By Yun JiUn
Yen Press, 192 pp.
Rating: 13+

Misunderstood pretty girl Hye-Min is the target of every girl’s ire and every boy’s affection—but it’s her complex relationship with playboy Ma-Ha that keeps pushing her to her limits. When old girlfriends emerge and jealous third parties come in to play, there’s little time to mull over the unusual dynamic between the two, particularly when frustrations from both their pasts threaten to reemerge. For a lonely kid like Hye-Min, learning to live and love with Ma-Ha takes a lot more trust than she has to offer—and a lot more leniency on the part of her brooding cousin, whose relationship with her is far more than familial.

For all the manhwa currently available on the American market, a disproportionately large amount of it seems to be consecrated to the time-honored odd-couple pairing shojo structure. Perhaps even more surprising is that the vast majority of these titles are, for the most part, solidly competent and generally entertaining exercises in the same old same old. Cynical Orange is no exception to this rule, and further proves that a well rendered dose of the familiar ought not to be scoffed at. Naturally inclined to bicker and reconcile, the diametric-opposites-but-perfect-for-each-other dynamic between naïve but emotionally fractured Hye-Min and outwardly sleazy but inwardly contemplative Ma-Ha rescues the pace from draggy melodrama, although the romantic anglings around the central pair can border on the overly philosophical at times.

The elephant in the room is, of course, the deep and vaguely incestuous attachment between non-blood siblings. The gimmick is nothing new; fans of Hot Gimmick or The Devil Does Exist have been down this shojo path before, but if Cynical Orange is nothing else, it’s familiar comfort food to fill the shelves of fans who know what they like. Naturally, the usual romcom baggage makes its appearance as well: broken family histories, childhood bullying and splintered relationships provide ample fodder for Yun to weave back and forth chronologically between the present and important stretches of past. It’s a good thing Yun’s past characters come outfitted with different-looking haircuts, as the whole thing can border on the overly vague when it comes to time transitions.

Yun’s art comes with a smattering of strengths and weaknesses, as the occasional moments of inspired paneling can be undone by periodic lackluster character pose and scarcity to the extreme. With larger than average stretches of light tone or white space, Yun’s paneling can sometimes border on the uncomfortably sparse or amateur; at the same time, her clean layouts and periodic well chosen paneling lends itself to moments of startling clarity and emotion that others in her field fail to capture. Perhaps the two biggest complaints that can be raised are the character dimensions and the cover art; the former causes everyone to border on looking lanky to the point of emaciated, and the latter is a disappointment, as the series could likely benefit from some of the colorful insert art’s transference to the rather blasé looking covers.

Yet this review is likely a moot point anyway; the hundred-word summary stuck on the back of each book will likely key off shojo school romance fans that they’re in their element, and send the appropriately horrified parties the other way. This is not to say that the series isn’t a well done dose of unoriginality, but rather that it blends in to the category so well that there’s little reason to foist it upon the skeptical in the hopes of turning them towards the genre. Cynical Orange is a solid, mildly enjoyable bit of shojo manhwa, unlikely to send anyone scrambling for the next volume in fiery anticipation, but certainly strong enough to merit future purchases. Take it for the road—with summer just around the corner, there’s nothing like a comfortable, forgettable read.

Volumes four through six of Cynical Orange are available now.