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Masca is a tongue-in-cheek fantasy love story, but its effort to amuse only makes it look somewhat ridiculous. The silly costumes of the characters even add to its ludicrousness. When I first read it, I dropped it almost immediately. I decided to pick it up again, however, after seeing some good comments about it online, and tried to read it with a more open mind. It turns out that it’s actually exciting to read.

Against her mentor’s will, a magician girl in training goes to the castle of the demon lord to save people who, supposedly, have been kidnapped by him. Her foolish and rash behaviour, of course, gets her into trouble. As a result, she finds herself first making a pact with the demon and then staying in his castle.

The heroine is not trapped in the demon’s realm for long; it is only the beginning of her adventures. The plot gets deeper and more complicated in the later chapters as the reader is taken to different worlds – the world of immortals, magicians, and the dead.

The protagonist Asarella is a pretty but feisty girl whose impudence is preposterous. This quality of hers, amazingly, is supposed to be her very charm. Soon, she becomes the object of desire of every male character in this story, instead of them wanting to wring her neck. She is not exactly hateable; she can be interesting at times, but also irritating as she never takes her situation seriously even when faced with danger.

Thankfully, the other characters are a little more sensible than her. Almost all of them are cold, brooding and mysterious, except for Asarella’s master who is gentle and composed. Asarella’s personality is a stark contrast to them, and this is where the tension comes from. The demon lord is an archetypal character that is at first feared and thought of to be evil, but is actually not what he seems.

As a shoujo manhwa, Masca is actually a good read if you can just get past its silliness. The abundance of bishounens in this series might also help fangirls overlook its flaws. While its comical moments often fail to make you laugh, the story succeeds in entertaining readers through its charming romance. read more

I was reluctant to read this manhwa at first because the cover gave me the impression that it was a lolicon, which is not to my liking. The ambiguous title did not help to draw me in either. But the high ratings and the intriguing discussions about it made me curious. I was not disappointed. It didn’t turn out to be cheap and smutty, but a tastefully told story.

Although the theme is mature, it never gets offensive. The romance is subtle and mostly hinted at, but still manages to enthral. Set in what seems to be the early 19th century, a rich young capitalist buys at an auction a doll-like girl, who is actually a living painting. He takes her home to add to his art collection, but later decides to raise her as her guardian.

On the surface, the story touches on the intrigues, scandals and the gap between the social classes of the period. As you read on, however, you find that it focuses more on the growing feelings of the main characters toward each other, as the girl transforms into a lady.

The two main characters are both likeable even though they show very little emotion. Suzette is a taciturn, dainty and delicate girl, while Ian is reserved, rigid, but headstrong. He is first introduced as a mysterious man whose intention for buying a girl for a ridiculously high price is quite baffling. Despite his ‘bourgeois’ reputation among the upper-class, he is actually very gentlemanly. And the big age gap between him and Suzette will not put you off as their romance slowly builds.

The character designs may not appeal to everyone’s taste because of the overly protruding noses and mouths of the characters. But overall, the art is exquisitely drawn -- the background is often very detailed and the clothes are elaborately designed. The lavishness of the art even adds grace to the more mature scenes.

The story is not without corniness or clichés; neither is it unpredictable nor original. Nevertheless, it is still romantically charming and enjoyable to read.
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A dancer traveling with a mysterious companion is in search of a demon who lent her his heart when she was a baby. In exchange (for lending his heart), he will devour her when she turns sixteen. She hopes to find him before the time comes to ask if he could lengthen her life. The premise of this manga draws you in initially through its engaging first chapter, after that, however, it gets repetitive and tiresome to read.

The tediousness of the journey gets on your nerves as her adventure does not go beyond performing in front of one bishounen after another. Not that I could have anything against bishies, but it wouldn’t have been so bad if they didn’t have almost zero personalities. Unfortunately, the author just threw several insignificant, two-dimensional, generic characters in to stretch the story. For one to rely heavily on the encounters between utterly dull characters is a bad idea.

The only interesting character in this manga is Siva. But even his mysterious and initially ‘dazzling’ quality wears off as the story fails to hold your interest.

The artwork isn’t visually stunning, but it is polished and the characters are attractively drawn. This is perhaps the singular redeeming aspect of this manga.

This is a promising story that sadly does not deliver. If bishounens are all you need to stay hooked in a series, then you might actually enjoy this. However, if story matters to you, there are plenty of good romantic manga out there for you to choose from.
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Hakushaku to Yosei is a delightful romantic shoujo fantasy. However, for one to enjoy it, expectations have to be set. The 12-episode anime is not based on the entire light novel series. Therefore, do not be surprised that at the end of the anime, there are still a lot of questions left unanswered. It is because the story still continues in the novels. Perhaps the producers are still planning or are leaving the door open for a second season.

Although the tale is about the adventures of an earl and a girl who sees fairies, it actually focuses more on the relationship between the two, so don’t expect a mind-blowing, plot-driven storyline. It is also intended for female audiences, so guys who are looking for hardcore fantasy-adventure are set up for disappointment. If you already know what to expect from the series, you can really appreciate the story. For a shoujo anime, it is actually good and interesting.

The characters are beautifully drawn and the designs, in fact, are slightly better than in the manga. The music, on the other hand, is average. The opening theme is an upbeat rock song that is tolerable enough to listen to, but not very appropriate to the Victorian theme. The closing soundtrack is a tritely sentimental love song that fits the mawkish ending sequence well. This gratuitous scene that features the male characters lying in bed half naked is likely conceived in an effort to pander to young female audiences. They even made Edgar’s seiyuu sing it, even though his singing voice isn't as pleasant to hear as his speaking voice.

The two main characters of this anime are quite endearing. Lydia isn't exactly an extraordinary character but she is enchanting, graceful and kind-hearted, unlike the stereotypical shoujo heroines who are plain looking, dumb, clumsy, shameless, and whose only merit is their genkiness. She is a female protagonist who has self-respect and will not immediately throw herself to the guy she likes.

Edgar is an intriguing character. While his bearing is not mysterious because of his rather pompous personality, everything about him is a mystery: his past and identity. But despite his shadiness, he is a sympathetic character. The others (including the villains), unfortunately, are somewhat boring and forgettable. They are incredibly generic and we get to know very little about them.

If the other guys weren’t so flat, the romance would have been a lot more exciting and complex. Unfortunately, it is so obvious who Lydia will end up with even though she is surrounded by hot guys who are all interested in her. Raven is too loyal to Edgar to be his rival. Paul is such a dull character and too passive to challenge Edgar. Kelpie, on the other hand, though quite aggressive, is rather charmless. You won’t really sympathize with him no matter how many times he saves Lydia. But it seems the question this story is trying to answer isn’t who Lydia is going to choose, but how Edgar is going to gain her trust and love.

Although this is definitely not one of the best anime I’ve seen, I truly enjoyed watching this series. It is a good romance anime: charming and entertaining enough to engage shoujo fans.
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