Well said! I think you are correct about "trying to fit tropes", and I think lots of stories end up this way for that reason- companies don't like to wait too long to see any return so there's a crunch for time and it comes across to us readers as such. I think its the nature of the beast sadly. We are left to fill any gaps ourselves, but I am okay with that because I enjoy writing for myself.
yes! I didn't add this but I agree that it's very common what you're explaining to happen in the BL manhwa industry, which can affect the construction of a good story.
my personal thing is that I always have higher expectations when the manhwa is based on a novel, but in the end, it didn't make much of a difference for R&C. apparently the novel doesn't deserve much praise for narrative writing either, so ┑(￣∇￣")
Quite true of the novel- it felt more like a collection of situations made to be "cohesive enough" to call it a story, due entirely to the lack of time allowed....it's one of the downfall of this industry.
On a positive note, it does inspire my imagination and I am grateful for that;)
after following this story since the release, my only comment is that I wanted more for them. I wanted a better plot, no need to take out the dark, psychological elements. I compared them to the Hannibal series a few times because the way Lee-Won acted really reminded me of a broken Will Graham discovering that he also liked killing, so I really would have liked to see more of that, a more developed character build, beyond the typical BL vulnerable bottom trope. the same thing happens with Caesar, I think he could be more than the dark mafia boss trope, because of his lack of social skills and almost exclusively predatory vision of the world. that was always interesting for me.
they could be more, just like other characters.
I think this manhwa was a series of trying to fit typical tropes to produce success, but ends up creating an incoherent narrative. I think that's why many people love Lee-Won's irreverent and bad-ass ways, but feel frustrated when he's the victim once again (sorry if it sounds unempathetic, it's just that writing in english is hard, but you know what I mean).
the ending felt like the entire manhwa, incomplete.
summary: I wanted more for R&C. it's like looking at a beautiful apple on a tree, picking it up, cutting it open and seeing that there's a worm inside, BUT, it's still a beautiful apple. maybe i'll eat it anyway if I'm hungry enough, I will just cut (ignore) the damaged parts