Now Volume 1

Now #1

by Sung-Woo Park

Just before the fall of the mighty Korean Kingdom of Goguryeo, a lone man roamed the lands causing destruction beyond imagine using Sa Shin Mu, a form of martial arts never before seen in this world. Now, 20 years after the fall of the Kingdom of Goguryeo, a new rumor is spreading that a secret manual detailing this legendary martial art has resurfaced. Will Sa Shin Mu once again dictate the fate of this new era?

Genres: Manga, Manhwa, Graphic Novels

200 pages, Paperback

First published December 26, 2003

Reviews

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I forgot most of the book as soon as I read it. It's peak "shounen" (although, Korean, so... sonyeon?).

The story centers around a martial arts manual written by a now-deceased* master, and countless factions trying to find it. Said manual is guarded by the last person to have mastered its contents (Bi-Ryu), and he will only hand it over to the person who can beat him using the martial arts style described in the manual (Sa Shin Mu). Interesting Catch-22, huh?

Thing is, it gets lost in the middle of battle, and recovered by the weakest person there, who got left for dead but miraculously survived the same fall that killed someone stronger.

Otherwise, the most memorable part is a girl who acts like an animal, to the point of running around on all fours (Cho-Ryung). She can't or won't talk but acts like Bi-Ryu's pet. I don't know if that alone would make me actively seek out the rest of the series, though, even if I could expect to find it without special ordering it. I just feel like money spent for special orders would spark more joy for the series on my bucket list: ones I've read before but donated/sold before signing onto Goodreads, so I can re-read them and give a proper review of each.

Anyway, I probably rated this book higher than I would have since I feel bad for my copy specifically: it was badly battered and sold for barely a dollar, and I patched it up before reading it so that maybe it could still find a fan. That said, having read it, I'm rethinking how effective my efforts will have been. :/

Possibly okay for fans of mindless martial arts action, though nigh-indistinguishable from some similar titles other than the art style.

*Bi-Ryu claims to have killed his own master, but a flashback suggests otherwise

[Bant · Rating 1 out of 5]

AGGGGGGGGGGGGG! I have been trying to not be a hater of the Manga style, and truthfully I like a lot of manga. So I decided to try some Manwha, which is, to simplify it, Korean Manga that reads left to right. I thought this would help me with the storytelling stuff, by helping me know exactly which direction to read.
I was wrong.
This is hands down one of the worst things I have ever read. And has everything that I hate about Manga, especially Shonen (which is mixing words and cultures, but whatevs!)
The storytelling here is absolutely muddled and confoundingly stupid, that is, of course, when I could even make out what was going on, which was pretty much never. I never knew who was talking, who they were talking to, or what they were talking about, and then in the middle of one of these confused snippets of dialogue, they'd start fighting. Again, I didn't know who was fighting or even how, as the artwork was even more of a mess. I couldn't take it. If this book wasn't a library book I may have thrown it across the room.
I DON'T GET IT! How do people read and eat this stuff up. The art is crap. The storytelling is crap. I am going to continue to power through and not give up on Manga or Manwha, yet, but if this keeps up . . . well, I make no further promises.

[Đenis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strasne chaoticke kresby. Na niektorych strankach som nevedel, ktora bije. Pribeh by aj bol mozno zaujimavy, uvidim v dalsich castiach.