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Apr 28, 2020
Let me start this review with a shameless (although shameful) quote:
“Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really
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looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".”
Every writer is, in some way, a magician. And exactly as in a great magic trick, a writer's prestige is the hardest, most important part of his writing. A beginning can be sloppy, a middle can be messy, but if the ending is done right, then it'll definitely leave a mark.
After months of wait, I finally got my hands on the fourth volume of Wakusei Closet, which to my surprise and despair, turned out to be the last. Wakusei became quite easily one of my favorite manga series of 2020, it was the setting, the characters, and the overall writing that made it perfect, and there was absolutely nothing I could not like on it.
In the beginning of this review, I quoted a passage of the movie "The Prestige" to talk about magic as a metaphor to writing. But, in a way, writing a mysterious, fantastical story such as Wakusei Closet is by itself an actual magic trick. You don't know what is coming, heck, you don't even know what's going on right now, but you're itching to know. You've been caught, you're the spectator watching fixedly as Tsubana does her amazing work, juggling a curious art style with a curious setting, you can't even blink!
You know something is up, you can feel it, the first and second acts are done, there comes the third act and you're jumping from your seat. But then something happens, something you didn't expect: for some reason, that third important act was not the point, the prestige is actually a fourth, additional act! That moment, Tsubana brings you behind the table and reveal to you all there is to that amazing trick, the bird didn't vanish and appear somewhere else, there are two birds and one is dead.
You don't have to be a magician, or a writer, to recognize that the ability to create such a trick is incredible, but as a spectator, you feel something is not right. You feel like the kid on the first row, crying out loud because the cute bird is dead. You wanted to be fooled.
Wakusei Closet takes you to a dream world scared by bad dreams, and at last, throws you into a world of nightmare and bittersweet reality. Where there's no feeling bad or good, but only "empty."
At the end of the fourth volume, our author thanks the reader and kindly suggests another reading, since that would bring a new light to the story just read. And that's the whole point of a "The Prestige" quote. The Prestige is a mystery movie at its core, it is a magic trick, and when you get to the metaphysical third act of it, its prestige, you feel exactly as a kid seeing soap bubbles for the first time, you just can't get enough of it. For Wakusei Closet, on the other side, at least for me, the first read is more than enough.
You don't really want to know.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 25, 2020
I'm not much of a manhwa reader, so I was a bit skeptical of this little title that I came to know as "Kanojo no Shin Sei" on the Comico app. Upon hearing that this was a yuri title, I started to read it completely blind (as I usually like to do), to the point that, for a moment, I thought this was a manhua.
Shim Cheong didn't actually grip me from the start; the setting, language and promise of yuri is what kept me reading. I wasn't expecting even for a second that the story would turn into a mix of mystery, suspense and fantasy
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on old Korea, and one of the best things I ever read.
Shim Cheong blends the innocence and simpleness of Asiatic sequential art with dark, serious themes delivered by a writing of the highest level coming from its writer, Seri. Heavy on details of the era it describes; Shim Cheong plays with music, literature, fairy tales and visual arts to tell its tale, and elevates itself to the same heights of the tales it sings about. Its deep cultural connection with its setting makes it obvious how connected with it its own writer is, making it not only a fun, but also intellectual read.
Biwan, on the other side, does her work as a manhwa artist in a capable, if not unimpressive manner for the most of the time. It is, though, on the brief of a few important scenes that her work shines in poetry, colors and stunning details, showing her stellar skill as a conscious artist working under the constrictions of time to make a much polished work. If the writing could do well on its own, Biwan shows with her depictions of the beautiful meeting the ominous that she's a fundamental part of the title, and it wouldn't be the same without her.
Despite their bibliography, the due proves to be extremely experienced and versed on the art of manhwa writing. Shim Cheong knows exactly its place and gives every single step with intention, thriving not only as a manhwa, but also as a proper story in every single one of its elements. No matter what you're looking for in it, be it a romance (lesbian or not), a mystery, a suspense, or an old Korea tale with hints of fantasy; this should be your pick.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 23, 2018
Not a fiction story, or even a proper "story." Megumi is one more appeal from her parents whose haven't seen her since 1977, when she was 13 years old. This short anime tells a little about Megumi, about how loved she was and then, how despairing it was when she vanished into thin air and reappeared inside of a country-sized prison. Her parents have been fighting since then to get their daughter back, even without the help of the government and the silence from North Korea. It's been, by the time of this writing, 41 years since Megumi disappearance and they still haven't heard from
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her ever since, and don't even know if she's dead or alive. This is a informative anime, or a propaganda anime if you prefer, not my first but still something interesting to see.
Megumi, I just hope you get back well.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 11, 2017
The best yuri manga I've read in a very long time.
Otome no Teikoku has an amazing narrative, telling a multiple characters story in little episodes inside every chapter in a very rare or nowhere else to find way.
Even with the number little episodes the story doesn't lose it's consistence, with every single one being very enjoyable and amusing, using perfectly the episode-style of storytelling in the best possible way with a very connected and stable story line.
The characters are all incredible amusing, funny and more than everything, cute; they're in a big number and are for all tastes what makes it's storytelling every more amazing.
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While reading, you'll definitely laugh, smile and have huge nosebleeds, probably dying in anemia.
This story shines so brightly that even non-yuri fans will like it for such girl-only comedy of an all-girls school full of comedy duos, interesting relationships, weird personalities and feelings of love and friendship those girls carry with them.
Being a manga with dirty jokes, comedy, ecchi, cuteness, sweet love and all the good stuff we deserve, maybe some people would think this manga mix too much to the recipe and makes it so that no one can actually read and love it, but i have to say it, they couldn't be more wrong.
As says the title, this manga is absolutely about teenage girls in an all-girls school and all that comes with it. It couldn't be more accurate in a whole, showing even the "dirty" part of the high school girls.
I don't have to say how much this manga art is great. The light color in the very first pages and the volume covers will act like a good cream into your full-black coffee and light your mood while melting your heart, the art is so well done that you'll be reading carefully the same page twice while drooling without realizing. All the characters are so pretty and cute that you could make them whole sanctuaries, you'll fall in love with them right away for sure.
As for personalities, the characters are so lively and unique that the story can easily talk about all of them and still be very interesting and enjoyable without losing itself in confusion and bad chapters. The clumsy characters, the serious ones, the energetic and the innocent; they're all completely individuals and pure that their sweet feelings for each other will catch you fully.
Overall... this is a great manga full of its author love and caring all over the pages and if you're a true yuri fan, you'll ask yourself why it took you so long to actually read it. If you just wanna enjoy an all-girl comedy and ecchy manga, this one is also for you. If you like good and unknown mangas, this cult-out-of-the-mainstream story that talks without fear on critics is for you, try it. Basically, this is a manga that won't disappoint you once you read it till the end. I recommend it with everything i got, this one and its author came into my favorites!
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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