48 replies to this topic

[RumbleRoar]

Hello Kubera fans. I wanted to be one of your number, but I simply... don't get Kubera. I don't see the appeal. I read like, a lot of it a while ago - and since I didn't like it, I've forgotten a lot. But I recently came across yet another post about Kubera on another forum, and now, I want someone to explain it to me.

 

Is it something like ToG, where you have to make it past the beginning to start to appreciate it? Is it just... slow moving? I don't know how to post a spoiler tag, but if you need to spoil the story to show me how cool it is - by all means, spoil everything.

 

Why dost thou love Kubera?

[Mizura]

*congratulates self for having made a copy/pastable review for Just such occasions xD * Ahem:

 

My favourite ongoing series. It's basically an epic mystery set in epic fantasy settings. 

 

Summary

 

The story begins as an apparently straightforward fantasy story, as Kubera Leez sets off on a journey of survival and revenge when her village is instantly destroyed. But it soon unfolds as a mystery that brings together a diverse cast of characters, each with their own backgrounds, motivations and values, yet all connected across generations and races through a complex web of friendship, family and deceit.

 

Through them the story slowly reveals the events that transpired over several centuries, across multiple planets and even realms. Whether it is to protect or reunite with one's loved ones, to seek revenge, to redeem oneself or to save one's declining race, each character, from humans to powerful Sura to the immortal Gods, is targeting the holder of the "Power of the Name." In a billion(s)-year old world where powerful races have existed since the beginning of the Universe, what is the truth behind the events that sent all the races into chaos?

 

Meanwhile, Kubera Leez tries to form new bonds, unaware that she's become the center chess piece in this "war with no villains, only victims."

 

Strengths:

• A diverse and endearing set of characters, where "each character is the protagonist of his own life." All the characters bring their own piece to the plot and evolve throughout the series, with surprising interactions with other characters. And yes, it has great female characters.


• A vast, interesting world, with complex dynamics between the races (8 Sura races, the Gods and the humans, each with their own alliances and enemies, and individuals with their own conflicting agendas). The truth about the cataclysmic events that occurred in the past is still slowly being revealed.


• Complex plot told through an unusual narrative model that mixes the present, past events and even glimpses of the future. With each new revelation however, more questions are raised than answered. You'll think you know the whole plot by Chapter 2, but by Chapter 100 you'll be struggling to guess the true motivations of the characters.


• Yet the cohesive writing never falls into retcon or plot holes: the story was originally planned as a novel, and the consistency of the trail of clues shows that the author knows where this is going. There will be dozens of instances where you'll want to go back dozens, or even over 100 chapters back to find back the clues relating to the ongoing events (I have the equivalent of a 25 page document just to keep track of what was revealed, and in which chapter, lol).


• It has a great sense of humor. By now you must think that this series is overly dark, but the author's masterful use of comedy keeps the journey fresh and entertaining.


• The art starts out weak, but improves greatly over time. The characters have great visual designs, and the diverse facial expressions are hilarious.

 

Weaknesses:

• Slow pacing, especially at the beginning. The story is about 80% plot and characters, and 20% action, moreso since it takes the time to gradually reveal the past of the characters. This is made worse by...


• Weekly cliffhangers. They burn. I'm not even joking...


• You may be disappointed with how little the main character does in Part I, as the story introduces the other characters. According to the author, this story is apparently quite long, so the first 100 chapters serve as a sort of introduction. A lot happens in those 100 chapters, but it's easy to miss most of the story if you're not paying attention. (if you don't believe me, re-read it)


• Story can be confusing to read. If you just plan to spend a few minutes reading it every week, you'll likely get lost pretty soon. If you enjoy piecing together pieces of the puzzle together, however, this series is for you.


• Art-wise, background art is the author's weakness.

Read it if you like a good mystery. Don't read it if you're looking for weekly action.

 

Overall, Kubera offers a blend of genres that I don't think I've ever seen in any other series. This was so novel that I initially didn't even know what it was about the series that I liked so much. Because its strengths are so different than typical manga stories, it can be easy to miss them: readers who approach it expecting to read a traditional journey of a hero's ascendancy will soon walk away confused and disappointed, not realizing that the meat of the true story lies (initially at least) in the mystery aspects that he's likely skimmed over. (basically, it'd be like trying to read a crime novel like an action series)

 

For readers that persist, however, they will be rewarded with an amazing reading experience, where each new re-reads yield new pieces of the puzzle, hinting at huge and incredible events leading up to the current story (this is a story where planets have blown up). I could tell you more about what makes the characters and world so interesting, but it'd be full of spoilers, lol. If you want to give it a try, here are some additional resources to check out:

• Summaries of The Finite: Side novel that the author published on her blog during a break. It reveals more connections between the characters.


• Kubera character relationship chart: This only covers the relationships revealed in Part 1 and in the side novel, and is chock full of spoilers, so try not to look at it before finishing Part 1. It gets even more complex in Part 2 so for now I've given up on stuffing all of it into one chart. D: Here are more up-to-date, specific charts: Human world, Sura world, Gods, The Finite.


• Reference thread (because it's so damn hard to keep track of what's been said in which chapter)

Edited by Mizura, 17 August 2013 - 05:14 AM.

[Ironandpeaches]

^What she said.

 

I initially started liking Kubera because of the rules set in place regarding magic usage, among other things. I like it when an author plainly states how their universe works so no BS can squeeze its way in. 

[Lerciolas]

It's true, Kubera's pace is slow, but if you happen to really like one of the characters that appears in the first chapters (in my case Leez and Ghandarva) you'll get entangled and want to know more about them.

 

After a while I realized I was waiting the next chapter not much for the overall plot development, but to see what characters will do in that specific situation and then speculate on the possible plot development.

 

Moreover, this is one of the very few stories where my favorite character is the main one. Usually my fav, when his purpose in the plot isn't to die horribly, get the role of scene filler 

[Mizura]

^ Oh? My fave character is Leez too, but I know it's not the case for many other readers. -However-, the story has amazing characters all around, and does an amazing job of including them into the plot, instead of using them once or twice then confining them to the fodder bin (I'm looking at you, Naruto). The way the characters all interact with one another just brings out many more sides to them, giving them depth and making you like them even more. There must be half a dozen sides to Gandharva alone (as a friend, as a father, as a husband, as a King, as a mentor, now as a victim, but also someone with a conscience, etc.).

 

With that many likable characters, no matter who's the focus at the moment, one of them will nearly always be someone you like (if not initially, then eventually as they get more development). Thanks to that, you're not stuck in a situation where you're waiting dozens, or even hundreds of chapters waiting for the few characters you do like to do something or at least show up (again, I'm looking at you, Naruto). And when the characters you like do show up, they're doing something important to the plot, not participating in filler battles.

 

Take Shess for example. I like Shess. He makes pink manly. Despite seeming like such a minor character, he's had some of the most "wtf" moments from me as he moves around. Or Kasak. Kasaaaak. He could have been confined to the fodder bin after his fight in Atera, but instead he and Agni decided to protect Willarv together, and we also know that through his friendship with Visnu and Kalavinka, he knows more and can have a bigger role in the series than shown so far. Too many series treat the non-main characters as add-ons, and I really, really love how this is not the case with Currygom.

 

As for magic in Kubera, I admit I also really like the magic system here. It's based on math. Finally, a magic system that makes sense! BD [/biased ex-Maths student]

 

The plot development does Seem slow, but as I said, that's not the case at all if you read it like a mystery, not your typical fantasy story. If you read a crime novel like an action comic, then yeah, it will seem like nothing is happening: there's just one guy walking around asking people stuff! But Kubera reveals one or several clues about the many interconnecting plot threads nearly every chapter. Because most Shounen series treat their flashbacks as fillers used for just dramatic effect, it's easy to dismiss their importance at first, but boy the flashbacks are essential components of the plot in Kubera.

Edited by Mizura, 17 August 2013 - 09:53 AM.

[divija]

I started reading Kubera because of

 

1) Art (very colourful and appealing)

2) Story (very interesting, humourous and 'romance' here and there )

 

Kubera should be appealing to everybody, why aren't u a fan yet???..is it because of too many details?.. If so, chuck out the details and enjoy the art!

Edited by divija, 17 August 2013 - 10:12 AM.

[Kreiri]

Hello Kubera fans. I wanted to be one of your number, but I simply... don't get Kubera. I don't see the appeal. I read like, a lot of it a while ago - and since I didn't like it, I've forgotten a lot. But I recently came across yet another post about Kubera on another forum, and now, I want someone to explain it to me.

 

Is it something like ToG, where you have to make it past the beginning to start to appreciate it? Is it just... slow moving? I don't know how to post a spoiler tag, but if you need to spoil the story to show me how cool it is - by all means, spoil everything.

 

Why dost thou love Kubera?

 

Because different people have different tastes, and I find 'Kubera" interesting, well-drawn and well-written. Anyhow, in my experience, if you didn't like something on first read, a chance that you'd like it later is practically zero. Don't bother tryng to coerce yourself into reading something you already didn't like.

Edited by Kreiri, 18 August 2013 - 04:30 AM.

[SilverAlex]

 Im going to answer with some mild spoilers, which were crucial for me to love this seires. I started to read mostly because I had a calculus test the next, I need to procrastinate and had watched all the anime in my pc. At first I didnt like the main character (it gets better tho), but I loved Asha, and I needed to know more about her. Then in chapter 8 something happened.

Warning spoilers ahead. (not on the actual plot, but instead of some heavy foreshadowing that currygom has given us about how the series will develop) 

  

  Agni, the god of fire disguised as a normal magician, met Leez and by chance his "Insight" ability triggered. This is an ability that lets a god catch a glimpse of a person past or future, for most gods this glimse is random and they cant really control what they see. In this case Agni saw a ~30 years old Leez, wielding a bigass sword in a field full of dead suras. She was talking to someone and said something paraphrased as this:

"Why I fight?

From the start there was no family or friends to protect

Revenge? Those ambitions were long gone

Despite that I fight for a single reason: The responsibility to protect this name"


After that, a couple more chapters in the future, in chapter 34 thanks again to a god's insight we get a new glimpse of the future (or better said, of the ending of this story):

Again a ~30 yo Leez, full of scars and yet truly beautiful, on what seems an empty wasteland, talking to god Kubera and saying this:

"If only my father had not given your name

If only you had not found me 

If only I had died the first day I met you

Then I would had been much happier"


After those two instances of foreshadowing, I fell in love with the series, even if it was slow, and sometimes it lacked action, I need to know how and why the series ends like that. I need to know just how ridiculously involved with the plot is god kubera and finally I NEED TO KNOW WTF HAPPENED TO ASHA'S ARM? 

[svines85]

Spoiler

Hello Kubera fans. I wanted to be one of your number, but I simply... don't get Kubera. I don't see the appeal. I read like, a lot of it a while ago - and since I didn't like it, I've forgotten a lot. But I recently came across yet another post about Kubera on another forum, and now, I want someone to explain it to me.

 

Is it something like ToG, where you have to make it past the beginning to start to appreciate it? Is it just... slow moving? I don't know how to post a spoiler tag, but if you need to spoil the story to show me how cool it is - by all means, spoil everything.

 

Why dost thou love Kubera?

personally I think a lot of it is not just a matter of  personal preferences but subconscious preferences as well .........who can really explain exactly why one work appeals to us and another, similar one doesn't? Or why I like this one but really, really like another one that on  the surface is almost an identical work? 

 

I like Kubera, but even if we had dozens of titles we both liked it doesn't necessarily mean we'd both like this one.  It sounds like you gave it a fair chance, there's probably no trick or magic wand to make you actually like it if it doesn't appeal to you after taking one or two shots at it.

[Mizura]

Well, it depends on the reason he doesn't like the series. There are a bunch of situations where a reader may not like a series at first, but like it later on:

• The series can get better. I could barely stand the first 100 chapters of One Piece, but all its fans were assuring me that it gets better, and it did get much better (though, it still is far from being one of my favorite series). In the same way, I know many users who didn't like Tower of God at first glance, but when I told them it gets better, later they come back to me telling me "holy shit it's the best thing ever THANKS!"
• They could be confused by the series at first. Once someone explains what's going on, they may appreciate it more.

There's a bit of both with Kubera. As I say in my review, you Will get confused and lost if you read the series as an action series, but you'll really like it if you read it as a mystery series. However, the two aren't read in the same way. One thing Shounen manga have conditioned in us, for example, is to overlook the importance of flashbacks, which are usually just there for dramatic effect. But if you skim over Kubera's flashbacks, you're missing on 80% of the real storyline, lol. The fact that Kubera doesn't center on one, but several protagonists, will also be very confusing to some readers.

 

Also, Kubera only scales up gradually. My opinion of this series has gone through several "power ups", but it took a while to reach those chapters.

• The first is chapter 60, with the revelation of the N0 Cataclysm. I realized then that the scale of this series isn't just a little planet like Willarv, but that wars of planetary scale have been fought in relation to the main plot.
• The second is the revelation that Yuta's mother is Kali, followed by Chapter 99, with the explanation of the power relations. The "Nastika are strong but mortal, Gods are weaker but immortal" dynamics is one of the most interesting racial dynamics I've seen, and the fact that Yuta's mother is Kali made me realize that the Primeval Gods themselves are involved in this mess.

Such chapters made me see the story in a new light, and made me anticipate much more epicness ahead. It upgraded the story from small-scale "fantasy" to "epic fantasy." Similarly, it may take a while for readers to digest the fact that -Maruna is not the final villain- (or even a villain at all. Well, maybe a bit). When I realized that the plot was Far from that simple, my opinion of the series really changed. When I started it, I was "oh, typical fantasy, but somehow I like it a lot, I'm not sure why", but it was later that it became one of my favorite series ever.

 

That said, yeah, Kubera isn't for everyone, I've said it myself, lol!

Edited by Mizura, 18 August 2013 - 12:56 AM.

[smthFishy]

Well, tastes change over time. Maybe one of these days you'll come to appreciate things you previously weren't able to relate too. I couldn't relate to the Great Gatsby when I first read it. When I got my first house mortgage payment bill, I finally realized why a guy would join the mafia and bootleg to get ahead in life. Not to wish anything bad upon you, but if you get your village destroyed because it happens to be sitting on an oil pipeline, you may find some solace in knowing your fate might have been determined, and that you don't have to suffer alone. 

Edited by 동사서독, 18 August 2013 - 02:06 AM.

[caxxke]

The characters... Definitely the characters. Plus currygom is so funny!

[rak n' roll]

The characters... Definitely the characters. Plus currygom is so funny!

 

This is pretty much the gist of it.

 

Kubera's "mystery" is only really appealing when you become invested in the characters.  But perhaps unfortunately for most manhwa/manga readers, there's a ton of character subversion that goes on.  So, for example, Leez is the central figure of the mystery, but acts primarily as a side character, since she's neither as skilled nor as knowledgeable as those who are trying to use her in a more or less benevolent manner.

 

For me, though, I've loved Leez since she punched Agni in the gut for playing a prank on her about her "god-given" looks.  

[Kaiein]

Honestly, it took me a while to get into Kubera, too. I read the first arc...then didn't touch it for almost two weeks. I couldn't get interested. Finally I summoned the will to try continue reading on into the story, and I'm glad I did. I didn't realize how long I had been reading until my dad opened the door and began yelling at me to go to bed as I saw Taraka throwing Leez into a cliff and it was almost 4 a.m. on a school-night (I somehow survived the next day). I haven't been able to enjoy a modern story for a long time. I've always been stuck with classics (Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Ray Bradbury, etc.), and finding something that could captivate me that's come from today, so to speak, is very difficult. Part of what can be difficult with Kubera is the fact that it was originally going to be a novel, but Currygom instead decided to do a webtoon - this is a different style and setup from traditional mangas and animes, and people used to those traditional setups can have a very difficult time reading them. I've also encountered the fact people don't like Kubera because it's in color, as strange as that sounds. These people are so used to the tradition of "Mangas are black and white while animes are in color" that they can't stand reading something outside of the norm... And yes, people's tastes can change over time - but sometimes this can take decades... and if this is the case for you, RumbleRoar, at least take solace in the fact that Kubera will be completed by the time you really want to read the story (I can't say the same for *cough cough* Naruto).

 

 

Well, tastes change over time. Maybe one of these days you'll come to appreciate things you previously weren't able to relate too. I couldn't relate to the Great Gatsby when I first read it. When I got my first house mortgage payment bill, I finally realized why a guy would join the mafia and bootleg to get ahead in life. Not to wish anything bad upon you, but if you get your village destroyed because it happens to be sitting on an oil pipeline, you may find some solace in knowing your fate might have been determined, and that you don't have to suffer alone. 

I read The Great Gatsby last school year, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not sure why, but I'm always able to pick out the emotions and points that the author is trying to get across - maybe it's because I read so much as a child. Anyway, we had to personify one of the characters for an entire day, and I got to crossplay as Gatsby - though I unfortunately didn't get to wear a pink suit.

[Euodiachloris]

What I love about Kubera: the character work and world-building Currygom has put in.  The humour (so far) outweighing the grade A tragedy that's building doesn't hurt, either.

 

It may be slow to build up... but, that's what ultimately makes it rewarding.

[basilabdef]

Eh...I don't really understand it either; I mostly continue to read it because I have been reading it.  A terribly weak justification, I know, but it's the best one I have.  The art is usually mediocre but nothing special.  The overall plot is rather interesting but unfortuantely moves at a snail's pace.

 

The characters range from infuriating/irritating (Leez) to detestable (Asha) to just plain uninteresting (most everyone else).  The cast is far too large for this medium, meaning most characters are underdeveloped cardboard cutouts.  I can certainly see why the author meant it to be a novel.

 

This is a series best read once every few months.

[salvatore]

well first time i read i was confused about the World of kubera like all these gods , realms ,inhabitants and magics ,but then i found out all of them in the  wiki and i open a page of wiki of kubera while reading it and if i come across or forget something i would just check there , weird huh , well thanks to it got me through all of it but the second time is when i most enjoyed 

[LovelyLuvLuv]

i like this comic more than most of the stuff i've been reading lately. agree with basiladef about the cast being huge.but i feel like the slow pacing adds to the depth of the characters though. plus it's pretty unpredictable and exciting to read...  

[Dreamingflower]

That's what I like about Kubera. It focuses on more characters that only one. Leez isn't the only main character with an interesting back story and lost of secrets about her identity. We also have Gandharva, Agni, Yuta, Maruna, Sagara Asha and Ran. All have them have pasts what we're dying to know more about.

[tkl.ee]

Let me ask you this...

Do you want to know why Leez mustn't say her real name Kubera?

Do you want to know why people are looking for Leez?

Do you want to know why Leez got the power of the name?

Do you want to know the mystery behind Leez' parents, the mystery behind God Kubera, the mystery behind Asha, the mystery behind everything?

 

If most of the answers are "no" then you're just not into the plot.

 

Do you like fantasy?

Do you like scenes to be set in an entirely different world?

Do you have a favorite character in the story/or a character that you like?

Do you not mind having a female as one of the main protagonists or if not, the main protagonist?

,

If not all are yes, then there's no drive for you to continue reading either.

 

Similarly, I find ToG boring...and I know why I wasn't able to keep reading...because I dont have a character I like in that story and I don't care much about the plot.

 

It may be just an acquired taste..not everyone will like both ToG and Kubera