Angel Diary, Vol. 02

Angel Diary #2

by Kara, Lee Yun-Hee

The runaway angel princess and the four guardians of Heaven - who are in search of her in the human world - are on a field trip. But the princess, who is still disguised as a school boy, is plagued with more troubles as always. Will the guardians be able to save her from all the trouble?! Also, the secret past of beautiful Ah-Hin and powerful Woo-Hyun is about to be revealed. What will be waiting for them after the trip? This ridiculously funny and charming fantasy will draw you right into their world.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Manhwa, Graphic Novels, Romance, Demons, Angels

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

"Kara" consists of two illustrators: Yoon-Gyeong Kim and Eun-Sook Jeong.

Not to be confused with French author Philip Kara who uses the same pseudonyme.

Reviews

[Elyia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ganz in Ordnung

[Anthonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great addition to this series in this manga. Following the tale of the runaway princess and the trouble that the princess gets into while on vaction.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for complete series



When it was decided that a wedding between Heaven's Princess and the Underworld's Emperor would be of political advantage, no one counted on the Princess's stubbornness. Unwilling to enter an arranged marriage, Chun-yoo takes on the alias of an ordinary schoolboy named Dong-young to hide on earth. Unable to use her powers without revealing her true identity, she is hunted by creatures of Heaven and the Underworld alike.

Manhwa has never been my favourite variant of Asian comics and KARA has been one of the big exceptions where I genuinely like the art. However, what really breaks my brain are the names. There's something about Korean names that just don't let my mind grasp them. Angel Diary in particular has a handful of characters - main characters no less - whose names are pretty similar and, as someone with little to no knowledge of the Korean language, it was very difficult for me to remember which name referred to which character. For most of it, I just went with the flow and guessed characters based on context. To be fair, it might have just been the particular edition I have read, as all names appear to be spelt somewhat differently depending on the edition. Alas, I don't know which are the correct names, but I do know that I was confused.

But confusing names aside, this is a fun series that doesn't take itself very seriously. I love KARA's humour and, although this is nowhere as comedy-focused as Demon Diary was, I would still say that comedy outweighs the other genres. There's romance, fantasy, politics and school life - yet comedy is present in almost each and every scene.

I have given up on wondering why otherworldly creatures always end up in Asian high schools - I suppose it appeals to the intended audience. No complaints here, I like high schools as a setting, I just need to remind myself not to expect any logical reason behind it. Chun-yoo hides out as a male high schooler and goes by the name Dong-young. Despite being the main character, I find that the first volumes focus more on setting up the stage and getting all the characters introduced. While I do see that it is necessary, it always makes the first few volumes slower to read. Once Chun-yoo's story finally starts rolling, things pick up a lot.

There are times when I wish the series would be a bit more serious, but perhaps it would lose its charm if it were so. What I really enjoy about Angel Diary is the variety of characters who are all likeable in one way or another. There is no true villain and I think I've never seen Heaven and Hell so at peace with each other than it's being demonstrated in this series. Chun-yoo is not the most bright, but she makes for an easy-to-root-for main character. She knows what she does and doesn't want and Heaven and Hell be damned if she can't have her way. Nonetheless, my favourite character is Se-in who arguably has the most serious plotline. I love his personality - he is fiercely loyal to who he considers being his only friend, showing that he has very loving and selfless sides. His loyalty won't stop at anything which makes him appear villainous towards others.

Angel Diary is a fun and somewhat silly story but wins by combining humour with likeable characters and interesting Heaven-Hell dynamics. It's neither deep nor moving, but it never pretends to be. If you're looking for something fun and light-hearted, this is a good pick, especially if you'd like a bit of Korean lore in it.

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:
Nichts als Ärger hat die königliche Tochter des Himmels, Dong-Yeong, seit sie vor ihrer Zwangsheirat mit dem Höllenkönig auf die Erde geflohen ist. In einen Jungen verwandelt, verdreht sie als Highschool-Schüler vielen Mädchen den Kopf und wird nebenbei auch noch von Geistern bedroht! Natürlich sind ihre Eltern nicht untätig und schicken ihr vier Wächter hinterher, die sie finden und zurückbringen sollen."Angel Diary" wurde humorvoll und bildstark vom Zeichner-Team Kara und Autorin Lee Yun-Hee des Bestseller-Manhwa"Demon Diary"in Szene gesetzt.

Als potentielles Opfer für Geister gerät Dong-Yeong - eigentlich die Himmelsprinzessin Cheonyu - in die Fänge eines Teichmonsters, welches sie töten will, um ihren Geliebten für immer bei sich behalten zu dürfen. Hilfe bekommt Dong-Yeong unerwartet durch Biwol, welcher endlich sein wahres Ich zeigt, jedoch Dong.Yeongs Erinnerungen zu manipulieren scheint. Indessen begegnen sich die Wächter Ahin und ihr Bruder Jeong Lee mit den Geisterjägern und ebenfalls Wächtern Dohyeon und Uhyeon. Ahin verliebt sich in einen der Geisterjäger, doch als die wahre Identität der anderen bekannt wird scheint sich einiges zwischen den Wächtern zu ändern. Als der Baumgeist Choryeon auftaucht, scheint das Chaos plötzlich perfekt, denn die Dämonen scheinen hinter ihm her zu sein.

In der Fortsetzung rund um den Manga "Angel Diary" befinden sich die zwei der vier Wächter aktiv auf der Suche nach der Himmelsprinzessin. Dohyeon und Uhyeon wissen noch nicht das Jeong Lee und Ahin ebenfalls Wächter sind und auch die beiden wissen nichts von den anderen, was mir schlichtweg unlogisch erscheint, müssten sie sich als Himmelswesen doch anhand ihrer Magie erkennnen und vor allem auch anhand ihres Alters... nun gut. Ahin verliebt sich in Uhyeon und scheint ihm fortan anzuhimmeln was ihrem Bruder jedoch missfällt. Mit dem Auftauchen des Baumgeists Choryeon gibt es neuerliche Probleme, die die Freunde auch enttarnt. Doch bis es so weit ist, muss sich Dong-Yeong gegen ein Teichmonster wehren, was der Prinzessin jedoch nicht so gut gelingt. Noch immer stellt sich mir die Frage, warum Dong-Yeong trotz ihrer Stellung so machtlos erscheint. Es ist Biwol, der ihr hilft - und ich habe die straffe Vermutung, dass er wohl der Höllenfürst ist, mit dem Dong-Yeong zwangsverheiratet werden sollte, aber das ist nur eine Theorie, scheint aber durchaus in die Vorhersehbarkeit der Story zu passen.

Die Zeichnungen der Story sind ganz nett anzusehen aber auch nichts besonderes in meinen Augen. Es werden viele Dinge überkitscht dargestellt. Der Verlauf der Story an sich ist vorhersehbar und teilweise leider in meinen Augen unlogisch bis langweilig. Mir fehlt in der Story eine gewisse Dynamik durch neue Situationen oder noch nie da gewesene Wendungen. Es ist ein Manga für Zwischendurch, aber mehr nicht. Was mich besonders stört ist, dass der Hergang so durcheinander gewürfelt scheint. Der Manga konnte mich schlicht und einfach nicht überzeugen und das finde ich wirklich schade denn ich habe mir sehr viel davon erhofft.

[Lilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to continue this series but why does it have to be dark and violent 😭 like I want the lighthearted funny vibe that was in demon diary, I don’t like the creepy vibes. The character that was helping the main character is always called a pervert and then the other guys start making jokes at the end that just make me not want to read the series anymore. Like why is that in here is it supposed to be funny? I don’t find perverts to be funny. Or making fun of women’s size. I liked the first volume much more, the rest of the story was good, but it’s just too much creepiness in this volume. It’s also mainly just following them in school, like it doesn’t focus much on the fantasy angle aspect of her being a runaway princes. Like that’s what the description of the book is all about but not what the plot really focuses on. It feels like mostly a contemporary slice of life but then randomly the fantasy aspects are thrown in.

[Ashleigh Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still not sold on this series. I liked to give manga at least two before I say I'm not going to read further. Unfortunately, I think this one falls into that category for me.

[Yue · Rating 3 out of 5]

The guys found out Dong Young is really a girl.

The story of the nymph was very sad.

Very little of the princess in this volume; more about the other characters (I still have problems to remember the names!).

[Starbubbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

the tactics for finding the princess are classic! i was chuckling to myself a lot. plus, you get to see more of the super awesome bi-wal! ah! all is good.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read/rated this in grade school.

[Sophie Floresca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trying to find Dong-Young watch out this book is awesome!!

[sucker4synth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bi-Wal, you sneaky devil, who are you? The Four Guardians of Heaven are all around the princess, secret disguised as a boy. Still loving this series.

[Lamar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starts slow but quickly gets interesting as these books go on!