Annarasumanara - Ha, Il-Kwon [Review]

Title: Annarasumanara

Author: Ha, Il-Kwon

Genre: Mystery, Drama, Romance, School life

Type: Manhwa, webcomic.

Publishing year: 2010
Rating:
★★★★★

Hello~ two weeks ago I finished reading this Manhwa, web comic, or whatever you want to call it, and I was really looking forward to write this review.

            Annarasumanara tells us the story of a girl named Yoon Ai, she is living some hardships, she

Yoon Ai in the amusement park.

lives alone with her little sister and they barely have something to eat every day, that’s why she wants to become an adult as soon as possible, to escape from poverty. In her school there is a rumor about an abandoned amusement park and a magician who lives there that can make someone disappear for good. One day she meets that magician who asks her: "Do you believe in magic?"

            I think that the synopsis is somewhat misleading of what this manhwa is about, I thought I would find an interesting romance/school life story with some mystery, nothing else, but what I found was a story that made me reflect a lot about my life.

            I really liked this manhwa, it has few characters, but it didn’t need more. We have three protagonists that represent three different types of people. First we have Yoon Ai, a poor girl that wants to become an adult as fast as she can, she is hard working and have big responsibilities despite

Na Il-Deung & Eul Lee.

being so young, when she was little she wanted to be a magician, but now she wants to become something more realist and considers magic as childish. Second we have Eul Lee, he is the mysterious magician that lives in the abandoned amusement park, he is the type of adult that followed his dreams, no matter what others thought of him for his choice. During the story is a big mystery if he is an actual magician or not. Third we have Na Il-Deung, he is the best student in school, he considers Yoon Ai his competence because she is a good student too, he lives by what his parents tell him, he will do everything they say because that way he will become successful in life, he is rich by the way.

           Those three people are really different and relatable, they feel real and it’s easy to feel empathy towards them, also there is a really good character development along the story that makes you form a second opinion of each character.

            The plot is original and interesting; it always has this sensation of mystery that makes you want to know what happens next. The characters’ design is simple but warm; I really love the art of this manga. The visuals are one of the strong points of this manhwa, the pages are gray scale color, but sometimes it has a bit of color that changes the feeling completely, also the author plays with textures, and different elements making the art really original and easy to the eye.

Different colors and textures in the art style.

I loved this quote (and its sums up the plot):

"What kind of adult did you dream to be?
What kind of adult is a good adult?
Getting a job at the selected age?
Getting married at the selected age?
An adult with an already selected life?
An adult that everyone thinks is good?
That kind of adult?
...
Being a fixed adult isn´t everything."”

            Annarasumanara is a relatable story, beautifully written and portrayed, that can make you reflect a lot about your life and adulthood, is one of those stories that are kind of simple, but that touch your heart and may even be life changing. I highly recommend it to everyone.