REVIEW: Under the Oak Tree: The Comic (manhwa, vol. 1) art by P, adapted by namu, original story by Suji Kim, translated by Sena

Under the Oak Tree is a fantasy romance comic based on a serialized Korean novel. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

Lady Maximilian (Maxi) hasn't seen her husband Riftan in some time - he left to go fight a dragon shortly after they were married, and they barely knew each other. After Riftan defeats the dragon and is hailed as a hero, there are rumors that he'll divorce Maxi and marry the princess. Maxi's father is furious at the possibility and wants Maxi to stop it, but Maxi, who has a stutter, has no idea how she's supposed to accomplish this. 

Then Riftan arrives. He's angry with Maxi for some reason, but rather than divorcing her, he declares that she's going with him back to his castle estate, barely giving her time to pack. Maxi has no idea what's going on and is initially somewhat terrified of her husband - he's intense, somewhat cold, and her memories of their one and only night together after their marriage aren't good. 

However, as gruff as he is, he's gentler and more considerate than she remembers him being. He tells her she's beautiful, doesn't seem to care about her stutter, and wants his knights and servants to treat her well. She becomes determined to stay with him, but it's clear that, mentally, he has her on a pedestal, and she worries that he'll be disappointed when he finally learns that she isn't the elegant and treasured young noble lady that he seems to think her father raised her as. 

I pre-ordered this pretty much the instant I could, not really paying attention to the details, so it was a surprise when this came in the mail and it was a hardcover. I gasped at its gorgeousness when I opened the package - it's such a pretty volume.

I think my first exposure to this story was via this webcomic, although I've read more of the serialized novel than I ever read of the comic. I'm looking forward to seeing what the official English translation of the novel is like, but, so far, I'd say this comic is probably my favorite way to experience this story. The artwork is gorgeous, with rich colors that look just as good on printed pages as they did on my computer screen. Also, the comic glosses over some of the novel's more discomfiting aspects, and gives all the sex Maxi and Riftan end up having a less prominent place in the story.

I loved the characters' facial expressions and the way Riftan was obviously hopelessly, embarrassingly (from the perspective of his knights) in love with Maxi. Maxi, meanwhile, worried that she wouldn't measure up to Riftan's expectations - he left all castle renovations up to her, not realizing that she'd never been trusted with anything like that before, and he thought she was used to nothing but the best, not knowing that Maxi's father was abusive and treated her as less than her sister. The story moves a bit slower than I'd like (not much really happens in this volume, honestly), but still, I can't wait for the next volume and am looking forward to seeing this couple grow together and eventually communicate with each other.

Extras:

Six pages of character designs and sketches.