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K2: Kill Me, Kiss Me #1
Kill Me, Kiss Me, Vol. 1
Desire, Drama and Danger ... in Drag
When Tae Yeon Im finds out that the idol star that she's adored for ages is currently attending the same school as her identical cousin, Jung-Woo Im, she convinces her cuz to exploit their similitude and switch places, she will dress as him, attend his school and try to get close to her lover boy. And he will dress as her, attend her school and revel in its sea of babes. Or maybe he just likes wearing a skirt? The plan seems flawless until Tae learns of a bully named Ga-Wun Kim who likes to beat up on poor Jung-Woo. Meanwhile, Jung-Woo finds that being a woman might not be as thrilling as it seems.
When Tae Yeon Im finds out that the idol star that she's adored for ages is currently attending the same school as her identical cousin, Jung-Woo Im, she convinces her cuz to exploit their similitude and switch places, she will dress as him, attend his school and try to get close to her lover boy. And he will dress as her, attend her school and revel in its sea of babes. Or maybe he just likes wearing a skirt? The plan seems flawless until Tae learns of a bully named Ga-Wun Kim who likes to beat up on poor Jung-Woo. Meanwhile, Jung-Woo finds that being a woman might not be as thrilling as it seems.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
March 3, 2019
This is a review of only the first volume. To read my series review please click Here.
3.5/5 stars.
I liked this a lot more than I thought I would...
This is basically Shakespeare's Twelfth Night set in a Korean high school. Tae has got Bieber fever on this model named Kung Kang. Her lookalike cousin sees posters of Kung up in Taes room and comments on how he didn't know his classmate was a model. Cue Taes brilliant plan of the ol' gender switcheroo and now she's dressed up as her cousin and going to his school, and vice versa. Since she's now a boy, but also a girl, sexual confusion occurs just like in Twelfth Night.
I honestly had no idea what this was about prior to reading it, I don't even know why I bought the two volumes. This is what Book Outlet does to me, so many books for so cheap I just buy them all. Thinking about the synopsis now, it does seem intriguing.
The biggest put-off for me was definitely the incredibly cheesy art style. With the long bangs, huge shiny eyes, long skinny limbs, super baggy wrinkle ridden clothes, shiny sparkle backgrounds, it was a mess. This is the reason western folk get put off by anime. But I stuck through it, and like I said, I really did enjoy it.
It's actually a pretty intense story. There's a lot of fighting surprisingly. And other things that are spoilery. It was pretty entertaining which was really surprising. I want to read the next volumes ASAP but alas, it is 12:38am and I stayed up just reading the first volume, and I can't read my paperbacks in the dark. Either way I have school tomorrow so reading this now in the first place was a bad idea. I just wasn't expecting it to draw me in like this.
I want to give it four stars just for how much I enjoyed it, so that's what I did. But I'm saying it's actually 3.5 because it's really not like high brow literature or anything. I feel like it's more like guilty pleasure type reading.
The thing is, I feel like this one volume had its own whole entire ark, so it's like, what else can there be? This was Twelfth Night. What's the next one going to be? It's not going to have anymore of the stuff in this book because this book already had its beginning, middle, and end. I think that's why I liked it so much, because I usually don't get into mangas from the first volumes. I need more time to get attached to the story.
Anyway, still excited to get onto the next one. Hopefully it's good.
Feb 19 Re-read Review:,
I was planning on starting the fourth volume, but I kind of realized that I somewhat forgot what happened in this first volume (and also I just wanted to reread it because it's so good) so I reread it.
This series definitely has a lot of issues (as in problems, not chapters), but it's just so entertaining nonetheless.
Please give this review a "Like" if you've made it this far, and follow me if you want more!
Click to read all of my Kill Me, Kiss Me Reviews:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
Volume 5
Series Review
April 24, 2013
TaeYeon is in love with the well-known male magazine model, Kun Kang. Or, at least, her huge celebrity crush makes her thing she is. So, when she hears that Kun attends the same school as her identical cousin, Jun-Woo, she is willing to give him whatever it takes to get him to switch places with her so that she can be close to her beloved Kun.
But, up close, Kun is different than the man she imagined. Also, she is thrown into the middle of her cousin's life "teenage delinquient" lifestyle. So, she quickly adapts, kicking arse and not taking any names. This causes the bully, Ga-Woon, to fall completely in love with her as she saves his rear many times.
While it seems Tae has finally caught her beloved Kun's attention, after him finding out she is a girl and being invited to his fashion show, it seems that Ga-Woon is the one that truly wins Tae's heart.
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We are also treated to a nice flashback bonus story about how Ga-Woon and Kun became allies and best friends, and about the matching cell phones they have. It's also a quick look about him starting his modeling career as well.
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I loved this volume. It's something a little different than my normal tastes, but it quickly grew on me. I recently bought all 5 volumes of this manwha series, so I will be reading them soon.
But, up close, Kun is different than the man she imagined. Also, she is thrown into the middle of her cousin's life "teenage delinquient" lifestyle. So, she quickly adapts, kicking arse and not taking any names. This causes the bully, Ga-Woon, to fall completely in love with her as she saves his rear many times.
While it seems Tae has finally caught her beloved Kun's attention, after him finding out she is a girl and being invited to his fashion show, it seems that Ga-Woon is the one that truly wins Tae's heart.
----------------
We are also treated to a nice flashback bonus story about how Ga-Woon and Kun became allies and best friends, and about the matching cell phones they have. It's also a quick look about him starting his modeling career as well.
----------------
I loved this volume. It's something a little different than my normal tastes, but it quickly grew on me. I recently bought all 5 volumes of this manwha series, so I will be reading them soon.
October 13, 2018
2 stars because it wasn't horrible, but can't say I liked it. You know that meh feeling? Pretty much that. Meh
Art is still rough, and the fashion choices are cringy. Seriously, what kind of clothes are those?!
Story and characters with no depth, love out of nowhere or senseless. Genderbend clichés.
The "translation" with too many liberties hasn't helped at all. Tokyopop US had this problem of changing dialogues and stuff for a long while. People don't buy manhwa to get American humour or logic. They want a faithful translation of the Korean.
Example: Okay, class... Who can tell me why switching solutions could be dangerous? Someone? Anyone? Tsk! I bet none of you even read the assignment!
Art is still rough, and the fashion choices are cringy. Seriously, what kind of clothes are those?!
Story and characters with no depth, love out of nowhere or senseless. Genderbend clichés.
The "translation" with too many liberties hasn't helped at all. Tokyopop US had this problem of changing dialogues and stuff for a long while. People don't buy manhwa to get American humour or logic. They want a faithful translation of the Korean.
Example: Okay, class... Who can tell me why switching solutions could be dangerous? Someone? Anyone? Tsk! I bet none of you even read the assignment!
July 3, 2018
3.5 stars, reread... doesn't hold up in today's society, but I enjoyed it. Also realized why I gave the series away-- the story ends pretty quickly and then veers off into other things. I loved the art, though.
December 5, 2012
Skvělé téma, krásná oddychovka na hodinku. Moc hezoučká kresba.
May 12, 2020
this book is so terribly bad that it’s good...im very conflicted...im going to read the second volume but i’m angry that it is addictively bad. well done ms. leeyoung yu, well done
April 26, 2019
Volume 1 gets 2/5.
The rest of the series is 1.5/5.
This could have been somewhat okay if it had followed the original premise. But that was done in a volume.
Then it went off with new characters I didn't even like and it went to shit.
The rest of the series is 1.5/5.
This could have been somewhat okay if it had followed the original premise. But that was done in a volume.
Then it went off with new characters I didn't even like and it went to shit.
June 16, 2020
This book jumped all over the place. It felt like there were pages missing or something. I’d be in the middle of a conversation and then the next page, it skips to something completely different. The idea for the story is great. The execution, not so great.
July 1, 2017
Fun read. I guess I'm in the mood for short, cute/slightly romantic manga because I bought the rest of the series.
January 25, 2018
I remember when I read it at the time (back in the day) that I thought it was a cool story idea. 3.5 stars
June 28, 2021
Bylo to super, těším se na další díly, akorát se mi někdy pletla Tae-yeon s Jung-woo (ale to bude asi tou podobností 😅)
January 1, 2022
Really funny and talks about how each cousin almost took their own life for granted but although I liked it, its very unbelievable 😂. Anyway I'm probably gonna read every volume.
January 1, 2023
Cross dress to impress
April 20, 2023
Tato manga mě hned od začátku dostala. Příběh byl originální a hlavně takový školní ze života, takže žádné fantasy, ale moc se mi to líbilo. Těším se na další pokračování.
September 16, 2023
Not impressed, somehow predictable.
May 16, 2024
First volume of a Manhwa series which, according to the author’s note, was originally self-published. While there are subsequent volumes, this volume had enough resolution to work on its own. The plot reminded me of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, which I think was intentional as there’s a brief reference to Shakespeare.
The story is about two identical cousins, male and female. When the girl discovers the male model she has a crush on goes to her cousin’s school, she convinces him to switch places so she can meet her crush. Obviously, a flawed plan given the gender issue, which of course is part of the conflict. What her cousin doesn’t tell her is the school bully has threatened him. Conveniently. Said bully is the crush’s best friend. Soon, a love triangle forms.
The art has a bishonen, manga style, and while nicely done, there’s not a lot of visual distinction between the crush and the bully apart from hair color. Sometimes there are panels where colors are reversed which led to some confusion. I could follow it, but I prefer manga and manhwa series where there is more visual distinction between the characters.
I’d be open to reading the next volume in this series if I came across it, but as a publisher Tokyopop went out of business some years ago, that seems unlikely.
Update 2024
At some point, I purchased the other four volumes in this series, and as I'm significantly behind in my 100-book reading goal for the year, I thought I'd catch up by reading this series. I only vaguely remembered that I'd read this volume as I was reading. The plot is exceptionally fast, almost overly rushed and full of conveniences and instalove. When I first read this in 2018 I gave it a 4, but now I feel like it's more of a 3, due in part to my evolving reading tastes. The lack of character distinction in the art still bothered me, and some of the text was really small and my older eyes struggled to read at times. Granted, I'm not the demographic for this. I probably would have loved it as a teen.
The story is about two identical cousins, male and female. When the girl discovers the male model she has a crush on goes to her cousin’s school, she convinces him to switch places so she can meet her crush. Obviously, a flawed plan given the gender issue, which of course is part of the conflict. What her cousin doesn’t tell her is the school bully has threatened him. Conveniently. Said bully is the crush’s best friend. Soon, a love triangle forms.
The art has a bishonen, manga style, and while nicely done, there’s not a lot of visual distinction between the crush and the bully apart from hair color. Sometimes there are panels where colors are reversed which led to some confusion. I could follow it, but I prefer manga and manhwa series where there is more visual distinction between the characters.
I’d be open to reading the next volume in this series if I came across it, but as a publisher Tokyopop went out of business some years ago, that seems unlikely.
Update 2024
At some point, I purchased the other four volumes in this series, and as I'm significantly behind in my 100-book reading goal for the year, I thought I'd catch up by reading this series. I only vaguely remembered that I'd read this volume as I was reading. The plot is exceptionally fast, almost overly rushed and full of conveniences and instalove. When I first read this in 2018 I gave it a 4, but now I feel like it's more of a 3, due in part to my evolving reading tastes. The lack of character distinction in the art still bothered me, and some of the text was really small and my older eyes struggled to read at times. Granted, I'm not the demographic for this. I probably would have loved it as a teen.
September 6, 2011
This gender bender story is a topsy turvy read that all starts out when Tae finds out that her cousin Jung - Woo goes to the same high school as her teenage heartthrob Kung Kang, who just so happens to be a famous model. Oddly enough the two look exactly alike despite being of the opposite sex and cousin's.
Tea comes up with the brilliant idea to cross dress as Jung-Woo in order to get closer to her crush and possibly make him fall in love with her. How hard can it be right?
It turns out Jung-Woo left some things out of the mix, such as the fact that he had pissed off a gang leader, Ga-Woon who also happens to be Kung Kang's best friend. Tae, posing as Jung-Woo ends up getting her butt handed to her and starting an instant dislike for Ga-Woon, who always seems to be by Kung's side.
As the story developes Tae and Ga-Woon are thrown together more and more and poor Ga-Woon starts to fall for her; Which freaks him out because he thinks he may be turning gay. Poor Guy.
Jung-Woo in the meantime finds out he doesn't mind dressing up like a girl and going to an all-girls school due to the fact that Tae was the closest thing to a boy the school had and regularly got showered with treats.
The final straw occurs when Tae has a run in with a rival gang leader, only to be saved by Ga-Woon, who, while walking back while carrying her unconscious form, falls into some water and discovers she is a girl.
In the end the guy who gets the girl isn't who you would expect it to be. While there is a happy ending, unlike most stories it isn't with the guy who was originally sought after.
Out of the entire series this was probably my favorite, due to the fact that the other three totally go off track from how it started. All of the series are very good but this one has always entertained me, as is proof of the well-used manga sitting on my shelf.
Tea comes up with the brilliant idea to cross dress as Jung-Woo in order to get closer to her crush and possibly make him fall in love with her. How hard can it be right?
It turns out Jung-Woo left some things out of the mix, such as the fact that he had pissed off a gang leader, Ga-Woon who also happens to be Kung Kang's best friend. Tae, posing as Jung-Woo ends up getting her butt handed to her and starting an instant dislike for Ga-Woon, who always seems to be by Kung's side.
As the story developes Tae and Ga-Woon are thrown together more and more and poor Ga-Woon starts to fall for her; Which freaks him out because he thinks he may be turning gay. Poor Guy.
Jung-Woo in the meantime finds out he doesn't mind dressing up like a girl and going to an all-girls school due to the fact that Tae was the closest thing to a boy the school had and regularly got showered with treats.
The final straw occurs when Tae has a run in with a rival gang leader, only to be saved by Ga-Woon, who, while walking back while carrying her unconscious form, falls into some water and discovers she is a girl.
In the end the guy who gets the girl isn't who you would expect it to be. While there is a happy ending, unlike most stories it isn't with the guy who was originally sought after.
Out of the entire series this was probably my favorite, due to the fact that the other three totally go off track from how it started. All of the series are very good but this one has always entertained me, as is proof of the well-used manga sitting on my shelf.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2010
Cousins Tae Yeon and Jung-Woo look exactly alike, so when Tae Yeon discovers her favorite teen idol and crush Kun Kang goes to the same high school as Jung-Woo, she convinces him to switch places with her in an effort to get closer to Kun. But when Tae Yeon arrives at Jung-Woo’s high school, she is in for more than she bargained for! Apparently Jung-Woo has made an enemy of Ga-Woon, agang leader within the school and Tae Yeon is forced to either fight for her life or join the gang, all while trying to gain the attention of Kun. Hilarity and many mixed emotions ensue in this gender bending manhwa about teen love and friendship.
For readers not familiar with manhwa’s often gender bending homoerotic themes, the plotline might be a bit of a surprise, but despite the potential for sexual scenes, there are none in this book. The most sexual scene entails a kiss but nothing else. The plot was interesting to say the least, but it Ga-Woon’s feelings for Tae Yeon/Jung-Woo seemed a little bit forced and the flashback at the very end of the book seemed like a last ditch attempt at hooking the reader into reading the next book in the series.
Lee Young You’s artwork is typical for a Korean manhwa, and there is potential to get confused when Tae Yeon is dressed as a boy or when Jung-Woo is dressed as a girl or when they’re dressed as themselves, but Lee does a good job of delineating between the characters through both the text and illustrations.
I'm giving this 3 stars, but I'm sort of torn between 2.5 and 3. I'll round up because I'm in a good mood. =)
For readers not familiar with manhwa’s often gender bending homoerotic themes, the plotline might be a bit of a surprise, but despite the potential for sexual scenes, there are none in this book. The most sexual scene entails a kiss but nothing else. The plot was interesting to say the least, but it Ga-Woon’s feelings for Tae Yeon/Jung-Woo seemed a little bit forced and the flashback at the very end of the book seemed like a last ditch attempt at hooking the reader into reading the next book in the series.
Lee Young You’s artwork is typical for a Korean manhwa, and there is potential to get confused when Tae Yeon is dressed as a boy or when Jung-Woo is dressed as a girl or when they’re dressed as themselves, but Lee does a good job of delineating between the characters through both the text and illustrations.
I'm giving this 3 stars, but I'm sort of torn between 2.5 and 3. I'll round up because I'm in a good mood. =)
September 12, 2010
this one was my first manhwa (well, i guess second technically, but considering i only read one book out of a 20+ series, i don't really consider it my first), and i originally read this one forever ago. when i re-read this, i was surprised by the language, it was rather dirty to say the least. i don't recall this when i read it originally. i know that if i had, i would not have continued the series since it would have made me rather uncomfortable. but the lack of selection at the time was also probably a deciding factor.
i do remember being thoroughly disappointed that the tae/ga-woon relationship is not elaborated on past this volume, and that fact has not changed all these years later. with that being said, opening the series with this volume, with this story is an interesting choice. it vaugely sets up jung-woo, and quite frankly doesn't set up the rest of the characters for the rest of the series.
how the book (and series for that manner) was bound greatly annoyed me. i couldn't read anything that was by the binding, making sometimes whole conversations difficult to follow.
if you're into gangs and korea, give this one a go. but be prepared for some foul language and borderline senseless violence. also be prepared for odd bodily porptions, dark, angular lines, and fairly typical manhwa artistic stylings (difficult to pinpoint how exactly it looks different than manga, but the stuff that is published in the states seems to have a distinct look that differs from how manga is drawn).
i do remember being thoroughly disappointed that the tae/ga-woon relationship is not elaborated on past this volume, and that fact has not changed all these years later. with that being said, opening the series with this volume, with this story is an interesting choice. it vaugely sets up jung-woo, and quite frankly doesn't set up the rest of the characters for the rest of the series.
how the book (and series for that manner) was bound greatly annoyed me. i couldn't read anything that was by the binding, making sometimes whole conversations difficult to follow.
if you're into gangs and korea, give this one a go. but be prepared for some foul language and borderline senseless violence. also be prepared for odd bodily porptions, dark, angular lines, and fairly typical manhwa artistic stylings (difficult to pinpoint how exactly it looks different than manga, but the stuff that is published in the states seems to have a distinct look that differs from how manga is drawn).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2012
I didn't think the story was very good, but I've read far, far worse, and I liked the art style. The story seemed pretty contrived, which I feel silly for saying because that's probably true of manga I've read that I liked much better. But, for example, at the very beginning, the main character is describing her younger male character. She says that he looks just like her, then goes on to say that he even has her mannerisms and everything. First of all, that goes beyond my suspension of disbelief. Second, isn't that just SO convenient for when they decide to switch places later? Too convenient.
Well, maybe I'm being picky. I'm not interested enough to continue the series, and I would probably recommend Hana Kimi instead to anyone who was interested in this sort of story, but, again, Kiss Me, Kill Me could be worse.
Well, maybe I'm being picky. I'm not interested enough to continue the series, and I would probably recommend Hana Kimi instead to anyone who was interested in this sort of story, but, again, Kiss Me, Kill Me could be worse.
December 22, 2012
This review is for the first volume only.
Kill Me, Kiss Me is an enjoyable manga to read. Like many shoujo manga it starts off with a young girl that wants to get closer to the idol/boy that she likes. She switches places with her cousin who happens to look just like her in order to go to the same school as her idol. There she meets not only her idol but his annoying best friend that she ends up spending a lot of time with.
In the end she has to decide whether or not she wants the brash punk or the idol that she's been chasing after.
I recommend only reading the first volume of this manga. Personally I didn't enjoy where the story went after volume one and thought that it should have been a oneshot volume.
Kill Me, Kiss Me is an enjoyable manga to read. Like many shoujo manga it starts off with a young girl that wants to get closer to the idol/boy that she likes. She switches places with her cousin who happens to look just like her in order to go to the same school as her idol. There she meets not only her idol but his annoying best friend that she ends up spending a lot of time with.
In the end she has to decide whether or not she wants the brash punk or the idol that she's been chasing after.
I recommend only reading the first volume of this manga. Personally I didn't enjoy where the story went after volume one and thought that it should have been a oneshot volume.
February 21, 2015
[Reseña Global 5/5]
K2 es un manhwa raro, con una trama y personajes con los que es imposible identificarse y un dibujo muy flojo. Tampoco es que sea la peor historia del mundo, algunos capítulos están entretenidillos, y la primera historia (esa que no tiene relevancia en la trama principal) me pareció simpática, pero personalmente creo que lo único peor que que algo no te guste, es que te deje indiferente. Y así es como me ha dejado K2.
Únicamente lo recomiendo para los fans de manhwa "abiertos de mente".
Reseña completa: http://elesconditedelaspalabrasperdid...
K2 es un manhwa raro, con una trama y personajes con los que es imposible identificarse y un dibujo muy flojo. Tampoco es que sea la peor historia del mundo, algunos capítulos están entretenidillos, y la primera historia (esa que no tiene relevancia en la trama principal) me pareció simpática, pero personalmente creo que lo único peor que que algo no te guste, es que te deje indiferente. Y así es como me ha dejado K2.
Únicamente lo recomiendo para los fans de manhwa "abiertos de mente".
Reseña completa: http://elesconditedelaspalabrasperdid...
April 4, 2015
When Tae finds out that the model Kun goes to her look alike male cousin Jung-Woo's school, she conveniences him to switch places with her for a week to meet him. So begins their cross dressing, and when Tae meets Kun it's only after his best friend Ga-Woon beats her up. Tae finds herself unexpectedly up against Jung-Woo's unpopularity, and gangs, and what's more Kun and Ga-Woon may be falling for a her they think is a he, until Kun spots Jung-Woo in a dress (whose side of things would have been interesting too!)
March 1, 2015
Loved this book, first read it when I borrowed it, then bought my own copy.
The names took me a bit to get used to, I'd read Japanese manga before, and was sued to those names, but had never come across Korean names before.
Thes story is funny and silly at times, and the fight scenes are good too. ^_^
The names took me a bit to get used to, I'd read Japanese manga before, and was sued to those names, but had never come across Korean names before.
Thes story is funny and silly at times, and the fight scenes are good too. ^_^
May 21, 2016
"Kill me, Kiss me" is a cute story about a girl changing gender for a week with her (male) cousin for a week to get to know a boy she adores.
It feels a bit rushed and there are alot more the author could have done with the dilemma but I still liked it. It was like a good cookie, not a yummy brownie, but a good sweet cookie.
It feels a bit rushed and there are alot more the author could have done with the dilemma but I still liked it. It was like a good cookie, not a yummy brownie, but a good sweet cookie.
January 6, 2016
Moje první Manhwa. A musím říct, že líp jsem začít nemohla. Velice milý a vtipný kousek. Ga Woona jsem si hned oblíbila, roztomilej drsňák s a Tae-yeon taková malá drsňačka, všem dokázala nakopat zadek :D Jsem zvědavá na druhý díl. Jung-Woo a nová láska? to zní dost dobře :P
December 30, 2016
Classic fluffy shoujo, the interesting thing to me is how book one encompasses one whole story then the next four volumes switch to different main characters and drop a bunch of subplots. All in all still very cute to read.
November 27, 2008
Gender bender~
I remember the plot line, but this is the 1st part of the series. It focuses around the two twins, and well, really REALLY weird things happen when they switch places. :)
I remember the plot line, but this is the 1st part of the series. It focuses around the two twins, and well, really REALLY weird things happen when they switch places. :)
April 18, 2009
This book was a lot of fun and the art is beautiful. I really enjoyed these look alike cousins.
Read
April 28, 2009Read all of this manhwea (korean manga) series. Awesome and exciting
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews