DEJA-VU Manga by Youn In-Wan(2008).
© Tokyopop

Mania Grade: A-
Title: Deja-Vu
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Story By: Youn In-Wan
Art By: Various
Publisher: Tokyopop
Price: $9.99

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DEJA-VU

Reincarnation and fox spirits are two themes that feature heavily in Buddhist myth and folklore. Deja-Vu is a one-shot love story that spans the ancient past to the far-flung future, not unlike Osamu Tezuka's epic Phoenix series. While You In-Wan's manhwa isn't quite as ambitious or emotionally stirring as Tezuka's work, its collaborative format still yields a powerful spin on classic story devices.

Deja-Vu's story is penned in sections by Korean author Youn In-Wan, and different artists illustrate each "era." The manhwa begins in the forests of ancient Korea, where an exiled soldier named Wonsul helps a trapped white fox. Moments later, a beautiful girl named Sohyul approaches him and the two form a bond of friendship that quickly deepens to love. When Sohyul suddenly disappears, on old fox spirit reveals herself as the girl's grandmother and lets Wonsul in on the secret that's been kept from him: Sohyul is the white fox he freed on the day of his exile. Wonsul refuses the old fox's advice to stay away, and acquires a means to make Sohyul human forever. However, she's shot and killed by a hunter before the two can start their life together.

True to the title of the manhwa, the end of the chapter states that this is not the end to the love--or tragedy--between Sohyul and Wonsul. Sure enough, chapter two begins in a World War II-era Japanese prison, where a young Japanese woman meets a Korean inmate…and so forth. The quartet of chapters (each named after a season) concludes in the distant future, ages after the fall and rebirth of man. The spirits of Sohyul and Wonsul cross once more and must decide between celebrating their own love or continuing the human race.

Though each season shares the same theme, the setting for the different chapters is varied and therefore doesn't become boring. Still, there's a lot of angst going on in Deja-Vu, and this might enhance or bring down your reading experience, depending on how much you're into stories about One True Love. Granted, Deja-Vu tells its story very well, and the artwork is all done by top-notch artists.

Interestingly, what makes Deja-Vu shine is the two short stories that are quietly tucked away in the last quarter of the manhwa. Byun Byung-Jun's "Utility" is very different from most work in the Korean comic industry, exhibiting a darkly humourous, American-flavoured story about rational thinking in the face of crisis. "Ocean" is less grim, but still touching for its simplicity.

Quality short story collections are not all that common in manga or manhwa. Even if you're not into romance, Deja-Vu is worth owning for the mind-bending "Utility." It retails for $9.99.