This competent but not groundbreaking story comes to a surprisingly strong close.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: JiUn Yun
Translation: HyeYoung Im
Adaptation: J. Torres
What They Say
“For this I burned my soul… Live eternally with a broken heart.”
As war rips through the Tang Dynasty, leaving chaos and destruction in its wake, Baek-On and Ho-Yeon continue to eke out a living as traveling exorcists. While confronting vengeful grudges and putting to rest the lingering spirits of those long dead, Baek-On reflects on the tragic curse that led him to turn his back on the company of the living and follow in his father’s footsteps. While the world seems to crumble around him, Baek-On strives to keep moving forward, even if he must do so alone. Follow Ho-Yeon and Baek-On as they journey on in the final volume of Time and Again.
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Most comics tell their story in a linear fasion, with the lead character’s motivation shown off at the start and building on it. Time and Again takes a more meandering path, choosing later moments to focus in on the pasts of Baek-On and Ho-Yeon. Up until this final volume, Baek-On’s motivation to continue his father’s work was a complete mystery. His devil-may-care attitude towards helping those in need and lazy work ethic characterized him. That impression wavered during the previous volume after a pair of particularly emotional exorcisms.
The weighty events of this volume are tempered by a humorous opening, gradually flowing into the crux of this volume. Closing out Baek-On’s story, we finally see how it all began for him and what lead him on his wandering path. It’s a story which is no less heart wrenching and tragic as many that were already told during the travels of the two leads. It also provides the true meaning to the title “time and again,” and how the cycle of hate and remorse is likely to continue as long as there are people and spirits in the world.
While Baek-On cannot prevent tragedy, he comes to terms with living his life the best he can, without foisting the results of his actions on those that will come after him, even if it means being alone. Even when surrounded by the destruction of a war torn land in the closing chapter of the series, there are still those living their lives, smiling even among death. Despite all of the revelations of Baek-On’s past, his brusk nature leading up to the finale might leave some readers feeling cold towards his entire journey.
Time and Again ends on a much stronger note than it began. Now that the entire series is out, readers will have an easier time following along with the reoccurring side characters that are easily forgotten from volume to volume. The pacing in the earlier volumes, along with the lack of time or place identifiers when jumping into flashbacks, can be confusing to anyone not paying close attention. Combine the temporal confusion with the light, airy artwork, the whole series has a dreamlike feel which sets it apart from other stories of a similar nature.
The first printing of this volume contains several color pages at the front of the book. Like past volumes, there are several author’s notes and humorous extras in the back.
In Summary:
Time and Again is a series that takes the long way home. It’s in no hurry to explain itself, focusing on telling fables of angry spirits and greedy humans. The narrative jumps from past to present without warning, so let this be yours; an idle attention span will leave you lost. With a strong focus on character drama, the art pays close attention to the eyes. Light airy strokes and flowing lines detail the ancient chinese clothing, only to be interrupted with swaths of black when the violence of the spirits catches up to the overly pretty leads. Stories of vengeful spirits are common in this medium, and there’s not much here, outside of the chinese setting, to lure in those tired of the genre. However, fans of comeuppance tales looking for a shorter series which won’t drain all their finances may want to take a look.
Content Grade: A –
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: B +
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Released Date: July 19th, 2011
MSRP: $11.99
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