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Hissing #1
Hissing, Volume 1
Da-Eh, an aspiring manhwa artist who lives with her father an little brother, comes across Sun-Nam, a softie whose ultimate goal is simply to become a "tough guy." Whenever these two meet, trouble follows. Meanwhile, Ta-Jun, the hottest guy in town, finds himself drawn to the one girl that his killer smile doesn't work on - Da-Eh. With their complicated family history weighing heavily on their shoulders, watch how these three teenagers find their way out into the world!
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 10, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 16, 2012
Manga originated in Japan. The style has since expanded to other countries, including Korea. Manga is known as "manhwa" in Korea. I've read reviews of several manhwa series and wanted to venture into the genre. I randomly picked Volume 1 of Hissing, since it was at my library. In retrospect, I should have picked a series that I knew other people liked, because Hissing isn't very good.
I didn't notice a distinct difference between manga and manhwa as far as plot or art went. The main differences were subtle - cultural differences. Names, for instance. Instead of common Japanese names like Yuki, you have Da-Eh and Sun-Nam in this series. I also noticed different foods. The common Korean food kimchi was featured in this volume. No Japanese sushi or miso to be found. Another thing I noticed was epithets. Christianity is much more prevalent in Korea than in Japan (30% v. <1% according to Wikipedia). They characters shouted "Oh my God," or "Christ," when they were surprised or irritated. I've never seen that in manga.
Hissing has potential to become an interesting series. There is an interesting connection between the characters that was hinted at in the first volume, focusing on Da-Eh's younger brother. But the first volume didn't make me care enough to continue. It's really confusing. There are two guys: Sun-Nam and Ta-Jun. Sun-Nam was a bigger character - a wimp who's been tortured by his tough older brothers his whole life - and now acts like a jerk to get people to think he's tough. I'm not sure who Ta-Jun was. Every time I thought the volume was talking about Ta-Jun, it turned out to be Sun-Nam. They were drawn very similarly. I did like that Da-Eh wants to be a manhwa artist, because it talked a little about the process of drawing manhwa. But I didn't get a good feel for Da-Eh's personality. She wants to be a manhwa artist, loves her little brother, and doesn't fall for guys easily but that's all I got.
I also noticed a few typos that were distracting (such as using "who's" when it should have been "whose"). Also, the volume read front to back and left to right, just like western style books. I've gotten so used to Japanese right to left format that I started Hissing at the end. I read about ten pages with great confusing before I figured out that I was reading the wrong way.
I would like to continue reading manhwa since Hissing is no more representative of manhwa than bad manga is representative of manga in general.
I didn't notice a distinct difference between manga and manhwa as far as plot or art went. The main differences were subtle - cultural differences. Names, for instance. Instead of common Japanese names like Yuki, you have Da-Eh and Sun-Nam in this series. I also noticed different foods. The common Korean food kimchi was featured in this volume. No Japanese sushi or miso to be found. Another thing I noticed was epithets. Christianity is much more prevalent in Korea than in Japan (30% v. <1% according to Wikipedia). They characters shouted "Oh my God," or "Christ," when they were surprised or irritated. I've never seen that in manga.
Hissing has potential to become an interesting series. There is an interesting connection between the characters that was hinted at in the first volume, focusing on Da-Eh's younger brother. But the first volume didn't make me care enough to continue. It's really confusing. There are two guys: Sun-Nam and Ta-Jun. Sun-Nam was a bigger character - a wimp who's been tortured by his tough older brothers his whole life - and now acts like a jerk to get people to think he's tough. I'm not sure who Ta-Jun was. Every time I thought the volume was talking about Ta-Jun, it turned out to be Sun-Nam. They were drawn very similarly. I did like that Da-Eh wants to be a manhwa artist, because it talked a little about the process of drawing manhwa. But I didn't get a good feel for Da-Eh's personality. She wants to be a manhwa artist, loves her little brother, and doesn't fall for guys easily but that's all I got.
I also noticed a few typos that were distracting (such as using "who's" when it should have been "whose"). Also, the volume read front to back and left to right, just like western style books. I've gotten so used to Japanese right to left format that I started Hissing at the end. I read about ten pages with great confusing before I figured out that I was reading the wrong way.
I would like to continue reading manhwa since Hissing is no more representative of manhwa than bad manga is representative of manga in general.
January 3, 2011
Honestly, not what I thought it was going to be. The editing is atrocious and it was hard to figure out if it was done intentionally (I highly doubt that) or whether a professional had fallen asleep at the wheel. It felt like reading a scanlation with someone who didn't understand English very well. I either gotta learn Korean or never read from Ice Kunion publishers again.
I gave this book a three, even though I didn't like any of the characters and the story is confusing, because I like the art.
I'm gonna read the second just to see if it gets any better.
I gave this book a three, even though I didn't like any of the characters and the story is confusing, because I like the art.
I'm gonna read the second just to see if it gets any better.
July 26, 2022
Hissing was really difficult to understand. All of the male characters looked the same. Couldn't some of them have black hair? The stylized illustrations were great, but it looks like the artist tried to squeeze a story out of a bunch of unrelated fashion illustrations.
April 27, 2019
Ok, really, this one doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the first volume. There are a few little typos and things that...I don't know. Maybe don't quite translate? You get introduced to the main characters, find out a little about their families, and there are hints of a mystery. While at least one other reviewer complains about the art, I personally think it's really pretty at times, though it's true that sometimes the transitions are abrupt. I kind of love the relationship between Da-Eh and her best friend Sung-Chul--they always make me laugh. And I feel bad for poor, pretty Sun-Nam, who is so full of anger and just wants to be taken seriously. And then there's sweet, adorable little Da-Hwa, who looks like a lot like Chicken Little. Anyway, even though this particular book isn't perfect, I give it five stars because I just love the story as a whole so much. It's not for everyone I guess--it's definitely more family drama than anything else. But I keep reading it over and over again, so it obviously appeals to something in me!
July 4, 2015
umm. su-nam's brothers are suuuuuuper creepy? so i can kinda forgive the silly 'i'mma be a bad guy!' thing he's got going on even though my strategy would be more along the lines of 'welp, i plan to be home never, sry, i have a job/friends/the library/literally anything else is better then being about you two'
also the plot and characters are still pretty scattershot so i guess that wasn't just a volume two thing
in conclusion, ta-jun looks like a waste. maybe he'll show signs of non-wastehood at some point but for now i'm relegating him to the corner with all the other waste boys of manga
(idk what's going on with da-eh so i don't really have anything to say on her, sorry)
2 stars
also the plot and characters are still pretty scattershot so i guess that wasn't just a volume two thing
in conclusion, ta-jun looks like a waste. maybe he'll show signs of non-wastehood at some point but for now i'm relegating him to the corner with all the other waste boys of manga
(idk what's going on with da-eh so i don't really have anything to say on her, sorry)
2 stars
April 29, 2009
One of the worst manhwa I've ever read. The art is ugly - people look like aliens, especially the main hero. And the story? Bothers kissing their youngest brother "for practise", high schooler mangaka pulling an all-nighter to draw her manga, one ridiculous situation after another. Give me a break. So far I've enjoyed every manhwa from Yen press but this is a major disappointment.
June 25, 2012
One of my favorite manhwas. I love the Korean manga that is translated because it's the same as the English comics. Anyway, cute little coming of age story! I only listed some of the volumes though I have read the whole series. I got tired of clicking... :D
February 13, 2013
Overall, I liked this manwha. I wasn't sure of the difference between the two main male characters though. They look alike to me. I was sufficiently interested enough in the story to want to read the rest of the series.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews