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manhwa: You're So Cool Vol 1-2
Apr. 1st, 2009 10:28 amNan-Woo is short, clumsy, spirited, and-like everyone else in her school-hopelessly in love with Seung-Ha, the seemingly perfect prince of her school. When she accidentally hears Seung-Ha reject a girl who only wants him because of his popularity and is caught, she declares that she’d still like him no matter what he was really like, causing Seung-Ha to pay attention to her, and eventually ask her to be his boyfriend.
The problem? That the perfect prince is just an act, and the “real” Seung-Ha is a sadistic gangster who enjoys tormenting Nan-Woo and crushing her dreams, deliberately unleashing his fans on her and creating awkward situations for her at school, seeing what it will take to eventually make her break.
The strangest thing about this series is that I actually like it. Nan-Woo isn’t smart, but she’s unbreakable, and doesn’t back down or let herself be bullied. When she caves in the Seung-Ha’s manipulations, it isn’t because he’s a stronger personality or more clever than her, but because she has a genuine-and reasonable-fear for her safety, and when the oh-so-tired shoujo trope of his fanclub cornering her occurs, she beats them up, even though she already knows he isn’t worth it. She also doesn’t seem to maintain any illusions about his being a prince or “not so bad,” but views and treats him like the creep he is.
Seung-Ha doesn’t come across nearly as sympathetically, of course, but I somehow can’t hate him. This is, I think, because the manhwaga doesn’t portray him as angsty or sympathetic, but as the jerk he is, and doesn’t really sugarcoat his actions, as so often happens with these shoujo heroes. While there are hints of his being an angsty, unloved rich kid underneath, and that he genuinely liked Nan-Woo, these aren’t treated as justifications for his behavior.
There’s also a subplot involving Nan-Woo’s brother or housekeeper (I’m not entirely certain if she’s related to him, or to the other man they live with, or both, though they all three act like a family), Jae, who has a long history of being dumped, and a beautiful man he meets who seems to be connected to Seung-Ha. It’s a surprisingly sweet storyline, and seems to be doing some role reversals of what seem to be the normal manga/manhwa approaches to slash.
In general, I think the actual characters are stronger than the plot or storytelling, but I found this to be entertaining.
The problem? That the perfect prince is just an act, and the “real” Seung-Ha is a sadistic gangster who enjoys tormenting Nan-Woo and crushing her dreams, deliberately unleashing his fans on her and creating awkward situations for her at school, seeing what it will take to eventually make her break.
The strangest thing about this series is that I actually like it. Nan-Woo isn’t smart, but she’s unbreakable, and doesn’t back down or let herself be bullied. When she caves in the Seung-Ha’s manipulations, it isn’t because he’s a stronger personality or more clever than her, but because she has a genuine-and reasonable-fear for her safety, and when the oh-so-tired shoujo trope of his fanclub cornering her occurs, she beats them up, even though she already knows he isn’t worth it. She also doesn’t seem to maintain any illusions about his being a prince or “not so bad,” but views and treats him like the creep he is.
Seung-Ha doesn’t come across nearly as sympathetically, of course, but I somehow can’t hate him. This is, I think, because the manhwaga doesn’t portray him as angsty or sympathetic, but as the jerk he is, and doesn’t really sugarcoat his actions, as so often happens with these shoujo heroes. While there are hints of his being an angsty, unloved rich kid underneath, and that he genuinely liked Nan-Woo, these aren’t treated as justifications for his behavior.
There’s also a subplot involving Nan-Woo’s brother or housekeeper (I’m not entirely certain if she’s related to him, or to the other man they live with, or both, though they all three act like a family), Jae, who has a long history of being dumped, and a beautiful man he meets who seems to be connected to Seung-Ha. It’s a surprisingly sweet storyline, and seems to be doing some role reversals of what seem to be the normal manga/manhwa approaches to slash.
In general, I think the actual characters are stronger than the plot or storytelling, but I found this to be entertaining.