Articles

The foundation of the children's monthly manhwa-magazine 'Party' in 1997 made the Korean soonjung manhwa (=girls' manhwa) experience a few changes. With the success of 'Party' and its following rivals 'Mink', 'Happy', etc., the sunjeong-manhwa market began to shift its attention from teenagers to children. As a result, new manhwagas equipped with cute girl characters and funky lovestories began to appear in masses. But among these, one manhwa, which dealt neither with the puppy love between girl and boy, nor was propped with pretty girls, was able to gain its place and leave its mark - especially, when it was a fantasy. It is thus that Kara's "Mawang Ilgi" becomes all the more remarkable.

Kara made its debut with 'Terra' in 1999, in the biweekly manhwa-magazine 'Cake'. Even their first work was a SF-fantasy, a genre that is supposed to be better avoided. After that, "Mawang Ilgi", first planned as a 4-volume series, gained tremendous popularity, and settled in less than 6 months into a full-length series, making its mark as Kara's most important work. The interesting thing about Kara is that it is a team made up of Yoon-Gyeong Kim (Storyboard & Dessin) and Eun-Sook Cho (Pen touch & Colouring). It doesn't even take a large-scale project like Japan's manga-ka group 'Clamp', but whenever the story can't keep up with the drawing or vice-versa, having a partner one can fully rely on will be more than a blessing. In the case of the duo Kara, it surely must have been a match made in heaven.

Kara's "Mawang Ilgi" is a fantasy abounding with comical effects, which derive from its characters' out-of-the-ordinary personalities. Paradoxically using the cruel and devious image of a "Demon Lord", pure and even kind demon lord Raenef is learning from his cool subordinate Eclypt the dos and don'ts of demon lord existence. Having a cute, lovely main character instead of a dark, staid one, offering the main attractions of a fantasy (e.g. elaborate attires, dazzling magical feats) and the complex world view not affecting the understanding of the story, a well-made fantasy is formed. Kara, who finished "Mawang Ilgi" after publishing 7 volumes, is said to be focusing on fantasy for the time being, so all there is left for us to do, is to happily wait for some more of it.