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PREFACE

Yongbi the Invincible is a young warrior who wanders the countryside in search of money, food, and booze.  He seems to be a harmless goofball, not taking life very seriously, but when Yongbi explodes into action-look out!  Both Yongbi and his horse/companion/advisor, Bi-Yong, seem to be much more than meets the eye.  As bounty hunters, these two strange companions at least manage to keep themselves fed. 

As Yongbi’s adventures continue, things get both wilder and sillier.  He and his former prisoner Goo-Hwi go their separate ways.  The mighty Goo-Hwi, with his young companion Yul, head for home but find the way obstructed by mysterious hooded assasins.

Yongbi, obliviously unaware that half the country seems to be after him, gets back to the business of bounty hunting.  At least, he would if his horse hadn’t come down with a serious case of constipation.  Both will easily survive the perils ahead, but only if Goo-Hwi can find some food and Yongbi can get that horse unblocked.

MANGA VISION TEST

ARTWORK:  Jung Who Moon’s artwork suits the story well.  He does a great job switching from serious action mode to the goofy humor that is peppered throughout the story.  The characters and their world are both nicely detailed.  The only real negative with the artwork is that the action is sometimes very difficult to follow.

SOUND EFFECTS:  Most of the original sound effects have been left in, with smaller translated versions fit in next to them.  In a few cases, it seems like the original effects have been replaced by English versions.

EDITS:  There seem to be no obvious edits made to Yongbi the Invincible.  The art has been flipped to read from left to right.

EXTRAS:  The extras in this volume are a “story so far” synopsis and a few brief character profiles.

BOOK REPORT  

STORY:  The most unique element of Ki Woon Ryu’s story is the unusual mix of serious martial arts action with loads of over-the-top, goofy comedy.  There isn’t much here that readers haven’t seen before, but the combination makes for a unique reading experience.

TRANSLATION:  The translation seems very accurate and carefully done.  There is nothing in this volume that seems to stray from the author’s original intent.

CHARACTERS:  The characters in this story are a fairly thin bunch.  The story is driven by plot and action, not character development.  Yongbi is really nothing more than a collection of clichés.  He is a young, seemingly clueless, guy whose only concerns are food, booze, money, and women.  There are hints of some darker elements in Yongbi’s past, but he remains a very thinly developed fellow.

Goo-Hwi, the towering, scar-faced villain, is another collection of clichés, this time villainous ones.  He looks menacing, has a scar, and shouts a lot.  He is amazingly powerful, but loses half his power when he is hungry.

Yul is a young boy rescued by Yongbi and Goo-Hwi.  He possesses the priceless Gum Hwag Yung amulet that has many powerful people chasing down our heroes.

The most interesting character is Bi-Yong, Yongbi’s horse.  This horse seems to be far above the average equine.  He seems to be both amazingly strong and extremely intelligent.  He gives Yongbi advice, helps with his sneaky schemes, and even detects bathing women at a distance for his master to peek at. 

FAN SERVICE:  In many ways, Yongbi is all about fan service.  There is not an abundance of women in revealing outfits, but there are a few.  For the female fans, Yongbi is quite happy to use almost any excuse to drop his pants, usually because he thinks, mistakenly, that a woman is propositioning him.  However, if you consider fart jokes and Three Stooges-style physical comedy to be fan service, this book is loaded.

FOOTNOTES:

The second volume of Yongbi the Invincible is a bit disappointing after the first.  There is significantly less plot development and story in this volume, replaced with just a couple of extremely long fight scenes.  There is even more emphasis on gross-out humor in volume two, as well.   The constipated horse scene actually takes fifteen pages!  Your mileage will vary, depending on whether you find graphic depictions of horse poop funny or a bit on the icky side.

The action splits into two plot strands this time around.  Goo-Hwi has escaped from prison and heads for home with the mysterious youngster Yul under his protection.  Enigmatic, robed assassins, with supernatural powers, who seem intent on capturing the boy, pursue them every step of the way.  Villainous as he may be, Goo-Hwi is won over by Yul’s naïve charm and vows to protect the boy.  Normally, he would easily overpower his opponents, but he is awfully hungry.

Yongbi runs into even more trouble, thanks to Bi-Yong.  In the first volume, the horse accidentally ate the precious Gum Hwag Yung amulet.  On the way through, the amulet causes some heavy-duty constipation.  A trio of traveling good Samaritans stops to help unblock the poor equine, and it is not a pretty sight.  Coincidentally, these three turn out to be some of the world’s most deadly fighters.  When they realize that Yongbi allowed such a precious and revered artifact to end up in his horse’s butt, the fight is on.

If you like loads of action, with heaping doses of goofy humor, you will enjoy Yongbi the Invincible.  The sheer quantity of silly laughs may be too much for readers who like to take their heroes a little more seriously.  The biggest downside to volume two is the lack of any real content.  The fights that take up most of the page count go by in a blur, and the whole book can be read in less than half an hour.  Still, if you are looking for nothing more than a quick, fun, read to pass a few minutes, you can’t go wrong hanging out with Yongbi.

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