Crazy Girl Shin Bia-Ah

I can't say that I haven't heard of this type of story before, of someone being thrown into the past and given a ton of responsibilities in addition to accustoming himself or herself to the culture and traditions of another time period. The beginning seemed a little promising; the main character was shown in her natural habitat, the time period where she was born, and was not immediately transported to the other world, though there were glimpses between each place, so I like that much.

When she was finally brought over there by mysterious means, the situation was repeatedly very humorous because she tried so hard to go back to where she came. As funny as it was, however, toward the middle of the manhwa I was feeling tired of it. It was no longer hilarious and the main character didn't grasp her situation very well. The drama that was once interesting became petty and a little too familiar to shoujo.

I was a little more satisfied with the ending, however. There was a surprising event that occurred that improved my outlook a bit. The author did a better job at tidying up the pieces and even included a chapter epilogue.

As I'm not surprised with a lot of manhwa, this one had stupendous art. While it was not so perfect at the beginning, like sometimes eye placement was a little off, the quality of the artwork greatly improved when Bia went to the other world. The author put in great detail to draw costumes, clothes, hair styles and ornaments, decorations, and ancient buildings. There were plenty of casual scenes in the story to draw, but they never looked casual because of how artistic they were. Everything was absolutely gorgeous.

Shin Bia is definitely an admirable protagonist. In addition to being stunningly beautiful, she's a good fighter and can hold her own. She's not afraid to take action or even put herself in danger for her own motives. However, when she goes to the other world, she finds herself weaker than the men there since they have spent a lifetime training to fight, and women in that country are nothing like her: they're prim, proper, and don't speak out. For these reasons, Bia stands out a lot and really takes the role of main character.

While initially I was greatly impressed by her character, I became annoyed with it later on in the story. In addition to her strength, she is of course very stubborn, and she doesn't always use her head. Sometimes she makes stupid decisions and doesn't listen to those who know better, and consequently she ends up in situations where she can only be a damsel in distress calling for help. She is a good character, no doubt, but I feel that she could have been more helpful and had experienced more character development.

Other characters were fine enough, some I liked more than others, though maybe I could have liked them more had I known more things about them. I had a few back stories about some of them, but that was all. Most of the important men seemed the same. They looked different, but they were all good fighters, only separated by their skill. The important men were bishounen, and I thought they were pretty good-looking and didn't have eyelashes that were too long. The women were pretty or average, not much to say. The characters were an okay bunch; the best I can say is that their appearances were very attractive.

I thought to give this manga an 8/10 when I was laughing so hard at it before, but due to the plot slowing down and getting boring and somewhat frustrating in the middle, enjoyment score must be a 7. It definitely is most funny at the beginning, drawn out in the middle, and better at the end. The artwork is amazing. The characters are not that original, but they do the job. If you're up for some laughs, this manhwa wouldn't be so bad to consider. I just wish it were a little shorter.

I was excited to read this manga because of the era it was set in, as well as a person going to a different world. I really like those types. For the most part I really enjoyed reading Crazy Girl Shin Bia. There was really only one thing about the story that I didn't like, and that was how annoying the character of Shin Bia was. In all the anime and manga I've watched and read, she is by far the most annoying character. Don't get me wrong, the manga is still great, and the humor is fantastic. Overall I really enjoyed the manga, I wish they would have shown a little more in the conclusion of everything though. :)

This is my first and maybe only review. I just had to write something though, because this has become my favorite manga (manhwa) ever! An epic story that, while ultimately a love story for the ages, combines so much humor, action, and political intrigue. The only thing I was not fond of is the art style, but everything else was so amazing and touching to me. This sweeping tale has plenty of romance for shojo fans, and any other genre you could want sprinkled throughout. The drama is hard to swallow at times, as you get so attached to these fascinating and charming characters, but every plot line has a satisfactory ending and, to me, everything felt resolved in the perfect way.

I just finished reading this manwha! I was so hooked up with the story! I love Bia's personality even though she's a hardheaded kind of girl, still what I like about her is that she's very vocal about how she feels and that she is strong. There are times that I didn't like how she can get so stupid but that's what makes me like this story even more. It makes me feel that no matter how beautiful a girl is, there's always imperfections. While about prince Yoo Baek, he is the man every girls would love to have in real life. Able to make sacrifices for the one he loves and can get so cute at times when he is around with the woman he loves. This is actually a cute story! I love it so much, especially how it ends so beautifully.

I just finished Crazy Girl Shin Bia, and want to write a review while the memory of it is still vivid, since I seriously doubt it will leave me an everlasting remembrance...

But more than a review, here are a few remarks on what striked me the most.

STORY : 6

(-) The start is a little slow and somewhat misleading compared to the rest of the story. The two first chapters could have been more developed, in a more useful manner.
The rest of the story is quite expected, especially the love plot which is sooooo un-surprising. Danger keeps appearing and gives it all a boring feeling.

(+) The political plot and some twists of fate are nonetheless interesting. Although we couldn't call it "psychological", this manga shows some realistic court intrigues.

ARTWORK : 6

(+) I appreciated some architectural views, and the use of rich patterns on the costumes. Clothes and hair are quite a success.

(-) What the hell with these strange arms and legs angles?... And also some distorted perspective... You can also feel that the mangaka doesn't really feel at ease when it comes to drawing something different from palaces and pretty costumes ; drawing a military camp, or a crowd of soldiers for example...
What's more, the fights scenes are tasteless, sometimes incomprehensible.

CHARACTERS : 5

(-) This is no spoiler: just start a few chapters and you will know right away who the heroin is going to love in the end and what it means... Considering this fact, the manga loses a lot of its interest from the beginning.

The heroin : I don't know if I like her ; somewhat wild, independant, confident and resolved to make herself respected, she is so often reduced to a mere bag of potatoe carried around by men (seriously, in how many scenes does a guy suddenly seize her and either throws her over his shoulder, or just laughs while she's half-heartedly protesting?) Come on Bia! You're supposed to be all tough and brutal!
And what about her supposed greed? Disappears quite fast, as some other traits of her personality.

(+) However, when she's herself the most is when she's tearing off the lady-likeness of her role... Giving some funny scenes. (although my cynical deeper self wants to say : but isn't it even more cliché since in her general attitude, she is far from contradicting the female stereotypes ?...)

(+) the most interesting character is, for me, Prince Mu Yeong. An interesting personality, with multiple facettes, even if his role in the story isn't surprising. He's not completely evil, but not completely good, he expresses some contradictory feelings without losing credibility and appeals to the reader in spite of his deeds.

ENJOYEMENT : 5

It's not that I don't like a story to end in a good way...

Honestly, I thought I would drop this manga before the end, but as I don't do that often, I wanted to give it a chance to surprise me before the end. I read it very quick and, most sadly, I am now happy that I can move on to another. I felt bored too often, thought the end was bland, even laughable (what kind of royal figure jumps above the walls of the palace to go and slice some thieves, but comes back just in time for dinner?)

I won't re-read this manga and I don't recommend it either, if, like me, you are searching for a complex plot, including some suspense in the love intrigue and realistic characters.

But if you are a fan of the historical genre, you may like it.

OVERALL : 5

Let's summarize my pros and cons :

PROS
-Political intrigues
-Architecture and costumes
-Un-ladylike heroin
-Best character : prince Mu-Yeong

CONS :
-Slow and somewhat disconnected start
-Plot is not surprising at all (especially the love plot)
-Some weaknesses in the artwork (action poses, perspectives, crowds...)
-Disappointing evolution of the main character
-Some cliches and too-good-to-be-true develoments
-Too much "Let's carry the young lady and show our manly attributes, cause that's what our female readers want" WRONG!

Inconsistent. This applies to everything from its characters to the plot lines, and even the art, which makes it really hard for the readers to sink their teeth into the story.

I believe the author tried way too hard to make it an epic historical romance like rurouni kenshin or saiunkoku monogatari, but this definitely was a let down.

The greatest bane of the story is the main character herself - Shin Bia. In fact, the title is rather apt. She is quite the nutcase. The author sets her up to be the stereotypical strong and independent orphan who knows all sorts of martial arts. However, as you progress in the story, you'll find that she is anything but. She is as weak as some of the most annoying heroines of reverse harems (angelique, hakuouki, etc.). In fact, I'd she's worse because of her constant whining and lack of cerebral capability.

If you can't stand annoying leads, this is probably not for you. It wasn't completely horrible, so if you're looking for something to pass the time, give it a go. Otherwise, don't expect too much.

This is the very first manhwa I ever finished reading. The story got me hooked up that I even downloaded the raws without translations. ^^ It's about a high school boyish type of girl that returned to an ancient era which she has to face many challenges to make herself a proper and elegant lady then fall in love. I like historical and fantasy themes especially with adventure, comedy and romance in it. It's not boring to read. :)