Tarot Café #2

The Tarot Cafe #2

by Park Sang-sun, Alexandre F. Soares (Translator)

Aaron é um garoto-lobisomem, com o passado marcado por abuso e abandono. Ele procura respostas e precisa da ajuda de Pamela, a bela proprietária do Tarot Café.
Mas o garoto não é o único com problemas. Pamela carrega uma maldição de 700 anos, que começa a ser revelada.

Genres: Manga, Manhwa, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Supernatural, Paranormal, Comics

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

She studied at Kookmim University, where she graduated in Visual Design.

Reviews

[Victor The Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tarot Cafe, Vol. 2 (My Kindle Review)

We see the second part of the alchemist’s story from the last volume, and it ends happily instead of tragically like the other stories. Pamela’s latest guest is a young werewolf who was tricked into the betrayal of his guardian. The biggest surprise is we learn about Pamela’s immortal past from 700 years ago and how she got her powers when a familiar face comes to find her and they nearly end up in the dangerous sights of the same type of people who burned her mother at the stake. A (100%/Outstanding)

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one even better than the first volume. The stories just seemed to get even more intense, with deeper wells of emotion and some really imaginative storylines. I really enjoy the artwork, and there are even card illustrations from various tarot decks (fully credited, of course), which only fuels my obsession with collecting them all! This volume got me totally hooked and bout I bought the next three immediately!

[Mramorealskaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

я в шоці! 😱

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was satisfied with the Part II of the last story in volume one, but the rest was just very difficult to understand. The almost every character is depicted the same way so I really struggled to know who was what and what was going on.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really weird series. I’m still enjoying the short story format, but some of the individual stories I really don’t care for!

I really did NOT like the story of the princess who abused the “protein dolls.” First of all, what the hell is a “protein doll” anyway? It’s never really explained in depth.

The one story I DID like in this volume was the story of the wolf boy. Even though it was strange, Neribos really did love the boy and wanted to protect him after all! This story made for a great tragedy! It was kind of like a fantasy take on Rapunzel. Really enjoyed this one!

I also dont really care for this “Ash” character. He basically was dropped out of no where. We get bits and pieces of his story, but I get the feeling there is a lot more to the story and a lot she isn’t telling us, which wasn’t just annoying, but was confusing too!

In addition, I find the artists’ illustrations a little strange. Why do all the men look like girls?! For the first couple of characters, like the cat and Ash, I got really confused and thought they were girls! Which wouldn’t be a big deal if they were, but they weren’t. They were very feminine looking and I found this annoying. But that might just be me.

What is worse or more annoying than that, is that many of the characters look exactly alike!!! The cat and Ash all look exactly the same. I started to think they were the same character and got very confused for a bit! How can Pamela or Belus look so different from all the other characters, but then several of them look like they are recycled!

I really tried to give this series my all, but I just don’t think it’s my cup of tea. I’m going to try one more and call it quits.

[Kas Roth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not as good as start, but still quite good. The linework is extremely pretty though all the characters look female. She does fall back on the common troupe of "mysterious prettyboy who shows up when the going gets tough to kick butt".

However, that being said the characters are interesting and the storyline, while not as varied as the first book is still strong and fun to follow.

[Alienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the Aaron/Nebiros storyline; really plays the harp with my heartstrings! Park puts a lot of emotion into her art here, particularly in the scene when Aaron's begging Nebiros not to leave him.

[Lourdes Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

the art caught my attention and also it being about Tarot intrigued me but the manga is disappointing and a bit boring.

[Chelsea Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so happy that that wicked princess got what she deserved and now she’s just as ugly on the outside as she is inside. Haha. Karma bitch.

I feel bad for Aaron now that he is a werewolf, but at the same time he made the choice to leave. I know he was persuaded by a beautiful girl, and she had been talking to him for a couple weeks so she coaxed him into trusting her, but at the same time he betrayed Nebiros. Aaron betrayed him. He did everything he could for Aaron, and in the end he was betrayed by Aaron. He literally was going to give him anything he wanted, and he did. All he asked was to not leave the castle. I mean how much simpler could it be? I do feel bad, because Aaron was terribly abused as a child by his drunk father, and once he betrayed Nebiros it was game over, and he was cast aside again. I know he dealt with trauma, but Nebiros was a father figure to him when he never really had a father figure to begin with. He was tricked to go with that girl. She turned out to be a freaking werewolf, and wanted to kill him because she felt slighted by Nebiros. Get over it.
And he finds his way to the tarot Café, where Pamela offers to take care of him, while he figures out how to break his curse. meanwhile Pamela asks Belus if he's heard of Nebiros and Belus says no. Which we find out he was lying. He went to see him and knew that he was in the dark once again and taunted him and said oh I’ll be back when I’m bored. Like what hold does he have over Nebiros?. I am so upset and I need to know what else is going on because clearly Belus isn’t to be trusted.

Oh my goodness, the last story. We find out about Pamela’s backstory well, some of it actually. Turns out her mother was a fortuneteller and a healer, and therefore people thought she was a witch so they burned her. Before she could be burned, though she was visited by someone saying that they could save Pamela from her fate if they made a deal with them. I don’t know who made the deal. I’m thinking it was Ash but I’m not entirely sure. Well she ends up helping a guy who looks exactly like Ash, who was her parent and her lover. So it’s almost like history is repeating itself because the same guys that were after Pamela to kill her because they think she’s a witch is after Ash as well. Ash died back in the flashback of her story. By I think a dragon. I don't know for sure. But this religious group that hunts witches was after Ash and now Pamela. And like she won't let anyone hurt Ash. So she saved him and then we see that Ash knows who he is. Like he knows he's the same Ash from Pamela's past. And it ends with him saying "my informant lied to me. Again. What did he find so interesting about Pamela? I came here to have some fun but I haven’t had any yet. I’m very disappointed in you Pamela." so like what is going on? need to know what is happening. The werewolf story is up in the open. So is the whole Ash and Pamela situation. And I need to know what Belus has to do with Nebiros.

[Lady Cassiopeia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Auf jeden Cover sieht man eine andere Person auf schwarzem Hintergrund, da fragt man sich natürlich: Um wen geht's denn eigentlich? Von Zeichenstil her hat mich der Manwha schon gelockt.

Tragisch/Dramatische Kurzgeschichten in 5 Bänden zusammengefasst. Leider ist der Manwha nicht ganz beendet worden - die Geschichte hat natürlich mehr versprochen aber wahrscheinlich wurde sie dann abgesetzt. Die Zeichnerin hat auf jeden Fall etwas drauf und ich würde es problemlos weiter empfehlen. Eine zusammenhängende Story gibt es auch, doch sie schleicht sich sehr langsam ein. Im Vordergrund stehen zunächst die verschiedenen Kurzgeschichten der Personen, die Pamelas Hilfe brauchen. Für zwischendurch ist das was feines.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this volume we get the introduction of Aaron (absolutely adorable) and a lot more backstory on Pamela. Belus remains as mysterious as ever, perhaps even more so in this one.

This volume was a bit squickier for me in terms of some sexual content (mostly implied), particularly since it all seemed to involve minors which...isn't super fun. Otherwise not too depressing, not too morbid, still mysterious but with a fair amount revealed. Pamela is a pretty great protagonist, I do enjoy her a lot so getting to see more of her specifically here was nice.

[Kaden · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. I didn't dislike it necesserily but other than some very beautifully drawn men it didn't catch me as much as volume one.
I have very little idea of what's going on and it got pretty iffy at times. This volume was okay, not as interesting as the first one and there were some things that felt kind of off. The art is really nice though and I am interested in the significance of the Tarot readings and Pamela's abilities. I'm also intrigued to see what Belus' deal is.
I hope it does pick up somewhat.

[Soobie has fog in her brain · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'ho apprezzato più del precedente perché l'ho trovato meno confuso e un po' più dritto al punto. Anche se ancora si incasina un po' con tutti i flashback.

Si torna addirittura indietro di 700 anni per vedere Pamela da piccola e il sacrificio della madre per salvarla.

Intanto arriva un nuovo personaggio, un licantropo, che diventa l'assistente di Pamela.

Va beh, speriamo che continui su questi livelli.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tarot Cafe 2

In this volume we get to see some of Pamela's past. She has been a card reader for some time now but lately she feels like she just runs a regular cafe.

We no regular customers for readings she gets ready to go out & finds a young man that is being chased right outside her door. Who is he & does he have a tie to her past?

[Kristin Katsuye · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started to get better than the first volume not that the first volume is bad. I'm now curious to find out more about the story & it's characters. There's some mystery involved that I'm sure will be revealed more later on. Too bad my library only has these two volumes & the fifth one.

[Blake Herondale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta bastante interesante ahora que se nos empieza a introducir parte de la historia de la prota mientras nos cuentan otras historias.
Me gusta mucho que vaya contando las historias con las cartas del tarot aunque no entienda nada sobre ese tema

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot[s] thickens

[Nahia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2'5 en realidad.

Se me empieza a hacer cuesta arriba.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cliffhanger on the first volume got me over here, and I'm glad it did, because we meet some great new characters and get some background on Pamela.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have more questions than answers

[Serenity · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very interested in the art of this series. Looks like it was originally Korean? Or at least the copy I had was. Storyline is kinda dark and confusing.

[Helen Pugsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series. I'm taking off a star because I am confused about the goings ons sometimes, but it's so good!!!

I still can't get over the fact that my deck made it into the book.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tarot Cafe, written by Sang-Sun Park, is a series of manga which tells the story of a (seemingly) young woman named Pamela who runs a café which also happens to be a tarot reading location. Creatures and beings such as vampires, werewolves, magicians, and even cats come to her shop in hopes of receiving guidance during exceedingly difficult (and often supernatural) times. I really enjoyed the first book in the series and liked this one even better. The second book features three "episodes" - "A Heartless Princess, an Alchemist and a Jester (Part 2)" (the second part of the story with which the first one ends), "The Werewolf Boy," and "The Witch Hunt." I absolutely adore the second story, "The Werewolf Boy," as it seems to me to be a take on the Beauty and the Beast story, and it also introduces a new character, Aaron, who will apparently be sticking around for a while. "The Witch Hunt," the third and final story in the book, is also an incredibly memorable one, as it finally reveals large chunks of Pamela's past and the dark secret that has been teased since the first book. Aside from Park's great storytelling skills, I also applaud The Tarot Cafe because of its interesting, compelling characters (such as Belus and the aforementioned Aaron) and its incredible artwork. I cannot stress enough how blown away that I am by the beautiful artwork; it vehemently makes the story come to life, and it's not even in color! Park has created something truly magical with The Tarot Cafe, and I am really looking forward to picking the third one up, especially since the second one ends with a shocking cliffhanger.

[Strangerealms · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga is my first manga and I got hooked on mangas ever since.

The serie follows a special gifted woman Pamela who has somehow become immortal. She now owns a cafe where she reads tarot to very special clients too.

In each volume the artist takes the time to put tarot cards illustrations with the characters imitating certain published tarot decks. With the tarot readings her character Pamela gives it's obvious the artist knows about tarot and is not making stuff up.

There are short stories in each volume following the fantastical beings who come to Pamela for tarot readings. Some of these stories are dark, funny or tragic. There is of course a main storyline behind all these short stories that continue in each volume and it ends in the seventh volume.

The characters are interesting, you feel drawn to the story and you want to know more about them. Even the characters of the short stories are interesting and moving. My favorite character is Belus.

The drawings are beautiful and detailed and I really love the way she draws men, I find them gorgeous. I've bought two other mangas she made after I fell in love with her style.

[CJ - It's only a Paper Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The continuation of volume one in which the story of the Princess, the Alchemist and the Jester is completed. This installment also introduces Aaron, a werewolf who is trying to get back to his 'father/lover/friend' (not sure which one really because he has all those feelings) and Belus is a bit of a shady character.

We also see some of Pamela's backstory. I have to admit, I think I liked her hair when it was longer :)

[Alan D.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite one so far. I really like the way this woman creates these such sexy stories, so full of magic each one of them. They are like adult fairy tales and I'm starting to like them A LOT. I think I'm gonna keep reading for a LONG WHILE.
Mi favorito hasta ahora. Realmente me gusta la forma en que esta mujer crea historias tan sexis, tan llenas de magia todas ellas. Son como cuentos de hadas para adultos y me están comenzando a gustar MUCHO. Creo que estaré leyendo por un BUEN RATO.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book an A++++ in being awsome i love this book so much the drama that comes with this book is so amazing to read about. I very much think that Pamila should get with that vampire guy they look so cute together but I think she is still in love with .... oops said to much tell u in the next review ;).

[Dorcas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Less with the tragedy, more about story. Also, this volume concentrates more on the Tarot reader, Pamela’s back story though I’m sure it will continue to unravel in later volumes.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

manga

[Mosley · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me, this is a must-read series. The story and art are just so beautiful.