Continuing the theme between Manga, Manhwa and now Manhua – Let’s take a look at one of my favourite Manhuas, Feng Shen Ji.
I posted about Chinese Web Novels recently, and explained some of the basic storylines that Wuxia stories follow:
https://steemit.com/life/@codypiu/chinese-web-novels-desolate-era
Feng Shen Ji is a Manhua that started way back in 2010 and ran for about a year and if you are reading online through Scanalation, you will find 182 chapters from start to finish. In similar fashion to Wuxia stories, there are a few concepts that may take a little bit of understanding to get to grips with. Themes of cultivation, mortals, immortals and waging war on gods all string together beautifully.
I did find some similarities in these two characters, perhaps it was building a crew along their journeys and not wearing a shirt? Lol.
The martial arts story follows the Wu Geng, a young hero who faces tribulations and rises (quite literally) into a confrontation between the heavens and everything below. In all honesty, I did not like the MC to begin with, it takes a difference stance with many flaws being revealed from the get go. Annoying, weak and self-centred to mention a few, but this is all well placed as the writer gradually cultivates the personality of our hero into…Well…Something tolerable. The journey feels a little more personal this way and it’s an amazing one.
The fully coloured frames are an absolute joy to read. A lot of detail and contrasting colours go into this production and it really pays off when the drama and action scenes collide. This is a tier above most Korean Web Toons that I have read and I was truly amazed by some of the details included in this series. If you want a break from black and white manga pages then step right this way for some much deserved eye candy. Cheng, Kin Wo and Tang, Chi Fai are named as being responsible for Art in the series.
The story is well paced, I enjoyed reading the lengthy back story that didn’t focus too long on flashbacks but gradually built up character profiles as the story progressed. Zheng, Jian He writes a gripping story that immerses the reader into his Fantasy world. As mentioned before, it almost feels as if the tone of the tale matures as the protagonist develops and we meet some interesting characters with deeper roots that untangle along the way. My main criticism about the story in general is the linearity of the plot. The objectives remain much defined and personally I did not find many plot twists here. This isn’t to say that the story is bad because of this, it remains an enjoyable read and anticipation builds up as the battles wages on.
Another aspect I have noticed in Chinese pieces that tend to make an appearance is Romance. In Japanese Shounen this is sometimes present but isn’t the focus and is given in sparce forms. Feng Shen Ji, while remaining predominantly action focused has tones of romance throughout. This isn’t limited to just the MC either. It’s a welcome break from the serious tone maintained at times and there is little comedy to be offered in this outing. This seemed well balanced to me and I enjoy seeing how the author incorporates this aspect into the story, in this case it helped the protagonist mature further.
Something I did not know, there is actually an animated series of this story! There are subbed episodes floating around but I wasn’t too impressed by the production on this. Best to give it a read and maybe a watch after for some fandom satisfaction. I really dislike the 3D style and all emotion is lost in this rendition.
So in short, go ahead and give this a shot. It’s very much worth a read. The comradery between characters (on both oppressing sides) is interesting in itself and you will not be disappointed to try this series as a first Manhua.