BL Review: Sweet Blood by Seyoung Kim Volume 1 | Manhwa

Shout Out to VintageFujo for the £5 donation on Ko-Fi!

Printed in Korea
Published: 2006, English publications 2015 by Net Comic

Age rating: 13+

I discovered this manga online on social media. The story and artwork appealed to me. I love reading vampire romance stories, especially in BL. It is one of my top genres I would read. I thought it would be hard to get as it is old and may not continue publishing. But to my surprise, copies are still available to buy on Amazon and for a cheap price of £5.

I was captivated by the drawings. It has a distinctive drawing style. It reminds me of shojo style that was popular during the 80s to 90s. However, there is a subtle difference in the panel order. The pace and the feel of the comic feel different too. You would mistake it for a Japanese manga but it actually create by a Korean artist.

For a while, I started to read a few good Manhwa comics and all of them are very good. I like the style. It feels a lot simpler than the traditional Japanese-style manga that I use to. I would like to read a good Manhwa comic.

Sooho Lee was abandoned by his parents. He had to survive on his own. His best friend from school doesn’t have much expression, he seems to be portrayed as a cool and collected guy. Sooho wants to become rich so he can win back his parents affection and get out of his bad position.

However every night, he keeps getting bitten on the neck. Then one night he woken from his sleep and saw a tall vampire hovering over him with blood dripping from his mouth.

The vampire wanted Sooho and forces Sooho to come with him to his world. The vampire however mistakes Sooho for a girl.

Sooho gets taken by the vampire into the new world and he is greeted by a small dragon servant. The dragon knew Sooho was a boy and he worried that if his master find out that Sooho was not a girl, both the dragon and Sooho would be in deep danger. So the dragon wants Sooho to be a girl to satisfy his vampire master’s needs and agree on a deal.

The story is interesting. I like the dialogue. The small dragon is cute. The scene is sensual. The art style is really good, beautifully drawn. I love the eye expression. The relationship between Sooho and The Vampire is rocky, perhaps further into the story there will be chemistry and the romantic attraction will start to blossom. I believe that would come very soon. The chemistry between them is strong. They both fit nicely together.
I personally really enjoy it. I am fascinated to know what’s gonna happen next in Vol 2. I would like to buy Vol 2 very soon. The style may seem outdated to some but I would highly recommend reading it. If you like BL vampire romance stories. This manga is for older teens. There is nothing sexually explicit but the scene is suggestive.

Listen to Episode 172 full review on Spotify

BL Review: On or Off by A1 | Manhaw | TOKYOPOP | Podcast Notes

New podcast episode: On or Off by A1 | Manhaw | TOKYOPOP | Episode 151 review

Available to read on Amazon Kindle (UK): https://amzn.eu/d/c8TagqT

Another Manhaw manga I have on my bucket list to read. I was planning to read this on kindle but recently it was reduced from £6 to 0.89p. I bought it immediately for 0.89p. It is good because I want to read something different and a manhaw manga that will be interesting to talk about for this podcast.

I reviewed Hyperventilation and I thought it was really good.

I thought On or Off is average in my personal opinion. I thought the artwork was flat. I was hoping to feel the chemistry between the characters. I felt it dragged on a bit too much without something interesting scenarios. I was a bit uncomfortable with Kang Daehyung sorta taking advantage of Ahn Yiyoung. He knows that Yiyoung is desperate to promote his game and he agrees to do anything.

I’m glad I read it. And I’m glad I bought it for reducd price.

BL Review: Hyperventilation by Bboong Bbang Kkyu | Manhwa 만화 | TOKYOPOP | Podcast Notes

Original title: 과호흡
Aga rating: Mature

Available to buy and read:
Amazon UK: shorturl.at/dfQU2
Right Stuff Anime website https://www.rightstufanime.com/Hyperventilation-Manga
TOKYOPOP website: https://www.tokyopop.com/book-catalogue-new-titles/hyperventilation

Yaoi wiki fandom website: https://yaoi.fandom.com/wiki/Hyperventilation

I don’t read much Manhwa (Korean comics). I typically often read Japanese manga. but I do like some of the art stories and some stories look really good. i don’t read go on webcomic sites such as Tapas, Lezhin, Webtoons, or Tappytoon.
A lot of my online friends do read welcomes and share Manhwa content pages on Twitter. I would like to read some good Manhwa in the future. i like some of the formats and some artist has unique art styles.

The Review

I personally thought it was very good, it was artistically crafted. the colouring is beautifully done. it was the right pace. I like the fact it didn’t have much dialogue, it is more visually disruptive. Beautiful scenery. clever use of hue to convey the emotion of the scene. its well thought out comic and I have loved reading it. it has given me inspiration for my own personal comic.

Even though there is not much dialogue you can sense the chemistry and the sexual tension between both characters. it goes to demonstrate that by visually showing that telling than by dialogue, the reader can understand the context of the story. the colour and hues used in the comic fit in with the scenes. the panels are simply formatted which makes it easier to read. no fuss with getusred sound marks and overload with information. there were some pages that used the whole page, displaying the full illustration.

The story is short, it is like a short comic. most readers think it is too short to be a book but I think it right pace. i believe if the story has lengthened it dragged on and loses itself. it is a story that a reader has to read between the lines and the artwork/drawings. but i personally like comics/ graphic novels that focus on visuals than on telling. I guess I feed off visuals than having too much information.

I was confused about the ring. i had to go on Yaoi Wiki to understand the context of the ring.

I highly recommend giving it a read. I would like to read some more good Manhwa. I hope TOKOYPOP get to publish ‘Dears Doors” i heard that story is really good.

BL Review: Killing Stalking Deluxe Edition by Koogi volume 1 & 2 | Manhwa | Podcast Notes

New podcast episode: Killing Stalking Deluxe Edition by Koogi | Manhwa | Episode 152 review

New podcast episode: Killing stalking volume 2 by Koogi | Manhwa | episode 156

Publisher; Seven Sea Entertainment, Lezhin Entertainment
Age rating: Mature (scene of cruelty, torture, violence, sexual abuse, self-harm)

The Review

Shout out to one support who donated £3 the support of this podcast, I really appreciate the support. The £3 has been contributed to this book, if you want to support the podcast and get a shout check out my Ko fi page or Bug Me A Coffee page links are on the podcast description)

I was lucky to get killing Stalking second-hand for half the original price (£8), is in good condition. And it arrived very quickly. I did plan to buy it on Amazon at full price. But I saw one copy on the marketplace and I check who was selling it and it was a world of books. I often buy from the world of books for a lot of second-hand manga and books.

This Manhwa was originally published on Lezhin online. It become very popular and got an English publication.

I flicked through and the next thing I was glued to reading it from cover to back. It is a wild, disturbing story. I did think it was engaging and gripping. After reading it I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It stayed in my mind. I had a lot of questions about the character relationship and how will the plot twist will turn out.

It made me instantly think of thriller films I know such as Old Boy, Silence if the lambs and other crime, thriller stories. Especially North Korean films do thrillers very well. They are masters of thriller genres.

As a thriller is very good. But not good as a BL story. It’s doesn’t fit as a BL, more like a thriller, hostage story. There are a lot of uncomfortable, disturbing scenes that will be distressing to some readers. Definitely not for everyone.

The categories for this manga as a BL is misleading. It tries to be enticing and attract people who read BL/Yaoi. A lot of readers felt annoyed (including myself) it was branded as a BL but both characters don’t have real relationship, and the no indication of real romance or chemistry between Yoon and Sangwoo. It is very confusing.
Yoon had a crush on and sexually fantasised Sangwoo but he was absolutely afraid of Sangwoo. Yoon plans to escape from Sangwoo. I thought Yoon had Stockholm syndrome towards Sangwoo. I thought he would want to be captor by Sangwoo and do anything for him. If he was crazy in love with Sangwoo, he will felt reluctant to escape. And stick by Sangwoo, even if he would get himself killed.
I keep thinking that Sangwoo is a complete psychopath serial killer. He is erratic, he can be gentle to Yoon then be violent and abusive. There a clue into Sangwoo’s childhood that made him mentally disturbed and got a taste for blood young. Sangwoo relish on killing and torturing his victims. I am interested to know why he kept Yoon alive. I think that Sangwoo has mother issues. He said that Yoon reminds him of his mother. He mentions his mother a lot in the story so maybe there of a mystery between him and his mother. He also said he doesn’t kill men.

The artwork is very amazing. Great colouring, dynamic and intense scenes.

Stockholm syndrome (feelings of trust or affection felt in many cases of kidnapping or hostage-taking by a victim towards a captor) that he would full for his kidnapper.

The reason I wanted to read it is that it popular and it is crime, thriller genre that interested myself. I read a lot of crime, and thriller novels.

The edition is nice, high the print publication is high quality. it has a special fold-out illustration inserted at the back.

I would buy volume 2 when it released. I to hooked into the story and looking forward to knowing what will happen next.