Review of 'The Flower of Evil' Volume 1

(In Korean: 악의 꽃)

(SPOILERS)

Since reading Goong, Metal Heart, and Love SOS, I've come to think that manhwa is pretty decent. So I started reading The Flower of Evil with a very high expectation, especially since the general response about this manhwa at soompi was positive, and the title sounded cool in Korean ("Aak-eauee Cgot"... by 'cg' I mean the Japanese "k," like "sodeska"). It's been a few weeks since I began, and it took that long to finish because the story wasn't interesting enough to motivate me. -_-


One of the several soompi members who shared my view was happy kudasai, who wrote here:

"ehhhh.
i admit, i was also sucked in by the art.
it IS really gorgeous[at least the cover art is...]
but the storyline is a bit...annoying.


so, the girl is obsessed, and what else?
the action was so slow, i just gave up.
not very captivating, even if it is dark or whatevs."

Actually I don't even think the art is "really gorgeous" really. It is better drawn than Love SOS, but somewhat worse than Goong; it's about the same level as Metal Heart, although they're completely different in style. Like Goong, the characters in The Flower of Evil are drawn more realistically. For example, the nose is bnot drawn as a <> or / or \, and hair is not the VVV as in a typical Japanese manga.








Seh-wa is the main heroine, and she has a jealous love for her brother, Seh-joon. The first chapter begins by asking the readers, "Would you rather receive love from everyone or only receive love from the person you like. Between the two, which one would you want?" Seh-wa has obviously made the choice to be loved only by her brother and to only love him. Seh-wa is a complete recluse at school (and supposedly she is the hottest girl too... some boys like her even more because she doesn't let them approach her), she always interrupts girls meeting with Seh-joon, and she leaves early for home whenever she pleases. The thing is... the manhwaga (or mangaka) seems to imply that that the two options are related and are mutually exclusive, but they're not! Seh-wa's just making a big deal for no reason.

At least in volume 1, Seh-wa's interaction with her brother is not very entertaining. Seh-wa simply complains and makes a ruckus every time Seh-joon does anything with his girlfriend, etc. Although Seh-wa's face is drawn very expressively, I can't sympathize with her because she's getting annoyed by things that don't matter.


Overall, Volume 1 of The Flower of Evil seems to lack focus. I'm going to read few more volumes to see if if there is anything better.
  • Visual quality: 9/10
  • General plot: 6/10
  • Comedy elements: 4.5/6
  • Action elements: 2/2
  • Romance elements: 1.5/3
  • Mystery elements: 2/3
  • Sophistication: 2.5/5
  • Realness: 4.5/6

Overall: (7.1/10)

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9 comments:

dokebi said...

pretty neat blog. i'll look through and comment on something interesting. you should try blog catalog.

Anonymous said...

hi,
I am sorry to ask something which isn't connected to your post but I was googling to find some native Korean speaker's blog, to ask a language question. It's very simple--can you tell me how would you spell the Korean word for 'raft' in English? E.g., the transliteration of it? Thanks.
Yuri

dokebi said...

O.o

first, if you don't have already done so, install east asian language on your computer so they don't appear as boxes

and use this dictionary site:

http://alldic.daum.net/dic/view_top.do?t__nil_downservice=dic1

you can type any english word on the "English dictionary" - 영어사전 - and it will provide you with Korean candidates

I think it's 뗏목 thx

Anonymous said...

thanks for your time, I was actually hoping you'd know the transliteration of the word in Latin alphabet. that was my question, maybe I didn't explain it well.
anyway, thank you.
Yuri

dokebi said...

Thet-mok

"Th" as in thrifty

"et" as in "et al"

Don't emphasize the "c" in "k." It's more like a very abrupt "g."

dokebi said...

Yuri - is that your name or your anime user name?

Anonymous said...

thanks a lot!
no, it's my real name, why?
it's Russian.
Yuri

dokebi said...

Yuri is also a Japanese name, I think. It's a good name that you have. I like it. : )

Anonymous said...

Thank you :)
Yuri

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