Model, Volume 3

Model [모델] #3

by So-Young Lee

Michael throws a fit when he learns that Eva has warned Jae to leave Michael's mansion, while Ken begins to tell Jae the story of his arrival at the mansion as a young boy.

Genres: Manga, Manhwa, Vampires, Romance, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Horror

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Krissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Getting more interesting.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures: http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/20...

Model is a Korean manga series about an artist who is living with a vampire because she wants to create his portrait. Michael’s house is like a soap opera, as he and everyone he surrounds himself with have a flair for the dramatic. Jae, the artist, is starting to develop feelings for Michael. But there’s also a love triangle with Ken, Michael’s mysterious ‘son.’ And then there’s the housekeeper Eva, who has a secret past as a supermodel, and that past comes back to haunt her. What will happen next? Who will fall in love with whom? What are everyone’s real motives? This series is blatantly ridiculous, and I’m eating it up as it requires zero brainpower whatsoever.

[Rosenblue · Rating 5 out of 5]

KYAAAAAAAAAAA! This was SUCH a good volume I wished I had more time to read it when I fist started it anyhoo I really liked it!

[Alorrin · Rating 2 out of 5]

So...at this point I'm no longer so "in love" with the art style of the characters. At least there are visible differences between the female characters (at least by way of their hairstyles and colors, and their facial expressions), but--ALL OF THE GUYS LOOK THE SAME! I mean, at least Ken has short black hair, which is a complete polar opposite to Michael's long white hair. But then we're introduced to Adrian, who looks EXACTLY like Michael if he were to get his hair and nails cut. Hell, they even wear the same lipstick. I swear, everyone in that house must pass around the same tube of lipstick--with the exception of Jae, of course. Because she's "too innocent" for that. Just kidding, the artist goes back and forth giving Jae the same black lipstick as everyone else.
And so, just like in the volumes before...

***Spoilers Beyond This Point!!!***

1) Here we are, volume 3, and Jae still hasn't made sketch one towards her commissioned(?) painting. I understand that Michael is flighty, and she even mentions not being able to track him down so she can get to work but, then, just as quickly, she forgets he reason for being there all over again. I mean, in the first few pages, she comments how she wants to just do the painting and get it over with, because the sooner she gets it done, the sooner she can leave. And, in the same breath, she says that SHE'S the one making things complicated. So...I don't know. Either she's there to work or not. I'm tired of her not doing anything about it, and just sticking around and complaining... I hate Jae so much...
2) And we can't have Jae having a moment of clarity or whatever without Ken touching her without permission--grabbing her--and forcing a kiss on her or dragging her off somewhere.
I want to bring all of these characters to life just to burn them away in Michael's estate...
3) In the first book, Michael says "A delicate vampire, like me, must only drink the blood of the pure and innocent." And yet, on just the page before, upon learning that he drunk Jae's blood, he turns and throws it up. But THEN he says "My skin is still youthful, so your blood isn't tainted." Aaaaand near the beginning of book one, Jae (upon fearing she might have had a lustful thought) says "I'm too innocent to be acting like this." So which is it? I pose the question to the writer/artist; is Jae innocent or not? Because Michael horked up her blood, but then by book 3 he finds himself struggling not to drink her blood. Was he throwing up just for show? just to be an ass? Or was it a knee-jerk precaution? But then, wouldn't he have already realized by then that her blood was alright in his system?
...I know, overanalyzing again...
4) Michael Moyers... Really? Seriously? THAT was the ONLY name they could think of to give this arrogant vampire?....ffs...
5) **BONUS!** "I first came here when I was around 5 years old." ~Ken at the end of vol 3. More on that when I review vol 4, because I've already hit, what I believe to be, the most disturbing thing in this series so far...

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 3 out of 5]

Model 03 von So-Young Lee

Zum Inhalt:
Nachdem sich Jiye fest dazu entschlossen hat Muriel nicht klein bei zu geben und dessen Geheimnisse sowie die Geheimnisse dessen Mitbewohner zu lüften, trifft sie auf denn "Sohn" Ken. Nach einem kurzen Schlagabtausch eröffnet ihr Ken, dass er ihr etwas zeigen möchte und nimmt sie so mit zu einer unbekannten Höhle in die er sich regelmäßig zurückzieht. Jiye ist sich nicht sicher, was sie hier soll und ist der Meinung, dass Ken nur wieder mit ihr seinen Schabernak treibt.
Währenddessen weiß Muriel, dass mit seinem neusten Gast auch ein Wesen mit auf das Anwesen gekommen ist, dessen Macht er noch nicht einschätzen kann. Als er aus dem Affekt heraus seine Haushälterin Eva attackieren will, hält ihn jene fremde Macht zurück. Als sich das Wesen endlich zeigt, scheint es für die Beteiligten nicht unbedingt unbekannt zu sein, jedoch wird es für Muriel gefährlich und Eva muss sich entscheiden, was sie tun wird.

Cover:
Im Gegensatz zu den anderen Covern der Reihe wirkt das Cover des dritten Bandes eher hell und freundlich - irgendwie will es nicht wirklich für mich zu der Storyline passen, aber hübsch anzusehen ist es allemal. Hier ist meiner Meinung nach Muriel zu sehen, als er noch menschlich war -über andere Meinungen lasse ich mich aber gerne belehren. ;-)

Eigener Eindruck:
Der mittlerweile dritte Teil der Manwha-Reihe "Model" aus der Feder von So-Young Lee ist von der Qualität nun im mittelmäßigen Standard angekommen. Obwohl die Geschichte rund um Muriel, Ken, Eva und Jiye durchaus interessant ist, kommt die Geschichte in meinen Augen immer mehr vom roten Faden ab und beschäftigt sich einfach mit Nebensächlichkeiten die so nicht hätten sein brauchen. Die Mangaka wirft uns immer wieder Fetzen daher, führt diese aber nicht weiter aus, obwohl diese für die Geschichte scheinbar wegweisend sind. Das irritiert und nimmt einfach den Spaß am lesen. Die szenen in der Höhle, als auch der Angriff von Muriel auf Eva sind für mich nicht komplett nachvollziehbar. Auch, als Ken beginnt die Geschichte vonsich und Eva zu erzählen, bin ich wirklich eine ganze Weile im Dunkeln getappt, bis ich mir wirklich einen Reim daraus machen konnte.
Die Zeichnungen in ihrer Qualität bergen für mich als Manga-Fan langsam nichts Neues mehr und wirken bisweilen einfach lieblos und plump - besonders Jiye als Protagonistin der Reihe wirkt immer wieder sehr lieblos dargestellt - sogar zeitweise richtig hässlich. Ich bin der Meinung, dass da definitiv von der Qualität der Zeichnungen noch eine Menge Luft nach oben ist, vor allem, weil man wirklich schon oft sehen konnte, was die Mangaka wirklich auf den Kasten hat. Einfach nur schade.

Fazit:
Für eine doch recht laue Storyline und teilweise lieblose Zeichnungen kann ich leider nur neutral bewerten und gebe dem Manga daher nur 3 Punkte. Ich habe Hoffnung, dass sich die Storyline im nächsten Band wieder ein bisschen hebt und vor allem auch alles durchsichtiger wird.

3 von 5 Punkte

[VampireNovelFan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Your emotions diminish with each passing year. You're losing your humanity."

Both suitors, Michael and Ken, step it up a notch to win Jae's affections. Eva, while still of the belief that Jae only brings trouble, confesses that she wants for Jae to leave. Michael won't have it as he has fallen for Jae. Can he control his bloodlust for her? Ken's feelings are also deepening, which only complicates things even more. The mysterious guest, Rachel, has a big secret "her"self.

These vampires have that special "allergy" to sunlight, which isn't much of a problem for me. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. The love triangle is in full swing, but you feel like one of them is fighting a losing battle. That worked for me since I wasn't rooting for him anyway. Once again, Rachel's character adds a bit more intrigue and you know that more of Michael's past is bound to catch up with him.

The story isn't the most original, and the men are drawn so beautifully to the point of where they look like women, at least if they have long hair. The art style isn't really my favorite as the features are a bit disproportionate for my tastes, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the series. Jae's character could be worse. She makes pretty stupid decisions, but I do like that she stands up for herself every so often. And she certainly has her dedication to art. You can't deny that.

I purchased the whole series at once on Ebay for about $30. It was an excellent deal and I've gladly kept every one. It is FAR from the best series, but I've certainly read worse.

*Review also posted to Amazon

[Leila Anani · Rating 2 out of 5]

3rd installment of this gothic romance series moves at a snails pace. Hardly anything happens!!!! Jae confronts Ken who tells her than Michael isn't his biological father but is still his 'father' and we find out that Rachel is channelling the spirit of her 'brother' Adrien Dubon a name which seems to have significance for both Michael and Eva though we don't find out what. And that's it.... Yes it takes in an entire volume for that much plot. I'm not keen on the artwork either, faces are nice but I dislike the styalised stick bodies/limbs and the characters all look facially the same - its quite hard to differenciate between Michael and Adrien.

Humourless, dark and slow this isn't one of my favourite vampire series, but it certainly is gothic.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the weakest of the volumes so far, primarily because many pages are dedicated the arrival and mystery of Adrian, who claims to be Rachel's brother, but also shares a body with her. At first, it seems Michael knows him, but later Michael does not know who he is. Eva thinks he is someone from her past, then says he isn't, then sees him as someone from her past but still insists it isn't him . . . I feel like all of this is meant to fill pages while tensions rise between Michael, Jae, and Ken. If I have one complaint with this series, it's definitely the slow, meandering plot. Given that at its core, it's a love story, this might be understandable, but it does feel drawn-out.

[Katie Umland · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Anna Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lee So-Young continues to weave an intriguing tale. In this volume again the reader is left with more questions than answers. However, enough is revealed to make this a satisfying read. And with the addition of another paranormal character that has ties to Eva, things are getting really interesting. Add in the fact that we’re starting to see the more human side of Michael, and this book becomes one that simply can’t be put down.

[♡Kayla♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.25*

Not bad, but we didn't really get a whole lot in this volume. Mostly just more unanswered questions, and a new character that looks a bit too much like Michael, especially close up. So much so that I had to rely on the way their bangs fell over their eyes to tell them apart lolol. I'm still very intrigued by the story, and where it's going, I just hope we get more of it in volume four.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the art was pretty in this book I continued to have issues keeping track of who was who as many of the characters have similar features and both girls and guys have long flowing hair. Also there were several pages I had to reread in order to sort out who was speaking as some frames showed who was being spoken to not who was speaking but others didn't. This I found a bit confusing.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I have the whole series, otherwise I would get confused. Somethings are brought in and not mentioned till much later... Very intriguing. I am curious about how Micheal us able to bring his paintings to life

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I found this volume very difficult to follow, but I think that is due to me being inexperienced with manga. This volume felt drawn out and mainly transitional. Plus, it jumps from scene to scene a lot. Hopefully the next volume will explain more!

[Rebo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it’s because the sound effects aren’t translated, but I find a lot of the action confusing. The fact that the characters all look so much alike also makes it difficult. I thought Adrian was Michael with a haircut at first lol

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!!

[Lucinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still waffling on this series, but I'm just so curious as to how it ends.

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one didn't answer many questions, but it was quite alright. If you read all the volumes together, they seem just fine.

[Alexander Adrien Ren Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite vampire comics.