Sarasah - Manga Quickie

While I'm trying to fix and reinstall Photoshop, I decided to try and do something that has been on my mind for a while. A quick first impression of a manga, to determine whether I want to do a full-review or read it later. Now, this is just based off the first chapter, and my first impressions of the story. I could be wrong about it later on, and it could be really great or really awesome. Anyway, here is my impressions on this story I've read on and off in my first issue of Yen Plus, Sarasah. This is actually a Korean manga since Yen Plus not only does English manga, but Japanese and Korean manga too.

Story: Ji-Hae is a young girl who immediately falls in love with a young handsome man named Seung-Hyu Shin and does everything in her power to get him to go otu with her. However, every single attempt has been met with rejection and failure for a year and a half, with Seung-Hyu getting sick and tired of her presence. Eventually, she goes too far as she embarrasses him by showing off a large banner proclaiming her love, and he defiantly tells her that he is transferring so that he won't have to see her face again. She tries to apologize, but trips and falls down a set of stairs and dying upon impact.

And that's how the chapter ends, with the girl's death. Quite frankly, I am not upset over her death since she pretty much comes off as an obsessive girl who cannot take a hint, ends up embarrassing and inconveniencing a young man who is simply going to school, and ends up being absolutely hated by the man she loves. In my opinion, the guy acted like someone had his privacy constantly invaded, and that he was in the right for acting how he did for someone that was stalking him. In my opinion, I would like to have had seen the guy be haunted by the ghost of the girl, or have him come to terms with everything since the ending of this chapter is a good cliffhanger....but no.

Later chapters suggest the girl had died and meets a goddess who actually sympathizes with her over her death and her actions. She is pretty much sent back in time in order to start all over and make a better impression.....that is just really bad character development in my opinion, and that it will ultimately end with the girl becoming more mature of course and the two will eventually get together. I'm assuming this story must be marketed towards little girls because even trashy romance heroines would get the point after the first rejection or two, and that this is simply so implausible that it can only work as simply a fantasy.

The fact that this girl goes back in time only to try and hook up with the same man again after her previous and harsh rejections immediately disinterested me from this story.

Art: I think the art is a bit simple at times with it's lack of backgrounds and simple character designs. However, it is still well-executed and well-drawn if the limbs and characters are a little lanky. Then again, this is anime, so an extension of the limbs is normal. XD

Conclusion: While the art is good, it is relatively basic and the story is just so implausible from what I heard. None of the characters are really likeable, especially our heroine. I ended up sympathizing with the guy she's into, the one that calls the girl a dirty little rat, a lot more, and that's a bad sign, I think. I'd probably keep an eye out for the artist if I wanted to follow their artwork instead of reading Sarasah. Unless this story was meant for little girls, I'd say it does not work as a manga.