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06/11/2005 Archived Entry: "Manga review: Visitor 1"
Visitor 1
By Yee-Jung No
TokyoPop, Inc. 2005
Review by Kelly S. Taylor
The first thing that hits you about Yee-Jung No's Visitor is the artwork. The style is teen romance with an eerie edge too it. A handful of the main characters have the big sparkly eyes and lush hairstyles so typical of teen romances. In stark contrast, other characters are drawn in a much simpler, no frills graphic style.
This juxtaposition of styles makes the more elaborately rendered characters stand out to the point of seeming out of place. The "everyday" characters at the high school in which this story is set are so plain they make the exceptional characters seem almost like supernatural beings.
Characters frequently remark on the stunning beauty of Hyo-Bin Na, the main character. The artist has drawn her in such a way that the reader too will be mesmerized by her extraordinary loveliness. Hyo-Bin Na has the most beautiful hair I've ever seen on a manga character. She has long, obsessively highlighted black hair that she wears in a different and more interesting style in almost every scene. Her eyes are long-lashed and super-sparkly. She even has lips which is sort of rare for manga-girls. Hyo-Bin's beautiful, sad face dominates almost every page of this manga.
She is both haunting and haunted. Yee-Jung's art lets you know right away that there's something weird about this girl. And yet you still feel drawn to her.
The storyline doesn't let the reader get too comfortable either. Just at the point when you've settled in and decided that this is just a typical high-school romance, an event of bizarre violence takes place. Is Hyo-Bin Na the perpetrator of these acts, or the helpless pawn of some evil force? Tune in next issue to find out and to see what gorgeous thing she's done with her hair. I know I will!
The Wapshott Press
One of the best deals anywhere. (PromoCode HKB669)
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