The Uncanny Counter, Vol. 1

경이로운 소문 [Kyeongirowoon Somoon] #1

by Jang E

The word in town is that the broth at the local noodle house is to die for. The secret? The people who run the shop were on the brink of death! They call themselves COUNTERS and have partnered with ghosts from the afterlife to hunt down rogue spirits. When ordinary high schooler Mun is invited to join them, his whole life flips upside down. Can his new job of fighting evil and chopping noodles give him the answers to his parents’ mysterious deaths all those years ago?

Genres: Manhwa, Fantasy, Manga, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Webcomic, Supernatural

240 pages, Paperback

Published March 19, 2024

Reviews

[Nicki Markus · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Uncanny Counter was a mixed bag for me. I loved the series, so I was interested to read the source material. However, the graphic novel fell a little flat. The illustration was okay but nothing mind blowing, and I found myself comparing scenes to the series and finding the changes made by the TV show were an improvement. One of the sentences written in German also seemed to be linguistically incorrect. This first volume is mostly set-up though, so perhaps things will pick up more in future volumes. Overall, I am giving it 3 stars. If you don't know the TV series, you'll benefit from not having a comparison and if you enjoyed the Netflix show, you may still want to give this a read anyway out of interest.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC vie Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Freya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Yen Press, Ize Press and NetGalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Mun So is an 18 year old student who lives with his grandparents. He lost his parents 7 years ago in a car accident, ending up badly injured and even in a coma for a while, himself.

Mun loves drawing and is part of Team Jokada, together with his 2 closest friends. They want to win this year’s Webtoon contest but soon Mun gets other priorities. It all starts when he gets struck by lightning? And the owners of a ramen shop, who are also secretly evil spirit hunters, recruit him.

A LOT happens in this graphic novel and it’s all explained very well too! Cool, action packed and supernatural, I loved it!

One minor point of critique is the easy well known way to not have to deal with a disability.. Boom it is cured now by magic.. That trick always makes me feel a bit uncomfortable..

[Mystic DreamClouds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Special thanks to the author(s), publisher, Goodreads and/or NetGalley for the review copy. All views and opinions expressed are honest and my own.

I have to admit this was a complete choice by cover. I am obsessed with anything blue and this cover was well, very blue.

This is a unique story and interesting concept. The story follows So Mun who experiences a tragic accident as a child, leading him to fall into a coma and with a limp in his left leg. However, the coma allows him to connect with the afterlife, Yung many years later and soon after, he gets recruited as a Counter. As Mun navigates his new life as a Counter, he tries to balance his regular life with friends and family.

Personally I felt the execution could have been better, however it has its own charm. The story begins quite choppy starting from a past flashback to present day with So Mum’s world colliding with the Counters indirectly. It’s closely followed by quite an informative session before getting to some action. The transition and flow between each part is awkward as well as the comedy and snarky remarks don’t fit in with the overall dialogue. This made it hard to connect to the characters and the story.

That said, the characters are quite fun. I liked the short representation of a disabled main character as well as So Mun’s realistic reaction to hearing about Yung and the world surrounding it. I also like So Mun’s friends because they genuinely cared about him and immediately knew something had changed with So Mun. The other Counters are interesting but I don’t know enough of them yet to form an opinion.

This story contains dark and sensitive topics both directly and indirectly. It contains but is not limited to bullying, abuse, sexual harassment, murder, death and many more. I recommend researching the trigger warnings thoroughly because I have not listed all of them.

The artwork in this manhwa feels more like a comic. It doesn’t follow the common manhwa layout and instead uses a yonkoma style panel or comic layout. It took me a while to get used to but it made reading much easier and coherent. The artwork also uses a variety of darker tones in varying colors, which makes the artwork standout.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and am looking forward to the next volume. Although the plot has a slow start, it was nice to have the information relayed early on, so as a reader we can focus on the plot going forward. I’m hoping So Mun and his friends stay safe and there are no unnecessary misunderstandings. Also, I’m excited to see some more action as So Mun continues his training as a Counter.

Read more reviews @ Mystic's Review Shelf

[Kimberlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

When So Mun was a child he and his parents were in a car accident leaving his parents dead and him disabled in a coma. Years later So Mun is hanging out with his friends when he is unexpectedly possessed by a spirit. Now he has a choice to make, help these spirits capture the demons escaping from Yung, or ignore his new mission.

The good: The concept of this is really good. I love the idea of a ragtag group of grannies and misfits going out and fighting the forces of evil all while maintaining the front of running a noodle shop. There's also a good mystery being set up in the first volume involving So Mun's parents and just why he's so susceptible to possession even though he's not currently in a coma. I also like that there's a diverse cast both living and dead.

The neutral: The art here is fine. It's not bad by any means, but it's not spectacular.

The bad: My biggest dislike is that all the "villains" are comically overacted. I can't imagine that school bullies would get away with so casually and blatantly physically assaulting someone enough to kill them SEVERAL times. The pacing is also an issue. It's just go go go the whole volume, but doesn't pause long enough to explain stuff or bother to set things up sufficiently. It feels like the volume is just going through the motions in terms of plot. Tragic backstory? Check. School friends? Check. Possessed by spirits and have to prevent a murder. Check.

The magic erasure of disability. This story would have been so much more complex if they had just let So Mun exist as he was. Instead, they magic away his disability and give him superpowers almost instantly so we don't have to worry about his "pesky leg". What's more, nobody in the story seems to notice or care even So Mun himself. He takes about three panels to be like "oh I can walk without a cane now" and then the subject is changed. I can kind of get over all the other flaws of the volume but this one. It's convenient to garner sympathy by showing a disabled character, but it's even more convenient to disappear that disability when the plot no longer needs it. This could probably be done in a story, but the execution here is terrible.

[Yakira Goldsberry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one felt a little predictable to me. It follows the same basic plot of the bullied underdog suddenly gaining powers and standing up against his bullies while being thrust into an unfamiliar world. While this might not be a dealbreaker for some, for me, I would have preferred a little more originality. (Like the underdog actually standing up to the bullies before they get powers, at least. Or leaning into working around his disability instead of erasing it.) But I can see why the story is popular. There’s plenty of action and humor and worldbuilding to make it interesting.

I have to say though, for a first volume, this one didn’t catch my attention as much I would have liked. The action started off slow, a lot of the worldbuilding was a little hard to grasp, and we didn’t get to see much of Mun as a person. His character comes off as a little flat and very plot-driven. I think Mun could have used a little more character development to make us really care about him. I feel like his friend who is constantly being bullied had more character than Mun.

On the other hand, it was definitely interesting to see a more realistic art-style and the action was pretty well-done. The supporting characters were very intriguing and I definitely found myself wanting to learn more about them. Unfortunately this volume didn’t capture my attention enough for me to want to read more.

Overall, The Uncanny Counter is a fun story perfect for those who love the underdog trope, well-thought-out action, and more realistic art.

NOTE: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley for review purposes only. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Lexa Riffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mun is a highschool student, who isnt overly popular but for the most part he goes unnoticed. He enjoys being with his two close friends and working on creating their webcomic. He lives with his Grandparents, as he lost his parents in a car accident a few years ago. The same accident left him in a coma for some time, and when he woke up he lost the ability to walk correctly and needs a cane to walk around school.

Mun was out with his friends afterschool one day , when he felt like he was struck by lightning. No cloud in the sky , it was just odd, he felt different and now his hair is curly? While Mun is trying to figure out what in the world just happened. He couldn't have guessed what was to come.

When hes approached by a group of matching jump suit wearing, demon hunters, his life is changed. Oh did i mention the demon hunters also run the towns best lunch spot, Aunties Noodles are the best in town.

The first volume of The Uncanny Counter was alot to take in, but not in a chaotic way. The action starts pretty quick and we get a peek into Muns life before encountering the "counters". Getting this glimpse really shows you how the change effects him and his daily life. Not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well. Im excited to see them all work together more and how the plot with the counters and their counter parts in the yung play out.

This is leading in to being able to play out in many ways and see many different story lines merge and play out together. Volume one did a great job at setting the tone as well as pace for whats to come.

Thank you NetGalley and Yen Press | Ize Press for the Digital ARC for Review

[Anna]

Thank you Netgalley and Yen Press for providing me with a copy in exchange of an honest review.

I enjoyed this first volume. The whole concept is very interesting and well-delivered, plus it offers a lot of opportunities for cool scenes and to expand the world and its system. I liked how we get right into the action, even if it is dangerous for So Mun, not having trained and all. I hope we see him training and getting ready for the missions more, because he is the newest counter and needs to be brought to speed, and I enjoy those type of scenes.

Being already familiar with the kdrama helped me whenever information was delivered, because when that happened, I needed to concentrate and slow down my reading, since a lot of details were given at once. That is one of my critiques. I also did not enjoy whenever we saw the bullies and their power dynamics because though I know it is important for the plot, I do not like or care about them and I want to see more of the Counters and So Mun and his friends.

I wonder if we already know all the main aspects of being a Counter, since so much information was given to us already or whether we will discover new things. I know there are still some mysteries to unpack, like what happened to the previous counter and to So Mun's parents, but I hope to learn more about the rest of the gang as well.

[AP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and promising premise/concept. However I can't quite put my finger on why, but the story/vol. 1 ended up giving me that middle of the road feeling. It was fine, parts were interesting but it just fell somewhat short for me personally.

Also while I have nothing against simplistic art, what I found somewhat annoying was the inconsistency in some of the panel backgrounds. Some were a lot more detailed (shades/lightning etc.) and actually nice looking, but they did not really fit into what the majority of the manwha style was for both the character and background designs. Examples; the railroad panels and the Buddha garden/stone mason part. Yes it's my pet peeve, but I prefer consistency. Either go detailed or keep it simple. Don't throw in a lot of details into a few selected panels because they otherwise would be boring due to being perhaps too simple. Especially when it ends up somehow breaking up the flow of the comic because the difference is too obvious or how to put it.

Other than that I'll give volume 2 a shot, but I suspect vol. 2 will be the end, as so far the story is not really captivating me enough even if there is interesting parts thrown in there. But I'll stick to my general rule of reading 2-3 volumes of manga/manwha etc. as I do not believe a single volume usually gives you a decent enough look at the story in general.

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had no clue this was made into a Kdrama. This story didn't honestly feel like it was Kdrama material. The pacing of this volume is a bit janky, but I'm guessing it was better when it was in webtoon format. The world-building in this story is pretty interesting. But this volume spends so much time telling, and not showing, you get a bit tired of it. I personally didn't care too much for the art style. It felt oddly cartoonish and was jarring with some serious subject matter. It's odd to see a very serious and gory scene drawn in such a silly style. This just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Amy Gorham · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 Stars. The pacing of this manga is a little wonky. It jumps straight into action but then spends a fair amount telling you what’s happening versus showing. I appreciate the concept and world building of evil spirits taking advantage of a crack between the worlds to live forever and good spirits coming back to counter these evil attacks, but the plot felt predictable and the art style wasn’t necessarily for me. It felt very cartoonish and not in a way that complimented the concept. I think this has potential to be something unique and grow from here, but Vol 1 didn’t leave me wanting to read more. Thank you Yen Press, Ize Press, Jang E, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for review!

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a mess. There's a lot of exposition required to explain this world, but it just isn't presented in a very coherent way. The antagonists are unbelievably over the top, especially the high school bullies. They just don't feel like credible threats. The magical erasure of the main character's disability is frankly disappointing. I feel like it would have made a far more interesting story if he had kept his disability and worked through it. Instead, it's magiced away and he's given incredible phyical powers with absolutely no build up or work required. And the art is pretty mediocre, to boot.

[Reuben Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Uncanny Counter is one of my all time favourite kdramas, so I can’t believe I didn’t know about the manhwa until now, but ofc it’s going right in my collection. Obv we’re only in the first volume and the show follows it very closely so it’s not particularly adding much for me at this stage, but it’s lovely to get to spend some time with the Counters again and experience the story in a different format. It’s not my favourite art in the world but I think the style works well for the vibes of this story, and so far it’s not had quite as much punch or humour or feels as I’d like, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to more.

[MC · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, I requested this book just for the cover. I love the style. At the time, I didn't know it was a webtoon or Netflix series.

While this manga was okay for me, many would love this series. The world-building was intriguing, but I believe more time could have been spent on the side characters to deepen their personal interactions. Nevertheless, I appreciated the unique style and technique and hope the characters will be further developed in the series.


Thank you to NetGalley, Jang E, Ize Press, and Yen Press for sending me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Michael Daines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve seen both seasons of “The Uncanny Counter”, so figured it would be interesting to see the webtoon it was based on.

So Mun lives with his grandparents, after his parents died in a car crash that left him with a severe limp. And then, a “Counter” dies nearby and joins with So Mun, giving him supernatural senses and abilities so that he can help in track down evil spirits that possess evil people.

I liked the T.V. series and the manhwa is enjoyable too. There are some changes. To the show’s credit, it draws out the mystery a bit longer on the characters’ backgrounds. The comic has multi-ethnic characters which isn’t explicit in the show.

I’m enjoying it and will probably finish all five volumes.

[Read With A Teacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Netgalley Review

Star Rating: ★★★☆☆

Glad I read it, will probably read more.

Super simple plot line, easy to follow and easy to know where it's going.

It's not going to give you anything super special when you read it, but it's definitely one that I got done reading and didn't feel like I just wasted time of my life that I'll never get back. I got exactly what I expected and I enjoyed that fact.

Like always though, read it and decide for yourself

[Ije the Devourer of Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting story about secret heroes called Counters, who hunt down renegade souls who have escaped the afterlife in order to prey on the living.

Mun is a teenager in high school, who has been injured in a car accident that killed his parents. When he is given a chance to join the Counters he embraces this new world in the hope of seeing his parents. This is an interesting story which introduces this series. It is well drawn and a good intro. It left me wanting more.

[Karlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the world-building concept for this story is pretty interesting: evil spirits taking advantage of a crack between the worlds to live forever so the good spirits have to counter attack. However, Mun as a main character is not all that engaging to me. I think he's a bit bland. Also the art style just isn't my favorite, not a big full color fan.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started out kinda choppy and rough, but then got much better, all the action began and we dived into the main plot. I love the show on Netflix. I'm not sure I would have liked this as much if I hadn't been familiar with the show? There are differences, obviously, but I enjoy both. Looking forward to volume two.

[BreAnna (Bre'sBooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

The Uncanny Counter, Vol. 1 by Jang E is a magical realism story about a young boy who gets bullied but then becomes entangled with a group of vigilantes who are possessed by strong people from the spirit realm trying to take out evil doers/demons. The story was a bit confusing for me to follow, but wasn't bad. Probably won't continue though.

[Sophy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story follows a young man who blames himself for his parents death. Then one day finds out that there is an afterlife and now he has the opertiny to help people and possibly see his parents again. Can't wait to see what happens next in this story.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the full review, and find more graphic novel reviews, at The Graphic Library.

Mun So is a second year high school student who has a mobility disability from a childhood car accident, who’s trying to create the next big WEBTOON with his friends and avoid the attention of school bullies. One day, he finds himself pulled into a supernatural struggle where evil spirits have escaped the afterlife, and benevolent spirits partner with humans to recover them and bring them back to the afterlife. If he agrees, he'll have supernatural strength and speed, and his foot will be healed, and he will have a chance to talk with the spirits of his parents, who were killed in the car accident that left him disabled.

This first volume has a lot of world-building to set up, including the notion of the Territory, which is a little bit confusing at first. The Territory is a portion of magical energy that connects the Counters with the Afterlife and strengthens their powers, and it takes all three of Mun's compatriots to explain the concept to him and the reader. I did appreciate the diversity of characters, even if they're mainly in the afterlife since the living characters are in Korea.

The illustrations and coloring are not as polished as other comics. The illustrations themselves are not very detailed, and the coloring is fairly flat without much nuance or details themselves. The story is interesting and original, so this helps overcome the lackluster art.

Ize Press rates this for teen audiences. This story deals with concepts like the afterlife, obviously, as well as violence, bullying, and murder.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

This review was made possible with a digital reader copy from the publisher through Net Galley.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly set up, but intriguing set up. I'll give this a second volume.

[Skye (Skye's Scribblings)]

6/24 DNF Page 80. Weird (story and art) but not in an interesting way. Pass.

[ReadingFrog · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the sense of motion in the art; it's very fluid. Mun seems to be taking a wild premise completely in stride.

[Serafina Iaquinta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho amato la serie e anche il manhwa mi sta piacendo molto, nonostante alcune cose rendano meglio in TV..non vedo l'ora di continuare..

[David A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific

UC is brilliant, story and artwork, loved it. Well translated and easily followed by someone not familiar with Korean culture.

[Noemi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out my full review:
https://animeuknews.net/2024/04/the-u...