Technically speaking, this week’s column should be called “Manhua and Manhwa Minis,” as it focuses on two Korean imports—Jade of Bango (Tokyopop) and Very! Very! Sweet (Yen Press)—and a Taiwanese title—Magic Lover’s Tower (DrMaster). Looking over our reviews, I’d say we have the makings of an excellent drinking game here. Pour yourself a glass of your favorite beverage (alcoholic, if you’re a fogey like me; non-, if you haven’t reached legal age) and take a sip every time you spot a tried-and-true shojo cliché in one of these reviews. Bottoms up!

Jade of Bango, Vol. 1

Story by Ae-Ju Yim, Art by Jin-Ju Yim
Tokyopop, 384 pp.
Rating: Teen

Let’s play Spot the Cliché! Lin Seonu is a clumsy and ditzy high school girl with the ability to see and communicate with spirits. One day, when she’s under attack by an evil creature, a handsome yet stoic guy—whose outfit features many unnecessary buckles—appears and helps her to unleash her hidden powers. This fellow claims to be her guardian and fiancé and, of course, must now take up residence in her house.

Having a premise full of clichés doesn’t necessarily spell disaster, but after a confusing explanation of Lin’s newfound power (in a nutshell, she’s the only person who can control a powerful force known as the Jade of Bango) and mission, the plot of Jade of Bango gets derailed by the introduction of new characters. Instead of focusing on Lin’s new responsibilities or her reaction to same, most chapters feature squabbles between the existing guardian and the hotheaded rival who appears and believes himself a better fit for the position. Later, a pair of buxom catgirl villains waste even more space with their antics.

Jade of Bango has the potential to be fun if it would get back on track. There are a couple of little hints that something more sinister might be afoot and, although the art is nothing great, the depiction of Lin’s benevolent spirit friends is genuinely cute. Too bad the creators seem to lack the attention span to stay on course.

Volume one of Jade of Bango is available now.

–Reviewed by Michelle Smith

Magic Lover’s Tower, Vols. 1-2

By Kao Yung and Kuan Liang
Published by DrMaster
Rating: Teen

Time for round two of Spot the Cliché!

Roxanne is a prime candidate for a magical girl makeover: she’s an earnest but unremarkable high school student who’s ignored by her classmates, scorned by her beautiful older sister, and bullied by Logan, the object of her affection. (What Roxanne sees in Logan is something of a mystery; aside from a firm jawline and an artfully sculpted ‘do, Logan seems like a mean-spirited pain in the ass.) Roxanne’s life takes a turn for the strange after she splashes some nail polish remover on a scroll, accidentally releasing Balphalen, a handsome demi-god who had been sealed inside it. As a token of his gratitude, Balphalen offers Roxanne an opportunity to improve her romantic fortunes by entering a fantasy realm and competing in a role-playing game. If Roxanne successfully advances through the game’s various levels, she’ll win Logan’s heart; if she fails, she risks loneliness—or worse. To better supervise Roxanne’s progress, Balphalen moves into her house (see a trend here?), enrolls at her school, and lectures her about self-esteem, all while developing a not-so-secret crush on her.

About the best I can say for this two-volume series is that the artwork is appealing. Yung and Liang favor a floridly detailed but lightly toned style that yields some surprisingly delicate, beautiful pages reminiscent of CLAMP’s work on RG Veda and X/1999. Unfortunately, many of the character designs seem to be lifted wholesale from CLAMP’s oeuvre as well. Balphalen looks like a refugee from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles with his perfectly chiseled features and flowing capes (complete with buckles and epaulets… see a trend here?), while Logan bears an uncanny resemblance to several Dragons of Earth. With so little to distract from the clichés and borrowings, I can’t recommend Magic Lover’s Tower to anyone but the most desperate shojo junkie in need of a quick fix.

Volumes one and two of Magic Lover’s Tower are available now.

–Reviewed by Katherine Dacey

Very! Very! Sweet, Vol. 2

By JiSang Shin and Geo
Yen Press, 176 pp.
Rating: Teen

Tsuyoshi, sent from Japan to Korea by his grandfather in order to discover his roots, has begun attending school with his neighbor, the tomboyish Be-Ri. When Tsuyoshi’s uncle asks Be-Ri to look after him, she finds herself doing things like showing him the way home after school and abandoning her own lunch when it occurs to her that he might be eating his in the classroom all alone. Gradually, they get to know each other better and she realizes that Tsuyoshi isn’t the selfish jerk she took him for.

Of the main characters, it was Tsuyoshi who needed the most fleshing out after the first volume, and he gets it here. Though he was initially critical of Be-Ri and of Koreans in general, he’s now friendlier and even recognizes when the anger she’s directing at him is really due to something else going on in her life. Later, when his (highly irritating) girlfriend from Japan arrives out of the blue, we learn that he was looking on his relocation as an opportunity to change himself, and with her arrival, he feels as though he’s back in the same old place.

There are things about the story that I don’t like, like how Be-Ri treats the boy who likes her, but it’s also pretty unique sometimes. For example, it deals with realities of cat ownership (such as the threat of feline leukemia and the joys of scooping the litter box) that I’ve never seen addressed in any other comic. The gradual improvement of Tsuyoshi’s communication skills is also discernible, which I find quite neat.

All in all, I enjoy this series a great deal and will be continuing to read it.

Volume two of Very! Very! Sweet is available now.

–Reviewed by Michelle Smith