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8requiems · 3 years
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A Webcomic Review of “Garden Club Detective Squad”:
Oh God Oh Fuck did someone just die?
By: 8Requiems
The Description:
“Gardening and solving crime aren’t what straight-A student Yeon Han thought she would be focusing on at her new school. But when she discovers a notebook that contains clues to a 15-year-old murder mystery, she and the other members of her new gardening club realize the murderer not only has access to the school -- they probably work for the school. Can the gardening club squad figure out who committed the murder even though the principal and their teachers seem desperate to cover it up?”
Now, this description is quite detailed, maybe a bit too detailed.
This comes down to personal preference, but personally, I don’t like seeing the plot in thorough detail before reading the story, especially if it is a mystery.
If it were me, I would write the description as:
“In her attempt to not become a backwater girl, Yeon Han eventually decides to become the President of the Gardening Club. But she’ll soon realize that maybe she might have bitten off more than she could chew”
This description may be a bit rudimentary, but it shows an idea of what my ideal description for this webtoon would be.
It says just enough about the story while also leaving enough to imagination. But the current description at present shows what the first 3-4 chapters are. Had the description not even mentioned the teachers, I probably wouldn’t have considered they were trying to cover anything up to begin with.
That being said, I did read chapters 1-3 of the webtoon blind. And I have to say, I didn’t expect the unassuming colorful cover of this Webtoon to show such menacing and dark panel off-rip.
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(A panel from the first scene in Chapter 1)
But, let us familiarize ourselves with the cast, shall we?
Characters:
Yeon Han - The Brain:
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Yeon is an honor student who moved outside of Seoul, presumably due to not having enough money to stay. Despite this turn of events, she doesn’t want to become a “backwater girl”. For the sake of her academic record, she decides to settle on becoming the class president. But her peers are just amused at how cocky she was despite being new to the school.
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(A panel in the middle of Chapter 2 ^)
When that fails, she decides to settle on becoming the president of an after school club. But forget becoming president, they wouldn’t even allow her to join on the basis that she is too qualified. BRO, THE LITERATURE DISCUSSION CLUB HAS THREE MEMBERS. ONE INCLUDING A BODYPILLOW FOR FUCK SAKES. Part of me wanted to laugh but part of me also felt insulted for her.
I expected her character to be the “genius that finds a niche that she enjoys compared to other activities they would usually dominate at”, but she is already fed up with how hard gardening actually is. Not to mention the amount of faculty and students who ask favours from her.
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It was a very pleasant surprise, because now I can rightfully assume that while she works on her cases, she might pick up skills from the gardening club. Dare I say, she actually comes to appreciate and enjoy it as a hobby? I guess only time will tell, as this is still a very new Webtoon, with 12 Chapters out as of this review’s conception.
The one thing I have on my mind at the moment, is if her range of skills she currently has will be useful when tackling the murder case.
Whether or not that is the case, I have high hopes for her as a character.
Mirim Shin - The Spiritual:
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Although I said I have high hopes for Yeon, I think Mirim is my favorite character. As the daughter of a priest, she is in tune with her spirituality on a whole other level compared to her club mates. 
An interesting tidbit about her is that she decided to practice all forms of faith before her baptism. I can only assume it’s so she could have an idea of what could have been, before deciding to lock in on one specific faith.
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Honestly, I genuinely didn’t expect for her to say something like this, not because it sounded ridiculous, but because up until that point, it felt like her spirituality was just a running gag that came with her character.  
It was nice to see her character expanded upon, and I hope the other characters get the same treatment, even if it is only brief.
Baekji Kang - The Muscle
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Then there's Baekji, who easily wins in cool factor. 
I can’t say much other than that in addition to being a part of the garden club, she is also in the Judo club. Although the story doesn’t technically address it, I feel like she fills the role of pseudo-leader / Vice-President of the club. 
She’s cool.
Saessak - The Green Thumb’d Romantic?:
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Ssaesak is a soft-spoken girl who attends to the garden's needs as one of the two members of the garden club. 
She is unexpectedly a romantic, being interested in bad boys.
I only found her annoying for a brief moment because it seemed like she was going to hold back information on her latest crush, Hyeonsu Jeong (the lunch guy), before finally finding the resolve to give a possibly game changing piece of evidence to Yeon.
She’s alright.
Execution:
Despite the mostly positive things I have said in this review, my first impressions of Garden Club Detective Squad were more negative in comparison to the opinions I shared at present.
When I read Wizard of Arsenia, I had overblown expectations because my editor Nen had already recommended God of Bath, a webtoon I have now come to really appreciate. I assumed I would love it in the same way.
My expectations were what held me back from what I usually do best: Sit down and just enjoy the show. Granted, I still hold opinions about it that I believe hold back the story, but the opinions were way fairer than what I could have said.
This time around, I made a similar mistake.
I decided on my own to read Garden Club Detective Squad for this review, and held expectations for the mystery element of the Webtoon, which was reinforced by the first panel I showed in the review. Thankfully, even if the webtoon didn’t live up to whatever expectation I had, I know that I could still appreciate it for what it was because I just went with the flow. At worst, the mystery could come across as contrived.
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(A panel from the first scene in Chapter 1)
That being said, somehow, I was disappointed. Even a bit annoyed 5-7 chapters in. Disappointment is one thing, but why was I annoyed?
At first, I was thinking it was because the story had a problem with how it presented tension. After all, the webtoon is categorized as a mystery, so I criticized it as such.
In my original draft, I wrote the following: 
“The webtoon is categorized under mystery, but I don’t really feel the urgency of the case whatsoever. I feel like I am getting whiplash between moments that I feel are supposed to be serious and moments that are just ‘slice of life’ hijinks.”
I hadn’t taken into account that, although it was a “mystery”, it functioned more like a “comedy”, like God of Bath.
I feel as though the Webtoon was miscategorized. I use God of Bath as an example because it could have easily been categorized under “Action”, because of the Ttaemiri battles. But despite these battles, because of the way dialogue is presented, it is understandably under the comedy genre. Moreover, the action was more of a vehicle to tell the stories and values of the characters themselves. In other words, even if you were to take out these action elements, God of Bath would be fundamentally the same.
But according to my logic, does this mean that if this webtoon didn’t have mystery elements, it would be fundamentally the same? 
No, and I do not think it would be the same if the webtoon didn’t have the comedy elements either.
To be perfectly clear, just because I think Garden Club Detective Squad is a comedy, it doesn’t mean that I think it shouldn’t present mystery elements, or vice-versa. But I wish Webtoon could at the very least categorize it as both a “mystery” and “comedy”.
Who knows, maybe my opinion will change as more and more chapters get uploaded. Or rather, I hope it does.
Personally, despite my position towards the webtoon being a comedy, it isn’t all that funny.
And as of the currently uploaded chapters, I think the mystery is all right.
In my opinion, what makes a good mystery is having all the clues presented to the characters and the reader to be able to solve the case. To understand 52chu’s take on mystery, I’ll break down the first suspect, Hyeongsu. Take this scene the beginning of episode 6 for example:
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This scene is trying to insinuate that Hyeongsu is the killer. The dramatic irony of this scene, Saessak’s photo of Hyeongsu dumping bones in the garden, and the story deliberately pointing out that there are no cameras in the cafeteria/garden area are the three pieces of information the story provides to help the indirect claim.
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(A panel from Episode 8 ^)
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(A Panel from Episode 9 ^)
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(A panel from episode 8 ^)
But it was all a misunderstanding. Whoops, my bad. “I was just trying to help you all”.
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(A panel from episode 9 ^)
It's almost comical how much the plot just wanted to frame Hyeongsu, I can’t help but laugh.
All forms of evidence lead to Hyeongsu, except the fact that the bones were the remnants of ribs from past cafeteria specials:
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(Panel from episode 9 ^)
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(Panel from episode 9 ^)
If you were able to pick up the possibility, then great. But somehow, Hyeongsu’s mini-arc just fell flat for me. Whether you knew this one detail or not, it feels like I’m going to be dragged from suspect to suspect in the future. Everyone one of them will be the “killer” except for that one contrivance that makes them innocent. Honestly, I firmly believe that it isn’t any of the faculty.
You know what, here's my Trademark 8Requiems theory. The culprit is Chair Juyeong. 
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(A panel from Episode 6 ^)
I don’t mind the club reaching dead ends, but if there aren’t elements that could at least help me identify who the real culprit is, I doubt I could enjoy it as much as I’d like to.
Conclusion:
Reading and understanding this Webtoon has been somewhat of a ride. Although it is still ongoing, I have mixed feelings on whether or not I want to continue reading. But despite the gripes that I have with it at the moment, I think I will continue reading it just to see where 52chu takes the story.
You will likely enjoy this Webtoon if you like stories where the plot focuses on the reader having fun with the misadventures of the cast.
But what do you guys think? Do you think my criticism was unfounded? Do you think it really *IS* a mystery, and that I am looking at this Webtoon in the wrong light? Talk about it in the comments below.
And as always,
Arrivederci Brothers. May you attain your grain.
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8requiems · 3 years
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The God of Bath Review
This review, by current standards at least, could be considered a “Quality Drop”, but i still wanted to post it anyway.
With that said, I hope you like the review!:
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Intro Sequence
It’s official description reads:
“Heo Sae, wants to be the best person in spa massage and scrub, has battles with others.”
And if you want to suck out all the nuance, then that is the simple premise on which all 30 episodes of this manhwa are built on but let’s spruce this up a bit
“God of Bath” follows Heo Sae, a narcissistic jobless college grad that’s found himself indebted to a loan shark because he keeps trying to chase the chic city life of Seoul, South Korea. After being bailed out of his debt by the Chairman of ‘Geumja Public Bath’ because he has the hands of Taemirus also known as the God of Bath. Heo must work off his debt by participating in the ‘Bath Star M’ contest, the winner will be crowned the best “Ttaemiri”, given 300 million won in prize money and a luxury Sedan
Side note: Ttaemiri - a professional scrubber who scrubs down in bathers in a public bathhouse
Setting: 
The primary location of ‘God of Bath’ is the ‘Geumja Public Bath’. A giant Pyramid in the middle of a town, also I know I’m colourblind but is it just me or does the colour look oddly like...hmmm(*sound of running water*).
The comic skews heavily in using 3D renders coupled with some drawn over assets and while these shots aren’t my favourite they’re hardly the point. Most of the art in God of Bath seems to serve the purpose of giving you an appreciation of the world Heo Sae envies and wishes deeply to be a part of. It sets the stakes for what he stands to lose if he loses the Bath Star M contest. Thus = This could be due the fact that regardless of which type of comedy I categorized this webtoon as, it’s still a comedy, and I didn’t start reading so I could find exceptional art, but the poor 3d models somehow compliments the art that is actually drawn. Maybe its the simplistic art and lack of drawn detail. Whatever it is, it works.
Characters: 
God of bath is home to a cavalcade of characters.
First there’s Heo Sae - The Humbled Narcissist: 
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( ^ Chapter 1)
He is a narcissistic college grad, who  in the 8th grade decided to move to Seoul Korea to put distance between himself and inheriting his late father's bath business. He is a trend chaser and deeply cares about keeping up appearances. Despite giving off an egotistical demeanor, he is still a respectful person.
Then we have Kang Hae - A Traditional Professional:
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( ^ Chapter 3 )
Kang Hae is a traditional Ttaemiri, who is diligent and is strict about safety. Kang Hae is introduced as Hae’s ideal endpoint if he devotes himself to “Tae” the art of scrubbing. He is an earnest individual with no sympathy for those that look down on Ttaemiri, or the dreams of others. It’s revealed during the second round of the ‘Bath Star M’ contest that the chairman had to retire after hurting his right arm protecting Kang. An example of this would be when he responds to Hae downplaying the skills of Ttaemiri in an attempt to not look as shameful about his loss in the Bath Combat (Chapter 4)
And then theirs his Kanh hae’s Rival, Kim Seonggong - The Icarus of Ttaemiri
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( ^ Chapter 16′s Beginning Art )
Is an Elite Ttaemiri, whom unlike Kang Hae, seemed to have grown up under normal circumstances, but chose to become a Ttaemiri regardless. During a bath seminar, he debuts a “bath paddle”, which is a curvy white knife, to scrub off the dead skin of a homeless man. After the demonstration, Kang asks Seong why he is so eager to succeed. Kim responds in kind, “People tend to reach higher places… Should there be a reason for that?” Because of his desire to succeed, he can be seen as an opportunist. As he will tend to as many VIP’s as possible, postponing the regulars he would usually scrub.
Immersion: 
Now, right off the bat, It may seem weird to be discussing Immersion in relation to the comedy genre on webtoon, but hear me out: 
Generally there are two ways comedy is portrayed in webcomics,
Stories where consequences are never/very occasionally carried over into the following episodes, think Garfield
Stories where consequences are carried over and the character roster is unchanging, think
‘God of Bath’ falls under the latter, meaning that although its jokes are a major selling point of the webcomic itself, it still has an ongoing plot that you can attach yourself to and enjoy. Although I have read webtoons like ‘God of Bath’, I found myself forgetting that it was mainly categorized as a comedy. This isn’t to say that it isn’t funny, but the webtoon treats the plot as important as the humour it presents. 
      2. Execution (Is it funny?): 
When thinking about the execution of ‘God of Bath’, we’d naturally have to think about 3 things. The jokes considering that it's under “Comedy”, the “Arc” that Heo Sae goes through, and the logistics of anything “bath” related that this webcomic is asking you to accept (which I will explain why it is important to any degree in a bit).
But first, the funny ha ha moments. Naturally, no matter how objective I want to be about this section. Whether or not this webtoon is funny is completely up to YOU, the reader. That being said, throughout the time I was reading these 30 episodes, I found myself often smiling. Referring back to the art, the way Creator Ilkwon draws Heo Sea is unique enough to the point where I can’t help my face just lock into a grin.
Moving on to Heo’s unintentional journey towards bettering himself, “God of Bath” is surprisingly realistic with the way certain situations unfold in the story, despite it being a comedy. In the span of 30 episodes, Heo is somehow completely unrecognizable when compared to his chapter 1 counterpart. Honestly, there is way more nuance in this webcomic than it really should have. I say it like it's a negative, but it's honestly just unexpected. Especially since the webcomic doesn’t wear a message on it’s sleeve.
Finally, the logistics of anything bath related. If I’m going to be honest, if God of Bath’s “logic”, wherever there is, when it comes to scrubbing was 100% false, I wouldn’t really bat an eye to it. Because scrubbing is more of a device used to progress the plot rather than as a selling point for the story. Which is weird considering that all bath related activities is what makes God of Bath, ‘God of Bath’. The fact that Geumja public bath is able to disguise itself as the centerpiece of the webcomic instead of Heo’s arc in the comic, all the while both being enjoyable to read regardless, makes the Webtoon succeed, and properly deserve being among the list of Originals on the site.
        3. Style:
I already touched upon the quality of the webtoons setting, so the main focus will go towards the art of the cast themselves and how it translates towards telling the story. 
‘God of Bath’’s art can be summarized through this one panel of Heo Sea (Chapter 3):
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Although Ilkwon Ha has a decent grasp on how to draw his characters, it never stops him from drawing absurd versions of the cast. But more importantly than that, he doesn’t always stay consistent with the way he draws gags. There are multiple combinations or versions of some gags that it never really feels repetitive. 
An example of this would be of when Heo Sae takes a selfie.
Chapter 1
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Vs. 
Chapter 8
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There are countless amounts of this specific panel sprinkled throughout the 30 episodes, but I can’t help but crack a smile seeing it regardless.
Here are some more examples of Ilkwon Ha blurring the line between a gag drawing and a normal panel.
( Both of these panels come from Chapter 6 ) 
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Gag panels aside, I have come to like Ilkwon Ha’s intro panels. Seeing them somehow feels refreshing every time I read a new chapter. I think it’s because the art is usually ‘peaceful’ or ‘calm’, which you could even say matches how customers feel after being scrubbed down by the Ttaemiri in Geumja. I don’t know, that's just me spitballing.
(All 3 of these images come from Chapter 1) 
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Originial Opinion: (If you want to elaborate on how 3D models are used throughout the webcomic, go for it. I don’t really have much opinion on it besides the fact that- it exists).
In Retrospect: I was going to leave tis review untouched for when I posted it since I did this a while back and it shows a good sense of progress for me personally, but I just wanted to say that the 3D models kinda grew on me, and somehow contribute to the Webcomics style despite being so clearly out of place.
Conclusion:
Overall, after reading ‘God of Bath’, it could have truly succeeded as an episodic series. The story concept alone gives it enough creative freedom in expanding the “Bath World”.
But most important of all fleshing out the characters more.
At the very least, seeing how Seonggongs’s path towards greatness would have unfolded. Because no matter how much I dwell on his character, it feels like his arc as a character was incomplete. Or rather, it feels like there was missed potential. 
THAT BEING SAID, the webcomic itself was very complete, seeing as how it was about Heo Sae’s values and how those values change throughout the comic.
I should also note that APPARENTLY, there was going to be a movie adaptation released in 2015, but due to the main lead (Kim Young-Kwang) finding a successful role in “Pinocchio”, it got shafted. Which sucks because while I was writing this I was thinking about how this should get an animated adaptation like ‘Tower of God’.
All in all, I definitely suggest you give ‘God of Bath’ a chance, because it just may surprise you how,  before you know it, the webcomic is already pulling you into its odd, yet realistic world.
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8requiems · 3 years
Text
A Webcomic Review of “Deadlove”: I think I am a Sadist now.
Intro
WHOA WHOA WHOAAAA, before you skip this part, I tweaked the process of how I review webcomics after reviewing the webcomic before this one, “Wizard of Arsenia”. The changes aren’t earth shattering, but I just wanted to put that out there.
If you don’t care. I mean, you can skip reading it. I guess it's cool. I don’t mind...not like I didn’t spend time refining it- but it's OKAY.
Before we get into this review, there are two main parts of the review:
The General Review
This route will give you a simple idea of the webcomic you are about to read. It will naturally include my personal opinions, but they will not be inconsistent to any prior or future reviews I do (in the sense that I don’t do double standards when I talk about said webcomics). 
Said opinions won’t really dominate this route because I will be mainly establishing what the webcomic has to offer in each part. 
Because of this, my opinions will always be presented at the end of each section.
If need be, I will refer to events that might be considered as “spoiler territory”. 
I will read as far as I require in order to get a good idea of the story I am reading, so the amount of chapters I read will vary. At a baseline, I will have read at least 10 chapters.
Granted, I doubt anything too important will change how you experience later chapters since it isn’t as, lets say, a “Season Review”.
The only sections that will be fully opinion within this route is: Execution and Conclusion.
      2. Beyond the Border
This route will be available if you scroll to the very bottom.
Think of this route as the “New Game+” equivalent of the review.
I will read further either because the story has me hooked, or if I want to see if my criticisms still hold true.
EXPECT TO SEE SPOILERS. ESPECIALLY IF I GAVE THE REQUIEM TRADEMARK COPYRIGHT APPROVED THUMBS UP.
Disclaimer:
If you decide to skip “The General Review” to read “Beyond the Boundary”, don’t let it affect your opinion of the work too much (if you are easily swayed). Despite how open I am to webcomics, I might have opinions that could contradict with how you might view the webcomic if YOU were to read it.
I do advise that you read “The General Review”, and with that information in mind, proceed to “Beyond the Boundary”, if you so wish.
The Description:
*Ahem*
" They say you can’t run away from your problems... and Joel just learned that the hard way. Talk about having cold feet! Joel is all set to marry Kim, his art school sweetheart, but in a moment of poor judgment he has an affair with his roommate Zoe. Hounded by the guilt, but unable to fess up to his fiancé, he decides the most responsible thing to do is... run away. As far and as fast as he can. He now finds himself selling cosmetics at a shopping mall in New Zealand. Sure, he is homesick, and everything is unfamiliar, but at least he can work through his issues in peace and quiet, right? Wrong. Read this comic to find out how Joel’s plans fall apart, and how he puts himself back together, with the help of an unexpected guest… “
Y’know, this is usually the part where I give my own synopsis of the story, at times because the description is in no way useful. 
But, I have nothing to add. 
I will say that when I first read “Deadlove”, I don’t believe I read the description, and I think not reading it was a welcome surprise considering that although I was expecting a “Comedy with a simplistic art style that is kind of charming”, I think I got a bit more than I bargained for.
I should also note that if it were not from my blind curiosity, and I were to judge it purely on description and the title art, I probably wouldn’t have read it.
It doesn’t do justice towards how creative the Webtoon itself presents its characters and the story it wants to portray.
But we’ll get to that in a minute. For now, let’s get a good idea of the characters we will be following.
Characters:
Joel:
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(A panel in the middle of Chapter 1)
As you will quickly understand, Joel as far as life decisions go is the definition of incorrigible. Despite having many opportunities to confront his problems, or even having moments of foresight. These 5 chapters, if you are one to hate misunderstandings or easily resolvable conflicts, will be hell for the reader.
Maybe it was because I was forcing myself to read another webcomic before getting to this one, but I somehow  was not personally annoyed by the way Joel was acting. 
Granted, if I read this on ANY other day, I would have been seething and/cringing at the sight of this imbecile.
Which, as Creator Teo reveals in his editors notes at the end of every chapter, will be a very common theme.
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(The last paragraph of Chapter 2’s Creators Note ^)
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(The beginning of Chapter 3’s Creators Note ^)
I think it’s safe to say that Joel's current situation is the logical extreme of not taking responsibility for your poor decisions and refusing to confront and learn from your mistakes. 
I feel like because of how his character is written, everyone is going to be on the same page, regardless of personal views on life when reading this webcomic, specifically because of how comically stupid we as the audience see Joel as.
I mean, at the very least that's how I feel…
At the same time, after reading the first chapter multiple times, I decided to set my personal biases aside just so I could be sure Joel is full of shit.
There were two parts of the Webtoon that caught my eye:
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^ For this dialogue portion, the part that caught my attention was him brushing past keywords that we have likely heard before when hearing about cheating: “Love isn’t Binary”, “I thought only assholes cheat”, and “She looks hot”.
Now, I could easily be reading too much into these lines, and I probably am. But this isn’t the first time I have heard or read about someone cheating on someone they love for “X,Y, and Z”, so I decided to look up a random case to see how the cheater in that situation felt.
After reading about it, I felt myself not necessarily thinking he wasn’t an ass, but I did end up feeling bad for Joel. Not because of the lines I just showed, but for the lines in the following panel towards the end of the chapter:
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In the case that I looked up, they felt miserable at the development that had come of their new relationship, despite cherishing the one they already had. 
Now granted, Joel does say that he isn’t a reliable source of info for the story, but I feel as though the points where he does start deviating from truth are obvious enough to the viewer that we can differentiate it from the real truth. 
At least, that’s what I believe, I tried reading back to see if there were any obvious deviations in truth but I couldn’t find any. Maybe you found some? Share what you found in the comments section down below if you have.
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I think this simple meme panel that is shown at the end of chapter 1, although very simple, justifies the way I think about Joel as a character:
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Execution:
When I first started reading “Deadlove” I thought the charm would come from the simplistic art style, and I wasn’t wrong about it not having charm, but it is certainly not the main appeal of the Webtoon. The way the visual and writing style compliment each other reminds me of my time reading “God of Bath”. But with “God of Bath”, that would moresoe be applied to the gag panels.
For “Deadlove”, it's every panel of every chapter.
Visual Style: 
I think my favorite part of the Webtoon would have to be the way Creator Guy makes visually metaphorical jokes, and just the way he decides to show Joel’s interaction with the audience as he breaks the fourth wall.
An example of a visually metaphorical joke would be something Creator Teo actually had to point out for me. Had to do a whole double take:
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( ^ A panel in the latter half of Chapter 1 )
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( ^ The fourth paragraph of Chapter 2’s Creators Note )
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( ^ Joel revealing his wishy washy nature to the audience in a panel towards the end of Chapter 5 )
Although there might be better examples of Joel’s audience interaction, I personally love this one. I can’t help but chuckle every time I remember it.
The Writing:
I rarely consume media that breaks the fourth wall. And even then, they would break the fourth wall for comedic effect, not for telling a story. 
Then again, many stories will have a narration at the beginning where they basically guide you in the beginning portions of the story, only to return every now and then.
Joel is telling the story as he is living it. I mean, he does say the story isn’t linear, implying that this isn’t the case, but I still appreciate how the story is written nevertheless.
Conclusion:
Overall, I feel like I’ve communicated how much I love “Deadlove”, and I shouldn’t be surprised considering the talented duo of Creators Teo and Guy have experience telling simple yet fun and captivating stories, such as “The Adventures of God” and “My Dictator Boyfriend”. Both Webtoons that I love.
I already feel like I am someone that Joel is talking to, making me in some way a part of the story too, but having Creator Teo talk say reveal some insights about the Webtoon and giving some giving some thoughts about “Deadlove” shows a connection with me, the reader, that I don’t really feel in other Webtoons, even if they do Q&A’s every now and then.
That being said, I think that Teo’s quick tidbits are a consequence of the very stylized nature of the story itself.
I would suggest “Deadlove” to anyone, even if they would hate a character like Joel. Just because I feel like he is interesting enough to see him continue to make mistakes and follow his overall journey.
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8requiems · 3 years
Text
A Review of “Wizard of Arsenia”
Introduction:
Before we get into this review, there are two main parts of the review:
1. The General Route
This route will give you a simple idea of the webcomic you are about to read. It will naturally include my personal opinions, but they will not be inconsistent to any prior or future reviews I do (in the sense that I don’t do double standards when I talk about said webcomics). 
Said opinions won’t really dominate this route because I will be mainly establishing what the webcomic has to offer in each part. 
Because of this, my opinions will always be presented at the end of each section.
There won’t really be any “spoiler” material, in fact, it won’t really require information past chapter 10 at most.
The only sections that will be fully opinion within this route is: Execution and Conclusion.
2. The Personal Route
This route will be available if you scroll to the very bottom.
Think of this route as a sub-extension of “The General Route”. As it will reveal opinions I have past the 10 initial chapters.
I will read further either because the story has me hooked, or if I want to see if my criticisms still hold true.
Disclaimer:
If you decide to skip the “General Route” to read the “Personal Route”, don’t let it affect your opinion of the work too much (if you are easily swayed). Despite how open I am to webcomics, I might have opinions that could contradict with how you might view the webcomic if YOU were to read it.
I do advise that you read the “General Route”, and with that information in mind, proceed to the “Personal Route”, if you so wish.
The Description:
“If you wish to return, then you must find all the stones of the Dragon’s Heart!” And so, Lee started his adventure to become an unparalleled mage. Which bonds will he find? That’s all up to him, to discover…
Gyul lee is summoned to Arsenia by Layerd because he wants to prove to Kirisis (the gold dragon) that the red clan is not dumb.
Ironically (but not really), in doing so, Layerd shows his lack of ability to return Gyul back to his world.
So he gives Gyul two options:
 1. To send him back, Layerd would have to make a new form of transportation magic (50,100 yrs). 
or 
2. Gyul will have to open the dimensional gate, ergo, he must become a wizard. However, he would have to become a Class 9 Wizard in order to pull off such a feat.
And so, Gyul Lee’s adventure towards the 2nd option begins.
Setting:
Arsenia
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LK’s adventures will take place in the mythical continent of Arsenia. 
That’s it, that's the setting.
Characters:
Gyul lee (LK):
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LK, the protagonist that got isekai’d, is a good natured guy that seems to want to go back home, even if it’ll take him years to get to that point. Although he doesn’t like getting into trouble, sometimes his attitude can get the best of him. If push comes to shove, he won’t let good people get screwed over. He has a long road ahead of him. By the time he begins his journey, he is a class 5 mage (after taking Serpier’s ridiculous crash course). Which, in the grand scheme of things, is relatively high.
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How do I feel about him?:
He’s a bit bare bones as a person, this is only my impression from the first 10 chapters. 
That being said, I’ve seen the way characters like him are written, usually in isekai, enough times for me to just not care about who he is, but the spells he casts.
Red Dragon Clan - Layerd: 
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Layered is an easy going clan-leader that accidentally starts LK’s likely long journey to go back home. He does somewhat take responsibility by pointing LK in the path he should go down to go back to his home.
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How do I feel about him?:
Fuck this guy, I hate the character. Not because he is written badly, but because I hate his character type. Don’t really see his character going anywhere. 
Nah nah nah, imagine your just chilling with the boys on discord, and this fucking asshat just fucking summons you to prove a point, and ends up making an ass of himself ANYWAY.
Lucid Inia (Lucy):
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Lucy is the straight-forward, energetic half-elf, daughter of Layerd. She accompanies LK in his new journey. She is adept in swordplay, which she enhances with her magic. She is less tolerant of people’s bullshit than LK is. Although, if you were to insult her physic and call her child-like, an even worse beating might be heading your way. Just try her, see what's going to happen.
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How do I feel about her?:
Because of how straight-forward and even reckless she can be portrayed at times, it makes for a nice balance when being paired with the cautious LK. 
Individually, LK and Lucy are boring, but together, they seem like a fun pair (character wise).
Thankfully, she isn’t as useless as her father, and thats all I could ever ask for.
Makan the Mercenary:
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Think of Makan as the muscle of the party. He is actually a beast-person that can turn into a tiger at will. Although everyone around LK to an extent teaches him, and us in the process, about what we need to know. Makan will seem to be the wisest member of the party who will teach us in our journey through the story. 
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How do I feel about him?:
I like him, design wise and personality wise he is pretty simple, but I fuck with his vibe. Only respect.
Elisian the Priestess:
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Elysian is a soft-spoken priestess that is somewhat trained in self-defense while also being a great healer. Her argument with the noble ends up being a catalyst to the tournament conflict. She travels alongside Makan, and is quite reliable.
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How do I feel about her?:
A lot of people would be screwed without her. She is in no way useless, despite her lack of ability to defend herself without reinforcements. Which is understandable, but will probably become an issue down the road.. 
Execution:
Despite the webcomic taking place in a Fantasy setting, it doesn’t really show much effort towards getting me to believe that this world is unique. The architecture is the same as any other isekai fantasy world. The magic being simple and serviceable in terms of the “Class system” and the “Formula system”. The latter is not being explained in these chapters, but might go into greater depth in later chapters.
The one thing that Arsenia has to offer at this point, are the conflicts. The main conflict up until chapter 10 was the crappy Noble that LK has to beat in a tournament in order to get the mercenaries their reward.
The conflict itself isn’t what's interesting, but the fights that take place.
Well, I say interesting loosely. If you haven’t read or watched many fantasy stories, then Wizard of Arsenia wouldn’t be a bad way to get into them on a surface level. But, that's the most I can say for it, sadly.
Objectively speaking, it’s serviceable.
But personally, it feels like it has no soul as a story.
The “General Route” Conclusion:
Maybe it was because I was reading it on my computer before switching to my phone to read it, but it felt like a slog to get through. I was actually suggested an interesting webcomic while I was reading this one, and was debating dropping it to review that one. But I feel like it is important for me to review webcomics I think are great and webcomics I think are just as bad.
Maybe it gets very good in later chapters and if I stuck around longer, I would find some enjoyment in the experience. But at the same time, if I have to comb through chapters to enjoy what I’m reading, then can I really say I had fun reading it? It could just be a matter of perspective, but I don’t think I could say that that is the case.
Granted, the stories first 10 chapters could have been a set up for the greater plot, (which, to a degree, you could argue that it already is), and I wouldn’t mind if it actually felt like I was learning about the world I was in.
But I feel like I took Serpier’s crash course and rushed into it. 
I guess you could argue that that was the point, and LK functions as the audience surrogate. But I personally didn’t find it fun, even if it meant I got closer to the action. 
As I said before, Wizard of Arsenia would be a nice read if you don’t really read or watch that many fantasy stories.
Or.
If you want to have your fix of isekai/fantasy content.
To that end, you probably know what all the story beats are, but just want to experience the experience again regardless of how basic it is.
Personally, I wouldn’t suggest it.
But hey, maybe you might like it regardless.
Share your opinions in the comments if you already have or have read it after reading this review. I’m interested to hear your thoughts.
Arrivederci Brothers.
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The Personal Route:
I have read 10 additional chapters past the initial 10, and my opinions still stand. The only reason my interest peaked was the flashy action moments, and Lucy’s rage when it comes to Mage’s sacrificing Elves for power. Despite my indifference to her, I think an arc like that being paired with her as a character is an interesting combination. That is, an elf that can use magic but also is adept in the sword.
Thankfully, in the next conflict involving Dark Wizards, LK doesn’t brute force his way through a victory, as he and his mates have to go up against a Class 6 Wizard, Markus, and his subordinates.
While his comrades distract the Dark Wizard, he devises a plan using the tier 3 Spell: Gust of Wind.
By using Tier 3 spell, and the fire in his environment, the result was a tier 6 spell: fire tornado. 
But that isn’t what really sealed Markus' loss, it was the fire tornado causing carbon dioxide to inhabit the air, leading to Lupus being poisoned and finished off by a mere fireball.
LK infers that if he casted a formula Fire tornado, the carbon dioxide wouldn’t have been present, and it was only present because of the natural reaction between the fire and the wind spell.
LK’s peers don’t really understand the science behind this, but simple knowledge from the world he grew up in really did him a solid, and will likely give him an advantage in the future, if he continues to have battles where he has to use the environment to his advantage.
Proving that Class isn’t what makes the wizard. Although, I kind of wish a fight like this was presented in the first conflict involving the nobles tournament.
The fact that Markus left his conflict alive with one of his disciples means is somehow intriguing. I just assumed LK would be mowing down each Dark Wizard he met, even if he were to barely win. 
I was told by Nen that a thief character joins the party, but I don’t hold enough interest to keep reading to see how his role meshes with the others, so alas, I won’t be including him in the review. 
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be eating my CGI dinner. Cheers.
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8requiems · 4 years
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‘TheFourofThem‘ Progress Update
After starting the drafting of the review process for my next post, I ended up receiving an offer to work on a Youtube video for a Webtoon review (other than ‘TheFourOfThem’). So until then,the review will be postponed indefinitely.
2/3/21 Update:
I will be saving the “TheFourOfThem” Update for a youtube video in the future when I become more experienced with reviews. 
I really want to do it justice.
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8requiems · 4 years
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I’mma do a “The Four Of Them” Synopsis and 2 season reviews for the next few weeks.
Stay Tuned
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8requiems · 4 years
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Let’s Play - I love their Dynamic
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I swear Charles catches me off guard sometimes, lmaooooo
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8requiems · 4 years
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The Shadow Prophet: A Nice Change Of Pace
Official Synopsis: 
“The Great Prophet Godo has a place for everyone in his perfect society… so long as you aren't a failure. Itshou is living a diligent and sheltered life when she suddenly finds herself denounced and marked for exile. While her beliefs are shaken to their very core, a chance encounter with a childhood sweetheart derails Itshou’s banishment and puts her on the path to political uprising. Now facing down the same forces she once trusted to protect her, Itshou must untangle the web of lies at the heart of her city and unmask the Shadow Prophet.”
[Before I go further with this review, “The Shadow Prophet” at this point in time is not completed yet, so these points could be subject to change.]
Immersion:
As of now, The Shadow Prophet has 19 Episodes, but Episode 1 was a very strong pilot that demanded my attention. The art and writing both did their parts perfectly, but to understand why I think this way, I will dissect the first few panels of [Episode 1 Godo Says: “A Clean Room Mirrors A Clean Mind”].
The beginning of Episode 1 shows starts with a broadcast of “Godo TV”, and it immediately pulls the reader in everyone's, but more importantly Itshou’s, day-to-day. 
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The next panel shows our main character Itshou searching through her cluttered room filled with paper cranes trying to search for something important. The messy room likely refers back to the Episode’s Title: “Godo Says: A Clean Room Mirrors A Clean Mind”. 
This is clearly not Itshou’s day: She lost her (whatever it is), she has to get a ride quickly so she won’t be late to her exams and being reminded of her late mother’s death because of rebels on the news.
Surrounded by all this confusion and negativity, she coils lies down in her bed with the many cranes she had made up until that point. It should also be said that on “The Shadow Prophets’ Marissa Delbressine and Anne Delseit LIVE Q&A (Toon Ladies Episode 06)”, Marissa confirms that the cranes Itshou made are used to focus on whatever she has to do, as well as carrying already present symbolism such as Luck, getting a wish granted, and/or even being used for meditative purposes.
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At this point, I have only talked about half of the chapter, and I already cheering for Itshou’s success, and even started to unconsciously project some of her anxieties onto myself.
Setting:
From Itshou’s dorm, the city, and even the school: Marissa’s ability to draw settings that give off their respective vibes. For instance:
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The Rush Hour of the city looks very cloudy, hidden, and pretty suffocating. Everyone doing their part as to not disappoint their peers nor The Great (yet mysterious) Godo, which you will quickly learn more about as you read. Because as the synopsis states, “The Great Prophet Godo has a place for everyone in his perfect society… so long as you aren't a failure”. The city’s suffocating environment matches the toxic relationship between the structure of this society and those that have to conform to it.
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These scenes are from Episode 4: “Godo Says: When out of Ground. Learn To Fly.”
And as this scene suggests, The world is moving way too fast for Itshou to mentally comprehend at this moment in time. She can’t move at such a pace as calmly as everyone else around here seems to be. Although Godo Says: “A Productive Day Is A Healthy Day”, as prior events proved, Godo doesn’t acknowledge the imperfections of man in while only appreciating perfection.
This may sound like a digression, but it’s these experiences that will ultimately move the story forward.
Characters:
Because I want to keep the bare minimum of info so you, a possible reader, can enjoy the story more, I’ll only talk about two characters: Itshou and Ryuichi.
Itshou
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Itshou’s role as the protagonist is to learn more about the truths of this world and determining the path she wants to go down. As soft-spoken as she appears to be in the initial chapters of the story, it doesn’t mean she isn’t determined or even afraid to go after an answer if need be, which caught me off-guard. She is definitely a character worth following should you consider reading The Shadow Prophet.
Ryuichi
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Ryuichi, whether you love or hate him, is a compelling character. Everything he does makes you immediately curious to figure him out because ever since his introduction, we the reader could tell that he isn’t your average joe or even just any government worker. The more I learn about his relationship between him and Itshou, the more confusing his motives seem to be. Moreover, the way he gaslights Itshou makes me see him as the main antagonist (not even regarding what he did on Exam Day, which basically starts the story).
Quality:
The Shadow Prophet is one of the more unique Webcomics on Webtoons featured collection in terms of art. The only other Featured Webtoon that has put me in awe in terms of art is Space Boy, a webtoon I definitely want to get to Reviewing. I could share more examples of the art, but if what I have shared doesn’t convince you, I don’t think another example could.
Execution:
The Execution so far has been par for the course, and it helps that Marissa’s personal life had influenced the stories world, and some of its characters, but not in a way that messes with the integrity of the whole plot in a negative way.
Final Thoughts:
I ended up finding this out through the Toon Ladies Interview I referred to earlier when I was talking about Immersion, but apparently, there is a playlist you can listen to when reading The Shadow Prophet which I thought was pretty neat, but the playlist someone was meant to post was not posted, which sucks.
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Follow My Instagram and Twitter to know a bit more about me.
Arrivederci Brothers
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8requiems · 4 years
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And here I was, wondering how this story would end, the consequence of Emma’s promise, and so much more. It was so obvious what would happen, and yet, I didn’t put the clues and pieces together.
To see such a bittersweet ending is such a great way of capping off the story. It shows a true consequence to all of the feats Emma had somehow pulled off up until this point (not to say they were not deserved). At any rate, such unconditional love for each other shows that events beyond this point would be filled with Happiness, assuming there isn’t an Epilogue series.
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WTH HECK THAT'S IT?? I WANT MORE! I NEED MORE!
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8requiems · 4 years
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I should have a review of a webtoon done by the end of the day, but until then. Can we just appreciate Daniel rq?
Lookism - 287
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8requiems · 4 years
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My Review System
For future reference, these Reviews will be judged on the following:
Immersion: If I don’t question the logic of the story (with the exception of curiosity) too much, then I’m Immersed.
Setting: Is the setting given as much love as the characters or vice versa. Attention to detail.
Characters: Do the characters fill the roles they are designed for? Do they do things that do go past what their character is? An example would be Dragon Ball Super Goku v. Dragon Ball Z Goku
Quality: Does the media itself show little to no flaws in portrayal. This can go from grammatical errors, to animation, etc… (On a side note: If I say that I am not a fan of the art style, it won't sway how I review the webcomic because it is stylistic.)
Execution: Does the story do a good job at communicating the subject matter it is trying to show the viewer/reader
I will cap each review by giving an ADJECTIVE to describe how I felt about it and simply saying whether or not I would recommend you to read it (which might vary depending on the subject matter). I liked the number system I used before, but this system might be more adequate in the long run for future review.
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8requiems · 4 years
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To anyone that has somehow come across this page, pull up with a suggestion for a webcomic that you'd like for me to review.
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