Being a fan of Anime and Manga I was delighted when I found out that I’d be reviewing a comic for the site, my expectations were high and I was expecting something really impressive, especially for the relatively high price.
I can honestly say that this app blew my expectations out of the water! Everything from the film-noir style graphics to the shocking but subtle back-story oozes coolness. I don’t think I’ve ever read a comic which is packed with as much suspense as Hwang Joon Ho’s Ill Fated Relationship; it is simply beautiful (in a dark and disturbing way).
The story is quite straight forward; two serial killers meet and start to date. This main story opens up interesting avenues to the reasons why they’re both killers, with some heartbreaking flashbacks. The reason why it all works so well is down to two things; the minimal dialog coupled with the fantastic direction. Because the user has to tap each time to get to the next picture you are in control of how much or how little time you spend studying and reading each strip. With each tap the picture changes with a very quick, black fade out and fade in, this effect creates the typical ‘horror’ look that you find in many trailers for horror/suspense films. This all helps to really draw you into the dark and depressing world in which the storyline exists.
Pros: Beautiful art style and a great story.
Cons: The only, very minor glitch is that the title screen of each chapter is still in Korean instead of the English translation which is present throughout the rest of the app.
This app is currently on sale at $4.99 (from $8.99) so I recommend anyone who has an interest in this kind of thing to grab themselves a copy and enjoy!
