Noblesse

Title: Noblesse
Original Title: 노블레스 Noblesse
Author:  Son Jae Ho (Story), Lee Gwang Su (Illustrator)
Publisher: Naver
ISBN Season 1 Boxset: 9788901130118 (Chapter 1-92 --- 820 pages)
ISBN Season 2 Boxset: 9788901139173 (Chapter 93-154 --- 600 pages)
Season 3 Chapter 155-199
Season 4 Chapter 200-238
Season 5 Chapter 239-258
Season 6 Chapter 259 - (?)

Current Publication: Season 6, Chapter 291 (12/08/2013)
Original Published Date: Free Weekly Webtoon from www.naver.com (2010 - now)
http://comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail.nhn?titleId=25455&no=1&weekday=tue

Noblesse (노블레스) is an online manhwa written by Son Jae Ho and illustrated by Lee Gwang Su. It is a story about a powerful Noblesse, Cadis Etrama Di Raizel, who slept for 820 years and woke up one day in South Korea in an abandoned building. With the help of his faithful servant Frankenstein he enrolls in Ye Ran high school where he befriends Ikhan,Shinwoo and Yuna. The series follows the group's often dangerous adventures against a secret organization while uncovering Rai's past.

This is the first webtoon I ever read, and unexpectedly addictive. Really like the colorful graphics and how the illustration go back and forward between full color and greyish tones to set the mood of the story. I like the simple graphic lines. And I also (suprisedly!) like the simple rectangle-landscape-format panellings. The story itself was started a little slow in season 1, but then picked up pace. The endings (season 1-5) were always good and promised to have a lot of steam for the next season to come.

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Season 1 (Awakening/Human World/Union)

In this first installment, we meet Cadis Etrama di Raizel - or Rai as the girls would called him-, a noblesse that found himself awaken after slumbering for 820 years. While wondering this new modern world he encounters his faithful servant, Frankenstein - now a principal in an elite private high school in Seoul - and thus befriend with some -not so- regular highschooller, Shinwoo the extraordinare jog, Ikhan the hacker, and Yoonah the pretty. In the mean time, a secret organization called The Union sent some of their men to retrieve Rai casket, not knowing what it trully been held. This organization was the same one that entagled with noblesse fate centuries ago and for a looooong time has been experimenting to make enhanced super humans. When some of these experiments broke loose and threaten human lives, Rai dan Frankenstein must stood up and protect the civilization as their noblesse oblige, eventhough that would mean to uncover their own secrets peaceful live.

Like I said before, this manhwa was reeaaaaaaly addictive since the first panel. The side stories of how Rai adjust himself to new technology (cellphone, videogame, automatic door,etc) was amusing, and that Rai and ramen stuff was really-really-really ludicrous, awkwardly-silly but funny, made me lol everytime, so were those manuals Frankenstein wrote for him. (he despreatly need manual for food other that ramen!!). But then again, the main story about him, his past and present life, and the organization was equally exciting. Above them all, the red string of all the characters here was about trust, friendship and loyalty that goes beyond indiscrimination of what you are or how strong you are, but more about who you really are (and Rai was the symbol of it) and I think this is the most advantageous point compares to the other seinen manga/manhwa out there.

btw: This season does not explain what is Noble/Noblesse aniway? Frank truly hasn't elaborated it clearly.... secretive, hasn't he?

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Season 2 (Visitor/DA-5/Dr.Aris)

Second season, more nobelesse visitor came lurking at Rai and Frank and more enhanced men from the organization came after them. Again, the ending -especially for Takeo and Tao- was very nice, the same with M-21 in the previous season. The repetition of mind-erasing process to the 'innocent humans' was a little boring, at this point of the story, I wonder how many times more do they have to endure that kind process if they keep around the noblesse.

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Season 3 (Nobility/Lukedonia/Static)

In this third season, Rai and Frank must go to Lukedonia and confront their past and clear Rai's name of conduct of betrayal that have been done by the Five Clan Leaders. Eventhough Frankenstein clearly said that only him would go with Ray, but of course who could stop Takeo 'n friend from infiltrating their plane. Little do they know, Frank actually plans to blew it up and jump down with his Master. Like that wasn't enough, Rai's Mansion now is considered forbad and guarded by special forces.

The plot was totally absorbing, made me hold my breath again and again. No repetitives ideas like in the previous season 2, a lot facts and backgrounds were given, the story was progressing rapidly, a bunch of interesting new characters, the fight scenes were awesome(!!!!) and of course, -like always- a very nice ending. The end speech by the late Lord, about humanity, how human became human because they are always changing, moving forward..., not static like the noblesse, was very moving. Almost made me overlooked my desire to become noblesse myself. #eeaahh
If something were lacking, that was the usual ice breaker: the witty-silly conversation and Rai's calmed ignorance face-expressions, which in this season didn't have much due to the seriousness of the story line.

Notes 1: Ooohhh... so now we knew what 'Noblesse' mean. Fascinating.
Notes 2: Wait..., if he -the peacock, that is- was human, how... who....what did.... oh whatever! He's immensely amazing anyway. *blushing* ^^V
Note 3: I read the last few chapters twice, but I still do not understand what happened when the old Lord died. Who betrayed who and why and how? Annoying cliff-hanger!!

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Season 4 (KSA/Cerberus/Elders)

So Rai and all RK-5 (btw, luuuuuuuv when Rai's blushing coz Frank tell him about the RKs and what RK means) back on our known earth after dipsy-daisy on Lukedonia. While the union's problem still at lenght, another threat came from the country instead. Two KSA agent lurking at school tried to scouting potential future agents. Even if Principal Lee aka Frankenstein aka The Peacock ^_^ try his best to protect the kids, he ends up jeopardizing all of them when the agents turns out to be enhanced humans. The danger became more hazardious when 12th elder sent his personnal bodyguards -Cerberus- to investigates the death of Dr. Aris and the rest of DA-5. So began the battle between the RKs, KSA agents and, 12th elder and 13th elder....

Not bad, but compared with 3rd season, I liked #3 more. But here opens more secrets about the treachery within the noble clan leaders long time ago, the one that made Rai disappeard for 820 years.

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Season 5

Whoaa... Best. Season. Yet!!!

***spoiler*** [eventhough through reading it my heart can't stop pounding and fear that writer-nim will have the heart to make another "Dumbledore's death moments". TG it was a happy ending - if u know what I mean.]

The story progress quite quickly, an now the enemy now have faces and open agenda to coup with. Great development with the RKs (plus bonus how Tao manipulate Rael to help them fight *ROTFL - I think Tao hang around Frankenstein too much, slyness is contageous - ROTFL* ). Love Rajak and Rael and Karias (when he call the Lord Noonim, epic response :D) Love the KSA agents Ahn and Na's characters. Love the fighting scenes. Love the ending. Do NOT love the waiting for season 6!

For all the RKs characters, I always had soft spot for M-21. I thought he was the most complex personnel, and in this season, his relationship with everybody was tested by the appareance of M-24. I felt so sorry for him and really-really-really despise Dr. Crombel for it.
I wish you the best ajusshi -- no Oppa, I'll call you Oppa. ^_^

I wonder what happened to Rai and Frankenstein long-long-long time ago. How could he be so loyal to him... well, I know -despite his ignorance face- Rai is a very good person with a verrrryy big heart and unbelieveable power, but to have someone like Frankenstein unwavered for hundreeedssss of years must had a lot more in its foundation. Hope writer-nim will elaborate more in the next season.

Annarasumanara

             

Title: Annarasumanara #1 - 3
Original Title: 안나라수마나라 [Annarasumanara]  #1 - 3
Author: 하일권 Ha Il Gwon
Publisher: 소담출판사  (2010)
ISBN #1: 9788973816538
ISBN #2: 9788973816545
ISBN #3: 9788973816552
Pages: 328 (each)

Well, I guess the Hallyu fever does not stop with cars, electronics and K-Pop. After so many k-dramas  came flooding supersede the Jap's dorama, now the scope of literatures also open doors for us to peek inside Korean life and arts. Start with the celebrity picturesque book to movie/drama tie in novels and all their fan fiction stories filling up bookstores' shelves, now Man Hwa — korean graphic novels — also slowly piercing Japanesse Manga. Bride of Water God by Yun Mi Kyung, published by Elexmedia is one of the example (and oftenly mistaken to be mangas). The Color Trilogy  and Red Bycycle by Kim Dong Hwa are the most recent gn published by Gramedia Pustaka Utama, and targeted more broaden readers, as the beautiful detail graphics and more subtle stories. I just found another one — not been translated/published in Indonesia yet, but I hope maybe... soon.... — that story and graphics really intrigued me. The title was Annarasumanara. It was a mini series, just 3 thick books, but I trully enjoy reading them.

***

There are rumors going around town. They say that if you go to the old carnival, you'd see a dashing young man wearing a magician's hat — a man who has the power to make people disappear from the face of the earth. But before he does any magic, he will look you in the eye, stare at your soul with his grey eyes and ask,

"Do you believe in magic?"

Yoon Ah, a smart girl in her class, struggles to feed herself and her sister everyday. All she wants is to grow up faster so she can escape poverty and the reality of her miserable life. When she meets the rumored magician in the abandoned carnival, her life changes forever.

***

The story was really about two high-schoolers and a magician which try to learn the meaning to be a responsible adult in life. Yun Ah was a poor girl that had to took care herself and her little sister after her father took flight leaving behind a considerable amount of debt. She had no time for nonsense, always study hard, work hard, so she could go to the best univ and get a decent job in the future and never had to be a pauper ever again. Na Il Deung, while sharing her idealistic view of life, had the opposite social status. He came from rich powerful family, never had to work himself, got the best teachers and tutors money could buy. But both of them got their foundation shaken when they met each other and met with a magician —   real magician — name R. R was once like them; smart, best student in high school, ready to face life and adulthood. But something chaged his mind. Now, conciously or not, he tried to change Yun Ah mind and also Il Deung's. He reminded them that there are other things that equaly as important, friendship, family, having fun and laughter and love and trust, big dreams, and..... magic.

At first I had doubt of how the story will developed for each character, well, you had to admitted that they were not the most original characters after all. But along the line I love how the it played with the reality, was he a real magician or is he not, were they just a magic trick or a real magic, was it going to be a surreal or just plain old everyday world. And all of these were being clashed with everyday's real problems. such as poverty and hunger, debt collectors and exhibitionism, midterm test and students' rank. I also like the twist near the end, where R past time life came to haunt him once more, and forced Yun Ah and Il Deung to make choices. That being said, I really fancy how the graphics told the storyline. They were oftenly repetitive, so it sunk little by little and amplified the meaning. It did not have detail and beautiful like Bride of Water God or had vivid colors like Red Bycycle, it was mostly black and white with contemporarly mixed pictures and splash colors, odd but unexpectedly lovely. The used of the panels were very free style and not affraid to use whole area and double pages to convey the meaning.  The image of the characters also differ from time to time to elucidated their feelings (like the long neck Il Deung -the way he see himself vs the handsome Il Deung -the real image of him in everyone's eyes). So, by and by, it was a nice story with peculiar graphic novel, but in every good way possible, and I'm glad I read it. Hope to find more from the same writer in the future.

               

Ah yes, and  Annarasumanara actually does not have any meaning. It was a made up word that commonly used in webtoon and manhwa community in equated to Abracadabra or something like that. Weird.... isn't it?!

Claymore

Title: Claymore
Author: Norihiro Yagi
Publisher: Shueisha
ISBN: 4088732200
Pages: 208
Original Published Date: May 2001
Status: On going - 23 Tankubon so far


First of all, I must say that I was a little bit suprised by the graphic view of this series. It was shockingly raw and vivid, but in accordance to its dark fantasy story, well... it goes rather perfectly together. I like the story's background and premises, the mystery and where the story would go, some of the battle artworks was amazing, love the characters, but not so fond of the story line. Like I said before, too many killing-slashing-blood flowing-beserk kind of types.

Notes: this review was not limited to the first volume. Actually, this is a review of Vol. 1 Silver Eyed Slayer up to Vol. 11 Kindred of Paradise. Just so you know. But I try to keep the spoiler into minimum. 

What is Claymore exactly? According to the book synopsys, a claymore is:

The name Claymore itself is taken from Gaelic-Scottish
claidheamh mòr, "great sword" refers to the Scottish
variant of the late medieval two-handed long sword 

 a female warrior named for the sword she carries - travels from medieval village to village to destroy Yoma, monsters who disguise themselves as humans and who are almost impossible to kill. Claymores are half-humans, half-demons who willingly transformed themselves by mixing their blood with monster's blood.

So when someone was choosen -or choose, in Clare's case- to be a claymore, part of her blood was drained then mixed with Yoma's blood then tranfussed back into her body, made her half monster. Clare was quite another story. She was indebted to her saviour, Theresa the Faint Smile, once the best Claymore there was. But when Theresa forced to kill some of human bandits, she broke the Claymore code, and therefore had to die. After a menacing fight, Theresa did die, but not before pushed Priscilla -the second best Claymore- into beserk awakening mode and lost her humanity, turned her into a Yoma herself. Clare now left alone once more, take Theresa head to a Claymore's handler and asked to be turned into a Claymore using Theresa's remains. So, she's not half monster, she's more like a quarter of a monster. That's way she was only ranked 47 of 47 Claymores.

Eventhough she's not even near the best Claymore, Clare had one thing in her mind, find the awakened Priscilla to avanged Theresa death. Unfortunately, in one of her fight walloping Yomas, she was forcing herself to the edge, almost going beserk. But with the help of Raki -a little boy that she saved in her previous journey- she could contain her monster-self and turned back into human. Later she knew that, contrary with her long believed, a beserk claymore could retain herself and changed back to human shape again. There are other Claymore beside her that have done it, but it was a big no no secret from the organisation. When Ophelia -one of the top 5 Claymores- found out of her secret, she tried to kill Clare. Luckily she was saved by a former Claymore that then give her owned hand(!) (literally speaking, she cut her hand and give it to Clare, who lost one of hers) and taught Clare the secret of her sword style. She then used this new and  improved skill to killed awakened Ophelia.

While Clare gone missing, presumed death, some Claymore were sent to dealt with Creature of the Abyss, a super awakened being. Clare somehow caught in this act, along with Galatea, another top 5 Claymores. Galatea taught Clare how to supressed her energy and released it just when it needed which made her moved more subtle to her opponents. With that trick, she impressed the Abyss being and it revealed the whereabout of Priscilla. More over it also hinted that the Organisation had their own agenda, a cladestine secret bigger that just Yomas and Claymores.

Clare then join the mission on the North with the other 23 Claymores to stop invasion from Isley, another Crature of the Abyss. She wanted to go because the north land was where she believed Priscilla was hiding and also she wanted to find and saved Raki that she was told that had been taken to slavery. But this battle of the north was just a reason for the Organization to put off their troublesome Claymores and to buy them time to whatever schemes they were brewing. To Clare and her friends, the battle had proven to be the nastiest thing ever happened to all of them.

***

Like I said above, I've already on tankubon 11-Kindred of Paradise now, where sooooo many Claymores had died on the North Battle, and feel sad, hoping it's not true (hey even FMA or Kekkaishi have some kind of a pitty towards the characters, they were not so easily burned during ugly fights scene). It feels like worthless attempt to introduce so many great characters, then slain them all in few pages. *not cool* *not cool* *not cool* *not cool*

So, I'm not going to continue reading this series anytime soon. It's waaayy too exhausting.Maybe I'll read them more after I catch my breath and have more energy to waste. Just not now....

Ppssstt.... but then again, I've been told that so many twisted and turned were waiting ahead. Now, I'm tempted... really really tempted...... T_____T 

Kisah Hidup Paman Gober: Edisi Bundel

Title: Kisah Hidup Paman Gober: Edisi Bundel
Original Title: The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
Author:  Don Rosa
Publisher: Penerbitan Sarana Bobo (2012)
ISBN: 9792351345
Pages: 498 pages
Original Published Date: 1984


Seperti.... membaca biografi seorang tokoh, atau malah... perjalanan untuk lebih mengenal seorang teman lama. Disusun dalam 12 Chapter dan dilengkapi beberapa kisah tambahan, novel grafis ini menceritakan kisah hidup Paman Gober semenjak masih kanak-kanak di Skotlandia, berimigrasi ke Amerika dan berpetualang ke seluruh penjuru dunia (termasuk ke Jawa saat Gunung Krakatau meletus), mengenal berbagai tokoh seperti Teddy Roosevelt hingga para bandit Wild West kayak Sundance Kid dan Butch Cassidy, juga cerita-cerita perkenalannya dengan Gerombolan Siberat dan kisah cinta tak berlanjutnya pada Glittering Goldie, hingga akhir kisah yang menjembatani dengan kisah Donal Bebek dan ketiga keponakannya. Paman Gober juga pernah muda lo. Ia tidak menjadi kaya dengan mudah. Ia tidak pelit karena ingin jadi pelit. Kehidupan yang keras selama bertahun-tahun membuatnya menjadi seperti Paman Gober yang kita kenal sekarang.

Novel grafis ini dicetak 500 halaman full color dan dengan kualitas kertas yang apik, sehingga menjadikannya sangat enak untuk dinikmati. Tidak heran kalau langsung jadi salah satu buku favoritku. Salam hormat untuk Don Rosa dan Carl Barks.

**Untuk edisi terjemahnnya ini, sayangnya untuk Chapter 10: The Invader of Fort Duckburg (Serbuan ke Benteng Kota Bebek) nama-nama tokohnya "lupa" diterjemahkan dalam nama-nama yang biasa dipakai di album Donal Bebek. Semisal Dora, si Nenek Bebek masih memakai nama Elvira, begitu juga Dabney, Daphne, Eider, dan Quackmore yang biasanya di-Indonesiakan menjadi Wili, Trince, Andolf dan Kweker (seperti juga gambar dengan silsilah Keluarga Bebek di hal. 42). Sedikit janggal dan mengganggu. Itu saja.**

Cinema Panopticum

Title: Cinema Panopticum
Author: Thomas Ott
Type: Silent/Wordless Graphic Novel
Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
ISBN: 9781560976493
Pages: 104 pages
First Published: 2005


A funny-scary-bizzare work by Thomas Ott, a name I just recently knew about, but up until now his works had given me much enjoyment. I particulary love this one, a series of stories inside a story, which could be read/watch separately - every parts are solid and properly told, or read/watch entirely as whole - and feel the ghastly excitement.

The Girl
A little girl wants to have some fun on an amusment park, but she only has 5 dimes. Everything are too expensive, except for Cinema Panopticum. A dime per cinema.

The Hotel
A customer of a hotel found his hotel was unexplainably quiet, but a feast was already ready on the table... not knowing who the chef was.

The Champion
A wrestler try to outfight death.

The Experiment
A man with poor eyes sight has been given magic pills. His eyes don't get better, but....

The Prophet
Is the end of lives on earth coming soon?

The Girl
.....
....
...
..
.

Got goooooosebump!