"Do you believe in magic?"
"I ran this road, the road everyone envied. I was on my way to become a good adult. But what is a good adult anyway? I kept running and running. Everything around me a blur. A scene far ahead that i could not see.. Where am i really going?"- IL Deung
I stumbled upon this beautiful manga last night while trying to browse if there are updates on those others that I follow.
Released in 2010. I feel that this may be one of those must reads that only a certain few are lucky enough to find. I'm really glad I did. It features a story between that of a boy, a girl and a "real" magician. Simple enough but captivating, I couldn't hold off on reading this as soon as I started.
You see Ai (the female lead) is pitiful in a beautiful way. A damsel in distress who in reality is a victim of circumstances. Abandoned by both parents, Basically she has to fend off for both her and her sister's needs. The initial scene where she feigns being hungry and instead sates it by drinking on the fountain to get her fill every lunch time to save money is heartbreaking. She is a girl who wants to grow up fast so she can save herself and her family. Why is fate so cruel to her? Next comes IL Deung (the male lead), who has everything. Looks, brains and fortune. You name it. Top of his class, he is the exact opposite of Ai and probably at one point is the right person to save her. We soon learn though that not all is what it seems. And not even he is immune to problems. Problems which are not always problems when we first see them. Just because they look "right" or "acceptable".
Then comes the magician, a catalyst of change. He is an enigma. Ostracized as crazy and dangerous by the townspeople for the way he lives. He is the mover of things. Shaking the very foundations of both Ai and IL Deung, he made them and in turn us, the readers realize the flaws of society we often get lost into. Thinking of leaving behind things that really matter. His story, his lessons proved more meaningful as they are magical.
Although melancholic for the most part, drawn usually in black and white, there are colors in the story that makes reading it worthwhile. Consisting only of 27 chapters, It was thought provoking, and life changing if you let it. Its sad that its finished, but know this. it's lessons will not be forgotten. And although it says completed, I keep looking back. Because maybe just maybe, there might be a little more, a little more of that feeling. A little more.. Magic.
"Adults they destroy everything that they don't understand. That doesn't conform to their normal. Don't they know? Just because its different, doesn't mean its bad."
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