Faeries' Landing

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Faeries' Landing (선녀 강림 Seonnyeo Ganglim) is a manhwa by You Hyun, published by Daiwon C.I., and translated into English by Tokyo Pop. The series is largely known for its quirky humor, with several dashes of magical mishaps and more than a few secret plots. It's based off an old Korean tale called The Fairy and the Woodcutter, a variant version of which is the basis for the Japanese series Ayashi no Ceres.

The story starts with Ordinary High School Student Ryang Jegal literally crashing into a faun named Chun-rok (called Goodfellow in the English translation) who is on the run from the police. In payment for helping him, Chun-rok lets Ryang see a mystical sight - a trio of gorgeous faeries bathing. Things go wrong when Ryung tears one of the faerie's enchanted gowns, leaving the unlucky owner of that gown to be stranded on earth and unable to go back to the Faeries' realm of Avalon. This faerie, Fanta, predicts that Ryang is destined to go through 108 doomed relationships, and he's going to need her help to get through them. But it won't be easy, since there are other things going on behind the scenes involving someone with a grudge against Fanta and a few other complications in Ryang's 108 evil affinities.

Tropes used in Faeries' Landing include:
  • Adults Are Useless: Hun and Taeyeong definitely are.
  • Age-Inappropriate Dress: Even though they look as young as ever, the faeries are still technically hundreds of years old, and they all wear skimpy gowns.
  • All Love Is Unrequited: None of the characters seem to get it right, love-wise.
    • Ryang loves Fanta, who acts like she loves him back, but is really only using him to find her father.
    • Kang loves Yuri, but Yuri is still in love Ryang.
    • Yusin has a crush on Ryang, who thinks she's cute, but likes Fanta more before he finding out that she was only using him.
    • Medea likes the King, but the King likes Fanta.
    • Sindo likes Oran, who likes him back, but this seems a bit forced at the start, and she eventually ends up locking him up in a jail cell in Avalon.
      • Also, Ryang's evil affinities all have their love unrequited whilst under the curse. However, they all end up happily with their respective other halves of their affinities.
  • Alpha Bitch: Medea seems to think she is one. Oreadia can also be considered this, as well as Lady Samsin.
  • Anime Hair
  • Annoying Younger Sibling: Ryang, Fanta and Medea would probably be considered this by their older siblings.
  • Author Existence Failure: Also, Publisher Existence Failure.
  • Badass Long Hair: Pain. The King.
  • Badass Normal: Ryang, occasionally.
  • Bare Your Midriff: Fanta, Medea, Yuri, Nina, Ms. Yun, Seraphina and the list goes on...
  • Barrier Maiden
  • Battle Ballgown: Nina's outfit.
  • Bed Trick: With the help of Seraphina, Sino swaps bodies with Sindo whilst he is having sex with Oran.
  • Big Screwed-Up Family: Fanta's family has a bloody and tragic history, all of which started when Seraphina purposely stranded Oran on Earth. Tragedy ensues when Sindo steals her dress and she falls victim to rape by Sino, losing her powers as a result of the trauma, and her reputation in Avalon once she returns.
  • Blah Blah Blah. Many instances. Noteably, one when Kang finds out Yuri used to date Ryang, and launches into a rant about how much better he is than his brother.
  • Blessed with Suck / Cursed with Awesome: Ryang's curse, depending on how you look at it.
  • Break the Cutie: Fanta has the most accursed luck... Her mother hates her and tries to kill her. Ryang finds out she's only using him and hates her. She learns of her parents' back-story (no joy there). She is briefly re-united with her father, who dies soon after, and her mother dies too. Her home is threatened...And then the series was cancelled.
  • Break the Haughty: Medea was doomed to suffer this from the get-go.
  • The Bus Came Back: Yusin Min, a former evil afinity. She makes a comeback at the end of Volume 16, and turns out that Yuna, Daecheol, Hayeong, Jihyeon, Jinhui and Hansu from the skateboarding competition in Volume 4 were all on the same bus too.
  • Butt Monkey: Mungyeong.
  • Catgirl: Bast, obviously.
  • Chainmail Bikini: Nina's outfit is very impractical, especially considering the fact that she's a royal guard. Also, those faeries in Volume 19 who try to stop Fanta from getting away on the nine-tailed fox.
  • Chick Magnet: Ryang's curse gives him this ability.
  • Cleavage Window: Oreadia's winged gown has one.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Yuri, as well as all of Ryang's evil affinities.
  • Clothes Make the Superman: Faeries are strongest when wearing their winged gowns. Although not clothing, Ryang is pretty much useless without his skateboard.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Taeyeong is probably the most obvious, but almost everyone with the exception of Yuri, Oran, Charon and Samsin.
  • Cool Loser: Ryang isn't terribly unpopular, but his attitude does tend to grate others, possibly explaining his lack of real close friends. Seho Yun could also count.
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment: Seraphina is sent to Earth in punishment for her crimes, where she would be reborn and only remember her past in Avalon on her fifteenth birthday.
  • Cosplay: This is an annoying habit of Yuri's, according to Ryang.
    • Also, the Costume Balls: Fanta as Tifa and Yuffie (Final Fantasy VII) and Honey (Fighting Vipers 2). Ryang as Vincent Valentine (Final Fantasy VII).
  • Crazy Cat Lady: Yuri is a younger version of this.
  • Crazy Jealous Guy: Daecheol, although there are plenty of others in Volume 4. Basically, every male half of the girls who look into Ryang's eyes and fall under the curse.
  • Crazy Prepared: Lampshaded by Ryang.
  • Dangerously-Short Skirt: Fanta wears one dressing up as Tifa for the Costume Ball, and a few of her other outfits include miniskirts too.
  • Darker and Edgier: The series starts off light and humorous, but progressively gets darker and darker. We discover that Oreadia is trying to kill Fanta, and Yuri attempts to kill Ryang. Then the series really spirals off into darkness as Fanta and Ryang go back in time, and we find out about Fanta's parents' past, where darker and more mature themes such as rape and suicide are introduced. Going back to the human world, much of the more edgier happenings are the product of Yuri's doing (such as the kidnapping of Yusin, body-swapping and hosting of evil forces).
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Oreadia, who lost everything as a consequence of Seraphina's jealous and conniving actions.
  • Dark Secret: That fateful day when Ryang met Fanta and ripped her dress was no coincidence. Fanta actually planned her stay on Earth because she wanted to find her father. Of course, she keeps this from Ryang until their trip to Sokcho in Volume 11, where he overhears her talking to Goodfellow, and thus finds out The 'Terrible Truth'.
    • Also, the King's plans for Avalon using Fanta's and Oreadia's bodies were kept very confidential between him and Lady Samsin. Charon found out, and the King had him turned into a nine-tailed fox and had him hunted by the citizens.
  • Disappeared Dad: It's later revealed that why Fanta stayed on Earth. It's the only way she can find out more about her father.
  • The Ditz: Medea, although everyone else also has their moments.
  • Driven to Suicide: Oran, with Sino driving the car.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: The King of Avalon, Jihyeon Kim.
  • Dumb Blonde: Medea
  • Elegant Gothic Lolita: A few of Yuri's outfits come close to this.
  • Evil Is Sexy: Yuri and Oreadia especially. Also Seraphina, although she's not quite evil.
  • Evil Matriarch: Oreadia, who loves Pain but hates Fanta as she was conceived through rape. Fanta is subjected to Parental Neglect and Oreadia eventually tries to kill her.
  • The Fair Folk
  • False Friend: Fanta, who is later revealed to have planned her stay on Earth so that she could use Ryang's body to find out about what happened to her father.
  • Fantastic Racism: The faeries largely look down on humans.
  • Final First Hug: As she is in the process of cessation, Oreadia apologises to Fanta for never loving her the way a mother should have, and hugs her before she dies.
  • First Kiss: Yuri steals Ryang's.
  • Five-Man Band: The Spirit Squad 5, although technically they are not five but four, as they are missing a spirit of metal.
  • Flamboyant Gay: Fanta's brother Pain.
  • Foe Yay: Ryang and Yuri (the enemy thing is one-sided) , who even end up sharing a kiss on the trip to Sokcho.
  • The Fool: Ryang.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Medea and Charon, Sino and Sindo.
  • Friendship Moment: Fanta and Ryang have one in Volume 17. Which is quite surprising, considering all that's happened between them. Referring of course, to Ryang finding out that Fanta was only using him to find her father.

Fanta: You did a good job out there today. *they smile at each other and high-five*

Fanta: Thank you for helping me take off my dress Young Master! Now watch me get wet!

  • Giant Poofy Sleeves: Several of the winged gowns, including Medea's.
  • Girl with Psycho Weapon: Yuri and her switchblade. Fanta/Oreadia with the Blade of Affinity. Medea with that sword in Volume 3.
  • Go Out with a Smile: Sindo, who welcomed the prospect of death as he had long suffered being imprisoned in Avalon, having memories he didn't remember experiencing.
  • Gone Swimming, Clothes Stolen: This triggers complete chaos, and subsequently writes the entire plot-line of Faeries' Landing.
  • Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!: Lady Samsin
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Fanta and her half brother Pain. Also an inversion of Human Mom, Nonhuman Dad.
  • Homage
  • Hormone-Addled Teenager: Ryang
  • Hot for Student: Ms. Yun, under supernatural influence.
  • Hot Mom: Oran, who is also the only mom to appear in the series.
  • I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: Inverted by Ryang and his friends in the flashback to the nightclub scene prior to Ryang's first meeting with Yuri. Ryang, Mungyeong and Samtaek catch the attention of some hot older girls who are dressed very provocatively.
  • Impossibly Cool Clothes
  • Improbable Hairstyle: The "butterfly" style that all faeries seem to have going on.
  • In-Series Nickname: Fanta calls Ryang 'Young Master'. He in return nicknames her 'Shorty'.
  • Innocent Cohabitation: Fanta is forced to live with Ryang after he rips her winged gown, leaving her unable to ascend back to Avalon.
  • Interspecies Romance: Ryang and Fanta, who is half-human, half-faerie. Also, the same scenario with Fanta's parents, Sindo and Oreadia, although Oreadia is of full faerie blood.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Subverted with Yuri, who only wants Ryang to be with her, happy or not. And she's willing to kill anyone who gets in her way, including Ryang himself.
  • Informed Attractiveness: Yeongyeong(The "Lucky Charm") really isn't that pretty at all, when compared to most of the other girls. But everyone in the books seem to find her stunningly attractive.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: Fanta is technically 156 years older than Ryang.
  • Impossibly Low Neckline: Seraphina's (2nd Class) and Medea's winged gowns. The dresses that Oran and Seraphina are shown to be wearing when they bathe on Earth.
  • It Got Worse: Ryang seems to have the worst luck, because since meeting Fanta, everything gradually goes downhill for him as the series progresses. A more immediate example occurs in Volume 4, when Ryang accidentally creates three evil affinities in a row.
  • Jerkass: Every character, really, apart from Yusin, who is actually nice. Prime examples include Kang and Medea.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Ryang and Fanta.
  • Just Friends: Ryang and Fanta, who occasionally get mistaken for a couple, but are, in fact, just friends.
  • Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: All of the faeries that are shown to 'kick some ass'.
  • Late for School: Fanta and Ryang, on several occasions.
  • Likes Older Women: Ryang has a thing for Fanta, who is over a hundred years older than him, technically (and even in human years she is a year older than him). Also, Yuri (his Psycho Ex-Girlfriend) was older than him.
  • Limited Wardrobe: Most of the magical beings are almost always shown to be wearing the same thing.
  • Lingerie Scene: Yuri takes Kang back to her house, goes to have a shower, and comes out of the bathroom in nothing but her bra and panties, much to Kang's delight. She even tells him that he can look all he wants.
  • Love Makes You Evil: Or more evil, in Yuri's case.
  • Love Dodecahedron: At one point, Medea loves The King, who wants to marry Fanta, who may or may not love Ryang, who is possibly in love with Fanta whilst still having feelings for Yuri, who is seeing Kang, whom Jinyeong is in love with and fake-dating Seunggyu in order to get Kang to appreciate her, but Seunggyu is secretly in love with Jinyeong. And breathe.
    • This kind of works itself out because Fanta leaves for Avalon, and Jinyeong and Seunggyu get together. So that just leaves Medea with a one-sided crush for the King, and a Kang-Yuri-Ryang-Yusin Love Square.
  • Love Square: Ryang and his three love interests: Yuri, Fanta and Yusin.
  • Love Triangle: Sino-Oran-Sindo
  • Make It Look Like an Accident: Fanta actually planned for Ryang to stumble across her in the bath-house, and also for him to rip her winged gown forcing her to stay behind on earth.
  • Manipulative Bastard: All the faeries, really.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Most of the faeries, especially in the first book, where Fanta's cleavage and stomach make several appearances, much to Ryang's delight. Also, some of the human girls, Yuri notably.
  • Murder the Hypotenuse: Yuri goes after practically every single girl Ryang so much as looks at.
  • Mysterious Past: Everyone.
  • Nature Spirit: Chun-rok (Goodfellow).
  • New Transfer Student: Fanta, Medea.
  • Not Good with Rejection: Yuri. See above to Murder the Hypotenuse.
  • Rapunzel Hair: The faeries, whose hair absorbs life energy as it grows.
  • Really Gets Around: Yuri said that before Ryang she used to have a different boyfriend every week (rumour was she turned them all into cats once she was done with them), and before joining the military, Kang was known to be a bit of a ladies man.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure
  • Of Corsets Sexy: Yuri dons one when she is stalking Yusin in one of the later volumes.
  • Offing the Offspring: Oran tries this a few times. She doesn't succeed.
  • 108: Ryang is doomed to suffer this number of failed relationships.
  • Panty Thief: Chun-rok (Goodfellow).
  • Parental Abandonment: Not much is known about Ryang's parents, other than the fact that they both work overseas. Ryang lives with his older brother Hun and his wife, Taeyeong.
  • Parental Favoritism: Oran favoured Pain over Fanta.
  • Pimped-Out Dress: The winged gowns, especially Seraphina's (when she gets to 1st Class) and Oreadia's (before she starts weakening and her dress levels down). Some of Yuri's and Fanta's dresses are pretty fancy too.
  • Product Placement: Many, many times throughout the series.
  • Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: Yuri. Dear God, Yuri...
  • Qipao: Yuri wears one in one of the earlier volumes, as she is threatening Sua.
  • Rape as Drama: Oran's backstory, where she was raped by Sino, resulting in Pain. She later had a consensual relationship with Sindo which produced Fanta.
  • Rapunzel Hair: All of the fairies.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Some of the faeries. Lady Samsin is actually over 5000 years old.
  • Revenge: Why Yuri does everything she does, really.
  • The Rival: Miranda (Medea) hates Fanta and frequently tries to one-up her, but Fanta really doesn't care much.
  • Santa Claus
  • Scars Are Forever: Ryang has a scar on his forehead that was given to him by Yuri, hence why he always wears a bandana.
  • Ship Sinking: Fanta and Ryang. We find out in Volume 11 that she was only using him because he was a reincarnate of her father's soul, and she needed his body for a spell to enable her to go back in time.
  • Ship Tease: Ryang and Fanta. Ryang and Yusin once Fanta ascends to Avalon.
  • Shirtless Scene: Quite a lot, actually. Notably, the trip to Sokcho where the crew went to a water park and the beach.
  • Shout-Out: Too many to count.
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: Sindo and Sino.
    • And to an extent, Ryang with Kang and Hun, Fanta and Pain, and Medea and Charon.
  • Sidekick: The King with Goodfellow. Possibly also Ryang and Fanta, with the person being the sidekick alternating.
  • Sophisticated Faerie Seeks Single Human Male: Medea. Unfortunately, this does not end well.
  • Slap Slap Kiss: Ryang and Fanta.
  • Smoking Is Cool: Ms. Yun and the King of Avalon.
  • Split Personality: Seho
  • Stern Teacher: Ms. Yun
  • Tell Me About My Father: Uttered almost verbatim by Fanta to her mother.
  • Thicker Than Water: Fanta still goes running to her mother when she hears that she is in trouble, despite all the things that Oreadia has done to ruin their family. She leaves Earth and Ryang behind, knowing that she may never be able to descend there again.
  • Time Travel
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Fanta and Medea
  • Twin Switch: Sino and Sindo literally switched bodies a few times, resulting in a very confusing situation
  • Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Sindo and Oran.
  • Upgrade Artifact: The elaborate hanboks the fairies wear augment their powers and Ryang's skateboard.
  • Unlucky Everydude: Ryang.
  • Who Wears Short Shorts?: Fanta, Yuri (when trying on outfits to impress Ryang) and Sua, the evil affinity from Volume 3.
  • Will They or Won't They?: Ryang and Fanta.
  • Yandere: Yuri. And how!
  • Yeogosaeng