13th Boy 6

SangEun Lee – Yen Press – 2011 – 12+ volumes

Yet another series I’m a big fan of, this time a Korean girls’ comic. Again, it’s the strange mix of fantasy and reality that I like in this one. It’s mostly a standard romantic triangle, with two boys, two girls, and everyone in love with the wrong person at the wrong time. But there are bizarre extras that make it really special. One of the boys, Whie-Young, has a strange power to grant wishes. He almost never uses it, and when he does, it’s usually only for Hee-So’s benefit. Also, there’s a talking cactus that periodically transforms into a boy. The cactus’s name is Beatrice. Beatrice isn’t really a joke, he’s a character the series takes pretty seriously. I enjoy absurd touches like that immensely.

Hee-So is over the moon now that Won-Jun has asked her out and confessed his feelings for her. Nothing could make her happier. But Sae-Bom isn’t as happy, since she also likes Won-Jun, but doesn’t want to lose her friendship with either Hee-So or Won-Jun over Hee-So’s jealousy. But aside from being lifelong friends with Won-Jun, she also… you know. Likes him. Because this is a girls’ comic. It’s not really addressed in this volume, but it’s there.

Elsewhere, Whie-Young is sleeping a lot more now that he’s been using his power more frequently, which also apparently means he will die soon. On the way to school, he runs into Hee-So and hijacks her into going on a nice date with him. Neither seem to enjoy the time together, and Whie-Young isn’t about to admit that he might actually really like Hee-So, but it is a date all the same, and Won-Jun catches them at it. Beautifully, this scene goes much different than I imagined it would.

The date with Whie-Young was what I was most interested in, though. The relationship between him and Hee-So is my favorite thing about this series, and there are lots of enjoyable moments between the two during this scene. They’re rarely alone, which was another great thing about this scene, though very little of serious note happens between them.

There are obvious couples from the beginning, but currently, nothing is being done to actively get these obvious couples together. It makes me wonder if perhaps this series will go down a different road? Hmm. Luckily, volume 7 just came out and I have it here to read, though it looks like the story tackles a completely different topic in that book. Still, I’m looking forward to it.