Let Dai

Let Dai by Sooyeon Won is the story of two boys trapped within an unlikely love. Jaehee meets the beautiful but sociopathic Dai one afternoon while attempting to protect a young girl from his thugs. The incident sparks something in Jaehee that he doesn't quite understand, and as he anticipates the inevitable beating that will eventually follow -- he finds himself waiting to see Dai once more.

This story was certainly different. Much darker than the usual boy's love genre with characters uncommon in the setting as well. Whereas many stories commonly feature aggressive semes and uncertain ukes -- Jaehee is strong and independent, if not a bit self righteous, and Dai is just plain possessive and psychotic. It makes for an interesting pair and while the story is a bit jumpy at times, each situation is interesting and powerful.

Let Dai has a sad feel to it, and with a description that calls it "a tragic tale of forbidden love", you know it's going to be a tear jerker. Even in the happiest moments there's always the underlying sense that things won't stay that way.

In some ways Let Dai is like a lot of other shonen ai titles in the sense that the boys so quickly and without reason fall in love. (Doubly so considering the circumstances Jaehee falls for Dai under.) But that hardly matters with the slow build of plot and interesting characters Sooyeon Won has created.

Arguably, the series is a bit confusing now and then. The wording is definitely strange and though sometimes oddly poetic -- it's also choppy and awkward at times. It isn't always clear who is speaking and at first the story is somewhat confusing. But once the reader gets used to the abrupt dialogue and long, romantic inner monologues -- the story is easy to get sucked into.

The series is long -- 15 volumes fairly recently concluded in Korea -- and it leaves you wondering where the story might go. Not to mention how it will all be successfully stretched into 15 volumes. But with such an interesting first volume, I have faith that the remainder of the series will be done quite well.

Overall, I very much enjoyed Let Dai. I would recommend it to anyone that wants a darker, intricate and somewhat unusual shonen ai title. For both the beautiful art and the characterization, Let Dai is a title that shouldn't be passed by.