Crazy Girl Shin Bia-Ah

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This is the very first manhwa I ever finished reading. The story got me hooked up that I even downloaded the raws without translations. ^^ It's about a high school boyish type of girl that returned to an ancient era which she has to face many challenges to make herself a proper and elegant lady then fall in love. I like historical and fantasy themes especially with adventure, comedy and romance in it. It's not boring to read. :)

I just finished Crazy Girl Shin Bia, and want to write a review while the memory of it is still vivid, since I seriously doubt it will leave me an everlasting remembrance...

But more than a review, here are a few remarks on what striked me the most.

STORY : 6

(-) The start is a little slow and somewhat misleading compared to the rest of the story. The two first chapters could have been more developed, in a more useful manner.
The rest of the story is quite expected, especially the love plot which is sooooo un-surprising. Danger keeps appearing and gives it all a boring feeling.

(+) ... The political plot and some twists of fate are nonetheless interesting. Although we couldn't call it "psychological", this manga shows some realistic court intrigues.

ARTWORK : 6

(+) I appreciated some architectural views, and the use of rich patterns on the costumes. Clothes and hair are quite a success.

(-) What the hell with these strange arms and legs angles?... And also some distorted perspective... You can also feel that the mangaka doesn't really feel at ease when it comes to drawing something different from palaces and pretty costumes ; drawing a military camp, or a crowd of soldiers for example...
What's more, the fights scenes are tasteless, sometimes incomprehensible.

CHARACTERS : 5

(-) This is no spoiler: just start a few chapters and you will know right away who the heroin is going to love in the end and what it means... Considering this fact, the manga loses a lot of its interest from the beginning.

The heroin : I don't know if I like her ; somewhat wild, independant, confident and resolved to make herself respected, she is so often reduced to a mere bag of potatoe carried around by men (seriously, in how many scenes does a guy suddenly seize her and either throws her over his shoulder, or just laughs while she's half-heartedly protesting?) Come on Bia! You're supposed to be all tough and brutal!
And what about her supposed greed? Disappears quite fast, as some other traits of her personality.

(+) However, when she's herself the most is when she's tearing off the lady-likeness of her role... Giving some funny scenes. (although my cynical deeper self wants to say : but isn't it even more cliché since in her general attitude, she is far from contradicting the female stereotypes ?...)

(+) the most interesting character is, for me, Prince Mu Yeong. An interesting personality, with multiple facettes, even if his role in the story isn't surprising. He's not completely evil, but not completely good, he expresses some contradictory feelings without losing credibility and appeals to the reader in spite of his deeds.

ENJOYEMENT : 5

It's not that I don't like a story to end in a good way...

Honestly, I thought I would drop this manga before the end, but as I don't do that often, I wanted to give it a chance to surprise me before the end. I read it very quick and, most sadly, I am now happy that I can move on to another. I felt bored too often, thought the end was bland, even laughable (what kind of royal figure jumps above the walls of the palace to go and slice some thieves, but comes back just in time for dinner?)

I won't re-read this manga and I don't recommend it either, if, like me, you are searching for a complex plot, including some suspense in the love intrigue and realistic characters.

But if you are a fan of the historical genre, you may like it.

OVERALL : 5

Let's summarize my pros and cons :

PROS
-Political intrigues
-Architecture and costumes
-Un-ladylike heroin
-Best character : prince Mu-Yeong

CONS :
-Slow and somewhat disconnected start
-Plot is not surprising at all (especially the love plot)
-Some weaknesses in the artwork (action poses, perspectives, crowds...)
-Disappointing evolution of the main character
-Some cliches and too-good-to-be-true develoments
-Too much "Let's carry the young lady and show our manly attributes, cause that's what our female readers want" WRONG!

Inconsistent. This applies to everything from its characters to the plot lines, and even the art, which makes it really hard for the readers to sink their teeth into the story.

I believe the author tried way too hard to make it an epic historical romance like rurouni kenshin or saiunkoku monogatari, but this definitely was a let down.

The greatest bane of the story is the main character herself - Shin Bia. In fact, the title is rather apt. She is quite the nutcase. The author sets her up to be the stereotypical strong and independent orphan who knows all sorts of martial arts. However, ... as you progress in the story, you'll find that she is anything but. She is as weak as some of the most annoying heroines of reverse harems (angelique, hakuouki, etc.). In fact, I'd she's worse because of her constant whining and lack of cerebral capability.

If you can't stand annoying leads, this is probably not for you. It wasn't completely horrible, so if you're looking for something to pass the time, give it a go. Otherwise, don't expect too much.