Ruler of the Land Vol.#03

By: Mike Dungan
Review Date: Thursday, July 22, 2004
Release Date: Saturday, May 01, 2004



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:(Story) Jeon Keuk-Jin (Art) Yang Jae-Hyun
Translated by:Jason An
Adapted by:

What They Say
Swordsman Bi-Kwang and the protectress of the Sword of the Flowers, Hwa-Rin, continue their sword-fighting adventures in this medieval epic. The number of factions struggling for the sword multiplies, and the Sword of the Flowers is the key to finding Hwa-Rin's grandfather - the greatest fighter of the land!

The Review
The Review: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Bi-Kwang Han is a swordsman and martial artist with an overactive libido, but not the common sense to actually score with the women. Hwa-Rin is a very beautiful young woman travelling in disguise as a man, as she searches for her missing grandfather, Geum-Hwang, the leader of the establishment faction. Hwa-Rin has lost the Sword of Flowers which is more important to her than her own life. Sang-Pil "Gold Cobra" Jin is the assassin who stole it for Master Yoo, but he's decided to keep it for himself. Yoo has hired Shi-Yun, a beatiful killer and leader of the Black Serpents, to get it back from the Gold Cobra. They have a history that goes back ten years, and is rather tragic. They were once lovers and now they both bear the physical and emotional scars of that affair. Sang-Pil has plans for the sword that he believes will put him back in good standing with the Leader of a Thousand Horses, who branded him a traitor ten years earlier. Bi-Kwang is a disciple of the Leader of a Thousand Horses, and he strikes up an alliance with Gold Cobra that may allow them, the badly injured Hwa-Rin and Gold Cobra's four loyal followers to escape off the mountain where Yoo and Shi-Yun's fighters are attempting to surround them.

They escape, and Hwa-Rin gets her sword back in the process. She is cared for they the Master of a Thousand Horses, where she recovers from her injuries while keeping up the pretense of being a man.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to three new characters. One is a beautiful, skilled fighter who uses her beauty as effectively as her fighting skills, and the Leader of the Ice Palace. He's an imposing man of incredible fighting skill, and the woman's father. Despite his impressive image, he's actually quite a goof-ball and is easily manipulated by both his daughter and Bi-Kwang. Last is Bi-Hyun. He is the leader of Shi-Yun's Black Serpent fighters and madly in love with her, though he hides it. The confrontation between Shi-Yun and Sang-Pil finally happens, with him entrusting his men to Bi-Kwang, who is taking on Bi-Hyun. In the final chapter of this volume, we finally see the back story that drove Shi-Yun and Sang-Pil apart and made them enemies for the last ten years.


Comments
The introduction of the Leader of the Ice Palace and his daughter seems to be a little unnecessary, but it adds some comedy at a good time. Sang-Pil "Gold Cobra" Jin and Shi-Yun get a lot more developement, and their story really moves to the fore. The art is as compentent as the preivous volumes, with strong black linework and fast-flowing fight scenes.

The front cover is an image of a surprised Hwa-Rin being lifted into the air by a smiling Bi-Kwang, as she shows a lot of cleavage. The back cover has not text, instead having an image of Bi-Kwang with his sword in an action pose. The sound effects are all translated into English and printed right next to the Korean sfx. The art reproduction is acceptable, with only a small amount of moiring in the screentones. There is one page translator's notes this time, but we don't get the two pages of character introductions like in the previous volume.

The Ruler of the Land is solidly written and illustrated. The story continues to focus on Sang-Pil Jin and Shi-Yun, and the action continues at a break-neck pace. While Sang-Pil and Shi-Yun make for an interesting story, one hopes that Bi-Kwang and Hwa-Rin's relationship won't take a back seat much longer.