Ruler of the Land

Publisher
ADVManga
Writer
Jeon Keuk-Jin
Artist
Yang Jae-Hyun
Country of origin
Korea
Year
1994

Ruler of the Land GN 1

By David Rasmussen
20th Oct 04

Studio - ADVManga
Age - T for Teen (13+)
Story by Jeon Keuk-Jin
Artwork by Yang Jae-Hyun
ADV Manga Staff
Translator - Jason An
Lead Translator/Translation Dept. Supervisor - Javier Lopez
ADVManga Translation Staff (additional) - Trisha Eggleston
Publishing Editor - Susan Itin
Assistant Editor - Margaret Scharold

Meet Bi-Kwang Han. He who, like a majority of main characters in these martial arts combat ancient times series, can kick major butt. He also has his own "shadow" escorts, and a bit of a title to his name.
Yet despite all this he strives to be the heir of a great legacy of a great man... Leisure Suit Larry.

Apparently he's a major skirt chaser to an extreme, and that is how all his troubles begin.
While turning down the "offer" to train with a majorly big master type's pad, he runs into a mysterious male taking a little time out (and being ogled by a group of women).

However it seems his connection to the Leisure Suit is weak, because he can't even tell that the person these women are gawking over is, in fact, a woman herself! She's seeking her grandfather and wouldn't you know it -- our man here happens to know where he is!

So somehow he gets "her" to see him, and one things leads to another which thrusts the two together as traveling companions on an epic quest of sorts.

And if these two can keep from killing each other (or being killed by all their enemies following them) they might fall in love and... uh, yeah. At this point that is such an impossibility... maybe a few Graphic Novels need to pass before that changes. We'll see.

Ruler of the Land Breakdown 1st
What's Hot? - I like this. And I'll review it for the next few weeks as one of my review titles so stay tuned for more on this. Oh-kay. Back to why I like this. It's good. Where Rebirth fails by being abit formulaic and predictable, this is formulaic with twists here and there that keep you reading.

You MIGHT have seen some of this before, but that doesn't mean it's not delivered in a way that makes it worth reading. Little twists, good humor, nicely done action and a solidly done script and artwork package makes this a must have for fans of martial arts mayhem and humor.

Next week I'll review Graphic Novel 2 and you'll see if it holds up as we move forward...

What's Not? - Nothing. Right now I'm totally hyped about this and recommend it from me to you.

Moments to Remember
Ah, the antics of our man and his new traveling companion (Hwa-Rin Dahm)! If this odd couple doesn't end up together at the end of the series I'm going to be rather disappointed... yeah.

It's nice to compare this to movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but let's not hope it emulates the disappointing ending in said movies... ESPECIALLY NOT THE ENDING OF "HERO"!!

What to Ignore?
Nothing for now.

Overall?
It's a solidly done martial arts Korean Manhwa romp with action, humor, and interesting twists.
I like it. Yes, I'm sure a few of these things I've seen before... but it's still all good.

-- David Rasmussen 20th Oct 04