Manhwa Veritas

[Jammin]

Title: Veritas
Genres: Action, Martial Arts, Ecchi, Supernatural, Shounen, Manhwa
Author: Yoon Joon-sik
Artist: Kim Dong-hoon
Publication: Booking
Start Date: 2005
End Date: 2010
Number of chapters at review: 81
Number of chapters read by reviewer: 81


General Overview: This story is about a young man named Kangryong whose ambition it is to become the strongest. One day he meets a man who has mastered the power of lightening. Through much effort he convinces that man to teach him that unique ability. After a few months of teaching, Kangryong's new master bid's his student farewell.

Before even a year had passed a group of men appeared before Kangryong to inform him that his master is dead by their hands and to deliver his earthly remains, a box containing his masters severed arm. They then "forcefully request" that he join a school of theirs specifically for martial artists with unique skills like his own.

Category Ratings: (1-10 scale)

Art: 9
The art in Veritas really is fantastic. Most characters have a unique look and styles about them. Fights are well drawn in every aspect. The artist has a particular talent for giving different combat styles and abilities very distinctive looks. This is one series in which the art serves to boost the quality of the series as a whole.

Plot: 8
The plot centers around Kangryong attending a school run by the group responsible for his master's death. Most events center around the growing tensions between a couple of different factions inside of the school that are steadily drawing closer to a breaking point. The plot flows well and the underlying story goes far beyond the standard "become king of the school" cliché.

Characters: 10
This is Veritas' greatest strength. Nearly every semi-important character gets solid development and is unique in some way. There aren't any purely good or purely evil characters, it's all shades of grey. This prevents the characters from being separated into the good guy group and bad guy group.

However, Kangryong himself is is the true cornerstone of Veritas. Everybody has grand objectives, with the exception of him. His goal is to keep getting stronger until he's the strongest that there is, grand philosophies just make him sleepy. Which prevents him from having true loyalty to the ideals of one faction or another. Simply put, Kangryong's a wild card.

Theme: 2
Veritas isn't really big on themes, it's focus is more on the characters themselves. If i had to put one i would say "desire to be stronger" but that isn't really a true theme. It's more of a commonly held goal.

Originality: 5
The sheer unoriginality of the "Supernatural martial arts school" plot-line gets a mandatory 5 point deduction from me. That aside, there are some things that make Veritas stand out in this very crowded genre. Kangryong's isn't a member of a group. Various factions want him for their own purposes but he doesn't really have allies in the conventional sense. This gives Veritas a very different feel from most Action/Martial arts series because Kangryong doesn't have a group of people who care about him watching his back.

Overall: 8
Veritas is probably the best Action/Martial arts manga I have ever read. Great artwork, strong characters, and a deep plot make this series stand out as one of the very best in it's genre. The way it's story has progressed seems to have built up a firm foundation for the story to grow even better in chapters yet to come. I highly recommend this series to anyone who is a fan of the Action or Martial Arts genres.

A few side notes.

• Veritas is "manhwa"(Korean manga basically), so you read this series left to right.
  
• Most of the names, titles, and terms are Korean so if you haven't encountered much of the Korean language, like myself, expect to see some new words and learn some new terms.
  
• Vertas has ended, at least for now, and the ending was not complete. There is no definite word on if a second part is coming either. So when you reach the end be ready to agonize with the rest of us.

Spoiler

 

[zelllogan]

I like this manhwa too but it lacks maturity for me. I don't really know how to explain that. It's very classical & characters are all a little odd (the relations between them doesn't seem real enough to me). I have problems entering this manwha's world ... but somehow it works. Battles are great.

But i admit that I'm not a martial arts/pure action manga fan.

But if you want to read korean work, again I'll stick with Ares & Shin Angyo Onshi.

 

[Jammin]

To be honest I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "lacks maturity" or by referring to it as "classical". I might understand a little better if you could elaborate a bit more(without going into spoilers naturally)

As for Ares and Shin Angyo Onshi. I'm familiar with both, though i'm not an avid reader of either, from what i read they seemed like adventure series. Which is something very different from what Veritas is.

 

[zelllogan]

I have problem with a "school' where everybody want to kill each other all the time. They act like they were 5 year olds kids with superpowers. Looks like the only way they know how to deal with their problems is to kill each other. Most of the fights I have seen in veritas had no clear purpose big enough to bring a death match. I know that most shounens are like this but here it's a little too much. The behaviour of almost all main characters is either stereotypical (that distant blondie overpowered bitch, the brute, ...) or childish (main character & the big fat dude for example).

NB: I know for Ares & SAO, but each time someone talk about manwha, I have to talk about these two.

 

[Jammin]

Ah i see, well I'm not sure the dueling comes down to a lack of maturity. It's simply set in a culture where duels to the death as a method to settle disagreements is neither unusual nor frowned upon. It may not adhere to a set of values familiar to you but really it's not so unusual. American westerns tap into the same thing. It's just a reflection of a different set of principles.

As for the characters being stereotypical, i would strongly disagree with that due to how the depth of all the characters goes well beyond whatever archetype they happen to fit into. The "distant perfectionist" is how she is for a reason, and "the brute" is troubled by his past actions but is driven by loyalty. Going beyond a stereotype is what makes a good character and i feel they all do that.

To be clear I'm not saying your opinion is wrong, i'm just offering the reasons why I disagree.

 

[nat]

Thank you very much Jammin for the wonderful review. I've become a Veritas junkie over a month ago, and I agree with all the ratings (even the low one ).

And like you said, the characters are the driving force behind his brilliant manhwa. I've read many action/martial arts comics, but this takes a very special place in my heart for the characters and art style. They're all bloody models, but still are quite powerful physically and mentally. What I also like is the twisted politics they live in, it's not very easy to tell who's good and who's evil.

Bottom line, the fact that there is no sappy romance or cliche'd perverted characters gains a solid 5 stars in my book.

 

[ashher]

Its finished now, or at least the 1st part is. On the hindsight its been quite a good read.

 

[Jammin]

Yeah, it seems to be done.

Like Billy Joel said "Only the Good Die Young"(Hey, that rhymes.....sort of).

--------------------------

My pathetic attempt at poetry aside, hopefully in a few years the author will resurrect it for the second part. It would be such a shame for the best series to hit the "supernatural martial arts school" genre in a long time to end like that. I mean, the wrap up wasn't horrible but it seems like there is so much more of the story to tell.

EDIT: Oh and i've altered the info in my review to reflect the sad reality.

 

[shaheer]

now i thought that i can wait till the hypothetical season 2 will come out...but this is too much ...damn misssss veritas.... its probably one of the best shonen action comics i ve ever read .......... up with Breaker ...its great ...awesome but its not just veritas...
oi Jammin try breaker...its good... similar to veritas...and has its own greatness.... miss you in discussion thread see

 

[StormKing]

Veritas has been one of the best manhwa i have read so far, and honestly, it lacks nothing, maybe in originality, but the rest seems amazing. Action is a thrill for me, and love how well illustrated it is. Plot wise doesn't lack anything, even so is centered around Kangryong, they still make it look like is a whole piece due to involvement of other characters in the development of Kangryong progress throughout the story.

Now im just waiting for next part......................

 

[segua]

Yea, just waiting for the next part. Was kind of disappointed it had to be this way but hopefully, we'll see what'll happens. I suppose it's much better than a time skip?

 

[ZERO PHOENIX]

There isn't going to be a second part.

The author hit some really hard times financially. Add on the current financial woes of the entire industry [caused in part by pirates such as ourselves] and you'll be hardpressed to find Veritas continuing at any point in the future.