Reviews

This is manga is about Munsu, who is the last Angyo Onshi, peacekeepers from the fallen kingdom of Jushun who wander the land defeating corrupt lords and generally being of benefit to the people. However Munsu is an asshole, and stands out greatly from a wide spectrum of other protaganists even in the anti-hero classification. Angyo Onshi do not have any special powers or special skills, in fact Munsu's superhuman abilities are nonexistant compared to not only antagonists but even less relevant side characters. He is however, very smart, and also has an amulet called the Mahai, something that is his badge as an Angyo Onshi. The Mahai is a magical device that allows him to summon a legion of Joker faced phantom soldiers, who will slaughter at command. Munsu uses this ability and a few rather ordinary pistols to take care of ordinary enemies. He cannot use the Mahai all the time, and it is generally ineffective against skilled enemies as the Phantom Soldiers dont have any special powers, and are completely ineffective against non-human enemies. Munsu later gains a companion of a young woman named Chan Hyuang, who possess superhuman fighting strength, and makes her the official servant of an Angyo Onshi, called the Sando. They have a rocky relationship. Munsu continues to travel and complete his duties as an Angyo Onshi, all while chasing down a man named Aji Tae who is believed to be the one responsible for the destruction of the kingdom of Jushun, although the past is mysterious.

The story is the best part about this manga. You will notice some parallels with Berserk, although order of events are completely different and of course the story itself is original. Both possess a mysterious past of a destroyed kingdom, betrayal, angelic antagonists that go above morality who are inherently demonic, morally gray decisions, demon fighting, revenge etc. Munsu is the most interesting character and despite the Berserk relations he really isn't similar to Guts as all. Munsu is very cunning and not actually powerful, and tends to use a bizarre mix of assholish philosphy, disguise, and tricks to beat opponents. He is however, very likable and will grow on you quickly. The story is episodic in the beginning, which is completely dropped in the second half. Many of these episodic adventures are based on Korean folklore. It lets you see more into Munsu and Sando's character and is just overall entertaining. It's not really filler but if it was it would be very entertaining filler. The OVERALL story arch, concerning the mysteries of Munsu and the kingdom of Jushun's past, is paced perfectly, executed perfectly, and ENDED perfectly. It is a somewhat short, fantastic journey that will leave you thinking about it for days. It is the epitome of an low fantasy plot, with unique characters and lore and a very mysterious protaganist. It's plot is a mystery itself which can at many times be solved before fully revealed if you pay attention, which is a rewarding experience akin to beating the pace of a Sherlock Holmes novel. You'll find that characters can die at any time especially towards the end, and many unexpected things can occur. It is interesting, but never cheap. I can only think of one part that seemed like an asspull when a particular side character survived a seemingly fatal blow, but this oddity never stopped me enjoying the rest of the manga because it was molehill to mountain. Every twist or backstory has depth to it not originall shown, which makes it a joy to read.

This manga ran from 2001 to 2007. As a result the art in the beginning is not fantastic, and somewhat offset by absolutely horrendous scan quality if you are downloading it or reading it online for that matter. However both improve drastically long before the second part begins. The art is able to portray a great style which suits the several different tones of the enviroment and mood, with notable art influences from Trigun for some western scenes. The action is very cool, showing a vareity of different stuff going on. Choreography is great, gun fights, explosives, bladed weapons, and tae kwon do prove to be a crazy mix. While I was usually not blown away by the aethstetics, I did see quite a few very cool scenes, particularly towards the end but also in the flashback part and the Hwangdo arc. Bottomline is that the art is by no means the best of the best and one might often come to mind with a manga like Berserk, but it does in no way hinder the story. On a side note they seem to have put every single kind of character design archetype in this manga, everything from angelic sexy man to Vash the stampede sunglasses guy, to Victorian Demon Gentleman, to muscley ninja woman, and of course rugged wanderer dude.

I wish I could forget this manga and read it again as with most of my favorite manga. If you are still questioning why exactly I thought it was so good because I didn't explain it properly, let me just reiterate by saying it is extremely good. I can't promise you will like it as much as I do, but I gurantee it will be one of your favorites if you read it all. It's a tall order but I think you'll find yourself often surprised by how concisely executed this manga is.