Eun-Yo Song is a vain, spoiled girl whose doting older brothers treat like a doll they can dress up and show off. She spends her days ignoring the cattiness of her female classmates and the lusting of her male ones, while drooling over her secret crush, the nerdy Chan-Kyung Woo. When her friend Hyun-Joo goes to an audition to secretly take pictures of hot guys, and drags Eun-Yo along with her, our heroine finds herself falling into the clutches of the dastardly pop singer Nan Lee.
Hye-Kyoung’s romantic comedy mahnwa is almost too much silliness even for me and I can handle a lot of silly in my comics. None of the characters are very well developed in this first volume, though there are hints at Eun-You and Nan Lee’s deeper personalities near the end of the volume. The plot also veers wildly from point to point, never sticking in one place long enough for readers to get a firm grasp on it. At first everything seems like it will make sense, but then the fortune teller and the cosplayer with the bagpipes show up and things get really weird.
Filled with big eyes and sparkly floral backgrounds, Hye-Kyoung’s art isn’t anything new in shojo comedy. Eun-Yo’s rapid switching from beautiful young lady to insane chibi and back is good for a laugh, though, and the panels are laid out in a readable fashion, important with the level of movement in them. Udon Entertainment has done a nice job with translation and production. Korean sound effects are left intact, but the English translation of them, and of muttering side comments, are placed next to them. Needed explanations are placed in easy reach around the edges of panels, but they are unobtrusive enough to keep from breaking the flow of reading.
While Star Project Chiro lacks the emotional heart or intelligent head of Ji-Shin Sang and Geo’s Chocolat, it is mildly humorous and readers are left wanting to know where the story is going. A decent possible title for someone looking for a quick, silly read.
Star Project Chiro, vol. 1
Baek Hye-Kyoung
ISBN: 978-1-897376-11-9
UDON Entertainment, 2007
