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I.N.V.U. #1
I.N.V.U., Volume 1
When her mother leaves abruptly for Europe, sixteen-year-old Sey is left with a new family, the Kangs, and she discovers that not only is her foster brother really a sister, but their lives are intertwined.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
October 19, 2019
Interessante rilettura di uno dei primi manhwa che comprai. Mi ricorda anche il meeting che facemmo a Bologna dove conobbi proprio Paolo Gattone poco prima che avviasse la Flashbook. Ora fa parte di Jpop.
June 20, 2008
A fun start to the series. The two main stories that seem to be going on so far are of Sey whose mother has left her in the care of her friend Meja and Meja's son Terry. Who as it turns out is actually Meja's daughter Hali who has to pretend she is Terry who died in accident. Her mother was in the same accident and has amnesia and thinks Hali is Terry. Yes it is very messed up. But hey I love angst so I am all for it.
The character that I really like so far is Siho Lee because he is an idiot who seems like he likes Sey so he decides to go out with her friend Rea. *headesk* Let's see how that goes!
The character that I really like so far is Siho Lee because he is an idiot who seems like he likes Sey so he decides to go out with her friend Rea. *headesk* Let's see how that goes!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2015
I am absolutely loving this series. Who needs soap operas when you have manhwas like I.N.V.U.?!? Series review to follow after I finish the series.
August 2, 2018
The characters are meh, story is bizarre and erratic, pacing is terrible.
April 19, 2020
Gotta say, I’m intrigued. . . A girl dresses up like a guy and her parents acknowledge her as “Terry” even though her name is Hali. Interesting. I’m curious to know why she dresses up as a guy and is referred to one at home, but at school everyone calls her by her real name Hali and she clearly is a girl and acts like a girl (although a rebellious one). And the reason she is doing it is for her mom because her mom has amnesia or feels so guilty for her son’s death that she is in denial and can’t accept it, so Hali pretends she is Terry at home. Wow! That’s deep. Poor Hali, no wonder she is rebellious and a little messed up.
(I have to say though that even if her mom acts sweet, I do not like her character at all. Too much favoritism and she just forgets she has a daughter?! But yet acts like she wants one. How does that make any sense?!)
This is why I laughed so hard when Sey says “I thought I was the expert on abnormal weird families, but even I find them quite out of the ordinary!”
This plot revolving around Sey and Hali intrigued me the most. But what is going on with their teacher? I don’t approve of that at all! Really a 23 year-old and a 8th grader! Hello Hali! What is wrong with you?! I’m afraid to see where this is going.
Important Update: Know that this series is unfinished and probably never will be finished. If cliffhangers bother you, this is NOT for you. After finishing reading the first four volumes I figured out that the series never continued past volume 4 once Tokyopop went down. When I started this manga, I had no idea it was meant to be longer than 4 books, I just thought it was a 4 book short manga series from the beginning, but I was wrong. So the “ending” really sucked because it was obviously meant to be longer.
That’s why I am not recommending reading this series even if the plot IS intriguing.
(I have to say though that even if her mom acts sweet, I do not like her character at all. Too much favoritism and she just forgets she has a daughter?! But yet acts like she wants one. How does that make any sense?!)
This is why I laughed so hard when Sey says “I thought I was the expert on abnormal weird families, but even I find them quite out of the ordinary!”
This plot revolving around Sey and Hali intrigued me the most. But what is going on with their teacher? I don’t approve of that at all! Really a 23 year-old and a 8th grader! Hello Hali! What is wrong with you?! I’m afraid to see where this is going.
Important Update: Know that this series is unfinished and probably never will be finished. If cliffhangers bother you, this is NOT for you. After finishing reading the first four volumes I figured out that the series never continued past volume 4 once Tokyopop went down. When I started this manga, I had no idea it was meant to be longer than 4 books, I just thought it was a 4 book short manga series from the beginning, but I was wrong. So the “ending” really sucked because it was obviously meant to be longer.
That’s why I am not recommending reading this series even if the plot IS intriguing.
August 19, 2019
REVIEW IN PROCESS...
This review is for the entire series.
I remember reading this series several times in college, and that was probably the last time I read I.N.V.U. And it is only getting two-stars because I remember really liking it the first times I read it. I.N.V.U lost its appeal majorly with this reading, however.
The main complaint during reading I.N.V.U was that there was no flow to the story. Having multiple story lines is preferable for several reasons: realism, depth, interest, etc. However, this story supposedly follows Sey and Siho, but their story gets cast aside for Hali's story.
The second reason this series didn't stick with me is that there was no depth to the stories or characters. There were five volumes, and the story hardly progressed further than "I like you".
As an adult, educator, and woman, Hali and Hajun's story is completely unrealistic. Yes, there are those couples that have a large age gap. Yes, there are teachers and students that have started a relationship. Although this aspect of Hajun bothers me, it is more because Hali seems spoiled, entitled, and immature, not the "mature young adult" Hali is described as through out the story thus far.
I.N.V.U follows a group of teens and their families. Former tutors, next door neighbors growing up, classmates, best friends, they are all interconnected somehow, but the story is so jumbled and disjointed, it is hard to keep track. It doesn't help that some of the scenes go back and forth so quickly that the reader gets whiplash.
This review is for the entire series.
I remember reading this series several times in college, and that was probably the last time I read I.N.V.U. And it is only getting two-stars because I remember really liking it the first times I read it. I.N.V.U lost its appeal majorly with this reading, however.
The main complaint during reading I.N.V.U was that there was no flow to the story. Having multiple story lines is preferable for several reasons: realism, depth, interest, etc. However, this story supposedly follows Sey and Siho, but their story gets cast aside for Hali's story.
The second reason this series didn't stick with me is that there was no depth to the stories or characters. There were five volumes, and the story hardly progressed further than "I like you".
As an adult, educator, and woman, Hali and Hajun's story is completely unrealistic. Yes, there are those couples that have a large age gap. Yes, there are teachers and students that have started a relationship. Although this aspect of Hajun bothers me, it is more because Hali seems spoiled, entitled, and immature, not the "mature young adult" Hali is described as through out the story thus far.
I.N.V.U follows a group of teens and their families. Former tutors, next door neighbors growing up, classmates, best friends, they are all interconnected somehow, but the story is so jumbled and disjointed, it is hard to keep track. It doesn't help that some of the scenes go back and forth so quickly that the reader gets whiplash.
September 4, 2020
This manga is certainly... interesting and different. I have the first three volumes of this series so it'll be interesting to see if I'll want to continue with this series once I have read all of the volumes. The plot of the book is weird because it seems like it doesn't have a main plot. The plot seems to be a combination of subplots which makes it not as engaging because you don't really have any idea what's going on, and when you do you don't know the importance of it. The manhwa follows Sey who's mother decided to move to Italy and leave Sey in South Korea with one of her friends. Sey moves into a household that has a wife who suffers from amnesia and fails to recognise that her daughter, Hali, is her daughter and sees her dead son, Terry, in her place. Hali keeps up with the pretense for her mothers sake and so people often mistake her as a man. There's also a subplot with a teacher Mr Cho. Mr Cho has seen Sey grow up and they have like a sibling relationship but Sey fancies him. Hali also has a past with Mr Cho. In addition, Sey is determined to make her own way in life after her mother leaves and takes numerous jobs to be self sufficient. There's a potential romance between Sey and her co-worker. So you can see that there is a lot going on but not necessarily a main plot line which is why I have only given this volume 3/5. Hopefully the other volumes get better.
August 25, 2022
This book was…strange lol. I found it to be very wattpad-y but that’s also what kept me reading? The whole mom moving to italy without her and her moving in with strangers was pretty on brand. The story is definitely bizarre and all over the place but i’ve got the next two volumes so we’re gonna see this one through.😭😭
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2017
I needed to reread this to continue on with the series... to remember the story:) now waiting for the library to send me a couple more volumes!
December 16, 2018
Not the best, but still good enough to make you feel like you could read the rest of the series too
March 15, 2019
I thought this was pretty confusing and not fun, wouldnt recommend.
December 11, 2022
Nice art simple yet cute. The story is okay. Not really unique but okay. Shoujo vibes.
January 10, 2023
i think the book was well put together, the characters are all different which makes them unique & interesting.
December 27, 2023
literally i had no idea what was going on but it’s so cute lmao
February 12, 2025
Exciting and I’m curious about the next book.
July 28, 2019
I really liked it and recommend it for writers at all levels.
September 25, 2014
~3/5
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
Generally, as a rule, I try to avoid all Tokyopop books, unless I am absolutely sure that all of the volumes were released and shouldn’t be hard to get or I already read some of it at one point. None of that applied to this series, but I still got the first two volumes, because they were such a good price. And I’ll probably get the other three, if I can find them at a good price, just so I have all that was released.
I was not overly impressed with this volume, but it was alright. I was also thinking it focused on more than Sey, but I guess it’s okay that it doesn’t.
Sey, the main character, is forced to move in with this other, seemingly normal, family when her mother decides to move to Italy to work on her novel for five years. But the family she moves in with's son is actually their daughter, but the mother has suppressed amnesia after a car accident where her son died. Sey decides to get a job, and this guy from her school, Siho, hooks her up, and he’s supposedly dangerous, but seems pretty nice. And Sey and Terry/Hali (the son/daughter) both have a close relationship with Mr. Cho, Sey’s teacher.
I don’t mind Sey, she’s not bad, and is kind of entertaining. I want to know more about her friends, but that’s alright. Terry/Hali seems alright, I guess, if a little angsty (even if she does have reason, having to pretend to be her brother and all). Siho seems alright.
My biggest problem with the story is all the point of view changes. They are not smooth at all. We’ll be with one character, doing one thing, then suddenly be in someone else’s head for a page or two before going back to the main character, but then sometimes it will show us someone else, when it would usually be in their head, only we’ll still be in the main characters'. It’s just really stilted, and bothersome to me.
The art’s pretty good. The story is alright, if a bit angsty, it’s not exaggerated, and it’s interesting. I have the next volume, so I will be reading it, and it will depend on how that goes whether or not I’ll want the third volume badly or not.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
Generally, as a rule, I try to avoid all Tokyopop books, unless I am absolutely sure that all of the volumes were released and shouldn’t be hard to get or I already read some of it at one point. None of that applied to this series, but I still got the first two volumes, because they were such a good price. And I’ll probably get the other three, if I can find them at a good price, just so I have all that was released.
I was not overly impressed with this volume, but it was alright. I was also thinking it focused on more than Sey, but I guess it’s okay that it doesn’t.
Sey, the main character, is forced to move in with this other, seemingly normal, family when her mother decides to move to Italy to work on her novel for five years. But the family she moves in with's son is actually their daughter, but the mother has suppressed amnesia after a car accident where her son died. Sey decides to get a job, and this guy from her school, Siho, hooks her up, and he’s supposedly dangerous, but seems pretty nice. And Sey and Terry/Hali (the son/daughter) both have a close relationship with Mr. Cho, Sey’s teacher.
I don’t mind Sey, she’s not bad, and is kind of entertaining. I want to know more about her friends, but that’s alright. Terry/Hali seems alright, I guess, if a little angsty (even if she does have reason, having to pretend to be her brother and all). Siho seems alright.
My biggest problem with the story is all the point of view changes. They are not smooth at all. We’ll be with one character, doing one thing, then suddenly be in someone else’s head for a page or two before going back to the main character, but then sometimes it will show us someone else, when it would usually be in their head, only we’ll still be in the main characters'. It’s just really stilted, and bothersome to me.
The art’s pretty good. The story is alright, if a bit angsty, it’s not exaggerated, and it’s interesting. I have the next volume, so I will be reading it, and it will depend on how that goes whether or not I’ll want the third volume badly or not.
February 24, 2016
This is another series of manga coming from Tokyopop and is based on the story of Sey, a 16-year-old girl with a somewhat unusual mother who decides to move to Italy to finish writing her novel. She leaves Sey with a friend, Meja. Things get rather strange when it turns out that Terry, Meja's son, is not really her son at all but is her daughter, Hali.
Sey has a crush on one of her teachers who happens to be attracted to Hali.
Which, of course, is not the only romantic relationships that the novels cover. This is a really nice, peaceful series of stories that revolve around characters that are interesting and "real"; no super-powers, no psychic abilities, just "regular" people getting through their lives and their own "normal" problems.
It's all sort of like a soap opera, but in the best sense of the term. The characters are all done quite well, and it's interesting to see how they interact with each other. It keeps you wondering what will end up happening to each of them in the future, which, at least to me, is another plus mark for this manga.
Sey has a crush on one of her teachers who happens to be attracted to Hali.
Which, of course, is not the only romantic relationships that the novels cover. This is a really nice, peaceful series of stories that revolve around characters that are interesting and "real"; no super-powers, no psychic abilities, just "regular" people getting through their lives and their own "normal" problems.
It's all sort of like a soap opera, but in the best sense of the term. The characters are all done quite well, and it's interesting to see how they interact with each other. It keeps you wondering what will end up happening to each of them in the future, which, at least to me, is another plus mark for this manga.
October 4, 2008
This was my favorite for a long time because of it's realism, but a star was docked due to the two or more long years between releasing the 4th volume. Sadly they did the same with the next volume and I'm still waiting on the next. Kim Kang Won certainly has a pattern going. The Queen's Knight, her other popular series has left me hanging for years on the 12th, but not final volume. Very frustrating.
February 22, 2022
I see a lot of lower stars but I honestly feel like this series is underrated. I think it had a nice build up for the characters in this first volume, just enough to make you want to come back to find out more.
October 28, 2014
I found this in a second hand store and it really surprised me because I don't read much in romance but I really enjoyed it. I got volume 1 to 3 for under £3. It was my first time coming across Tokyo pop.
August 11, 2008
I think its wrong that her mother just left her like she did, but Sey or Sei is a bright girl and I loved this book!
May 7, 2009
This series was ok, but not great. I've definitely read better manwha.
July 31, 2009
This is another teenage drama love story drama, but there are only 4 volumes out to date and the story is unfinished. I'm always on the lookout for the next volume.
February 8, 2011
Forgot how much I like this story. Very melodramatic, but I like it!
January 21, 2016
Read prior to joining Goodreads.
June 9, 2014
Just found out that I found this book in a school library that I go to. And the title caught my eye and I started reading it. So far I'm loving it.
August 15, 2007
A good Korean shojo manga.
January 26, 2008
yeah i read manga
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews