a little off topic but I’ve had this thought for awhile and i wanna see if anyone else a...

Ive commented regarding this before when jinx was in the initial redemption arc, the difference here is that jiwon grew as a person, his redemption arc was an actual character development arc, but in jaekyung's case, hes just being nice to Dan while people are calling it a character development

This is such a good way to put it . We don’t know if JJK will ever stop being an asshole cuz that’s just his personality and to change that would probably make a “redemption arc” more prevalent. But i feel like if minghwa does extras he will be a lot nicer and not walking around with a chip on his shoulder

You have a fair point. We do actually see that BJ Alex has a more significant redemption arc. But what you said makes me realize that BJ Alex and Jinx have very different backgrounds for the main characters.

Jiwon grew up rich with a neglectful family, where he grew in his brother's shadow and his parents tried to get hime to be like him. He also experiences first love in the form of his brother's friend(?). The first love then takes advantage of Jiwon's naivete and hooks up with another guy. Jiwon then gets heartbroken when he finds out that it was never mutual, this caused him to mess around with men, to the point that his father actually had to put him in some sort of facility to rehabilitate himself physically, but not mentally. This is why he was able to smoothly push through military service and his academics. He was socially adept but emotionally inept until his experiences with Donggyun.

Jaekyung grew up in a poor abusive household. Not just poor where you can afford basic necessities. We are talking about a rundown house that is messy 24/7. His mother left him because of his father, which is actually unfair for the boy because should have taken him as well if she really loved him. He had to endure his father beating him. Then he discovers wrestling and decides to try. It then becomes his primary solace from reality and tries to be better at it, even at the cost of getting defeated all the time during the start. Then during his teenage years he finally has a win at it. Hoping his father would approve he goes home to brag of the achievement. However, his father actually mocks him for loving wrestling (I forgot the content of it) and proceeds to taunt and hit Jaekyung. Finally snapping, he puts blows at his father (if I remember it killed him. This leaves him with no family left. And thentime passes, I am assuming that he did military service here. Through sheer skill and anger, he manages to attract talent managers to take him under their league. He remains an asshole to everyone because he is clouded by his emotions and many people around him just mind their own business. This results to Jaekyung barely changing even after meeting Kim Dan.

Now onto the MC Donggyun and Dan. One of the main flaws of the two manhwas would definitely be the lack of character buildup in regards of background due to focusing more on the backgrounds of the MLs. Donggyun was a closeted homosexual who liked someone in high school but was outed by that very same person. That is mostly why he resorts to broadcast jockey livestreams. However I honestly do not remember his family background being mentioned. Kim Dan on the other had grown up in a loving two family household with his grandma. His parents are dead, so she raised him up by herself. Then she gets sick with cancer, and Kim Dan applies to a hospital to work as a therapist to support his grandmother. Then a doctor attempts to assault him and when caught, Kim Dan ends up being the ridiculed one to the point where he cannot apply to other hospitals.

I am not saying that it justifies what they did and how things were handled by the artist, but somehow the environment we are surrounded by will determine if there are people who are willing to guide us on what is right or wrong.

(︶︿︶)＝凸

(๑•ㅂ•)و✧ exactly I dont the redemption arc was bad. It was good for the context on the story.

Thank you for your input, and I do agree that these are two completely different stories with characters who have very different backgrounds, and that definitely influences how their arcs play out. I’m not really expecting them to be the same, but I just feel like regardless of that, a redemption arc should still show clear growth and accountability over time. with jaekyung, it still feels kinda surface level to me like he’s starting to recognize his feelings and that he was wrong, but some of his actions don’t fully reflect that yet and with kim dan, it kinda feels like he’s still stuck in the same position which makes the dynamic feel a bit stagnant. especially considering we’re almost 100 chapters in, it just feels like the development hasn’t progressed as much as it could have. I think that’s why it’s also a bit disappointing, because we’ve already seen with bj alex that the author is capable of writing a redemption arc that feels more developed and satisfying.

yes exactly!!

yes i totally agree, while bj alex had different set of past traumas, the redemption and character arcs dealt w that accordingly, with a matching pace about how they got over their pasts, but the problem with jinx is that it seems rushed.
both doc dan and jjk should be given time accordingly when it comes to dealing w their pasts, but idk why the way their development is happening is just not fitting right with me

I would say it is valid. I also felt disappointed with the lack of time alloted for a character arc. What I am also disappointed in is how Kim Dan barely gets a main focus this season.