sports plot that i wasted my life reading and brainlessly osmosised into the depths of my bloodstrea

personally, my number one fave. am i biased because of how there are lots of female characters who don't align with typical female tropes of sports plots? yes. but is that a valid reason because of the low amount of stories that include such? also yes. but in general, drifting is a REAL interesting sport- i ended up watching SO many videos of it after this manhwa

esports. also the novel goes SO in depth with the actual gaming aspects, that halfway through you literally understand the high stakes and tension other pro players play bc author legit dripfeeds you mechanical knowledge that you end up sweating as you fucking read eight pages of ppl pushing keys. also, LOVE the cast.

i grew to love the shithead characters and their friendships. also the plot is super enticing as well without having unrealistic sports vibes to create weird high-stake matches. plus, the coach is definitely the "savior" MC, but he isn't a player, so there's no sense of someone comin' in for the clutch or having the protagonist halo that always turns the tide of the game. there's no "card up the sleeve" trick of a single character, which is great.

NO YOU DON'T GET IT BUT I'M OBSESSED. i ended up researching hours on this fucking sport and for what-

AND WHAT IS UP WITH THE HAPPY BALD DUDE LMAO like it's like they exorcised the soul outta a youthful shounen protag and locked it in the body of a stocky monk who snorted ADHD meds and is jacked up on protein powder

THIS IS SO GOOD!? also tbh, looking back at this, it's definitely one of those sports manga that going off of development, i would've found boring. but actually reading it and the execution of it is so good- i'm really in love with mc's growth/recovery period. he can't ever hit his "genius" title as he was before it, esp due to his age, but somehow that makes it better.

i really like how it feels very minimalistic/clean not just in artstyle, but also through their interactions. it feels very simple, as if there isn't so much more underneath it. also, i'm highkey obsessed with skateboarding so.

unrealistic even for a sports manga, but at least it's fun and intense to read. also, i just remember loving snake. found him great. idk this was such a WEIRD read. i can't explain it. idk if it's even good or bad but it certainly punched me in the throat.

wait this taught me so much about pro wrestling like tf i didnt even know what it was, i thought it was about dudes who really wrestled and broke their arms i didn't know it was like theater omg. anyways, i REALLY love the main character + his interactions with other characters. idk how to say it, but smth about mc's vibes are super refreshing. maybe bc he really does feel mature yet young, unlike how most mcs become either condescending, brutal, immature, or weirdly ageless once retur

this is actually one of the more realistic sports manga i read in terms of actual athletic capabilities. also, A HYPE AND LEGITIMATE SPORTS MANGA WITH ALL GIRLS? AND ZERO ROMANTIC SUBPLOT AT ALL? AHSDOFESHFSE AHHHH AHH

there's like. very few released translated chs, so idk how good it is, but i do like how this is going so far!

EDIT: MC is my favorite type of character: someone who if was not born in the modern world with multiple forms of personal entertainment and general business in one's quotidian life, has a high percentage of becoming a serial killer.