Hwaja

This is one of those stories wich remember you that a good story doesn't need much. It doesn't need explosions, lots of non-stop action, big breasted girls, panty shots or any of these appealing things. It just need to be good.

Story 8/10
The plot is really simple, but keeps you interested in it. It starts with a boy named Ryu who founds a girl about his age living in an abandonned house - known as "The Haunted House". Ryu and Jay, his childhood friend, soon find that grown up men often goes to the house to give her presents in exchange for "entertainment". The story then goes on showing the development of their relationships, the jealousy of the grown ups, and the growth of Ryu from a little boy to a man. Although the story covers up around 20 years in a short time, it doesn't get confusing at all.
The themes are not inovating, but don't stay in the cliché too. It's most about how selfish and obsessed people can be, shown in the acts of the grown ups of the city who don't want to lose their "toy", though knowing how wrong they are.

Art 7/10
Although it's most because of the artists style, I didn't liked the art, although it was it that attracted me at first (if the art was like this one shown here I'd given it a 10). The sharp angles and kinda cartoon like art is good for the first and more childish part of the manga, but I don't think it fit wells with the most dark and adult parts... but is not really bad, I just would like it more if it really was like this one.

Character 8/10
The manhwa is short, so we should first take this into account when judging it's development. Having this in mind, I do think the characters were well developed, although only Ryu and Hwaja really gets some development, while the others have very little "screen time". Even so, most of them got the right time to do what they needed to do in the story, don't letting many loose knots or that feeling that too much was not shown (even though it was, but nothing of great importance to the plot).

Overall 8/10
Well, I really enjoyed reading this manhwa and I'm glad I found it. I miss this kind of simple story sometimes, and it's getting more and more difficult to find good one of theses (or of any kind). Hwaja tells it's story, without putting too much like many does, nor leaving too much out and giving that feeling of incompleteness. If you're searching for a good story to read calmly in a rainy day or something like that, this one should really entertain you too.

Hope this review have been of any help and sorry for any english mistakes, hope it's understandable, at least.
Cya o/

"Keep your promise. That you'd be with me the day the earth comes to an end."

Ostensibly, Hwaja presents itself as a supernatural, coming of age romance story with a boy, named Ryu, falling for a mysterious girl, named Hwaja, who does not age, and his experiences with her over the course of his childhood, to becoming an adult. For readers who are interested in an emotional story that is hard to predict, and keeps you involved from end to end, this might be for you. The art is rather striking, and the main characters are believable within the scope of the story.

The first time that I had read Hwaja, I thought it was a fascinating premise that failed to deliver a satisfying conclusion to its thematic throughline under threat of a resentful audience. However, following my personal reading of the webtoon, I came to appreciate how the story allowed me to interpret its allegorical value as a depiction of systemic issues of addiction and abuse in South Korea's low SES class demographics, as represented by the old village and haunted house. Hwaja, as a character, represents issues that do not change over the course of the story, and thus, does not age. Of course, this is only my interpretation, and readers can find their own value in this work, which is a challenging, exciting read.