I binged this in 4 hours... I'm beyond impressed by this webtoon/BL?
I think it is more of a shounen ai than a BL bc we see nothing really big other than their chests and kisses. Or it is a BL but +12 lmao.
Anyway, that is besides the point.
If I may sum it up I would give
Plot 9/10
Characters 8/10
Character Relationships and interactions 7/10
Character Design 9/10
Story pacing 9/10
Story ending 9/10
I'll go into detail now
Plot is not for everyone. I usually do not like these bc they are overdone and most similar ones have +100 chapters and lose the plot at some point. Solo leveling for example loses me at chapter 180... BUT 'A Trace of the Wonder' finishes at 95 chapters and I did not get bored reading it. It was consistent all the time and touched some sensitive topics that were nice to see and got me even more invested into the story.
Characters were also nice but I kinda found the glares of the ML at the start a bit over done. He kept having the dark eyes at moments where it felt unnecessary, I do understand later in the story why he had those glares but it did feel a bit weird at the start since I barely knew his character. I wish we could have gotten some of his thoughts in bubbles or something else to work with... but that is not such a big issue.
The side characters were amazing but I'm a bit sad that from the team not all of them got so much spotlight as I wished. The girl w the magic staff and short hair got plenty of pages and so did the boy with the fire staff. We got not much from the glass boy, the healer boy and the beloved strong lady that I was most curious about. They were the new friends of the MC but we did not explore all of them... I wished we got more of them. That is why 7/10 bc their personalities and existence is already very fun and nice to see...just wished more of them in the story.
As for character design. Plenty of new clothes which made the story feel more organic and real. Surprised they need no special clothing for the dungeons, I for sure thought they would need armour or so but it made sense they did not need it since they fully used their abilities and there also was no organization that made such clothing. Unlike solo leveling, which is more of a game system kind of thing.
So I think the designs are pretty nice, MC having mostly hoddies also fits his character. He kinda still has the hoddies bc he wants to cover his head and it kinda tells the story of him being still stuck in the past, till the very end. That is why his clothing changes the least.
Story pacing was pretty good and had a smooth flow. No chapter felt too short or too long, liked how the story took all its time to explain the world of this webtoon. Nothing was too complex, with each chapter you understood more and more and that was very neat. Very good flow.
Story ending, well I first had a different rating bc it felt a bit abrupt... But after letting it sink in I think it was a good ending and not rushed.
I hoped for more character relationships exploration but that did not mean the ending was rushed. I just hoped for a bit more exploration which will not happen and that is why I had my doubts first.
MC has PTSD and also trauma, the story shows that u cannot just forget and move on, you will suffer from it and he needs a lot of time to heal from the trauma. Getting better in just one year is impossible. The ML did get frustrated at the middle of the story and kinda scolded the MC for keep thinking of the past. I found that fitting of his character, he does and will never understand MC. He can try to understand it a bit but will never fully understand the trauma, he got a bit frustrated that all his hard work of fixing MC's past was for waste when MC got reminded again or got triggered.
It was an ass thing of ML but it showed his character at that time, that is why the ending is so satisfying bc he then saw how MC cannot easily heal in just a year. He must face his trauma and deal with it on his own way. Be it with help or with special methods. At the end him getting the talk with his dead friends was very much needed, him making new friends was also very much needed.
ML realised that at the very end and his character formed into a more gentle soul that started to like and then love MC.
The story was not rushed as I said before but the relationships of the main couple were a bit lacking and the side characters and the main characters interactions were also too little.
I would say that is the only issue I have with this webtoon. Really hoped to see the newly formed relationship of the main couple and hoped to see more of the team together. More story of the side characters would have been nice too.
That is why I give 'A trace of the wonder' a solid 4/5
*if u saw typos, no u did not*
this didn't drag as long as I thought it would.. only like 8 chapters or so of the break up... I'm sure the next topic will be a family topic or we focus on their relationship which is now mutual.
Either way I think this is long from finished and I'm all here for it. (´｡･v･｡｀)
Ah yes the classic plot where in order to get smth back u need to have sex..... yeah .... It's getting old....
Did y'all see the summary:
"?? ????????+ incest [????????????????????????????????] ? ??????Pairing: Osomatsu x Karamatsu"
oMGG it didn't start w sex and it is a bar/host plot OMGGGGGGG how wonderful, I'm eating up all the drama and story !!!!!
also I bet that dude will tell him "he is gay" or "he sells his body" ... or smth like that for sure
The fact that he was straight and now he is so gay he cannot think of anything else other than his partner and sex.... Damn....
the most frustrating BL I have ever read. Other than the art everything else is just shit.
All characters are unrelatable and poorly written, don't even get me started on the MC and ML. The motivations and perks of each character is nonexistent... esp that rich student frustrates me the most.
The bunny alien adds nothing to the story nor is anything alien like explained. Boring AF.
There is legit no process in the story, I also don't see a goal and plot.
Anticlimactic and horrible pacing.
All they do is fuck and waste time doing legit nothing.
Did not enjoy and wish I did not waste my time on this.
Notice:
No need to comment and defend this shit ass BL since I am expressing my valid opinion.
If u have the need to defend it or be rude by not being able to accept criticism/opinions of others then go find a purpose in life.
for a second I thought I was reading Yuri .... and also wishing there was a Yuri w these personalities and that plot.....
Ah yes the classic trope of Bottom not wanting love bc true love ain't shit but the Top is so obsessed w the Bottom that Bottom gives in. Yes, love to see it. Everyone deserves love and be loved!!!!!!!!!
Hope they gonna add then that the Bottom no longer gets the satisfaction from sex bc he loving that love he gets that all he needs is to be next to his lover TT pls pls pls this!!!
Bittersweet, J.J. still loves him but he cannot change someone if they don't even want to change. Nor is it his responsibility to keep trying to change someone, he saw he cannot be happy with how they were so he had to put himself first. He had to set his boundaries before he stays miserable all his life long.
Who ended up w who now i- ????????? the ending was so rushed, why .... they jumped from highschool to work life in one chapter ....... TT now I'm left confused and unsatisfied