Review: The Bride of the Water God

Title: The Bride of the Water God
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Drama
Author: Yoon Mi-kyung
Artist: Mi-kyung Yun
Scanlation groups: Chiresakura, Entropy, Houkou's Fury, [ RC-SCANS ]

Licensed by: Dark Horse

Synopsis: A village, suffering from drought for a number of years gives in to the demand of the Water god and decides to sacrifice a young girl to him, hoping that his anger is appeased. The beautiful Soah is chosen to be the Water god's bride and she surrenders to her fate for the people of her village.

Unexpectedly, instead of death, Soah finds herself in the Water Kingdom soon after she is sacrificed. She is then led to her husband, the Water god Habaek who is in the form of a child. She is made to feel welcome by the deities around her, and her fond heart readily loves all of them. However, not everyone is happy about the new bride- The Water realm is a most complex place, with everyone around her having their own agendas. It all fundamentally boils down to this- The Gods are not to be trusted.

In my opinion: This is one of the most beautiful and complex manhwas I have ever read. The characters are multi-layered and you never can predict them accurately. There is plenty of mystery, and although there a large number of characters the author manages to balance them all and never allows the story to get away. More interestingly, I love the author's portrayal of the gods- volatile, fickle minded and temperamental. The storyline is superb- not cliché at all, filled with really intense romance, and plenty of drama. And I loved the romance, it was so nice to read something refreshing like this after so many predictable, boring shoujou series.

The artwork is unbelievable. Korean art is different from Japanese art, its slightly more dreamy and this one is the cream of the lot. The element of water is everywhere, in the clothes they wear, the surroundings, and the people. It manages to achieve the ethereal feeling about the water realm effortlessly and there is a mind-boggling amount of detail, you can spend hours just gazing at the pages. This series is like fine wine- something to be read slowly and carefully, not rushed through.

Artwork: 10/10

Characters: 9/10

Story: 9/10

It is well worth a read. You can download it at-

www.mangatraders.com/manga/series/282/

But if you can buy it, that is if it is available in your area, I would recommend you do.

Sources: Baka-updates, Dark horse, mangatraders and Entropy-manga