Another volume of Chocolat just means another adventure into a mysterious land whose population includes boy band members, high schoolers, angry mothers, and not a single sympathetic character.
Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Shin JiSang and Geo
Translation: Jackie Oh
Adaptation: Jamie S. Rich
What They Say
When E-Soh issues an ultimatum to Kum-Ji, she has to choose him on the spot or watch him walk away for good! The fledgling couple hits some rough patches as Yo-I goes on the road for their comeback tour, and Kum-Ji spends a lot of time following their rival band, DDL, but nothing major gets in the way of their bliss. . .that is, until former Yo-I fanclub president Barbie shows up on the idol scene! Is this her new ploy to win E-Wan's heart? And will it work against Kum-Ji's new relationship, since she still hasn't quite gotten over her broken heart?
The Review!
Content: Kum-Ji has been struggling with E-Soh’s feelings for her, but when he tells her that he’s not going to put up with being just a friend, she realizes that she has to make a choice and decides to date him. But she just can’t stop worrying what E-Wan thinks of her, even going so far as to buy him a cell phone charm as an apology when they get into a fight. E-Wan, meanwhile, is trying to find a way to hurt everyone less, which seems to involve striking an agreement with Barbie wherein she is allowed to try and make him fall for her. She goes about it with rather questionable tactics, saying a rumor that the two of them are dating will make him seem off-limits to other girls, but even E-Soh warning her off E-Wan doesn’t matter to much to her. After all, Barbie claims, it’s whether she likes him that matters, not whether he likes her back. There’s trouble in paradise for E-Soh and Kum-Ji, too, as they struggle through a first date, and E-Soh demands to know whether she still likes E-Wan or not. When she can’t answer, the two of them break up. And then, E-Soh discovers that E-Wan’s actually put the cell phone charm from Kum-Ji on his phone despite “dating” Barbie…
Let’s face it: this series was past the point of being realistic entertainment from the very beginning. Unfortunately, this volume cements the fact that it won’t ever shape up to be a guilty pleasure, either. Kum-Ji’s flip-flopping has gone past the point of annoyance, and is now reaching heights making me truly angry at her. Although E-Soh isn’t blameless in this, as he definitely encourages Kum-Ji to date him, and then breaks up with her, she just does whatever comes easiest at the moment. The subplot with Barbie and E-Wan doesn’t help much, and also doesn’t provide any insight into their characters. Even worse, E-Wan himself has started shedding his moody exterior, inexplicably, and begun to soften up when dealing with things related to Kum-Ji--but he’s still nothing but a jerk to Kum-Ji herself. Barbie, for all of her questionably idiotic tactics in this volume, might turn out to be the likable one (as only one character seems to be able to fill that role per installment), as she at least holds some level of self-awareness and insight into the other characters’ actions.
But this volume still isn’t a complete wash. There are a few moments that hold some promise of relationship melodrama, but they revolve around the few scenes that E-Wan and E-Soh share. It’s a shame that the building-up to these moments is very fragmented, and they’re fighting over such an unlikable heroine, because it’s the only thing that might provide some sort of excitement to what is an otherwise very patchwork, unentertaining series.
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