I.N.V.U.

I.N.V.U. is just about the best (or only) manga series I have ever read.
Thank you so much Kim Kang Won!!

If you've never heard of I.N.V.U. or I Envy You, here I am to offer and explanation. The manga series stars a 16 year old Korean girl named Sey Hong, who leads a rather unordinary life.

One morning, Sey awakens to find a strange man in her room. Sey soon discovers that man works from a moving company (?) and that her mother is leaving to go on a trip to Italy for five years to work on her book. Her mother leaves her daughter with a family friend and a credit card from the man her mom suspects is her father.

-charming-

Sey winds up living with the Kang family. She soon realises this family is stranger than her own. Mrs. Kang is obsessed with all things "girly" and is ecstatic to have a "daughter" in the family. The father doesn't say much however Terry (or should I call him/her Hali!?!) is impolite and threatens.

Sey is determined not to use the credit card her mother gave her. She desires to be independent and looks for a job. Her friend Rea Yoo is able to find her one through her boyfriend Siho Lee, a notorious playboy who goes to Sey's school.

The relationship between the two is turbulent, mostly due to Sey. She has little experience with guys and frequently rebuffs Siho's attempts at romance though she is aware she has feelings for him.

At home Sey finds out that "Terry" is actually Hali, a girl who is pretending to be a boy for the sake of her mother. Years ago, Mrs. Kang was in a car accident with her son Terry. Unfortunately Terry is killed but upon waking Mrs. Kang mistook Hali for Terry. The doctor's claimed it was amnesia and that she would recover. To stop her mother from having psychotic episodes, Hali's father asked her to pretend to be Terry until her mother recovers.

Hali is tired of suppressing who she is. She feels like no one understands her except for her teacher Hajun Cho. Hajun was Hali's ex- tutor who she declared her love too. She desires for him to marry her but he's told her that he doesn't see her as a girl.


Summary over - Now to the even better stuff!!

I love these books, they are fantastic. I have never laughed so hard while reading. Won brings these characters to life on the page. Each character has a back story we as the reader get to learn about and a dream that they are working towards.

I.N.V.U. is a quirky series with brilliant animation, story lines that grab your interest and keep you demanding for more (much more!). You want to know what's going to happen with Sey and Siho, you want to know if Mrs. Kang will ever recover? Does Hajun love Hali? Does Rea's dad ever find out about her modelling job? Will Jae Eun ever be able to look Simon in the eye after that embarrassing incident?! Will Young Jun leave Sey stop being protective of Sey and date Rea already!?!?! <---*Notice the increase of !?

I was introduced to these books by a friends dad who recommended them. I've loved manga from a young age so I jumped at the chance to read these comics.

So far there are have been five books in the series. The fifth instalment was recently released in 2010. There's about 20+ pages in each book so light reading. On the over each book the acronym I.N.V.U. is spelt. On some cover the acronym stands for "Innocent. Nice. Vivid. Unique." or "Impressive. Neat. Versatile. Undaunted."

This series offers story lines and characters that are truly unforgettable. I highly recommend giving them a try. You can check out on the tokyopop. Defiantely try them out if you're a fan of drama/romance manga.

Ms. Won please release Volume 6. I'm desparate to know!!