| An Ideal World | |
|---|---|
 Yen Press edition of An Ideal World | |
| 尋找自我的世界 Seek Self's World | |
| Genre | |
| Author | Weidong Chen |
| Illustrator | Chao Peng |
| Publisher | Tian Jin Creator World Comic Co. |
| English publisher | |
Other publishers
| |
| Original run | 2006–2007 |
| Volumes | 5 (original) 1 (English release) |
An Ideal World (simplified Chinese: 寻找自我的世界; traditional Chinese: 尋找自我的世界; pinyin: xún zhǎo zì wǒ de shì jiè "Seek Self's World") is a full-color Chinese manhua authored by Weidong Chen and illustrated by Chao Peng. The series was released in five volumes and published in China by Tian Jin Creator World Comic Company (simplified Chinese: 天津神界漫画公司; traditional Chinese: 天津神界漫畫公司; pinyin: Tiān jīn shén jiè màn huà gōng sī) under the title Seek Self's World and as part of the Cunren Fairy Tale series. An Ideal World was licensed by various other companies and released simultaneously with the original publisher between 2006 and 2007. The French manhua-publishing company Xiao Pan licensed the series as "Un Monde Idéal" ("An Ideal World") and Yen Press later announced at the New York Comic Con that they had licensed the series from Xiao Pan. Yen Press released it in North America as one volume called An Ideal World.
An Ideal World follows the struggles of A You, a young man who, believing he has no luck, does not attempt to succeed in life even though others advise him to make his own luck. When he accidentally gets on the wrong bus, A You finds himself in the suburbs, where he takes shelter from the rain in a large tree and takes a nap. After waking up, A You happens upon the house of an old man, who sends him to an alternate world so that he may resolve his troubles. A You grows to enjoy the fantasy world and does not wish to return to his harsh reality. An Ideal World garnered mixed reception from Western critics, who objected mainly to the beginning and praised the overall story, artwork and themes.