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Hard Boiled Angel is a graphic novel, or manhwa, imported from Korea. It follows the cases of Jiran Ha, a female detective in the Hard Crimes Unit. She is tough as nails, and will do whatever it takes to solve the case at hand. So far, this does not seem any different from what we have available in the States, but do to the stories setting in Korea, there is quite a difference. A female cop in Korea is a very rare thing, so Jiran Ha must put up with a lot of prejudices as she tries to do her job. The other cops are constantly sexually harassing her, and generally giving her hell. But don’t worry for her, she has plenty of ways to intimidate and harass the male cops right back, and her favorite way to do it is to smack them in the balls. Jiran Ha gets the hardest and most gruesome cases, and she is willing to bend the rules in order to solve them. When dealing with a sexual predator, she gets naked in front of him to distract him. Or when a friend needs a favor, she uses her detective status to get information even if the job isn’t official. For Jiran, the rules don’t matter; just the results. This volume contains four stories. Each of them has the at least one of the components of being very dark, very violent or very sexual. The stories are interesting, and show the worst parts of people. It is a very surreal look into crime; the events that take place give you no hope for Jiran Ha’s city, as it seems all the crimes are surrounded by corruption within the community. There is a sense of chaos throughout the book, and this includes the way that Jiran Ha lives her life. It seems as though her work is everything, and she makes all the wrong decisions in her personal life. She has been hardened by the crimes that she has to solve, and it seems as there may be no hope for happiness in her life. The art in this manhwa can be very dark and gruesome, but at times there is a lighter more comical way of portraying the characters. Jiran can is often portrayed in sexy poses, but that is contrasted by the disturbing images that are shown to emphasize the seriousness of the crimes. And the backgrounds of the city and the vehicles and guns that are portrayed are all strikingly realistic. Overall it is appropriate, and though it does not have the most beautiful illustrations I have seen, I can’t imagine it being any other way. This is a dark book that tackles the subject of very serious crimes. It is definitely intended for mature readers, and if the subjects of sexual perversion, mass murder, rape, or under-age stripping bothers you, avoid this one, and keep it away from your kids. But if you have been craving something a little more perverse in a serialized form, this may be what you’ve been searching for. I’m not usually a big fan of the average detective story, but this is really different and is willing to tackle any subject. I am curious to see what awful crimes Jiran Ha will have to solve in the next volume. -brant-
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