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Model [모델] #1
Model, Volume 1
A Handsome Stranger with a Dark Secret ...
Jae is your typical struggling artist, studying in Europe and dreaming of a successful painting career. Typical, that is, until her friend drops off a rather inebriated -- though breathtakingly beautiful -- young man at her apartment one evening. That night, Jae dreams that the stranger visits her in her room ... and drinks her blood!
But was it really all just a dream? Could this handsome creature truly be a blood-thirsty vampire? And if Jae actually considers his ominous proposition, will she be entering into a deal with the devil?
Jae is your typical struggling artist, studying in Europe and dreaming of a successful painting career. Typical, that is, until her friend drops off a rather inebriated -- though breathtakingly beautiful -- young man at her apartment one evening. That night, Jae dreams that the stranger visits her in her room ... and drinks her blood!
But was it really all just a dream? Could this handsome creature truly be a blood-thirsty vampire? And if Jae actually considers his ominous proposition, will she be entering into a deal with the devil?
205 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
11 people are currently reading
1020 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
January 18, 2015
the art was cool but the story was laking.
December 28, 2008
If I had realized that Model is one of those "sassy girl is going to prove the asshole man wrong about her" sorts of stories, I wouldn't have picked it up. But it is, and I didn't like it.
The first 33 pages were actually well-written, but after that ... the dialog turned to cardboard and the rest of the story is a yawn. And the caligraphic font that Tokyopop chose for Michael's dialog is nearly unreadable.
The first 33 pages were actually well-written, but after that ... the dialog turned to cardboard and the rest of the story is a yawn. And the caligraphic font that Tokyopop chose for Michael's dialog is nearly unreadable.
June 3, 2015
I didn't care for these characters - very unlikable. The main character, Jae, is okay but I'm not sure I understand her or why she does what she does.
Personally, she needs to run very far away from these others but then sometimes vampires have a mind hold on you and you are not yourself. I can't tell, though, if that is why she stays with them.
I have the 2nd in the series already so I'll read that one, but at this point, I don't feel like pursuing this vampire manwha.
Personally, she needs to run very far away from these others but then sometimes vampires have a mind hold on you and you are not yourself. I can't tell, though, if that is why she stays with them.
I have the 2nd in the series already so I'll read that one, but at this point, I don't feel like pursuing this vampire manwha.
June 20, 2020
Freaking AMAZING! IT ONLY TOOK A FEW HOURS TO READ IN ALL BUT YET I TOOK A FEW DAYS IN BETWEEN OFF 'CAUSE I WAS NOT ONLINE. its a truly at awe in art work, writing, and has a unique story telling. I will probably read this again.
October 11, 2018
3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the spooky, gothic artwork. This was an interesting start to a series and I'd love to see where it goes from here.
September 3, 2017
This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/20...
I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump since this spring. Between moving, losing my grandfather, general work stress, and living in the DC area during this political climate, I just haven’t felt the same energy or enthusiasm about books as I usually do. So when I was at an anime convention digging around at the Cheap Manga booth, I really didn’t think I’d stumble on something that would excite me. Then I discovered Model.
Model by Lee So-Young is a Korean manga series about vampires. The protagonist, Jae, is your stereotypical passionate artist who is studying in Europe to find inspiration. One night Jae’s friend is out at the bar and brings home this dude who is passed out drunk. She wants to get rid of him, so she dumps him on Jae’s doorstep and asks if she could watch over him till he sobers up. It just so happens that drunk dude is an immortal blood-sucking vampire named Michael. Jae is inspired by Michael’s good looks. Michael likes the taste of Jae’s blood. And so the two strike up a bargain–Jae gets to be the first person to paint Michael since before he became a vampire. While she does that, Michael gets to drink her blood (but not too much, of course).
Model is definitely trashy fluffy fun reading. It’s not something you have to think too hard about. The story is engaging and fast-paced. It isn’t very deep, but it’s pretty entertaining. The art style has goth vibes. All of the characters are exaggerated and over-the-top. It’s ridiculous, but in just the right way to make you want to read more of it and see what happens next. It’s kind of like a soap opera, but in comic book form.
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/20...
I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump since this spring. Between moving, losing my grandfather, general work stress, and living in the DC area during this political climate, I just haven’t felt the same energy or enthusiasm about books as I usually do. So when I was at an anime convention digging around at the Cheap Manga booth, I really didn’t think I’d stumble on something that would excite me. Then I discovered Model.
Model by Lee So-Young is a Korean manga series about vampires. The protagonist, Jae, is your stereotypical passionate artist who is studying in Europe to find inspiration. One night Jae’s friend is out at the bar and brings home this dude who is passed out drunk. She wants to get rid of him, so she dumps him on Jae’s doorstep and asks if she could watch over him till he sobers up. It just so happens that drunk dude is an immortal blood-sucking vampire named Michael. Jae is inspired by Michael’s good looks. Michael likes the taste of Jae’s blood. And so the two strike up a bargain–Jae gets to be the first person to paint Michael since before he became a vampire. While she does that, Michael gets to drink her blood (but not too much, of course).
Model is definitely trashy fluffy fun reading. It’s not something you have to think too hard about. The story is engaging and fast-paced. It isn’t very deep, but it’s pretty entertaining. The art style has goth vibes. All of the characters are exaggerated and over-the-top. It’s ridiculous, but in just the right way to make you want to read more of it and see what happens next. It’s kind of like a soap opera, but in comic book form.
August 22, 2010
The first 50 pages are good, but then everything gets boring. If it didn't said that the stranger is a male, I would of thought that he's a girl. The drawing made him look more like a female then male and his personalities get on my nerves.
April 30, 2012
I almost did not like anything about this series and I am certainly not continuing on. I thought the drawing was interesting but that was the only plus side, the characters and storyline were boring.
August 20, 2018
Read #1
Started on August 19, 2018
Finished on August 19, 2018
2.5 stars
Ah, manga. The sovereign of all unrealistic fictional scenarios. Artist girl Jae meets a vampire who basically almost kills her and decides to move into his mansion because she's JUST GOTTA DRAWTHE BOOTY THE BEAUTY ???? I mean, I guess we'll see how this ends -- Michael wears a lot of robes. One of those stars is for Ken and his bat frands.
(Michael is for real Lestat, btw. Jae even mentions having a friend named "Louis" at the beginning. And they live in Europe.)
Started on August 19, 2018
Finished on August 19, 2018
2.5 stars
Ah, manga. The sovereign of all unrealistic fictional scenarios. Artist girl Jae meets a vampire who basically almost kills her and decides to move into his mansion because she's JUST GOTTA DRAW
(Michael is for real Lestat, btw. Jae even mentions having a friend named "Louis" at the beginning. And they live in Europe.)
February 29, 2012
The art is just...WOW! Lee so-Youngs, drawings are flawless.
I Loved this entire series and couldn't stop reading it.
I Loved this entire series and couldn't stop reading it.
October 10, 2012
I purchased the first two volumes of this back in 2008. I wish I hadn't. It killed some time for me, but the books yielded nothing of substance. The characters were "meh" and the plot was likewise.
March 18, 2022
As with all my comic reviews, this is an overview of the entire series (all seven volumes).
Model is... written vaguely to the point of not really feeling cohesive. The author clearly wanted to instill some deeper thought about the nature of art, humanity, love, etc. but mostly it's overly vague, frilly words that are inserted into an otherwise disjointed narrative.
The series wants to present itself as simply being "Jae, a Korean artist, makes a deal with a vampire to paint his portrait at his mansion after he's dumped in her apartment one evening by happenstance" but really focuses way more heavily on Jae poking around in the lives of the vampire, his housekeeper, and the housekeeper's son as she stays in the mansion, doing very little in terms of actual painting or artistic expression.
Jae's personality and goals are very contradictory, Michael (our vampire) is long winded to the point of being pretentious, we're spliced into flashbacks of everyone's history to little effect, we barely understand the characters motivations or personalities, Ken and Michael and Jay have this weird, vague love triangle-hate triangle thing going on... it's like the author just threw in ideas that seemed mysterious and bold without considering how the lack of story-crafting would ill effect it.
I felt kind of lost throughout the process; like, I still don't fully understand Michael's past or what Adrian was or what Eva was all about or Ken or even Jae... it's strange to read seven volumes and feel so... confused about the story and plot. I didn't feel any emotion and my interest wasn't kept well.
In truth, I can barely write this review because the story was so... gaseous, you know? Like smoke. Just very unclear and vacuous, empty. I don't think it's a title I'll care to revisit.
Also, the art can be very strange. Necks and hands and fingers and limbs are all extremely long and spindly, everyone has dark, full lips and the way the author approaches noses can be strange. It can be sort of pretty one panel and unsettling the next. Not really my favorite.
It only gets 2 stars because I've still read far worse, I just can't give this any recommendations, though with it being an out of print series, it's unlikely many people will stumble across it easily these days.
Model is... written vaguely to the point of not really feeling cohesive. The author clearly wanted to instill some deeper thought about the nature of art, humanity, love, etc. but mostly it's overly vague, frilly words that are inserted into an otherwise disjointed narrative.
The series wants to present itself as simply being "Jae, a Korean artist, makes a deal with a vampire to paint his portrait at his mansion after he's dumped in her apartment one evening by happenstance" but really focuses way more heavily on Jae poking around in the lives of the vampire, his housekeeper, and the housekeeper's son as she stays in the mansion, doing very little in terms of actual painting or artistic expression.
Jae's personality and goals are very contradictory, Michael (our vampire) is long winded to the point of being pretentious, we're spliced into flashbacks of everyone's history to little effect, we barely understand the characters motivations or personalities, Ken and Michael and Jay have this weird, vague love triangle-hate triangle thing going on... it's like the author just threw in ideas that seemed mysterious and bold without considering how the lack of story-crafting would ill effect it.
I felt kind of lost throughout the process; like, I still don't fully understand Michael's past or what Adrian was or what Eva was all about or Ken or even Jae... it's strange to read seven volumes and feel so... confused about the story and plot. I didn't feel any emotion and my interest wasn't kept well.
In truth, I can barely write this review because the story was so... gaseous, you know? Like smoke. Just very unclear and vacuous, empty. I don't think it's a title I'll care to revisit.
Also, the art can be very strange. Necks and hands and fingers and limbs are all extremely long and spindly, everyone has dark, full lips and the way the author approaches noses can be strange. It can be sort of pretty one panel and unsettling the next. Not really my favorite.
It only gets 2 stars because I've still read far worse, I just can't give this any recommendations, though with it being an out of print series, it's unlikely many people will stumble across it easily these days.
February 1, 2024
Khé.
Para introducirnos a lo que será la trama y se basarán los manhwas es... Puro speed run sin mucha explicación.
Una vez ya empieza, van cortando partes de diálogo, razonamiento o gestos que para mí es esencial.
Otra cosa, proporciones Who?
A parte de eso, dos estrellas y no una porque a ratos si se supo guiar bien, sin recortes y pegas raros, y he visto cierto potencial en diferentes elementos, pero no son suficientes porque al final una historia se basa en los diálogos y comportamientos y su desarrollo congruente, y éstos fueron...
Algo que me di cuenta y define genial este tomo, es que se nota que la autora tenía claro ciertos elementos y cosas de la historia, pero el hilo conductor y ejecutor es/fue 0.
Estoy mayor para tramas con hilos que son estilo para niños, ningún niño leerá esto, por lo cual es un gran flop que se usen los recursos característicos de cosas para niños (no para todos, para niños) en una lectura que claramente lo leerá un público más mayor.
Por cierto, las escenografías son realmente bonitas.
Quería añadir que porque algo tenga un flop no lo hace un flop general, es la continuidad de éste o la aparición de éstos a lo largo de la historia a contar. Incluso se puede llegar a equilibrar con otras cosas, pero no sentí yo un buen equilibrio para este caso.
Veo margen de mejora y quizás otros tomos lo hagan, porque había elementos en el tomo que fueron interesantes.
Para introducirnos a lo que será la trama y se basarán los manhwas es... Puro speed run sin mucha explicación.
Una vez ya empieza, van cortando partes de diálogo, razonamiento o gestos que para mí es esencial.
Otra cosa, proporciones Who?
A parte de eso, dos estrellas y no una porque a ratos si se supo guiar bien, sin recortes y pegas raros, y he visto cierto potencial en diferentes elementos, pero no son suficientes porque al final una historia se basa en los diálogos y comportamientos y su desarrollo congruente, y éstos fueron...
Algo que me di cuenta y define genial este tomo, es que se nota que la autora tenía claro ciertos elementos y cosas de la historia, pero el hilo conductor y ejecutor es/fue 0.
Estoy mayor para tramas con hilos que son estilo para niños, ningún niño leerá esto, por lo cual es un gran flop que se usen los recursos característicos de cosas para niños (no para todos, para niños) en una lectura que claramente lo leerá un público más mayor.
Por cierto, las escenografías son realmente bonitas.
Quería añadir que porque algo tenga un flop no lo hace un flop general, es la continuidad de éste o la aparición de éstos a lo largo de la historia a contar. Incluso se puede llegar a equilibrar con otras cosas, pero no sentí yo un buen equilibrio para este caso.
Veo margen de mejora y quizás otros tomos lo hagan, porque había elementos en el tomo que fueron interesantes.
January 25, 2025
I unfortunately really didn't enjoy this.
Though I do like Michael's character design and found the dynamic between him and Ken interesting it wasn't enough to keep me interested.
The characters are just really unlikeable. Michael is one of the most boring depictions of the "beautiful monster" vampire type I have ever seen, any attempts to make him seem seductive just feel clunky and iffy.
Jae feels somewhat bland too, she's just not that likeable a protagonist and her motivation for making the contract with Michael just doesn't feel like it holds much weight.
Where I am fond of the concept of a vampire allowing a struggling artist to paint him in exchange for her blood, a vampire who is suggested to have reasons for not letting anyone else paint him, it just doesn't feel delivered that well.
I appreciate that this is only the first volume and I would usually give it some time to improve but first volumes are first impressions and I really don't feel motivated to continue it.
Though I do like Michael's character design and found the dynamic between him and Ken interesting it wasn't enough to keep me interested.
The characters are just really unlikeable. Michael is one of the most boring depictions of the "beautiful monster" vampire type I have ever seen, any attempts to make him seem seductive just feel clunky and iffy.
Jae feels somewhat bland too, she's just not that likeable a protagonist and her motivation for making the contract with Michael just doesn't feel like it holds much weight.
Where I am fond of the concept of a vampire allowing a struggling artist to paint him in exchange for her blood, a vampire who is suggested to have reasons for not letting anyone else paint him, it just doesn't feel delivered that well.
I appreciate that this is only the first volume and I would usually give it some time to improve but first volumes are first impressions and I really don't feel motivated to continue it.
May 11, 2020
*2.5*
Asian Readathon 2020
This was a very strange read, and I actually really disliked the first half, something about it was so off-putting. But I'm not one that easily DNFs a book, especially when it's just a manhwa. Plus the art style is really nice, I enjoyed the gothic feel every scene had. The story actually picked up a bit, especially with the introduction of Ken, who seems really interesting, and the MC, Jae, surprised me, usually in these types of vampire stories the female is always extremely meek, and she just lets everyone push her around, but the author actually gave Jae a bit of a backbone. I'm curious where this story will go, and whether or not it'll get better.
Asian Readathon 2020
This was a very strange read, and I actually really disliked the first half, something about it was so off-putting. But I'm not one that easily DNFs a book, especially when it's just a manhwa. Plus the art style is really nice, I enjoyed the gothic feel every scene had. The story actually picked up a bit, especially with the introduction of Ken, who seems really interesting, and the MC, Jae, surprised me, usually in these types of vampire stories the female is always extremely meek, and she just lets everyone push her around, but the author actually gave Jae a bit of a backbone. I'm curious where this story will go, and whether or not it'll get better.
January 28, 2018
I wasn’t a fan of this series. I was just bored most of the time. I do have to say I liked the ending. But for the most part I never got into the story line. There were too many sudden character switches in the story line with, there was zero transitions. It was hard to follow at times. The art didn’t help much. It wasn’t horrible, but the male characters all looked the same and with some of the shadings it was hard to tell if it was the main male character or a different male character. I’m a fan of supernatural shoujo, but I only finished reading this series was because I had hopes it was just slow and would catch my interest by the end.
April 22, 2019
Yeah, this is as uninspired as some of the reviews had said. Ken makes the story a little more interesting. I don’t loathe the art but it doesn’t do too much for me. I’m not a visual artist, but I keep wondering how Jae can be surrounded by so many interesting things and such cool architecture and not be motivated to draw. I mean, yeah she wanted to do a portrait but can’t she at least draw *something* while she waits for Michael to cooperate?
One thing I DO hate is the font they used for Michael’s speech. I get why they chose it but I find it *VERY* difficult to read. (And pretty annoying. But then Michael is annoying so maybe that’s on purpose.)
One thing I DO hate is the font they used for Michael’s speech. I get why they chose it but I find it *VERY* difficult to read. (And pretty annoying. But then Michael is annoying so maybe that’s on purpose.)
July 24, 2017
I've only read two manga, including this one, so I'm not sure how this compares to other books in the genre. I do like the storyline, but I feel like this first volume barely set up the story and didn't accomplish much in terms of plot. There are so many questions introduced, and not any answers. Plus, I felt the pacing to be quite choppy. I'm not exactly sure of the timeline, as scenes randomly jump forward, and it took me a minute to adjust. I do look forward to reading the second volume and seeing what happens next.
June 17, 2017
Series Review: This one didn't really click with me. The art style was a bit weird and I didn't get why the main character fell for the vampire; she seemed empty and lacking personality. Ken seemed like the most interesting character. The parts I liked were basically all of the side story and none of the main story.
December 26, 2023
The art is really pretty, and does carry the story a long way. There could be something interesting done with the plot (reminds me a bit of Dorian Gray), but it doesn’t really fulfil that. Wasn’t really attached to any of the characters, but I could definitely see myself picking up volume 2, especially to see what that cliffhanger was about.
January 16, 2023
Had considered giving this one star but the world building and character setup barely saved it. Reminds me of the vampire toxic lover trope and I am glad these days that we are moving away from that with current vampire depictions.
September 4, 2017
The art is lovely and I'm interested to see where the story goes.
March 21, 2018
I really like the artstyle, it is amazing! But the story is not really good. Maybe I was waiting for a plottwist, that makes it better, but there was no one.
July 30, 2019
Wonderful it held my attention through every manga I love the story and artwork
June 11, 2020
Beautiful art and a compelling story.
August 1, 2020
Good story, great art style.
December 27, 2020
Kinda meh. It’s not terrible but the story is kinda flat. It’s only the first volume so I’m gonna keep reading.
April 30, 2022
Pretty art, but was not pulled in by the story.
October 8, 2024
Gave up and DNFed this one. I really don’t dig this art style. Why does everyone have such long necks and sharp chins? All the characters look like humanoid giraffes. Story wasn’t exciting to me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews