A vízisten menyasszony 3.

Bride of the Water God #3

by Mi-Kyung Yun, Dalma Kálovics (Translator)

Humor, dráma és egy cseppnyi horror színezi az eseményeket, amikor az emberi menyasszony, Szoa megpróbálja felfedni az igazságot különös férje állapotáról és arról, hogy mi rejlik az előző feleség korai, erőszakos halála mögött. Míg Huje széptevéssel vonja el Szoa figyelmét, a szörnyűséges istennőt, Murát pedig egyre jobban elönti a féltékenység, az erős akaratú Szoa elhatározza, hogy kideríti, miért kell hatalmas és szeszélyes férjének nappal egy kisfiú testében élnie, és miért csak éjszaka öltheti fel igazi, felnőtt alakját. Szoa lelkiereje és eltökéltsége korábban megmentette a faluját a szárazságtól és az éhezéstől, most pedig egy kiszámíthatatlan elemi istenség ellenében kell összeszednie minden bátorságát és ravaszságát, hogy megtalálja a boldogságot abban az új világban, ahol csapdába esett.

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

196 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2007

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

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

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

As the third volume of a manhwa I can see that the plot is definitely better, more directed to something happening. It's improved by a half star from the previous two volumes... you can see why ... See my review of volume one... and my review of volume two...

There were some seriously stunning frames in this volume! From the bath and battle scenes to ones where our tiny tyke gets mad and ones where his mother dominates... truly stunning. And I wasn't as confused this time! In fact, its safe to say I understood every frame. There was even a time jump and I understood that it happened!!

There is TONS more plot compared to the first two volumes. I mean TONS more... I'm not sure it's my favorite type of plot but we get to witness Habaek's feelings more... He truly acts like a god and plays his cards very close to his chest!! You have to read into his actions but in the most subtle of ways... it's more a hope that he feels more than a sure knowledge. It's terribly compelling and you certainly want to read more and see how these events play out! I did love that we changed up the dynamic between Habaek and Soah! It would get boring if it stayed at the stalemate it was and I think other eyes are watching to see how invested he is in this wife...

The side characters from the water kingdom play only a small role except for his mother who makes a bet with him whose outcome if he loses will make him give up his memories of heartache. At the same time another nameless character comes and plays a dirty game with him through which we learn some of his back history with his previous wife. That which causes his mother such concern that she feels she must mettle. How he chooses to solve both of these situations is not what I would want if I were his wife but Soah is not consulted. We meet a man from Soah's past through this solution and Dong Young makes waves in a way that I appreciated!

Soah is cast as the human set adrift at the whim of the gods. She makes decisions based upon what she knows but it's really not enough to make good ones. She is rather conflicted and I really felt for her. She has this lovely helpless strength that I find compelling and I'm not a man, lol!!

Because there was more plot and it was ALL actionable there were definitely stronger chapter endings! I applaud them and found myself reading feverishly through the volume to see what happens next. Not quite a 5 star outcome... we are still at 4.5 stars but also a striking improvement! I'm looking forward to volume 4!!

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

BOTTOM LINE: A gorgeous manhwa that has ratcheted up both the political and romantic... will it pay off in the next volume?

______________________
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 3 out of 5]

Another beautifully illustrated volume. The story is moved along a bit, and the heroine is showing just a bit of, if not backbone, at least some personality.

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Soah is confused and disappointed at the discovery that Habaek does not have a tattoo on his chest like Mui, which seems to her like a good indication that they're not the same person, no matter what her suspicions tell her. She is further thrown by the revelation that Nakbin may still be alive. If Habaek has Nakbin, what use does he have for a fake bride like Soah?

In the end, Habaek makes the choice for Soah and sends her back to her family with her memories erased. Will Soah somehow find happiness with people who never expected to see her again, or will she somehow remember Habaek and return to him?

This volume left me feeling confused and annoyed. Mi-Kyung Yun continues to tell this story in the slowest and most confusing possible way. Was I supposed to know the true identity of the woman who visited Habaek? Why was the flashback to Habaek meeting and traveling with Yeon-Hwa important enough to devote 14 pages to it? As far as I can recall, Yeon-Hwa was never previously mentioned.

The revelation of what Soah's previous life was like should have been more shocking and surprising, if only to Habaek, and yet it just was. From what I could tell, Soah could have told Habaek the truth and he wouldn't have batted an eye, so her worrying in the previous volume and the beginning of this one was useless.

Soah spent a huge chunk of this volume beautifully sad. From the look of things, Volume 4 will probably feature a lot of Habaek being jealous but swearing that he isn't, while Soah continues to mope around sadly.

Extras:

A couple full-color pages, three 4-panel comics starring the author and a couple of her assistants, and a short afterword by the author.

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

[drowningmermaid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it's because I've been away from the series for a little bit, but I found this one utterly inscrutable. The constant flashbacks and erratic shifts in narration left me thoroughly confused. However, the art was spectacular, once again.

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 3 out of 5]

Failing to find confirmation that Mui and Habaek are the same being, Soah becomes more confused and despondent about her place in the heavens with her water god husband. Habaek, fearing his mother’s hatred against humans, seeks to protect Soah sends her back to her family.

Unfortunately Soah was too young to understand and Habaek too far removed from humans to think about the fact that the villagers expected Soah to die when she “married” him in exchange for him making it rain. They aren’t happy to see her back and Soah, now with no memory of Habaek, is reminded that her father really isn’t a good man. The only highlight for her is Dong Young, the young man who wanted to marry her before she was sacrificed.

However, Habaek can’t let go, following her in both his forms. His mother bets him that if Soah suddenly remembers him, she’d leave them alone. However if he can’t’ make Soah remember him, he’d give her up. Naturally you can see where this cliffhanger is going. It’s still one of the girliest things I’ve read in ages but I like it none the less.

[Shayshkers · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is still strong enough to keep me reading, but really the transitions and flow in this make it difficult to read. It's choppy and clumsy. The artwork is still beautiful.

[Hikaoru · Rating 3 out of 5]

Monster-in-law ✓
Worthless, gambler father ✓
A kind ex-lover ✓
Tsundere current lover ✓
Hopeless heroine ✓

Typical shoujo.

[Meike · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

[Eisah Eisah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like with the second volume, the story itself hasn't really improved but the pacing is better than the first volume. In this volume, there's more melodrama as Soah is sent back home and her memories are taken away. Of course, she'll only remember Habaek if she really loved him. That's pretty much it.

I got really confused with the part with Yeon-Hwa. When Soah goes back home, the villagers accuse their family of running some sort of scam to get money, and because of that she's hated by the villagers. Of course, Habaek is hoping that she'll remember his name when she sees him. Then, suddenly, there's a girl telling/singing stories to kids and acting as a musician to earn money. Habaek appears to her and starts following her around.

I thought maybe this girl was supposed to be Soah, taking on another name and changing her look a bit to try and earn a living because the village hated her, and figured that's why Habaek followed her all over. But then she ends up in jail and then she's out of the story? I'm so confused. What did she have to do with anything? Why did Habaek follow her around? I have no idea.

The story still suffers a lot from obsession over who everyone loves and nothing else. For example, after three volumes, I couldn't tell you a single thing that Soah is interested in. Hobbies or whatever. All that matters is who she thinks is hot. Same with Habaek. I can't tell you anything about what he likes to do except be grumpy. As you can imagine, the same could be said for all the other characters, too.

There has been far too much saving of damsels in distress. In this volume in particular I felt like women were getting grabbed and guys were demanding 'you know what' before someone would dive in and save them. I'd like to see some of these characters take more initiative. Oddly enough, Yeon-Hwa probably showed the most initiative and I don't even know why she existed. We can at least see her holding a job and demanding pay, even going as far as trying to rob people. With everyone else things mostly seem to just happen to them and they react.

Even with her being with her family we still see almost nothing of them, and when we do see something it's pretty flat. I wish Soah would at least say something like, "Yeah, Dad, I kind of do hate you for selling me off" instead of puttering around passively. At least it would show some feeling besides pining for someone.

The artwork is the same as the last couple volumes. Nice, but also not necessarily good at showing backgrounds and space around characters. There's often a lot of nothing behind characters.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished this volume and at this point, I'm still a little bit confused with the plot because the characters are somehow hard to distinguish (Almost all of them have long black hair) with each other and I'm poor with names but when I learned that Soah is still believed that Mui and Habaek (the kid) are two different people . . .



I mean COME ONNNNN

The other one appears only at day, the other one at night.

Soah has already seen Mui 'water bending' a couple of times and she didn't even notice. OF COURSE HE IS THE WATER GOD Haebek. Dumbass.

They have the same freaking personalities and I think its also Soah's fault for not trying to be closed with Habaek. But seriously?!

She had been flirting for a long time with Mui so I assumed that she knows that Mui is also her husband, but hell no. So all this time, she was basically cheating with Habaek (although not technically).



And also her evidence that they are not the same person is the freaking tattoo. Oh come on. They are freaking Gods. Of course there must be some abra kadabra shit going on with it.

[Cassandra Carico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devouring these books, as one usually will with good manga. However, there is a hint of a "soap opera" happening here. I hope the author doesn't make us suffer too long before uniting the lovers.

[Zunaira Ghazal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Soah is a witless wonder. Habaek is the mother of all loser heroes. The rest is a huge mess that only a tragic Indian soap opera can match.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back to the human world this volume, and its hard to say if Soah is getting it worse from the humans or gods.

[N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate her father so much. >:/

[Mothpit · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is the first big break up volume and it made me realize something. I never really questioned why Habaek is trying to send Soah home so badly. Like he loves her, she loves Mui, wouldn't telling her about it be more productive? Apparently not.
So, the second volume left off on a huge cliffhanger of "does Habaek have the same tattoo Mui has, which would prove that they are the same person?". And the answer is no. He does not. So I guess the tattoo goes with the curse?
Also, is the dragon tattoo Mui has related to his tiny dragon and btw, what is up with the huge dragon with WINGS, like feathery wings??
So while Soah was so close to solving the mystery in volume two, ultimately she did not succeed and to top everything off the Emperor visited Habaek in the form of Nakbin. Soah thought that the beloved first wife returned so she is not needed or wanted anymore and allowed herself to be taken home by Mui after they kissed. Multiple times. This is important for my heart. Also Mui was his usual asshole self and told Soah that he would do the same with anyone else as well, so long as they are Habaek's wife, which is.... well, he is not wrong, per se. He's just an asshole.
Anyway, Habaek and his mother made a bet. Send Soah home and whipe her memories and if she remembers Habaek's name (either form's will do just fine) after she sees him Habaek wins and gets to keep her but if she doesn't and he looses he has to drink the memory whipe poison too. What his mother wants him to forget so badly is a mystery at this point but I guess it must have something to do with Nakbin and why they are on bad terms with his family.
Back at the village we got an answer to why Soah is a fake bride and SPOILERS, her dad sold her so she had to take the place of the real bride. Ouch. The only two people who seem to be genuinly happy to have her back are her little sister and her human love interest (the third guy who is in love with her, if we are still counting). As it currently stands, if Habaek does not do something QUICKLY, he might not be getting her back. So stressful.
Anyway, this is probably the only time I will find stalking to be romantic, because Habaek (Mui) is watching over Soah, following her around and saving her as needed. As a matter of fact he saved her twice already. And still he doesn't realize that maybe he shouldn't leave his wife there just because there is another guy, because that guy cannot protect her.
Anyways.
The art is still top-notch, there are some truly gorgeous, jaw-dropping panels, especially of Mui and and Soah when she is vulnerable. And of the two of them together. But everything else is beautiful as well.
I really love how Yoon Mi-Kyung established the water lily and the spider lily as symbols and uses them as recurring motifs along with cherry blossoms to fill up the empty spaces. I think she is improving over the course of the volumes but it might be that I am just paying more attention to how beautiful her art is.

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

"I know you've hated me since we met."
"My, my! Aren't we harsh? I think we have more in common than you'd like to admit. We're both uglier people because we've never been loved, wouldn't you agree?"
"So... maybe you don't hate me but -- you really hate yourself right?" — Huye & Murah

After meeting the character and some of the world there is now a complication. Habaek sends Soah home and "Nakbin" gives her a draught causing her to forget all her time in Suguk. She now remembers nothing of her husband or his world. "Nakbin" is confusing, she is dead, we've seen her dead. There was a twist I didn't expect in her death story. There is more too her though. There is definitely a connection between her and Huye.

Habaek has a bit of an interesting power. He can hear Soah through the water. He is the water god but I didn't expect that. I do wonder if it is just her or if it others as well. Soah has repeatedly called herself a fake bride. We get some idea of her past in this volume. Her past is not what we have seen, her father is an ugly human being. Habaek has a rival for Soah's affections. Dong-young. I find him exceptionally off-putting. He feels too nice, like that nice that if you say the wrong thing to they go feral. I can see him being a problem. But I could be wrong he may be fine.

I'm still enjoying this. I'm remembering a bit and pieces. Not sure it that is a good or bad thing for the prospect of continuing through my collection.

A representative gif:

[MaJo · Rating 3 out of 5]

.
.
.
El después de darle un beso la devuelve a la Tierra sin memoria y ya para el final del tomó se entiende porque.
Resultó ser una apuesta con su madre en la que si ella recordaba después de haberle dado una droga Cómo se llamaba el Dios del agua significaba que era sincera en sus sentimientos sí perdía O sea que esto no sucedía él tenía que tomar esa droga para no recordarla nunca más.
Hasta ahoraella no lo recuerda sin embargo sabe que es importante y mientras en su vida no paran de sucederle cosas malas

[Alejandra RL · Rating 3 out of 5]

El drama ya se puso bueno, hay de todo: Perdida de memoria, secretos, traiciones familiares, villanos y terceros en discordia; justo lo que toda buena telenovela necesita.

Habaek/Mooee me repatea, es el típico galán antiguo que se porta frío y distante con la protagonista, pero cuando la aleja de el ahí anda llorando y jugando al espía.

En fin, en este punto la historia me tiene enganchada, es muy de la vieja escuela pero se disfruta.

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

I'm so glad that I continued on with this series because this is the volume where the pacing increases and the plot starts to develop! I am even more excited to continue with this series and see what happens next after the plot twists of this book. I am enjoying this series and I would recommend it. It's nothing like I've read before!

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bad art, I hope it gets better and more in depth because i feel like the author skims the surface and then never goes back to it in depth or anything. Like why does he like her and trying to get her back? And there's so many questions that don't seem like they are gonna be answered anytime soon

[Vie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of this volume because Habaek decided to sent Soah home and erasing her memory, only to miss her every night and torture himself watching Soah reunited with Dong Young. Hmm.

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was anothe good volume. The character development and plot arc are intriguing and I am curious as to where things are going. I find the description on the back cover to be a little misleading. Still this volume was good.

[Christie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series has degraded into "let's see how many bad things we can do to the heroine." It's more rape than romance and a lot of abuse from everybody. I'm not reading any more.

[Mosley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cant wait to see what happens now that she cant remember any thing and is about to get married to another! I'm so in love with the art work!

[Amandine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soah me fait rire avec ses tentatives pour découvrir la vérité... Elle peut paraitre idiote, mais avec Murah qui met le doute, je peux comprendre qu'elle remet tout en question.

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good volume.

[Cursed Herondale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is getting better and better! There are still confusing transition of scenes but they are bearable, I can always compromise for a story line this funny, and the feels are so on point! ♥

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE!! I can't believe she's back home!! What is next!

[Rachel Fortin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume has the story line picking up and we are introduced to some new characters. The artwork and poetry is as beautiful as ever.

[gabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah! No! Don’t do that! Please Soah!