KareKano
first half is from her perspective and its great. proper shoujo hs romance shenanigans. the second half is from his and is a melodramatic MESS. also that ending with their daughter having a thing for their adult best friend? YIKES
Winter Woods
this is like a modern fairytale in the vein of Tim Burton (but less goth..y) and Guillermo del Toro (but less grotesque). To give an idea of the tone. And as for The story itself, you’ll see elements of tarzan, frankenstein, the shape of water and to a lesser extent pinocchio (he just wants to be a Real Boy! This can actually apply two characters in the main cast...) and dare i say a smidge of edward scissorhands? I do want to be clear though, its small elements that add a sense of what kind of story you’re in without feeling derivative or cliche at all. Perhaps the greatest achievement of this comic though is it somehow brought out serious pathos from a character that is a Talking Bird. (anyway i loved this so much pls read it)
Annarasumanara Manhwa
ha ilkwon did it again. and by it, i mean making me cry real tears. neway full review later
My Mother’s Lover
i can never decide if i actually like studio stellas art style or not but it is distinctive i will give them that. neway this toon was such a trashy soap opera but i enjoyed that. i dont rec it and i dont not rec it? the sex scenes are sexy tho. ill say and she def ended up with the right guy
Living Will
i keep thinking i wish i could spend more time with these women and their relationship but oh well. the ending has one of the ladies dying because ofc it does. but with so little build up to the climax there is p much no emotional payoff. also the way it goes from jeannette being surrounded by dudes trying to kill her, only to suddenly end up in a room sadly reading her dead gf's letter is...not everything Needs to be explained but that was a very weird narrative choice tbh. i rly cant rate it higher than this even tho i want to. so here's hoping the next GL comic i pick up will be more enjoyable.
The Seagull and the Hunter
that was depressing af but also....meh? it would've had more impact if it was longer and we got to know the characters more. i feel sad for both the main characters. these kids really had to grow up too fast and were failed alot by the adults in their lives. its sad for sure but becuz so much happens offpage, via a sudden time skip of EIGHT years, we get little insight into their character growth or complexity of motivations so its hard to be as invested as i wanted to be. the ending feels rushed instead of painful and earned. anyway ramjak continues to be a webtoon creator that i have mixed opinions on. im also reading his current work right now Snowman. which is also clearly a setup for tragedy but with a less sympathetic main character so that's..something (appreciate that its full color too). anyway yall can just skip this one
Love or Hate(Yeongha)
the best thing i can say about this BL ero webtoon is that it has a love triangle where i can see the appeal of both guys and relationships and the sex scenes are Really hot. EDIT: caught up and looked at the newest raws (101-104) and hoo boy my mains get back together, the breakup that was long time coming finally comes, there's some fun drama involving paparazzi and jealous little shits and possible Exposure of our main pair's sordid past all culimating in a beautiful reunion and reconnection that feels earned. also 101-104 is legit just...kissing, cuddling and fucking. like ty Yeongha my fields were DYING from the drought of sexy scenes and u finally watered my crops. and by crops i mean p**** Edit Final Thoughts: a beautiful and satisfying ending to an almost perfect series. top scores here kids! can def see myself re reading this one day (but uh maybe ill skim thru half of s3 cause hoo boy did it drag in parts...)
Untouchable (massstar)
this was really mediocre and yet i read all of it so idk what that says about me. it's not Bad tho. its just Fine. its a korean webtoon but makes me think of alot of the shoujo mangas i read back in the 00s. so take that as you will. i dont have too many major complaints aside from that it didnt need to be as long as it was and the Female protaganists "best friend" was a piece of shit and i didnt feel bad for him at all even when we learned his sob story. the male lead was sweet though, i thought he would be the prickly imperious aloof type but in fact he's just traumatized and lonely and shy so he grew on me p quickly. anyway i did like the female lead and her confidence but i do wish she had like even One female friend and her family didnt spend so much of the story gaslighting her "for her own good". and ofc with these kinds of stories the romance has to remain chaste. which wouldnt be annoying if not for how insanely horny this poor girl is and she never gets to have her thirst quenched until the very very last part of the story. and ofc it has to end with a wedding cause its not a proper vanilla het romance without one. just seems like a waste of the whole cool vampire conceit if you ask me. idk can lack of ambition be a valid story critique? cause if so...and my other other issue is the main antagonist isnt even a proper antagonists until the very final act and then...nothing rly comes of it? its solved almost immediately once his true evil mwahaha plan is revealed. and also! he isnt rly dealt with? the writer kind of implies at the end he'll fall in love with some weird lolita chick and suffer but its so half assed omg. and why is shitty friend blonde boy the one to give him the Read? ugh anyway. its fine i guess.
Mars (SOURYO Fuyumi)