Title	100% Perfect Girl
Credit	Wann
Media	Korean Manhwa / Webtoon
Genre	Shoujo, Drama, Harem, Mature, Action
Year	2006
Character Type	2 Yanderes and 2 Obsessive Characters

By chance, Jay Jin met Jarte Max at a hotel lobby when he visited Korea for a work trip. One look and Jarte knew that Jay is his 100% perfect girl. Jay is an ordinary young girl aspiring to be an artist, while Jarte is the ruler of the country Roinne. While they managed to overcome the difference in their status, little did they knew of the arduous path ahead of their love.

SPOILERS AND PERSONAL OPINION

Sent out by her mother on an errand, Jay coincidentally met Jarte Max at a hotel lobby. As the ruler of Roinne, Jarte had visited Korea for a work trip. This fateful encounter sealed their fate, as Jarte fell in love at first sight with Jay. Jarte had never felt such emotions before, and was unfamiliar with how to approach this situation. Nevertheless, he pursued Jay the best he could, with all his heart and perseverance. Despite knowing each other for only a short while, Jarte quickly proposed to Jay and requested for her hand in marriage.

Their relationship had a rocky start. Jay wasn’t in love with Jarte initially; she agreed to their engagement only after she realized how much Jarte needed her. It took awhile for Jay to develop feelings for Jarte. But things took a turn for the worse when Jay met Luigi Calpetti, the notorious mafia boss from Italy. Their relationship was further strained due to the involvement of Clarence Ewan, who sought revenge from Jarte, but ended up falling in love with Jay.

A series of incidents inflicted tremendous suffering onto Jay, who ended up falling into depression. During these period, Jarte also underwent severe temperament changes as their relationship plunged further. Due to the ever growing list of misunderstandings between the two, Jay even attempted suicide at one point, while Jarte almost entered a platonic marriage as he lost hope for Jay to ever return to him.

It took a great deal of effort between the two of them, as well as those around them. Nevertheless, they eventually resolved their conflicts and opened up to each other. Trust was a major issue between Jay and Jarte, and one which was responsible for so much of their sufferings. Towards the end, they were able to trust each other, and mend their relationship which had been broken for so long. Finally, they have a happy ending. Jay and Jarte became married, with Jay ascending as the queen of Roinne next to Jarte.

I remember reading this manhwa as a young girl, and thought that this manhwa was fantastic. Reading this again, I find the manhwa to be too dramatic. Too many things made no sense; situations were unrealistic.

Jay Jin is the epitome of Mary Sue. She lives with her single mom and older brother, and her mom is biased towards her brother who aspires to be a doctor. Being a girl who aspires to be an artist, her mom dismissed her dreams, telling her that it would be enough for her brother to succeed while she find herself a regular job. Of course, Jay Jin is actually very talented in art, but her school teacher decided to hand over the art scholarship to another person anyway, since they knew that Jay Jin could not afford to pursue art seriously. As such, the poor girl who is a diamond in the rough had to make do with what she had.

Then came Jarte, who fell in love at first sight with Jay. He then proceed to great lengths to woo her and gain her affections. Things happened and along the way, Jay met Luigi by chance and saved him. This encounter resulted in Luigi falling in love with her too. More drama ensued before Clarence Ewan was introduced. Initially out for revenge against Jarte, he ended up loving Jay as well due to her pure and innocent personality.

So many tropes appeared in this manhwa. Jay Jin was sort of like Cinderella, with her mom favoring her brother over her, even though she is also talented in her own right. Then there’s love in first sight, and engagement with the prince of a foreign country. The author even threw in the amnesia trope.

Somewhere down the line, Jay Jin suffered from severe stress and trauma, and she entered depression. Her condition was so bad that it even materialized as a frequent tremor on her right arm, which took away her ability to draw. As if it’s not enough, there’s even attempted suicide, dying for love, arranged marriage with someone you don’t love, and a bunch of dramatic gun fights. The list wouldn’t end if I have continued.

I thoroughly enjoyed these scenes as a young girl. Now, I find them ridiculous. It’s as if the author took up a challenge to cramp as many tropes into one story as possible. Not to mention how the seemingly perfect guys, like “Greek god sculptures” according to the author, smart, capable, wealthy, and unfeeling, all started falling head over heels for Jay Jin for no good reason. The people who met Jay Jin all found her so cute, innocent, and amazing.

Jarte’s sister who disapproved their relationship got smitten by Jay after their first meeting. Renown international artists saw her street art and determined that she was the best thing that they have ever discovered. Lennox, who was only sent to protect Jay as his duty, abruptly declared that Jay is the only one he has, and that he will protect her for life. It felt romantic to me at first, but I only cringe now.

One last thing, I find Jay Jin to be too weak and prone to crying. I don’t think she have done a single thing to successfully protect herself or the people around her. I can see that the author tried to portray her as a strong girl who have just been through too much. I don’t buy it. She cried when she talk to Jarte, she cried when she spoke to his sister on their first meeting, she cried to herself and to everyone else around her for everything. If it’s me, I would have lost my patience, I guess I am just a bitter old lady now.

The story is heavily focused on romance, so there’s not much going on aside from the relationships between Jay and the men around her. As such, I will be writing more content in the characters’ pages instead.

This manhwa is quite lengthy, with all the unnecessary drama going on in it. I think it is a hit or miss for its readers. Having said that, as it was quite a memorable read from my childhood as one of my first Korean manhwas, I still recommend you to check it out. You can always drop it if you share my sentiment later haha. Anyways, have fun reading!

CHARACTER SPOILERS