History Main / Veritas

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[[redirect:Manhwa/{{Veritas}}]]

[[re*direct:Manhwa/{{Veritas}}]]

[[quoteright:220:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Veritas.jpg]]
Veritas is a martial arts sonyun {{Manhwa}} written by Yoon Joon-sik and illustrated by Kim Dong-hoon. It is published in ''Booking'' magazine. The official website can be found [[http://toondosi.nate.com/toon/veritas here]]. The manhwa is about a [[BookDumb hard headed]] high school student who seeks to become the strongest and find out who killed his master.

Gangryong is a high schooler unlike others. He has always had a dream of being the strongest. One day he meets [[{{Mentor}} Youcheon aka ''Lightning Tiger'']], who saves him from a bunch of thugs. Gangryong begs Lightning Tiger to teach him. Lightning Tiger teaches him a [[ShockAndAwe powerful skill]] and then disappears. One year later, people come to see him and announce that his "master" is [[MentorOccupationalHazard dead]] and show him the only body part they managed to recover was his charred, broken remains of his arm. Because he was his [[HeirToTheDojo only student]], Gangryong has to follow them and go to a [[NinjaSchool school]] where everybody has [[SupernaturalMartialArts supernatural powers]]. He accepts this as a way to farther his training and to find out why his master was killed. There, he endears himself to the student body with his reckless and cocky attitude.

Part 1 has just ended and Part 2 is in DevelopmentHell.
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!!Tropes:
* AGodAmI: The goal of Yuri Linus, head of Reunion. [[spoiler: It's also the goal of Vera]]
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Guesong Chun
* AbsoluteCleavage: Madoka's ''[[http://www.onemanga.com/Veritas/41/08/ battle outfit]]'', of all things.
** Not to mention Park Hyunmi's half-unzipped leather jacket.
* AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil: Vera Linus, as its [[StudentCouncilPresident president]], can organise ''[[DuelToTheDeath death duels]]'' between students. Talk about absurdly powerful...
** Not to mention that there's an obscene amount of backstabbing, deal-making, side-changing, and outright spies and conflicts of interest. The manga is half political drama, with interactions more suited to high-level corporate espionage and control than a freaking school council. Granted, this one IS backed by a multinational corporation...
* AlphaBitch: Shinra
* ArcWords: Veritas
* AxCrazy: Muyong seems a little '''too''' unstable [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v08/c056/16.html even for a BloodKnight.]]
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Honse's specialty. Gangryongs capable of it too, though to a much lesser extent.
* BaddieFlattery: Inverted, good guy Gangryong compliments his oponent, SmugSnake Eunhwa, that she has pretty eyes. [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v02/c013/7.html While slamming her head on the ground.]]
* BadassNormal: Honse Gu [[spoiler: Subverted as of chapter 75, where we learn Honse was never normal, and it was all a ruse.]]
* BaldOfAwesome: Honse
* BeastAndBeauty: The cute [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v07/c050/13.html Yuhwa]], and the clearly AxCrazy [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v08/c056/16.html Muyong]], why she [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v08/c060/14.html cares so much about the guy]] completely boggles the mind.
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Subverted with several characters.
* BewareTheNiceOnes
* TheBigGuy: Honse.
* BigBad: Averted, there really isn't big bad, at least by western standards. There isn't a clearly defined one. [[spoiler: Although, the latest chapters do show who the real villain is.]]
* BigOlEyebrows: Gangryong
* BlackAndGrayMorality
* BloodKnight: Gangryong. His idea of a good time is a fight. He spends most of his time at the school picking fights with people. He's jumped right into the middle of a feud every side takes as SeriousBusiness simply because that's where the good fighters are. Hell, the only reason he even picked a side was because his teacher was a Traditionalist instead of being a member of Reunion. He has very little loyalty to anyone but his master.
* BoisterousBruiser: Gangryong
* [[spoiler: BolivianArmyCliffhanger / BolivianArmyEnding]]: [[spoiler: Gangryong is fighting Vera, Yuri is awake, and the few people who've survived the KillEmAll portion of the manga are actively being hunted by the Traditionalists. If the artist and writer get around to doing Part 2 for reals, this will be the first one. If they don't, it's the second.]]
* BookDumb: Gangryong is completely incapable of understanding anything that anyone tries to teach him.
* BottleFairy: [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v07/c050/ Madoka]]
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Pretty much what the series is all about. Martial Arts = Superpowers.
* CombatPragmatist
* ClothingDamage
* CoolMask: Guesong
* CoversAlwaysLie: In stark contrast to her EmotionlessGirl nature, we get things like [[http://www.onemanga.com/Veritas/36/01/ this image of Vera]].
* CurbstompBattle: Listing them all would take too long, but the most notable ones have been Vera vs Guesong, and LT vs the entire student council!
* CuteBruiser
* {{Determinator}}: Gangryong, once he gets into a fight, he won't stop until he wins or loses.
* DevelopmentHell: The only thing keeping this series from being ''really'' marked as finished or cancelled is Yoon Joon-sik's willingness to write the 2nd Part of Veritas, but everything including the valuable artist Kim Dong-hoon are against his wishes. The series in its final chapters was undergoing through an unpleasant decline in popularity, ''Booking Magazine's'' editorial from the publisher ''Haksan'' demanded Yoon Joon-sik and to rush the story because the series was given its forced date to be finished with already; that said both men gave their best and fast paced many events in the final volumes to at least try a decent closure, and yet Veritas still ended with open threads for the planned Part 2. Nowadays Kim Dong-hoon is focused in drawing other series and Haksan doesn't seem interested in picking Veritas up again, only Yoon Joon-sik expressed his wishes to continue and thanks to the readers in notes contained in the final volume for the series.
* DissonantSerenity: Hayato is generally wearing a smile, even during his fight with Gangryong.
* DoubleEntendre: The entire scene where Lightning Tiger "removes Vera's seal".
* ElaborateUniversityHigh: The school has a labs, a hospital, an arena for matches, and isolation rooms for training.
* EmotionlessGirl: Vera, most of the time.
* ExecutiveMeddling: Fans thinking the series suddenly went through some unexpected fast paced events and twists in its final chapters are not entirely mistaken, Yoon Joon-sik does mention in the 10th Volume about being concerned and insecure about the editorial decision to shoehorn all plot progression that he peviously planned to explain in more detail and in a more moderate pacing given that Veritas would go beyond the 10th Volume mark; the series was declining in popularity and ''Haksan'' decided that either they would progress with Veritas as fast as possible or it would eventually meet its cancellation.
* FakeNationality: Madoka, she's really Korean using a Japanese name as an alias. For all we know she could be of mixed race, ButNotTooForeign.
** Or it could be an attempt to cater to a possible Japanese audience should a Japanese publisher pick it up. Making a character who can easily be referenced to as Korean or Japanese based on the audience isn't anything new.
* FanService: the Manhwa starts with a pin-up-poster picture of Vera and Shinra in bikinis. In fact these two are MsFanservice incarnate.
* {{Flashback}}s: Used extensively. ''{{Veritas}}'' takes place near the climax of a bunch of conflicts that have been developing for years. The plot involves as many flashbacks to explain the current state of affairs as it does new events. One event in particular is the subject of multiple flashbacks from multiple perspectives, to show how important it's effects have been: [[spoiler: Lightning Tiger's attack on the Reunion school]]
* FoeYay: Vera appears to have a serious crush on Lightning Tiger despite him whooping her ass in combat. Indeed, that's ''why'' she feels this way.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Guesong's conversation with Vera after his [[spoiler: failed rape attempt.]]
* FridgeBrilliance: [[http://www.onemanga.com/Veritas/73/14/ Remove the long hair and add Gangryong's]]. My jaw dropped when I noticed that. He's even got the trademark thick eyebrows.
* GenericCuteness: Subverted. Despite using a fairly glamorous art style, and having almost every character in peak fighting shape, the artist actually managed to make Gangryong believably uglier than everyone else without resorting to {{Gonk}}. It's noted many times in story, including by Gangryong himself.
-->'''I might not have heard that I was attractive before, but still!'''
** He's just much too HotBlooded to be yet another lame-ass pretty boy. Many readers think he looks just fine.
* GoodNewsBadNews: Honse when he was told that he had to watch over Gangryong.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: Gangryong
* TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: This is about as close as it gets to describing the Hate Dodecahedron that is the plot of 'Veritas'.
* HardWorkHardlyWorks: A main theme. Everyone ''but'' Gangryong have taken Ki transfusions that exceed what would usually be gotten through a lifetime of training ''multiple times''. A good deal of the plot is Gangryong trying to bypass his obvious and extraordinarily bad disadvantages through sheer hard work, pain, and dirty, dirty fighting. Also shown in that many of the students give up their own family's style to take up Reunions, which is far easier to use and train with, rather than master their own intricate and hard to use styles.
** It's worse than that. [[spoiler: The students never really learned how to fight, choosing to rely on flashy techniques, speed, and power, while glossing over the basics, such as proper stance and breath control. In a straight up fist fight, even some of the most powerful students make rookie mistakes, like dropping their guard, a fact Gangryong gleefully takes advantage of.]]
* HeirToTheDojo: Lots of the students in Reunion are the heirs of their respective dojo.
* {{Herald}}: Zerar
* HiddenEyes: Guesong
* HotBlooded: Gangryong
** Guhoo as well.
* IdentificationByDentalRecords: A skull believed to be Lightning Tiger's was [=IDed=] this way.
* IdiotHero: Gangryong and his master, Lightning Tiger. Both get caught up in schemes quite beyond their understanding and only interfere because things are literally shoved into their faces.
* ItsPersonal: Between [[{{Bishounen}} Rud]] and [[JerkJock Guhoo]], after[[spoiler: Guhoo [[StuffedIntoTheFridge stuffed]] [[DisposableWoman Anichella]] [[StuffedIntoTheFridge in a fridge]]]].
** [[spoiler: It would appear that Guhoo is only partly responsible, as it was revealed, that Yuri secretely gave him a hand in winning, since Anichella became a threat to Veras position as the student council president.]]
* JerkAss: Gangryong, at least, when he's trying to pick a fight. Hayato, who is by FAR the calmest and least volatile of the cast, still manages to get riled up after a little while.
* JerkJock: Guhoo
* {{Joshikousei}}
* KiAttacks: The [[SupernaturalMartialArts Martial Arts]] may use Ki. This basic idea is a bit different from the norm in that Gangryong is trained to use attacks that use pure ki while all the strong students at Reunion use artifical ki transfusions to augment their ki attacks.
* [[spoiler: KillEmAll:]] As of chapter 79 [[spoiler: most of the cast is dead by Vera's hand. If Heaven's Riches has its way, the rest of the cast (barring Gangryong) will soon follow.]]
** Done by [[spoiler: Yuri to Heaven's Riches in a LaserGuidedKarma. One moment they are an unstoppable killing force and the "True succesors", beating Fire Dragon to an ich of his life in their moment of thriumph ... the next [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v10/c081/20.html they are]] blood stains in the rocks]]
* MadeOfIron: Subverted with Gangryong. Guhoo is the more literal example.
* MaleGaze: Oh yeah.
* ManlyTears
* MenDontCry: Averted. Oh, Honse.
* MyFistForgivesYou: Ma Gangryong certainly likes to give Gu Honse copious forgiveness for his antics.
* NearRapeExperience: Guesong to Vera. He backs off when he realizes that even in those circumstances, he's still completely and utterly insignificant in her eyes.
* NebulousEvilOrganization: Reunion has it's hands in everything, all with the goal of making it's leader into a god.
* NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead: Madoka, she chastises Mu-Young for dissing Guesong's death.
* NewTransferStudent: Gangryong
* NinjaSchool: Reunion runs one of these, and it is the location of most of the story.
* NonActionGuy: Subverted. [[spoiler:Gu Honse used to be one of the three most powerful students in the school, but he deliberately destroyed his own Ki system to save himself. He still is one of the most intelligent combatants, and it seems that he's using his fall to the background to become the {{Chessmaster}}.]]
** [[spoiler:Averted with chapter 76. He completely faked it.]]
*** [[spoiler:He's still the weakest, having fallen behind due to spending all his time practicing a martial art that is useless on everyone but Vera]].
* NowThatsUsingYourTeeth: A popular Gangryong tactic. [[http://www.onemanga.com/Veritas/31/14/ As seen here]].
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Gangryong admits that part of the reason he went around picking fights that had no chance of winning is that no matter how powerful he gets, nobody will be able to shake their first impression of him as a weak loser.
** As of the climax of chapter 75, Honse proved that he's [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v10/c075/25.html godlike at this.]]
** As of the final chapter of this part of the Manwha, [[spoiler:Ganryong,]] for some time. Especially due to the fact that [[spoiler:he was powerful enough to release Lightning Tiger's seal on Yuri will no effort, after chasing Fire Dragon deep into the forest]]. And even then, he [[spoiler:still had more than enough power to pick a fight with Vera]].
* {{Ojou}}: Vera
* PantyShot: This happens often.
* PsychoticSmirk: Guesong
* RebelliousSpirit: Gangryong
* RivalTurnedEvil: Fire Dragon
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Park Hyunmi wears one of these.
* SchoolOfHardKnocks
* {{Shout Out}}s: Several.
** {{DragonballZ}}: [[http://www.onemanga.com/Veritas/12/11/ This]] and [[http://www.onemanga.com/Veritas/14/02/ this.]]
** GreatMazinger: Lightning Tiger: "[[http://www.onemanga.com/Veritas/6/08/ I really like the ''Great Mazinger''.]]"
** StarWars: [[http://www.onemanga.com/Veritas/67/05/ Force Grip.]]
** VideoGame/StreetFighterII[=:=] [[http://www.onemanga.com/Veritas/1/18/ Shouryuuken!]]
* {{Sidekick}}: Honse
* SequelHook: Despite ExecutiveMeddling to force a fast paced progression for its plot and almost facing cancellation, Veritas still ended in a note for a possible Part 2, even after the series' decline in popularity, Yoon Joon-sik (the writer) still expressess his will to someday continue Veritas with the previously planned Part 2.
* ShockAndAwe: EOTL, Ganryong's style.
* StepfordSmiler: Madoka
* [[spoiler: SurprisinglyEliteCannonFodder]]: Heaven Riches at hands of [[spoiler: Yuri]]. Worst of all, it happened offscreen.
* TheStoic: Vera
** [[spoiler: NotSoStoic at times...]]
* StoneWall: Guhoo
* SuperDeformed: Used for jokes. Usually includes Honse.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Subverted, when Madoka wanted to take out Gangryong after finding out that he will be helping Rud to take over the student council. [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v07/c050/5.html Instead of slamming him to the ground instantly,]] [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v07/c050/6.html she got into a discussion with him.]] While she was talking, Gangryong had the time to make a few attempts to use a new technique, although he managed to [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v07/c050/7.html fire it off successfully,]] [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v07/c050/7.html only after she stopped talking, and was about to waste him.]]
* [[spoiler: ThereCanBeOnlyOne:]] In order to be recognized as the leader of Reunion and Heaven's Riches, Vera [[spoiler: kills ''every other student at the school'' barring the Nine Dragons who were away at the time. The twisted logic behind this is that the power of Reunion can only belong to one worthy successor, and the "traditionalist" students at the school were still "tainted" by Reunion and had to die as well. Gangryong is the ''only'' person Heaven's Riches will allow to live since he never participated in Reunion's experiments and his training under Lightning Tiger was "pure".]]
* TookALevelInBadass: Gangryong, several times. When he gets to the school at the beginning of the Manhwa, he's just a punk kid with the very basics of his master's style and is considered so pathetic that Vera thinks he's only going to be good for passing the style down to someone with potential. By the tenth volume of the series, despite the fact he's only really been practicing for a few years, he's stronger than people who've been born and raised as martial artists.
** Rud also counts, having taken a martial art considered so pathetic that Reunion didn't even bother to copy it into one of their styles and grown strong enough to be one of the strongest, most powerful fighters in school.
** This is the reason Shinra hates Gangryong so much. It really upsets her that some punk who has only been seriously practicing martial arts and ki channeling for a few years can match people like her who have spent their entire lives training and, in the case of Reunion members, risked their lives using experimental ki fusions.
* TragicKeepsake: LT's ''charred arm.''
* TryingToCatchMeFightingDirty: One of Gangryong's main fighting styles.
* UnderdogsNeverLose: Subverted, Gangryong has lost a few fights but when he wins it tends to be a shock for his opponent.
* WaifFu: Many (read: ALL) of the female fighters that have shown up so far do not have the physique one would expect of someone who has both trained in martial arts for their entire life and participates in (sometimes) rather bloody fist fights using said martial arts (the most obvious examples being the aforementioned Vera and Shinra, who have the bodies of bikini models rather than fighters). Contrast this with most of the male fighters that have shown up, who are ripped and generally have the physique of someone who regularly trains in hand-to-hand combat (e.g. Gangryong). However, due to the ability of ki to drastically augment the strength and power of the user, developing muscle tone is not quite as necessary as it is in real life.
* WeakButSkilled: Funnily enough that's what Gangryong is in comparison with the other fighters at school. Since he's been training properly for only about a year, and has a miniscule amount of ki, with low purity, his attacks are really weak. To compensate for that, he has obscene amounts of real fighting experience he earned in streetfights. It was most obvious in his fight with Eunhwa who was much stronger than him. He won by using superior tactics and having more experience, he even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v02/c012/27.html here.]]
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: So the amazing defensive technique everyone is shocked by is.. a half step to the left or the right? That seems like kind of a no-brainer.
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: EOTL is supposed to be able to call lightning from anywhere and can decimate even Vera's style, which is supposedly the end-all-be-all to martial arts. Gangryong doesn't know how to do that yet, so he instead would like to beat your face in with an electrified fist.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Guhoo killing Anichella to protect Vera's status.
* WhamEpisode: Chapter 79.
* WorfHadTheFlu: It was revealed that the only reason that Guhoo manhaged to kill Anichella, was because Yuri helped him.
* WouldHitAGirl: Gangryong WILL hit a girl or at least tries to, if she pisses him off.
* {{Wuxia}}: Uses many wuxia tropes but the story itself is more on the cynical side and the main hero is a BloodKnight rather than a traditional noble wuxia hero.
* TheWorfEffect: Anichella was supposed to be a genius, and Vera's rival, yet she was killed in a fight with [[MadeOfIron Guhoo]], who isn't really all that impressive, and seems to be one of the weakest peaple in the student council. Rud even lampshades, [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v04/c028/25.html how unbelievable that is.]]
** [[spoiler:Averted with chapter 75. Turns out, [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v10/c075/16.html Guhoo had some help]] and Anichella was just as [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v10/c075/17.html tough]] as everyone thought she was.]]
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** StreetFighterII[=:=] [[http://www.onemanga.com/Veritas/1/18/ Shouryuuken!]]

* TheLibby: Shinra

* BoobsOfSteel: Madoka, Vera

** Done by [[spoiler: Yuri to Heaven's Riches in a LaserGuidedKarma. One moment they are an unstoppable killing force and the "True succesors", beating Fire Dragon to an ich of his life in their moment of thriumph ... the next [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v10/c081/20.html they are]] blood stains in the rocks]] [[{{Understatement}} It got to hurt]].

* AxCrazy: Muyong seems a [[{{Understatement}} little]] '''too''' unstable [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v08/c056/16.html even for a BloodKnight.]]

* MostCommonSuperpower: Every female character shown so far.

* TheCombatPragmatist

* CurbstompBattle: Listing them all would take too long, but the most notable ones have been Vera vs Guesong, and LT vs the ENTIRE STUDENT COUNCIL

* EvilIsSexy: Or rather it's morally ambiguous.
* FakeNationality: Madoka, she's really Korean using a Japanese name as an alias. For all we know she could be a CharlieDog.

Part 1 has just ended and apparently Part 2 is in the planning stages.

* HardWorkHardlyWorks: A main theme. Everyone ''but'' Gangryong have taken Ki transfusions that exceed what would usually be gotten through a lifetime of training ''multiple times''. A good deal of the plot is Gangryong trying to bypass his obvious and extraordinarily bad disadvantages through sheer hard work, pain, and dirty, dirty fighting. Also shown in that many of the students give up their own family's style to take up Reunions, which is far easier to use and train with, rather than master their own intricate and hard to use styles.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Lightning Tiger's fight at the school qualifies as one for the entire manhwa. Every named character within Reunion except Fire Dragon shows up to ambush him when he enters the school grounds. [[spoiler: He curbstomps the entire group with a bunch of mooks. The only person who manages to land a blow on him is Vera, so he responds by reverse engineering her martial art on the spot and nearly killing her as a result. Afterwards, he's mainly annoyed that she actually got a blow in on him. THEN Fire Dragon shows up and ambushes him with a bunch more mooks, all trained to fight against foes like him. He still gets away.]]
** During chapters 73 & 74 [[spoiler: Gangryong challenges both Shinra and Guhoo to a fight, and seemingly gets curbstomped, Guhoo then angrily explains why Gangryong can never beat them, regardless of training, [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech as their desire to protect those dear to them make them more powerful than he will ever be.]] Gangryong then gets up, [[LampshadeHanging laughing about how many times he's read something similar in shounen manga.]] He then brutally tears down Guhoon's FreudianExcuse and kicks both his and Shinra's asses easily.]]
** Honse [[spoiler: chapter 75 during the announcements it's been revealed that the leader of the nine dragons is in fact honse and that he's been training for the last four years, ObfuscatingStupidity or in this case impotence, confirming his roles as the Chessmaster, and challenging Vera for title of President]]
* CrowningMomentOfFunny: Gangryong has some '''epic''' [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v04/c026/18.html pickup]] [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v04/c026/19.html lines.]]
** Also [[YourMileageMayVary YMMV]], but Vera's interactions with LT in chapter 73 may qualify. Seeing the usually confident,[[TheStoic stoic]] and [[EmotionlessGirl emotionless]] Vera, blushing and stuttering while talking to her crush is positively hilarious.

* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler: Vera]]

* VillainDecay: Sort of. Earth Beast is introduced by having him kick Gangryong's ass. Then we promptly find that he's TheLoad of the Heavenly Five Paths because the chain of his martial art has been broken, [[CantCatchUp possibly forever]].

* AxCrazy: Muyong seems a [[{{Understatement}} little]] '''to''' unstable [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/veritas/v08/c056/16.html even for a BloodKnight.]]