Philip

I just read recently that one of my favourite mangas, Shin Angyo Onshi is wrapping up far sooner than I expected in the next month or two. I guess the “let’s drag it out as long as possible” ie Berserk isn’t flying but I was hoping for another few volumes of manga now that the back story is complete. Hopefully it’ll be licensed for an English release sometime soon.

Shin Angyo Onshi is a Korean manga by Youn In-Wan (story) and Yang Kyung-Il (artwork) and follows the travels of the anti-hero Munsu, who claims he is the last Angyo Onshi (secret agent) of the destroyed country Jushin. Using his magical mahai (medallion) he is able to summon an army of spiritual warriors to bring his own (almost immoral) sense of justice to the land with his sando (warrior) Chun-Hyang, a beautiful but mysterious woman who joins up with him after losing her loved one.

What’s interesting about the series is that Munsu is a true anti-hero. His methods are certainly below the belt and shows a disregard for almost everyone and everything. During the story it is shown that Munsu is pretty much living only to kill his eternal enemy (once-friend) Aji Tae who he holds responsible for destroying Jushin and all the events leading up to it. Munsu turns out to be the famous general of Jushin who with his famous swordsman Won Sul, they managed to kill the Queen of Demons, Kaidaten. The battle left Munsu a changed man, and shortly after he both left his position and Jushin before it was destroyed.

Chun-Hyang (known as Sando) is a mysterious woman who joins up with Munsu during his travels after her beloved was killed. She has an immense innate skill in fighting and seems to be able to wield a massive sword with ease, and is hinted that she may not be fully human like several other characters who appear to be human or animal depending on the person beholding them (for example, one of the characters looks like a human female, or a large black panther). Apparently Sando always wears a very brief outfit to keep the artist Yang Kyung-Il happy drawing good looking women.

Aji Tae is Munsu’s enemy (although, Aji Tae probably wouldn’t say that) and used to be Munsu’s most trusted advisor until the fall of Jushin. The closest we can say is that Aji Tae is truly amoral, and delights in tinkering with the lives of others to keep himself amused - whether they live or die is of no concern to him. With his exceptional magical powers he was able to subvert most of the highly skilled survivors of Jushin to his side and build an army of demons and undead to take Munsu on.

Anyhow, the artwork and story line is superb, so you shouldn’t miss out on reading it when you get a chance. Etc… has translated 13 volumes out of the expected 17 volumes, and should finish the back story shortly and begin the massive battle between Munsu and Aji Tae which should wrap up in a month or two in Sunday GX (where it’s serialised). You can get the scanlations here.