Annarasumanara

I first heard about Annarasumanara last year, but I held off from reading it because I had other manga that I deemed was "more interesting".

I really wish I didn't hold off in reading this.

Annarasumanara gives you an outlook on both reality and living within a fantasy. There's so much issues that's being dealt with, and I really appreciate how they discussed it. The art style is also very interesting.

The best thing about this, in my opinion, was the characters.

(Not to spoil anything, but il deung is actually my favourite character. He grows so much, and he's who I relate to the most.)

Anyway, you should definitely give this a shot.

**CAUTION MY REVIEW HAS A FEW SPOILERS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED LADS!**

While it was visually stunning, all characters were great and the story had a pretty decent flow for a dark 27 chapter webtoon. However I felt the ending needed to be finished properly like man, I wanted to see how our dude L is getting on after being taken away by the police. I felt there didn't need to be a cliffhanger but that's just my personal thought. Also I still can't get over that Na Il-Deung's head transformed from a sausage to normal size throughout this whole manhwa!

Yup you gotta definitely check this Webtoon out folks!

"Do you believe in magic?"

Powerful. I haven't read a manga with such a powerful story in a long time. I thoroughly enjoy the flow of the story in this manga. It drew me in with such a strength only worthy of a good read.

Though it has a captivating story and great character development, the art is a bit cut and paste. You can tell when it something hasn't been drawn. It seemed to be pulled out of a different style of art. But I guess that is to add to the emphasis on some areas. Some of the characters are a bit exaggerated as you will see when you read them.

Other than that though, it was definitely worth my time.

I highly recommend this manwha to those that enjoy the slice of life genre yet want a bit more depth... a bit more thrill... a bit more darkness to it.

Guys, this is manhwa which love in himself the reader from the first Chapter. Magic story about people and their attitude to life. Be sure to read!
In the beginning I could not treat this manhwa seriously. The boy with eggplant instead of the head madly confused. The character has caused a violent hysterics. It is impossible not to smile, looking at him! :) I could only read adequately and thoughtfully this masterpiece from the second time, when I hammered on this dude-sausage.
The first thing that catches your eye - it is style. Of course, drawing pleases the eye. Glommy, dark tones perfectly reflect the atmosphere in which the main character lives. But it is necessary to the wizard says magic word as suddenly the world around it becomes colorful.
This work leaves in mind the trace. Personally at me all attitude, outlook turned over upside down. I can't think about something, expect this work. As if on the heels of walks magician who will help and protect. By the way, it is well! It adds confidence in your abilities and undertakings :) Magic doing something unimaginable. You understand that all together develop in something greater than an invention. I want to think about life, about the actions that people make and understand the lesson, offered by the author - to believe in magic. Sweet, miracles meet there where believe in them!
So - "Do you believe in magic?" :)

Annarasumanara is a healing manhwa. It broadens your outlook on life with adversities that people face especially with the compromises they make when they grow older. It's a manhwa that allows you to have a chance to reflect back on yourself, check whether you are who you are and not someone that the world expects you to be or the world forces you to be. In a way we don't necessarily journey through life but life sort of forces itself on us. We change to fit the world as we grow. It's difficult to hold onto your dreams when reality says otherwise.

The manhwa addresses these questions with a easy to follow story that's laden with symbolisms. It's fun to go through understanding what the author is trying to say with some of the symbolisms. The art is easy on the eye and very unique to fit the dark atmosphere that suits the very personal and serious questions it asks. The characters do grow through the series as they ask themselves the same questions that asks the reader and to be honest they are very relatable. I could even say that I have met all the characters whether bad or good at one point in my life because that's how relatable and believable they were.

You can really tell that the author wanted to send a message to its readers and I can't find a single flaw as this story delivers that message superbly.

can anyone live without a dream ? is chasing your dream a sin ? giving up on what you love doesn't make an adult !
can you be an adult with a child in you ? why did I treat like outsider just because who I am ?
it's painful to see how the society and people's expectations can drive you nuts ! you can't hold your dream , you don't even have the right to dream !
I can't get over the heart break I got after reading this manhwa , it's really weird words can affect us deeply !
it's kind of dark reality !
the art was amazing , the story was perfect !
personally , this manhwa is one of my favorites for sure .

Day to day our society is becoming more realistic, more competitive & our lives are becoming more and more structured, directed toward a certain goal. To prosper in this world there is quite often no room for what one want's but almost always our path is focused towards what we need to do to be a respectable member of the community. In this modernized viewpoint there is no room for someone who does not want to grow up, children are forced to build up their life focused towards being a successful professional, whether they want to be that or not. Annarasumanara is the story of someone deciding to not grow up, its the story of never forgetting or giving up one's dream, the story of what this pressure can do to someone & the story of the beauty of magic in its many forms in our modern society.

Story

This is where this Manhwa truly shows the authors real talent, he somehow uses an all too realistic and tragic setting of a struggling high school girl, of her hardships to support herself and her little sister through school while also struggling with the choice between her dream and reality. At first its her straightforward desire to soon become an adult, but then a magician who claims to be a real one somehow enters into her life and tries to remind her of her innocent childhood, reminds her of her memories and dreams. But the hard reality never lets her go and the story goes forward through her experiences and realizations in quite a satisfying pace. That's about all I can give without spoilers but I can also say that the progression and the execution is quite flawless in this short piece.

Although some might disagree with me on this point but for me the story is the strongest point of this Manhwa it deserves a 9.5 out of 10.

Art

Some might say this is the best part of the Manhwa. This is in full color & frankly the art is visually mesmerizing. There are pages without words which say a lot of things through the beauty of the art, the facial expressions portray the emotions exquisitely, the background is also very detailed and has the unique ability to draw attention to the stunning bits of details. If not for the brilliance of story surely the art would have been the best thing here, and it does manage to hold on its own quite pleasingly.

It gets 9 out of 10 from me.

Characters

There are only three main characters, the main girl Ah-ee whose development through her encounter with the mysterious yet childish magician is the main story. Ah-ee is someone who is put in such a unfavorable situation from the first, with no parents with her she has to work on part time jobs & deal with debt collectors looking for her dad while looking after her younger sister and keeping her in school too. Yet comes the magician who tells her that someone should do as many things as they want as they do things that they don't want or have to do. The magician is a character who does not really go thorough development in a sense but the more appropriate word would be unveiled in a artistic way by the author. And it is really hard to not be puzzled by him or not to like him. Then there is the character of Il-deung who seems to have everything, seems to be on the right track to reach his goal, yet there is something lacking. His interaction with Ah-ee then his introduction to the magician & how he is influenced by his ways is like another part of the same story or like another side of the coin.

The side characters do not really get that much time or space in the story due to the short length but author still somehow manages to present them in quite a palatable and pleasant way.

The characters get 9 out of 10 from me.

Enjoyment

As for enjoyment, in between all the long and dragged stories out there this short yet memorable Manhwa is something I really enjoyed. Despite its size the pacing was very adequate and the story progression never felt rushed at all.

I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a nice story, beautiful art or is simply tired of reading/waiting for those long winded series' out there, believe me you wont be disappointed.

Overall Score -

9 out of 10.

Webtoon, a type of manhwa that are drawn with the aid of computer graphical tools and are published online, is an amazing type of "manga" that is less well-known among the readers. Particularly, Annarasumanara is scanlated by Easy Going Scans. This scan group translated many excellent works - A Fairytale of Demon Lord, Gepetto, and Paladin - to name but a few.

There are also many praises about Annarasumanara. MAL reviewers typically describe this work as "a story of miracles coming true", “moving”, and “out of the box tale”, etc. In my opinion, though, the so-called originality and realism in this webtoon is belied by its lack of diversity in characters and mysterious elements of magic that the author never bothers to explain to the readers. It has been a while since I read this webtoon, so I can’t really give any solid examples out of my head. Nevertheless, this is the exact impression I got from this manhwa.

The aspect that bothered me the most is the characters. Our narrator, the female protagonist, has no interesting feature, if not for her naivety. There was not one shred of coolness that emanates from the magician. He plays truant when the protagonist encounters great difficulty, reappearing again when the difficulties are resolved. Perhaps the best character in this manhwa is a character initially portrayed as a douche-bag, and that says something about the characters.

Nevetheless, this manhwa has some good points. It offers an original plot line not found in any other work, a point that should be commended. Moreover, like many other Korean Webtoon, Annarasumanara has interesting art. Personally, I liked how the webtoon contains eloquent poems that set the tone for magic between the drawing panels.

All in all, while a lot of MAL users really love this webtoon, I disliked it. The ending is confusing, the mood is depressing without being sentimental, though it does offer an original take on a story about magic.

Quite frankly, I discontinued to believe in magic after reading this title.



Story: 7
Art: 8
Character: 6
Enjoyment: 6
Overall: 7

“When I wear this cape and do a spell, it suddenly starts to snow. Snow that falls in the summer. But you know what's surprising? It's not snowing outside. It only snows inside this magic tent. And when the snowflakes touch the ground, they disappear without a trace. It's a little sad...”

We are all bounded by endless responsibilities, expectations, insecurities and uncertainties. Being practical and working our socks off is the way to accomplish something in life that can bring money into our pockets, we are told; building castles in the air is not. Somewhere along the way of growing up, trying to live up to the expectations weighed down on us and being constantly advised what to do and what not, we deliberately go astray and stop chasing our dreams. How strange it is then that we find delight in trivial things which are often a medium for us to escape our monotonous life. Annarasumanara tells such a story.

Yun Ai is a poor girl who struggles to feed herself and her little sister. Her goal in life is to grow up, work hard and make a decent living, and she despises irresponsibility. Her classmate, Na Il-Deung, is an example of people who are driven by the belief that being at the top means everything in life, all thanks to his parents who don’t expect anything less than hundred percent from him. When these two encounter a mysterious magician who calls himself R, things begin to change.

Annarasumanara is an insightful tale; a wonderful blend of fantasy and reality. The profound effect it has on the readers owes to the fact that the characters are easily relatable. There are three individuals around whom the story revolves: Yun Ai, Na Il-Deung and R. While on the surface they are mere products of the author’s imagination to have his story centred on, yet their persona holds much more than meets the eye. As we delve into the story, we begin to see ourselves in them. We all have, at one point of time, wondered: What am I doing? Where is my life heading to? Am I living my life the right way? What do people think about me? Should I always heed what others advise me to or live my life the way I want to, try doing things differently? Is success everything that matters or is there something else in this life that holds a much greater importance? These are some of the questions that Annarasumanara attempts to explore through its characters and it succeeds in doing that in a conceivable manner.

Onto the artwork now. Annarasumanara’s biggest asset is the art, no doubt. It is spectacular and unique to say the least. The use of cut-outs of real life photos and the subtle use of colour here and there are very creative indeed. The character designs are pretty good too and the facial expressions of the characters have been done well. Annarasumanara offers a visual treat and sometimes you will find yourself pausing in between to take a closer look at the subtle and beautiful visuals.

To conclude, Annarasumanara is one of those works of fiction that are something ‘out of the box’ and I believe it should be given a shot irrespective of what genre you are fond of.
Allow yourself to be spellbound and then ask yourself, ‘Do you believe in magic?’

(I've never written a review before but I just loved this webtoon so much I felt that I needed to.)

Story- Although the plot itself isn't incredibly interesting or original, the execution really brings the story together. It has a slice of life/school life vibe thats integrated into a alice in wonderland-type of fantasy. There's also a lot of symbolism (which I love!) that adds another layer to the story.

Art- Breathtaking. Seriously. Most of the images are in black and white (which is rare for a webtoon) but there are occasional parts with color. The art is always spot on. The backgrounds always have interesting angles and details, and the characters' expressions are always spot on. It's gorgeous.

Note:Some people have a problem with one of the character's bizarrely long hotdog head that no one in the webtoon seems to notice, but its meant to be a symbol of the character's ego. As an outsider looking into the story, the reader is the only one who can see the character's true personality. (It's similar to Oyasumi Punpun where the main character is portrayed as a bird when he is actually a human in the story)

Character- I believe in every character. They seem so real that I have no doubt that every character has their own life that goes on even when I'm not reading about them. I associate with a little piece of every character from the carefree yet endearing sister to the childish and idealistic father to the grade grabbing classmate with a wiener head (see note above). But most importantly, Yoon Ai is a fantastic heroine. While she tends to silently suffer, she is definitely not weak. Unlike a lot of unrealistically happy-go-lucky heroines with financial problems, Yoon Ai is jaded. I appreciate the fact that when the magician appears with his magic tricks (an escape from the real world), she rejects them, knowing she has a duty to her family. She can't just be whisked away by a prince. She, like the rest of us, has responsibilities. Of course, that doesn't mean that she can't find a balance between the two!

Overall: I would recommend this to anyone. Boy or girl. Young or old. It's realistic, relatable, heartbreaking, incredibly funny, and just magical.

Story- Basically, 'Annara' tells the story of a young teenager which mother died and father abandoned who lives with her sister in the constant downward spiral that is life. With a lot of struggle, she must ensure money, good grades and a decent reputation all at the same time to finally find herself in a repetitious routine with no fantasy or whatsoever. From here, it's quit simplistic and we could almost think that the protagonist is, in fact, an endless Maru-sue. Yet, what makes the story (very) appreciable is for sure its incessant 'tempest of events' who are, to my past surprise, quite realistic (one of the greatest quality of this work, I must admit) and its variety of characters. Annara's root are maybe anchored in the deepness of the imaginative, a world who's totally mixed with ours in this Manwha, however once we understand what is the meaning of the story about, we can't help but to find any poetical meaning under each quote and action. At some times, we might find the story-line a bit repetitive - or should I say, long - since it's a real slow-paced tale, but personalty, I think this worth a try.

Art- Right at the first, I fell in love. With a great mix of Manga-like art and some 'colored-cut-from-a-magazine' pictures' (I just don't know how to name this...), Annara may give the feeling of 'wasting' some chapters pages however, just like the story, it gives this feeling of 'imagination invading the reality'. The author succeeded by making metaphors with drawing and not dialogue/text and this, as much with the scenery than the characters. Unlike any Manwha or Manga, Annara do not use any screen tone (Shades of gray, shadows, patterns, etc.) but only black and white and some minor colors. Sometimes, we'll see beautiful burst of colors in important scene or even gruesome drawing made of 'colored-cut-from-a-magazine' pictures' just to put an emphasis on the element, but without beign to overwhelming, we grow to truly appreciate the art work. Once again, just like the story: it's quite simplistic, but it always finishes by impressing us.

Characters- We have... the courageous, down-to-earth protagonist, the simple-minded magician, the rich brat who's oppressed by his parents' fortune and influence, the typical girls who could be considered as bully, but when we think about it, aren't really bully, but simply victim of big prejudice, the annoying parrot and... Brief, as you can see, Annara really offers a big pallet of characters. We hate them, we love them, we feels their worries. Many of the protagonist's passage with her 'letter to mother' gave us the feeling of 'being into the story' and thus, make us able to fully plunge into the deepness of this sea of feelings.

Overall- Definitely recommended! There is romance in this story, but gladly, to my point of view: it is not the center of the plot. So as much the girls as the boys can read it and if you're not a fan of smushy gooshy love, once again: this is for you. Actually, I could even say that instead of giving to protagonist the goal of making a boyfriend, we tried to make us believe in something that we lost a long ago though the basic of a story. I truly enjoyed this piece of work and trust me: it worth the time.

So everyone... I am asking you this question: do you believe in magic?

So I was abducted by MAL, when saw first time this work. Then read it - online -, graphic style awsome: photo mounting plus hand drawings and handwritings, letter style bubbles sometimes, collage technics, caricature, deep greys turning suddenly to fullcolored pages, surrealism so social/gerenational criticism symbolism, and the best quality do this South Korean "yoseong" - adult female focused comic - a great piece of artwork, better: - a masterpiece.

The more we think about the more I must say like appreciation than we are mere puppets, the Globe is a hard stage, and since the first step our threads are created/teached/adoctrinated, the differece lies on know to cut these threads at time or become a guided social individual. And without selfiness, this is more important so interesting.

Simply... breathtaking. When I had first noticed this, I thought nothing much of it, until I actually read it. The story was really fascinating, intriguing me to read the next chapter. I enjoyed the story, encouraging even adults to have a dream, a goal, and have fun in this life. The art was absolutely beautiful, and I loved the occasional abstract arts with color input. The characters were enjoyable as well, and the author drew some with their personalities, and I had only later found of it around the end of the story. Why by the end of the manga, a few tears had fallen from my eyes as I read. This story is very powerful, and strong, letting people know that it is okay to hold on to some dreams from when we were children, and try to find our "bed of flowers".
Overall, it is certainly one of my most favorite manga I had ever read, with the beautiful story, and plot, and the conclusion was absolutely mysterious, and unique, leaving people think of what they read in words printed on the pages.

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;"

Have you ever sat by yourself and thought of the road you're taking? Was everything you abandoned worth chasing what you yearned for? As children, we lived in delusional fantasies: one would dream to grow up as an astronomer, a prince or princess, an honorary idol, or a magician that people traveld for. You were a child that believed in dreams and hopes, you had naive goals that were truly your inspiration.

As you grew up, your eyes saw more to it: such dreams are 'pathetic.' This is reality, and reality equals to success through money and education. Ah, but is that true? This story makes you question everything; uncertainty relays itself in your mind, and all you could ever think of is 'if you're living the life you truly want.'

This story revolves around three types of people:

1- A high school student stolen by reality. She view things logically and carries out responsibilities, she is mature, intelligent, and quite a realist; she carries a charismatic vibe.
2- A classmate who is one of the elites in society. He is clever, logical, calculating and lives his life walking a road planned out for him. He believes education is the only prosperity to succession.
3- A magician. He abandoned luxury and society's will for the sake of his own dreams, he lives a life away from reality and has a mind as delusional as a child, he believes a dream is everything you should live for.

To sum it up, a realist + an elitist + a magician, they all take you into a journey of 27 chapters, they teach you what it means to live a dream and reality, they make you see the kind of things you don't always see in mangas: originality; accuracy.

Although this manga has not answered every mystery, it has taught me more than mangas with 100s of chapters did. This manga is special in its own way, all the characters seem so real and full of depth, the way every character develops is outstanding and the lessons it has taught me is unforgettable.

I think after this manga, the way I carry on with my life will slightly differ than how it used to be. Reading this was a wonderful experience.

What would happen if you turned away from society? What would happen if you stopped on the road of life? What would happen if instead of moving forward, you planted your feet squarely on the ground and refused to lose your childish purity? What if you never grew up?

These are all questions which Annarasumanara asks the reader. I'd say that thematically, it is similar to the likes of Peter Pan, but that would be doing this manwha an incredible injustice. For a story all about rejecting adult life, this story is a lot more mature than the average.

The story is of course, based around magic. Not the type you usually see in fiction, with Wizards and battles, but with the type of Magician you'd see at Carnivals or Birthday parties. The plot is ambiguous for the most part. You're never sure whether someone is telling the truth or not. Hell, you're never even sure if some of the characters are sane or not. But, this is not a negative. It's handled very well. It never makes the mistake of making something so ambiguous that the narrative becomes confusing or loses it's grounding in reality.

The art is, without a doubt in my mind, the best art I've seen in a Manwha or a Manga. It's truly a joy to see people break away from normal art and do something abstract or interesting. It's clever in a way that I haven't seen in a Manwha before, where the abstraction of the work actually has tangible meaning to the plot, and isn't done just randomly out of nowhere. There are a couple of artistic quirks which I really want to talk about but I'll leave them, I don't want to spoil it.

When it comes to characters, it's nice to see some real character progression throughout the series. The characters really change as the series goes on.

This is a Manwha which I can give my full recommendation. 10/10 from me.

Do you believe in magic? No, not the typical "magic" you'd find at a magic show or anything but actual magic? Annarasumanara tells the story of Ah-ee and how she struggles on a everyday basis to make enough money to provide for herself as well as her younger sister. In other words, she's poor as dirt. With her mom out of the picture and her dad on the run from loan sharks Ah-ee is very much alone. One day while chasing down money that was in her possession she runs into a strange man who claims to be a real magician. From there on Ah-ee's life changes.

Essentially, Annarasumanara not only puts a spotlight on Ah-ee but two other characters,: Ah-ee's classmate, Il-Deung and how he lives a one track life of nothing but his studies and the mysterious magician himself. Annarasumanara is well woven reality check of the "grown up world" so to speak and how each of the characters handles the emotional tethers of life's struggles and the rather harsh reality of growing up in the real world almost without any belief of magic or hopes for the future.

I can say the most commented and praised detail about this story would have to be the art style and how it captured the mood of the story making it seem a bit darker than it was made to be while making a few appropriate stops to add color and brightness to the pages as if to say "even in the deepest, darkest pits of despair and disbelief if you make the magic a reality you can light the path to your future."

Overall i'm very happy I ran into this title because it gave me a very important lesson on life and how you yourself believe in magic then you can use it to break your own physical and emotional tethers.

STORY: 9
Without giving away the full plot, the theme of Annarasumanara is childhood vs. adulthood; a reality that ever child has to grow one day to face the hash cruel world of adulthood. This can be terrifying or thrilling. It is a very unique subject to tackle, but the author did an interesting job, while incorporates a touch of "magic" of his/her own. The flow and pace of the story is somewhat slow, but builds up in a poetic way.
ART: 10
Art style is beautiful and distinguishable--pretty much the highlight of Annarasumanara. It is a great mix of Manga-like art and some 'coloured-cut-from-a-magazine' pictures.' Whenever the illustrator incorporates colour, it obvious stands out from the bleak black and white world of Annarasumanara. Actually, the art pretty much can tell the story and words alone are not necessary.
CHARACTER: 9
Background of each character is realistic and convincing. The main characters are a poor but down-to-earth girl, a child-like man who live in a world of "magic", and a rich-boy oppressed by his parent's expectation. The other support characters aren't as distinguishable as them, but move the story along well enough. No one is annoying, rather instead brings life to Annarasumanara.
ENJOYMENT: 10
I personally enjoy Annarasumanara. Story and art incorporated together in a meaningful way. It wonderfully tied together in the end.
OVERALL: 9.5 (round up to 10)
I would recommend to anyone who enjoys pondering meaningful message behind a story. Also, something different and appealing to the eyes is a plus too. Or else, a person who like to explore their taste because you won't fine something as unique as this any where else.

this is truly one of the most moving manga i've ever had the pleasure to experience and also one of the saddest - amazing the way it captures the absolute preciousness of keeping one's dream alive and what happens if we let it go.........also the difficulty of living in this world of "adults" as an eternal wide-eyed believer of magic and dreams, something i've dealt with all of my adult years as a dreamer and a freak - people say people like me, people like the magician are: "crazy", "losers", "lost", etc, but all the few of us eternal children left in the world want is to be able to keep on dreaming...i'd recommend everyone to check this out - truly genius!

This is an amazing work of art unlike many of the stories you see out there. I love the author's unique art style. There is very little color, but when it's used, it really pops and adds to the story.

Also, the story itself has a depth to it that's not seen in many of the works out there. I would most likely have rated the story and characters higher, but I haven't finished the series yet. (as a note, don't start if you want to finish quickly. I believe that nobody is currently translating the last few chapters)

I'm going to requote a friend by the end of the manga you'll feel like you've gone a journey, although you're uncertain where you've gone. It takes a while to get used to the art, and the mangaka's unique style but it adds to the mystery of the story's plot. It took me a while to get used to it, but the simplicity of the manga's message, and the feeling you're left with will make you think what have I just read, I think i just finished something pretty amazing. For me this manga was relatively short, so took me about 2 hours to finish but it was a pretty great 2 hours. Enjoy.