Review: Magical JxR Volume 1 by Lee Sun-Young
Magical JxR Volume 1
by Lee Sun-Young
From Amazon.com:
Jay and Aru are two of the most popular students in wizardry school. But, before they can graduate, they must venture out into the REAL world and fulfill a one year magic contract with a human girl named Cho-Ah. Is Cho-Ah ready for a whole year with two enthusiastic wizards-to-be at her beck and call? You never know what's going to happen next on this magical, mystical, Manhwa journey!
This was an oddly-paced first volume. The first chapter introduces two kid wizards who somehow end up in an ordinary girl's life and attempt to grant her wish for "magic porridge" when she has a cold. Then they disappear...and the story suddenly fast-forwards several years. We never see or hear from the girl in the introductory chapter again. I think this is a sign that the original story was a one-shot that got picked up for a series. Even if this was the case, it was still an odd way to begin Magical JxR. It might have worked better as a flashback placed toward the end of the first volume, after the characters were already established.
The boys return to the human world again after several years, and form the contract with Cho-Ah. (She looks very similar to the first girl, so at first I thought it was the same person - but I feel like Cho-Ah would remember the boys and say something about the first chapter’s events if that were the case.
The story seemed random and silly, going for episodic wacky hijinks that feel old and stale because…well, they are. It’s a very common plot. It’s a little interesting that the boys, Jay and Aru, have opposite magical powers. One controls fire; the other uses water-based magic. But their corresponding personalities are so predictable - the one with fire is emotional and impulsive while the one with water is cool and calculating - that the story just winds up feeling like it’s been done a kajillion times before. Yawn. Boring.
Art's nice; there are one or two gorgeous full-page panels that look fantastic, very atmospheric with great emotional tension. But eh. The character designs don’t stand out and I don’t think anything about this story is memorable. With so many better graphic novels to choose from, this Korean manhwa is hardly worth picking up.
2 out of 5 stars
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