Making Connections

Connections between The Friendly Winter and  Annarasumanara

Dajeong from The Friendly Winter

      Both Ai and Dajeong believe that they are under a spell. While Dajeong believes that she is under a magic spell, Ai believes that she is cursed. With the growth disorder, Dajeong cannot age properly and live life like a normal teenager. Along with her growth disorder, her father cannot provide the luxurious life he imagine for his daughter. Dajeong believes that she is under a magic spell that keeps her from growing and gives her a rough life. Living in a cursed life, Ai tries to survive with very little. Taking responsibility for herself, she also takes responsibility for her sister. Being buried in debt her father built, she does not know where to get the money or support to pay these off.

     Both main characters, Yoon Ai (Annarasumanara) and Han Dajeong (TFW) are experiencing great drought in finance; both only have enough to get by everyday. Although Dajeong is a little bit more fortunate than Ai, the two are going through a hard time. Both stories do not revolve around the theme of money however, I would say it plays an important part in it.

   

Ai's words from Annarasumanara

     

     The one connection that appealed to me the most it that they are both abandoned. I spent quite sometime wondering where their mothers are. The sad truth is that both of their mothers left them. The harsh reality of poverty pushed them to depart from their husband and children.

Dajeong and her mom from The Friendly Winter

Connection between The Friendly Winter and Dear, Only You Don't Know

Jinhui from Dear, Only You Don't Know

     

     Han Dajeong (TFW) reminds me of  Cho Jinhui (D,OYDK). Both look very sweet and loving girls though, they are more than that. Dajeong and Jinhui both have strong personality. I would say both are great leaders, they are not afraid to say what are on their minds and they are both tough.

Dajeong from The Friendly Winter

Cho Jin Hui 

From left to right:
Chae Rim, Soo Jin Mi

Dear, Only You Don't Know! 

(당신만, 몰라!)

Author: Yuria   Artist: Yuria   Scanlator: Easy Going Scans

Summary

Six women takes all kinds of risk to keep their secrets hidden.

First Read

December 8 2014; Chapters 1-6

     Today, I have read the first six chapters of Dear, Only You Don't Know. This story revolves around six women and each is keeping a secret from a friend or a loved one. Jin Hui, is known to be a lovely wife who owns a pet hotel by her husband but is secretly a boss of the Golden Dragon Gang. Doh Ari has been rejected by men several times and promised herself to not fall in love again but now is hiding her feeling for her co-worker. Na Young Min is a makeup artist that covers herself with cosmetic products to hide her true face. Jin Mi is a middle schooler that falls in love with a 30 year old man and lies about her age to match his. Chae Rim hides her "nerdy" hobby to seem cooler in front of her crush. Madame Mi is a bar manager that holds dark past. So far, I would say the story is kind of messy—in which i do not blame the author because it is still the introduction portion of the story. There are still a lot to be introduced and developed, thus I look forward to it. In my opinion, I would consider only three of them to be hiding a deep secret. The rest seems to be childish. I am just curious how these secrets will affect them. The illustration for this webtoon I would say is excellent; it is visually amusing, it is colorful with great portrayal. Like I said, the plot is a little complex at the moment, I personally think that the characters are quite weird which is what intrigues me the most. Because of the characters' weird persona and the situation they are in, I am encouraged to read further.

Madame Mi

Doh Ari

Na Young Min

Final Read

December 17 2014; Chapters 7-40

     In the beginning of this webtoon, the story was quite confusing. However, as I got deeper in the story, the plot slowly unravels. It eventually clear out some of the confusion I have from the beginning of the story, but there are a lot of things I am still confused about. The plot of the story seems childish at first but I later realize that this webtoon actually contain deep matters. The story deals with scenarios like, bullying, depression (depression of a dog. It's pretty deep) and personal problems. Also, it plays around stereotypes which is quite intriguing.

A/N: She stood up to the man by the way. She is quite a fighter. Literally.

     Something I would say I really like is the illustration of this webtoon and its format. As I read, it gives me this feeling that I am watching it rather than reading it. It sounds odd but it provides an illusion that the characters are actually moving and speaking. Something i do not like about this webtoon, as I said, is that the story is still confusing and complex and I would say that is the only problem I have. But over all, I was kind of hesitant in the first chapter, but I wind up to enjoy this webtoon.

Status: Series Ongoing
Interested? Here's the link: http://mangafox.me/manga/dear_only_you_don_t_know/

Smile Brush 

(스마일 브러시)

Author: Waroo   Artist: Waroo
Scanlator: LINE Webtoon

Summary

An everyday life of a long haired boy named Waroo

Final Read

November 24 2014; Chapters 1-35

     You might (probably not) be wondering why there is no first read for this review. It is because I read it in a day; it is such a simple webtoon. For every chapter, Waroo shares his everyday life with his readers. The chapters are not very long, the illustration is very simple and some stories are very relatable. Waroo the main character, is a normal adult that is sometimes being treated differently because he has long hair. I believe the stories and the character are based off of the author which I think is pretty engaging. Like I said, the stories are relatable, heartwarming and quite witty which made it really interesting. What I like about this webtoon is that every chapter has a different story. Its purpose is very clear; it will not proceed along a plot. Every chapter has a its own story and purpose. I also have noticed that each chapter is short enough to be used as comic strips for newspapers. I think this webtoon is perfect for that. If ever someone has a spare time, I would recommend Smile Brush. It is very easy to read and enjoyable.

There is a sequel to this webtoon if ever you are interested. It is called Smile Brush: My Old Pictures. This webtoon is quite similar to the first one but unlike the first series, the stories in each chapter is based on Waroo's old pictures. The illustration in this series is stronger than the previous one but it is still as great I would say. The sequel is still on going.

Status: Series Completed

Interested? Here are the links:

Smile Brush: http://www.webtoons.com/episodeList?titleNo=94

Smile Brush: My Old Pictures : http://www.webtoons.com/episodeList?titleNo=302