Is TAL Worth Reading? Review & Where to Read

Quick facts
Format	Webtoon (shōnen), 283 chapters
Run	2013–2018 · ongoing
Community score	MangaUpdates 7.5

Overview

TAL starts with a simple, strong hook: Yu Jin is an ordinary orphaned high schooler until the leader of a hidden shaman society called the Chachaoong abruptly names him the next king. The Chachaoong can materialize whatever they're imagining into a real, physical ability, and most of them are furious that their next ruler is going to be some random human kid. Yu Jin doesn't want the job either — he just wants the king to change his mind — and that tension between "why me" and "get me out of this" carries the story through its opening arcs.

What it does well

The power system is the best thing about TAL. Because each Chachaoong's ability comes from their own imagination, no two characters fight the same way, and the story gets a lot of mileage out of introducing new powers that feel genuinely creative rather than reskinned versions of the same three tricks. It's the kind of series where you look forward to seeing what a new character can actually do.

The mystery behind the succession is also handled well early on. Why did the king choose Yu Jin specifically? What does he know that nobody else does? Those questions keep the plot moving, and the story doesn't rush to answer them, which builds real curiosity instead of frustration in the first fifty or so chapters.

TAL also balances tone better than a lot of series in this space. There's a steady stream of comedy — bickering side characters, awkward slice-of-life beats between Yu Jin and his friends — but it doesn't undercut the fights or the stakes when things turn serious. And because it's a webtoon, the vertical format actually gets used well in the action scenes, with panels built for scroll-based pacing instead of just being a manga page cut into strips.

Where it falls short

The problem is scale. As the cast grows, TAL keeps introducing new factions and characters faster than it resolves the ones already on the table, and the momentum from the opening chapters gradually bleeds out. Readers consistently point to the same stretch — somewhere past chapter fifty — where the story shifts from tight mystery to sprawling ensemble piece, and it's harder to track who wants what and why.

The art is also a mixed bag, particularly in the early chapters, where character designs and backgrounds look noticeably rougher than they do once the series finds its footing. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's the kind of thing that makes some readers bounce off before the story gets good.

Verdict

TAL has one of the more original power systems in the urban-fantasy webtoon space and a genuinely intriguing setup, but it demands patience once the cast balloons. If you like shows that reward sticking with a big ensemble, it's worth the read. If you need every chapter to move the plot forward, the middle stretch will test you.