How should I put this? Feelings aren't always rational and neither are people. The work is poetic and it's wording and air gives off a feeling of a novel. If one isn't looking for angst they shouldn't read this. Though there are some funny instances through each volume. To some it might seem like mood whipflash. This isn't for someone wishing to break away from reality because this work can really hit close to home with some issues it addresses.

There is actual character development with a healthy male to female ratio. Meaning females actually get a real role in the work and aren't JUST romantic buffers. No one is really forgotten.

I read this for the fighting and what was to be an incredibly abusive relationship. Despite Dai's first treatment of Jaehee he mellows out. Though he's called the devil, he proves that he does have some morals. Although they tend to be bended by his love for Jaehee to questionable levels. He borders on a possessive sociopath but that's because of his upbringing and skepticism toward humanity. Dai is by no means an idiot which can be a good thing or a nightmare. Again, character development.

Jaehee is a sensitive model student who is breaking out of his shell. At first he serves as Dai's foil which brings about later drifts in their relationship. The kid can really take a punch. He earns DAI's respect and even mine. Most of the time he's outnumbered, someone pulls a dirty trick, or he's holding back for personal reasons. It's just not his nature to go all nut-so like Dai.

Other characters are realistic. No one is knocked off their throne for something as simple as their looks. One character in particular isn't incredibly likeable since the character wants to drag down their love by constant guilt trips and really invokes a lot of double standards. Also the only main (?) character that didn't really change.

In other words it's a rare jem.

I'd had this manhwa on my wishlist for quite some time and finally got around to checking it out. Based on the rave reviews it has gotten, I was honestly hoping for something better. I read only around half of the first volume before dropping it, and I would have dropped it sooner if not for my sincere desire to actually want to enjoy this series. After all, it's not often that you get a thoughtful, well-written shounen-ai manga. However, I found I just couldn't get through this one. The art is fairly dated (1998), but I was willing to bear it for the sake of the story. The story, though, hardly captured my interest beyond the first brutal meeting the protagonist has with the eponymous Dai. Only a few pages after that breathless opening scene, however, the manhwa fell into a montage of classic slice of life genre sequences which reintroduced the male and female leads in much less dynamic settings where characters I honestly couldn't care less about at the moment (the protagonists' respective friends) cropped up like weeds.These "cool down" scenes served only to dull the feelings of suspense and intrigue I had begun to cultivate, for I felt like I wasn't given enough time with the two protagonists to care about their mundane daily lives and abstract musings just yet.

Of course, this wasn't the only factor that killed my interest. What felt really clunky to me were the boxes and boxes of narration and reflection done on part of the two main POV characters. It was a chore to read them along with all of the meaningless dialogue made on the part of the side characters. The prose was hackneyed, insipid, and I felt that the author was using it as a vehicle to tell rather than show the characters' reactions. I do not hold the belief that comic artists must be excellent crafters of prose; good writers, yes, but not in the sense of a traditional prose writer. Therefore, I have to wonder why this author fell on a clear weak point of hers to try and tell the story. Perhaps it was meant to sound profound or meditative, but it came across as the opposite - shallow, a lazy cop-out.

Finally, I did not understand the main character's motivation for staying with Dai when he could have left with the girl. Was his irrational and unfounded decision supposed to mirror some crazy Stockholm dynamic or an internal masochistic fantasy of his? We learn so little about his character that it's impossible to say. I felt as if the author couldn't come up with a legitimate reason for him to stay with the guy who had tortured and humiliated him on more than one occasion and so tried to play it off as some weird, superficial fascination he had developed for Dai after only a few abusive encounters. Honestly, the whole thing seemed incredibly forced to me, and I had to stop reading after that because I realized that I just didn't care about the characters enough to keep on.

I understand that this manhwa is quite popular, and I can believe that it's a lot better than most of the BL out there, so I won't rate it after having read only half a volume. However, from what I read, I found myself bored and apathetic, and so I won't be continuing this one.

I read the manhwa Let Dai again today. I first read it the during the height of my shonen-ai obsession back in 2008. I even downloaded the full volumes which I decided to delete later on because some of the zip files turned out corrupted. I've been meaning to read it again a long time ago but I kept putting it off because it is quite a long series (around 15 volumes at least). I still am in love with it. And I still am amazed with the manhwa author Moon Soo-Yeon who's surprisingly also the manhwa-ka of "Full House" which I've never read but the korean live action series if which I have watched (and adored). The narrative, the art style, the fashion, the perspective, all the issues... Moon-sama is a genius I bow down to. Why she didn't write another shonen-ai story I can pore over is what I would ask her if I'm ever given a chance to do so. I remembered I cried at one part of the manga the first time I read it though I don't remember anymore which part it was. Today I cried at volume 10. I just love how Moon-sama is able to tug at my heart strings with just a few lyrical words. I would forever give this manhwa the highest rating possible. Love just is. Hope someday I'll also find my immortal lover. >.<

I just finished reading this, and I immediately plunged myself into the comments section for this story, desperately seeking some sense of closure, which is rarely a good thing.

However, If I'm honest, I can think of very, very few negative things to say about this series. The author managed to keep track of a handful of well-developed characters, masterfully entwining their lives and experiences in ways that kept me turning pages all the way to the end. Her musings on the human mind, though sometimes phrased in flowery language, were often very interesting and insightful, and through her beautiful art and storytelling, I came to understand her characters' despair. I felt like I could know these characters. Not only that, I felt that they were real teenagers mad and illogical and crazy in love, where in a lot of manga and manhwa, the characters are all empty, unrealistic caricatures. I respect that, and treasure it when I find it. Some of the minor characters seemed slightly hollow or ridiculous, but that wasn't too bad.

The story was excellently crafted and the main characters especially were very well developed. The art was beautiful and expressive. I can't give the story a higher rating because of a couple of small faults (namely, some melodramatic dialogue, internal monologue, and contrived events) but I really, truly enjoyed the story and respect the author a lot. She is a masterful storyteller. If you can get past a few small bumps in the story, the character interactions are a joy to watch.

Or maybe I could also say that I just really, really enjoyed all the character analysis and the absolutely gorgeous angst and aesthetic suffering, of which I am terribly fond.

there are rare cases where shounen-ai is drawn realistically, and where you encounter deep complex stories , it's so rare to find these types of shounen-ai stories because usually they're short and right to the point. But in this story, the author really puts everything out there for what really is and doesn't sugarcoated. and this is what makes it a great story.

... Last updated on May 11th, 2011, 11:24am

What I enjoyed most, was this wasn't about trival "love" and teenager things. The imagry used to describe feelings was beautiful. The points the characters made about life and death and moving forward were very strong.

The ending absolutly threw me off. In the last volume, in the beginning, you find out how it will unfold---in that sense you get a sense of relief...because when the climax happends you already know the outcome. But the final page was unexpected. You'll think there will be a poetic last though, or some inspirational (or tragic) quote...but it's nothing of the sort. The biggest cliffhanger. But it's good in a way....it leaves everything up to your imagination.

I've just registered to give my vote for Woon Soo-yeon's work - stunning, touching, exciting and somehow close to me. One of the best mangas I ever read ^^;; (though I haven't finished it yet.. and hope that mangaka will be good to her main characters ^^ pooh~)

Updated: it's been a long time since i've registered here on mangaupdates, and I have been reading a lot of manga since then. But this one will always stay special to me, i really love this manga ^-^ It's really strange, how all other works by Woon Soo-yeon don't resemble this one even a bit. (It's actually the same with another wonderful manga Sakura-Gari by Watase Yuu). For me, it feels like those kinds of manga are created by their authors out of some kind of afflatus #^^#

... Last updated on October 27th, 2012, 4:05am

This was a really great manhwa, I mean, it wasn't your typical school-life genre or your typical shounen-ai. Honestly, even a person who doesn't like homosexual relationships would enjoy this I think.
The only thing is that the ending is a bitch, and honestly, sometimes Jaehee really annoys me. I love his character, but the constant musings on the world and his INTENSE adoration for Dai is really overwhelming. And I find it difficult to believe that a guy like Dai wouldn't be scared away.
This isn't a big problem obviously, and more of a personal thing.

Also, the author sometimes brings in a random character or setting, that has no relevance later on, to clear up the story for the audience. Although it was helpful I feel that it made the story feel rushed in the end, like there wasn't enough time for a proper ending.

All in all, this was an amazing manhwa! Even though it had its short-comings (like everything else) it is probably the best illustrated story I have ever read. It was full of emotion, and the almost end was tear jerking. The art was great and the characters relatable. Obviously the author could have spent more volumes on it, but think of her poor suffering hands and wrists! 15 volumes is a lot for a manhwa, and it was worth reading every one of them! (haha, you can sometimes tell the author was becoming tired of drawing, as she used the same illustrations for certain panels, although, I would have done that too!)

I just finished reading this and have got to agree with PrettyAyumi's comment...I'm so in shock right now; to me, the ending felt more like it was increasing loose ends rather than tying them up.

Overall, this story was incredibly captivating and I couldn't tear my eyes away from the characters and the destruction they were pulling themselves into because of their emotions. It was unique in that it had a detailed narration of the characters' thoughts and emotions throughout, and there were certainly parts where I felt like I could relate to how they were feeling.

However, I must say that I also found many parts melodramatic or over-dramatic, as if I was watching a soap opera, and I especially get irritated at Jaelee's constant puking/crying because of his over-sensitivity (even though I do like Jaelee a lot).

Still, that doesn't change the fact that I enjoyed how a lot of events in the story tie together and how all of the main characters are very well-developed, and I was particularly drawn to Eunhyang's character, which is rare because female characters usually play such a minor role in BL manga/manwa.

I really feel like I've gone on a journey with all of these characters for 15 volumes, watching them struggle and change and morph into something else by the end of the story. I fell in love with most of the characters, even with their flaws, and I think that makes the story even more beautiful. It's only frustrating that it ended the way it did.

... Last updated on August 22nd, 2010, 12:18am