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Incoming long ass rant!
I just finished season 1 and was kinda (read: very) let down. Like it had potential, a premise that wasnt new but interesting enough, gorgeous art, and pretty cool monster designs, but every character here has the personality of a dried out swimming pool. Except Kang Hwi, of course, but even he quickly became shallow and repetitive after his few first appearances.
The MC, Kibong, had too great of a set up for his character to be this boring. Man was trapped for 3000 YEARS in a simulation with only one monster and himself, forced to relive the same horrifying experience over and over again, feeling and watching his own body being brutalized a bazillion times, yet he came out of that experience with practically intact mental health? What motivation did he have to help any of other characters? Like, how did he even still have the ability to talk, let alone interact with other human and have compassion for them? We never saw the side effects of being forced to die continuously without taking a break for even a second for--i repeat---THREE FUCKING THOUSAND YEARS on him. He just got hotter and broodier and that's it??
There was also little to no bond between him and other characters. Everyone was supposed to admire and have a very deep connection with him (like how most harem fantasy works), but there were nothing in what i've read so far that made it believeable. No bonding moments, no private or profound coversations, no defining scenes, nothing--the characters kept saying that they respect Kibong and clinging onto him, but there was nothing to base that affection on, because Kibong literally had ZERO personality. Even his mom, who was supposed to be his one and only reason to live, never had even a single meaningful interaction or scene with Kibong. We just knew that she's his mom, but other than that, there were no important moments that could make us truly feel Kibong's desperation, like he really had to give everything and anything to keep her alive.
Also, i hate, HATE Sys' personification. There is no purpose at all to give the fucking System a body of a very voluptuous woman who loved to press her huge boobs on Kibong at all times -- except for the male gaze bullshit. Also, the readers are expected to feel the strong bond between her and Kibong because they were together for 3000 years, but like, how??? The author never bothered showing it. We never saw anything from the simulation after the first chapters, and Sys was literally a computer system with just a tad more personality than Windows XP user dialogue during those 3000 years. She only gained character AFTER Kibong escaped the simulation and a body shortly after. Her interaction with Kibong was transactional at best, but we're supposed to care about her? When she was absorbed by the mean guy were we supposed to feel more than "oh shoot, my incredibly advanced iPhone is gone"??
And by the way, the author made the main villain an Arab complete with turban and shit. So. Yeah. Shallow characters and a (glaring) hint of racism. Gave it 2 stars for the art only.