle of love between a closeted fujoshi and a game-obsessed, antisocial otaku. What could go wrong?

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Eve Healy

Manga Review | The Beautiful Greenness by Miecohouse Matsumoto

Manhwa Review | Why Ophelia Couldn’t Leave by Joo Ahri

Manhwa Review | My Way with You by u-pi

Manhwa Review | A Man of Virtue by GGANG-E

Manhwa Review | Love Tractor by HmmYongYong

Manga Review | Perfect World by Rie Aruga

Manga Review | Ten Count by Rihito Takarai

Manhwa Review | Home Alone Together by Shin Yuri

Manga Review | Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku by Fujita

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