Elqueeness is my personal favorite manhwa. It is one of the few stories that I have been able to confidently say has remained my favorite since I started reading it many years ago. The art is beautiful, with soft colors that are easy on the eyes, as well as beautiful character designs. The art style remains consistent over the course of its hundreds of chapters, retaining the high quality that truly shows how much heart the artist has put into it. While isekai is often overused as a genre nowadays, Elqueeness does not fall into the stereotypical pit that many such stories do, which causes most ofthem to overlap and seem the same. The trauma that the main character experienced in his life on Earth does not just disappear upon arriving at his new world - it affects how he experiences the world. He is not simply this new person upon being reincarnated - he is still that lost boy who craves to find a place where he belongs.

At times, the story can be a bit slow, but it is not an action manhwa for a reason. There is some fighting, but it's definitely not the main focus. Nor is romance - there is only the tiniest bit of that (and it's not even with the main character). This story is focused more strongly on adventure - on finding the place you belong and protecting it with all your power - on found family and learning to trust those around you as well as yourself.

There is no particular fan service (unless beautiful art of beautiful characters counts), which I extremely appreciate. It also addresses some gender dysphoria, as the main character finds himself in a very androgynous body that causes many people to confuse him for a woman.

***SPOILERS:

As there is tragically only one other review on this manhwa, I want to address a few of the points they made with my own observations of the story.

While Kang Jihoon (El) was abused in his human life, he did not respond to this by becoming some gritty guy who is mad at the world - he instead withdrew in on himself and tried to be more agreeable, hoping that his family might like him (or at least treat him a little better). He came to crave the connection that his family didn't give. This led to him becoming very empathetic to those around him, and becoming the first kind Elqueeness in history, as it has been a pattern for every water spirit king to have a bad personality.

The child who summons El was able to do so because he stumbled upon a spring that had strong spiritual energy, which boosted his abilities enough to summon Elqueeness. The dragons had not already done so, as the previous Elqueeness was mad at them, and forbade them from doing so. It was not that they were physically unable to do so.

Much of the story has a very laid back atmosphere - especially at the start, where they are not yet aware of the stakes. The story takes place over the course of a long period of time (months or perhaps years? It doesn't specify, but the younger characters visibly age), much of which is not spent dealing directly with threats. This, mixed with the fact that none of the main group of characters have severe personalities, means that much of the time is spent peacefully as they travel and figure out what they're doing next. Elqueeness is considered a slice of life story for a reason.

I highly recommend Elqueeness to anyone who is a fan of fantasy, isekai, and pretty art. Perhaps I'm biased, considering it's my favorite manhwa, but it's my favorite for a reason. When I read it, it feels like I'm returning home.