Real Lies (2006)

Real Lies (2006)

Author + Illustrator: Lee SiYoung  |  Page Count: 230

"I want to share a drink with her at a street bar and talk about life..."

Stylised as ReaLies on the cover but referred to as Real Lies inside, it's a Korean manhua with three short tales about human interaction. It's labelled as Volume 1, but to date there hasn't been a Volume 2, at least not one translated into English.

The first story is the longest of the three, How Martians Conquer the Earth. The title makes it sound straightforward enough, but it's not like that at all. It's really quite unusual and I admit that I didn't grasp all of it until afterwards, when I read the short author's note at the end of the book that clarifies a little of what the aim of the work was.

It's partly because I wasn't yet attuned to Lee SiYoung's methods and partly because those same methods are structurally messy. It's something that's perhaps exacerbated by the translation, but the confusion itself is very much there, in the presentation, in words spoken and even in timing.

Reading the book for the first time is often like trying to make sense of multiple simultaneous conversations, of which you're sometimes only privy to one half of what's being said.

The second story, Is it Really Impossible?, is the second longest. Like its predecessor it's an interesting idea but is muddled and confusing. It's a story that explores the themes of gender and hierarchy, wherein pieces of truth are revealed in moments of weakness and selfishness.

Closing the book is a tale about a girl and a male robot, titled Science Fiction Story.

The art uses generic styles often but there's an individualistic flair from to time that certainly stands out. If that latter quality could be developed further in future works, it would make the work stronger, in my opinion. And if the confusion in the storytelling wasn't an intentional trait, then more structured clarity there could also make the works more satisfying to read.

NOTE: I don't have a 'manwha' label, so used the existing 'manga' one instead because in my experience the two things seem to be similar in style. Hopefully that doesn't upset anyone.