A vízisten menyasszonya 2.

Bride of the Water God #2

by Mi-Kyung Yun, Dalma Kálovics (Translator)

Habek, a titokzatos vízisten arra kárhoztatott, hogy nappal gyerekként kell élnie, és csak éjszaka öltheti fel igazi, felnőtt alakját. Az emberek világából származó új asszonya, Szoa úgy hiszi, hogy egy gyerekhez adták feleségül és fogalma sincs arról, hogy a vonzó Mui valójában a felnőtt Habek. Amikor The-Ul-Csin-In elárulja Habek titkát, Szoa vakmerően arra készül, hogy ő maga deríti ki az igazságot. Azonban óvatosnak kell lennie, hogy meg ne haragítsa a szeszélyes istenségeket, beleértve nagyhatalmú és kiszámíthatatlan férjét! A vízisten menyasszonya varázslatos és romantikus történetével, lenyűgöző rajzstílusával 2006-ban Korea legnépszerűbb lányoknak szóló manhwája volt.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Manhwa, Romance, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Mythology

180 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2006

About the author

Name (in native language): 윤미경

Associated Names:
Mi-kyung Yoon
Юн Ми Гён
尹美庚

Mi-Kyung Kun is a Korean manhwa artist. She is the author of Bride of the Water God series (original title: 하백의 신부).

She received the Silver Medal for Seoul Media Group's "Shin-in-gong-mo-jeon" ("New Artist Debut Competition") for Na-eu Ji-gu Bang-moon-gi (The Journey of My Earth Visit) in 2003.

She received a "Shin-in-sang" ("Best New Artist") award from the Dokja-manhwa-daesang organization for Railroad in 2004.

Fan Forum: http://cafe.daum.net/winkalryd

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even lamer than the first volume; at least that had some stage-setting going on. Nothing happens in this one, it's just Soah and Mui wandering around continuing their ridiculously needless bodice-ripper-style "misunderstanding" and being angsty about nothing. (Well, Soah has some grounds for angst since she is in a strange place with a strange useless husband and everyone but her has supernatural powers. But she isn't angsting over that; she's angsting about boys.)

Seriously, this misunderstanding is the stupidest ever. Not really spoilers, because it's revealed relatively early in the first volume, but just to be polite Soah is given in marriage to a god who meets her in the shape of a little boy. He also has a grown man form, but he does not tell her this. For no reason. Very explicitly there is no reason: other gods ask him about it and he's like "I dunno...didn't feel like it...seemed awkward..." But then he goes and weirdly sort-of-flirts with his own wife, but pretending to be his own cousin. There is no suggestion so far that this is a test if her fidelity, or that he's under a curse a la Cupid and Psyche or East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon. It's just to create tension, because otherwise there is none. Oh, wait, there's his mother, a goddess, who has nothing better to do than visit and be vaguely ominous at his bride, although he's had many brides and she apparently never cared before..

The flying wolf was the only interesting thing, and he was only around for a page. I think I'm giving up on this series even though it again ended in a cliffhanger, technically, but since there was no preceding action it's hard to be interested in what (isn't) happening.

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out more manga and graphic novel reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...

As the second volume of a manhwa it's hard to grade. Basically I feel for this volume what I felt about the first. See my review of volume one...

The art is gorgeous! Sometimes confusing... I did understand some of the frames that were unclear but is that me reading better or the drawing being better...?

The plot is compelling... in this volume Soah learns about Habaek's past being in love with Nakbin is introduced and through contact with Mui due to a potion from his mother she learns he also has a past with Nakbin. She was told to doubt Tae-eul-jin-in's word so sets out to learn for herself if they are one and the same and actually he helps her while the person who told her it's a lie is trying to hinder her. Through all this drama Habaek is truly falling for So-ah.

The chapter endings were still rather indistinct but at least they seemed to have better transition so I could see where they were at!!

I love Soah and Habaek and I love them together too... She isn't quite as passive as she first appeared. She is a woman of her time though and tries to be sneaky rather than demanding. She's smart and realizes something is wrong and is able to take action herself! I would rather have scenes with them falling in love rather than those scenes seeming to happen off screen. This is ultimately a shoujo and I want to see the falling in love! Right now Habaek seems to be changing toward Soah with very few scenes together to back it up... but the ship scenes were gorgeous! It's a ride I'd want to take too...

The side characters are starting to show their true colors... which I thought was good! And Soah is not quick to trust any of them but seems set to learn for herself...

Overall, I'm pleased with where this is headed even though very little progress was made on her learning the truth about Habaek. I'm anxious to see if volume three stays the same quality or not...

Art/Illustrations>⭐⭐⭐⭐
Story/Plot>⭐⭐⭐⭐
Chapter Endings>⭐⭐⭐⭐
Main Characters>⭐⭐⭐⭐
Side Characters>⭐⭐⭐⭐
Relationships>⭐⭐⭐⭐

BOTTOM LINE: A gorgeous manhwa that is proceeding on its way to be both political and romantic.

______________________
You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my manga and graphic novel reviews in a special feature called Saturday Morning Cartoons...

[Badseedgirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

A heroine needs to be more than a pretty face!

[Elea Esparza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encantaaa es super adictivo a comparación con el Dorama el manga es más profundo, me encanta la historia del habaek y esa dualidad ufff, la verdad es que aunque sean el mismo me gusta imaginar en un triangulo amoroso entre el habaek grande y el habaek chiquito (jajaja asi los llamé)
la verdad es que si vale la pena leerlos, son super interesantes

[Zunaira Ghazal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. I can't tell who's who, keep confusing names and the art is overtaking the plot again. Every character is so secretive, if i hadn't wiki-ied his, i wouldn't even know what's going on in the background. Does anyone know a written novel version of this type of a story?

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mui offers to help Soah go back home, but she refuses, saying that Habaek is deeply in love with her. In reality, she's hiding something that makes going home an impossibility.

Mui's comment that his words are Habaek's words does prompt Soah to begin wondering about the connection between Mui and Habaek. One god tells her that they're really the same person, while another tells her that this is a lie. Who's telling the truth? The only way to find out is to see if Habaek has the same tattoo on his chest that Mui has on his.

This continues to be a very slow-paced series, but I did like this volume a little more than the first. There are multiple mysteries in play: what everyone's motivations are, what happened to Nakbin (Habaek's previous wife), and Soah's secret. I'm interested to find out what's going on.

I have the same comments about the artwork that I did in my review of the first volume - it's generally very beautiful, and the full-color pages are so pretty that I wish the entire volume could be in color. That said, I'm still not a fan of the author's preferred "long and bony" physique for everyone.

The tone is occasionally a bit odd. The bulk of it feels almost dreamlike, which can occasionally be confusing, especially when brief flashback moments are worked in (I mistook Nakbin for Soah at one point), but there are also a few very comedic moments, such as when Soah contemplates somehow having to strip both Habaek and Mui to see their chests.

All in all, it's pretty and not bad, but the pacing could probably be better.

Extras:

A couple pages of full-color artwork, three 4-panel "author afterword" comics, a short note from the author, and a "creator photo gallery" composed of 5 black-and-white photos of the author, which I don't think I've ever seen before in a series like this.

Rating Note:

3.5 stars, rounded down because the story really should have made a bit more progress by now.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Shayshkers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still intrigued, but the flow of the story needs to improve.

[Shalaine Mccall · Rating 5 out of 5]

When reading this fascinating book I have come to love Japanese anime. The first time I read this book I was confused there were pictures all over the place and I couldn't keep track of what was happening. I then started to understand the book when I read it over and over again. Once I figured out was happening in the book I began to understand what was occurring in the text. The Bride of the water God, Vol.2 is a book filled with suspense and mystery of the beautiful Soah, a human, who is married to Habaek, a water God and also a child, but Soah has hidden feelings for the gorgeous adult Mui. The twist however is that Mui is the adult form of Habaek ,but Soah does not know that yet. Throughout the entire book Soah feels she is not faithful to her husband even though she kind of is. Since Soah believes that Habaek and Mui are two different people she thinks she is cheating on Habaek. While I read this part of the book I interpreted that it was in a way kind of true that she was cheating on Habaek because her mindset was based off of "I like Mui", but she really doesn't know that Mui is Habaek and she can't cheat on a God that would just lead to eternal torture.
In order to add on to the mess of Soah's confused feelings a friend/workingman of Habaek named Huye gave Soah a comb for a welcoming present. In the words of Mui, "A man giving a lady a comb as a gift means he's proposing for marriage." The comb was not given to Soah for a welcoming gift it was given to her because Huye likes her and wanted to steal the wife of Habaek away from him. Although Huye likes Soah he doesn't reappear in the book again. Soah cares for Habaek and doesn't want to disappoint her husband. When Mui and Soah were alone together Mui begins to fraternize with Soah and they began to kiss. Soah's disloyalty to "Habaek" reveals that she wasn't ready for the life of a bride of a God even though technically she was not cheating on her husband. This book is full of surprises and mysteries and when reading this book you would fall in love with the characters and the story. I enjoyed reading this book and can't wait to read the other books Mi-Kyung Yun has to offer.

[Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“...Actually... last night, Mui told me to go home. He said that his words are Habaek's words. What that supposed to mean?”
"Ha Ha! Of course... it's because they're the same person." — Soah & Tae-eul-jin-in

So volume two of this manhwa continues the focus of volume one. Picking up from Mui/Habaek telling Soah to leave, to go home. The focus of the volume is Mui's secret and Soah learning who is trustworthy and who is not in the world she now inhabits. It is funnier than I expected. With Chungjo, the messenger, acting as a comic relief. The art does a brilliant job on movement. Wind through hair, sudden moves surprising Soah.

The two that are possibly featured the most in this volume are Murah and Tae-eul-jin-in. Murah is sort of the character I'd expect in this kind of world, where the affection of the main man in the world is everything. Murah's history is somewhat sympathetic she is a powerful woman whose affections are not returned. Her history is interesting though, I think there are a lot more secrets there. Tae-eul-jin-in is the keeper of secrets and the medic. He has his own secrets but his character design is so different from everyone else. They almost appear as two sides of same coin.

Within cultural and lore dictates Huye just proposed to Soah, Mui barely blinked. Huye and Mui/Habaek definitely have something going on with Habaek's brides. Possibly a challenge in loyalty, possibly just a immortals being bored. Either way, their God and guard bond isn't damaged by their games. It's odd. I'm looking forward to finding out what exactly they are doing.

A representative gif:

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

Bride of the Water God Vol. 2 was way better than Vol. 1. I really appreciated getting to see more of Habaek’s back story, and to learn about his first love that ended in tragedy. It gives him a lot more emotional vulnerability now that he’s going to be falling in love with Soah, because we know what happens when a god loves a mortal with a limited lifespan. I appreciated getting to learn more about the characters, and to see more of Soah’s scary mother-in-law. But Habaek needs to tell Soah about his dual identity. She’s coming really close to figuring it out and suspects that something’s up, but until he tells her, it makes me feel as if he’s treating her like a new toy rather than a person.

[Hikaoru · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is this historical romance and only I didn't get the memo?

There's always a scene where the main character would give an antidote via mouth to mouth. As I get older, it seems so juvenile and not plausible. Plus, ingested drug is the slowest way for you to be cured.

I guess the most interesting thing about this would still be the age regression of the Haebak's body every morning. I wonder who cursed him...

[kyky · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Ralu · Rating 4 out of 5]

HAHAAA, we had more action in this one than in the first one. Love it.
I wonder when is Habaek going to get over his ex wife.

[Meike · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The man at night has told Soah that his name is Mui and he is the Water God's cousin. They are falling in love but neither will admit it to each other or themselves; there is much antagonism between them. Soah is given the opportunity to return home and yet she refuses. She learns of Mui's secret (that he is really the Water God by night) but from an unreliable source and this volume concentrates on her trying to find out the truth. I found the wordless panels quite hard to figure out exactly what was going on in them, and as in the first volume I was a bit confused at times but the story is much easier to follow this time around. Though this volume mostly centres on romance, the secondary characters are fleshed out and many now seem to have a secret past or ulterior motives. Halfway through the book I was pretty sure I didn't want to read any further in the series but then that's when things got interesting with the secondary characters, including some scheming from the Water God's mother and finally with the cliffhanger ending I know I'll have to read the next volume.

[Merve Şahin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manga olarak internetten okuduğum "The Bride Of The Water God" 124 chapter olarak girilmiş fakat kitap olarak aldığınızda goodreads de 24 kitaba denk geliyor ve sanırım 2.cildini bitirmiş sayılırım çünkü her cilt 5 chapter'a denk geliyor ve 11.chapter'a geldim 😊✌
Keyifli bir manga üstelik dizisi de başlamış. Henüz 12 bölümü yayınlanmış biraz farklı işleniyor manga ile ama yine de çok sıkıcı değil.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much happens as Soah ignores all evidence that she is married to a divine version of Jekyll and Hyde, but Oh My things get steamy!

[Marquise · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rating goes for the art only, which is beautiful although too wooden, because the plotline is a mess.

[Cassandra Carico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright, I am definitely getting sucked into this series. I think I may have a crush on Mui.....

[Mothpit · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I know I was a bit harsh on the first volume, complaining about quite a few stuff, but let me say this, I think most of my problems are fixed here. And it's not because the translation got better or anything, it's because the story got what it needed the most: Focus.
To be honest, I am kinda ashamed that I could not pinpoint this issue when reviewing the first volume (I will nore retroacively correct that though). It tried to get every card on the table, so of course the flow was a bit broken up. But now, that the audience is hooked and there is a general outline of what is to come, the author can focus on one thing at a time.
Or two.
So, the big central issue of the volume that holds it together is the indentity of Mui and Soah's growing attraction to him. That is definitely the most pressing mystery to solve and Soah is on the case.
Once Mui drops that his word is the same as Habaek's Soah wastes no time to ask someone what the hell is up with that. And when someone drops that it's because they are the same person, she develops a plan right away to confirm it. And she actually goes through with it! Good going, Soah! I love how proactive she became in this volume.
The other big issue is the development of the romantic relationships and oh boy, it's getting complicated. So, strap in, I will try to sum it up. Habaek and Mui are the same person, but Soah does not know that. She is married to Habaek (the child form) and she is falling for Mui (adult form). From Mui's perspective, him and Soah are in a love triangle with Hoo-ye, who gifts Soah a comb, the meaning of which is reiterated TWICE in the volume: if a man gifts a comb to a woman, it means he wants to marry her. From Soah's perspective, her and Mui are in a love triangle with the long dead first wife, Nakbin, whose name Mui calls after he kisses Soah when he is in a delirium. Now, Hoo-ye is not the only romantic complication, a female side character, Mura is in love with Habaek and she resents Soah and wants to sabotage her growing relationship with Mui. Simple.
Somewhere along the ride though Soah's and Mui's relationship seems to be solidifying as Mui even took her to a carriage ride AMONGST THE FREAKING STARS to show her the Milky Way which he called a river, the name of which I cannot say because of shitty translation practices.
To be honest, I really am a sucker for a good, dramatic romance so I was really into this volume.
And we even got some new mysteries such as "what does Soah mean by being a fake bride?", "what is up with Tae-eul-jin-in's talk about the moon and the sky?" and "what the hell happened between Hoo-ye, Nakbin and Habaek back then?". This is techically not new, but since apparently Hoo-ye came out of that as a loser, in my mind it is recontextualize.
And while the much better flow and focus corrected some of my issues and make me forget about others, I still have one big complaint.
There is this one scene where Mui gets injured and there is a fight. Maybe. I cannot truly tell because that scene is damn near incomprehensible. But Rome wasn't built in one day and the manwha already improved greatly so, I guess it's okay.

[Lou (Lou and Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book and 13 other volumes to this series earlier on this year for about £90 from the US. The first volume had me intrigued enough to make that massive purchase, but it had been a while since I read the first book. Reading the second volume now makes me realise why I was so intrigued in the first place. There's something about this book that draws you in. I can't quite put my finger on it. Plus the artwork is beautiful and I'm interested in seeing where the story will go. After finishing this book, I read other people's reviews. The main criticism is that nothing really happens in this book. I can understand that complaint because this book focuses on the growing relationship between Soah and Habaek and provides more world building and develops secondary characters. It's not a faced paced action packed volume but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I would recommend this series so far!

[Cursed Herondale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Transitions of scenes are still quite confusing but I am getting the hang of it, plus there are some inconsistencies I have to point out. In Vol. 1 Mooee introduced himself as the cousin of Habaek, but in this volume, Soah referred Mooee as the older brother of Habaek. Which is it really? Then there was a scene wherein Habaek is in a child's form and Soah called him Mooee and he responded with that name, Soah could have figured that out that they are one person, or was it a typo? I also noticed multiple typos but I can live with it, though I have to back read to rephrase the sentences in my head. Overall, it was fun and an enjoyable read!

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t get it. How is this manhwa popular? Nothing happens. The art /panel placements are both confusing. Many panels where I can’t identify what is happening or the meaning. The dialogue is poor. At first I thought maybe translation was an issue, but no. I had already ordered the next two volumes, which I will read because it takes less than 15 minutes to get through a volume (because nothing happens). Disappointed.

[MaJo · Rating 3 out of 5]

.
.
.
Luego de que aparece la madre del dios de agua Él sigue insistiendo tanto de niño como de adulto de que ella se vuelva a su casa a su mundo.
Sucede que por actitudes de él hacia ella parece como interesado y no se entiende por qué quiere que se vaya.
Al final de este tomo aparece netbeans Quién fue la esposa de él que en teoría estaba muerta.
Gráficas infinitamente hermosos

[Alejandra RL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahora todo tiene un poco más de sentido (creo), y quiero saber que le pasó a Nakbin y si mi teoría sobre ella y Soah es cierta.

Por otro lado, Moo-ra es la antecesora de muchas de las villanas de los webcomics, la tipica mujer malvada que no puede tener el amor del protagonista masculino y entonces anda metiendo cizaña.

[N. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit angsty, and the plot was still all over the place.

Also, the main guy was a douchebag. When she got assaulted at this one festival, he was angry at her. He said it was her fault because she was walking around at night by herself. I didn't like that at all.

[Mosley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume had just what I wanted, the story line sucks you in and you cant look away from the detailed pages. I got a little mixed up on some of the side characters but Im dying to have the time to read the next manga.

[Amandine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les interactions entre Mui et Soah, je les adore ! <3 le chapitre au marché de la nuit est mon préféré ! :D et Huye... the creeper... Il sait que Soah est la femme d'Habaek mais il continue à les provoquer, c'est fou !

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good continuation, I am definitely curious where it will lead and it is quite different from the kdrama.
It is a lovely series though, it is well paced and I am looking forward to seeing where it will go.

[Panna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gyerekek én sírok a röhögéstől. Ez egyáltalán nem humoros de aaaa. Szerintem akkor is vicces. Annyira szerencsétlenek/pos a szereplők.

Ha nem tűnt fel akkor most mondom, hogy nagyon jól szórakozom. Fogalmam sincs miért halsztgattam évekig ennek az olvasását.