I promise, this anecdote is relevant so bare with me…. a year ago, a boy i barely knew recommended me “goodnight punpun”. The only thing he knew about me was that I liked manga. He told me how it changed his life and was the best thing he ever read. So I gave it a try. It wasn't bad, it just didn't touch me. Goodnight punpun is seen as so good because it talks in a raw way about the experience of growing as a guy. But i didnt grow as a guy, i couldnt relate. I saw the events of that manga as fiction, while a male reader might see it as a reality. My point is, goodnight punpun was for that guy what Welcome to room 405 is to me. It's so real, it hits so close to me, that I can't help but have such an adoration for it. I'm not kidding, until the arc about Rose’s secret fujoshi hobbies, i would have tears in my eyes at the end of every single chapter. The way characters treat Hom or homosexuality for the majority of the manhwa is just so horrific, but even more for me. This is how my family thinks, this is how some friends around me think. This is a reality that I cannot escape by simply closing the page. I will not make the same mistake as that boy, to recommend this manhwa to someone who's whos cishet, someone that can see this story as fiction and nothing more. The scariest arc might've been about hom’s and the mc’s mutual friend, who can forgive someone who ruined his life, but not a homosexual. It's something that I've seen happening, but that I couldn't understand before reading this arc. I'm in a country who’s much more accepting of the lgbtq, so when i heard that my brother would dump any of his friends if they came out as gay, i thought to myself, “surely, he's exaggerating”. The situation with hom’s “friend” made me realize my brother was 100% serious. Welcome to room 305 is forcing me to exit my echo chamber, me who's surrounded by so many supportive people, and actually look at reality. Some people do care that much. I'd also like to mention Yoona. I made the mistake of reading her first arc in my living room. I ended up going to the bathroom to cry. I can see myself in her se much. She can barely accept herself, and she's terribly lonely. If i didnt have the support system i have now, I would've ended up just like her. In fact, it took me years to call myself “queer” or “gay”. When someone asked, I'd just be “someone who likes girls”, because deep down, I was so ashamed. I feel like Yoona, even after accepting she doesn't like guys, being mad for a while when her twin refers to her as “lesbian”, even tho she is. Saying it out loud is so much scarier. “Im so scared I’ll accidentally come out by mistake that I never drink with any of my friends”. The author mentioned that to write this manhwa, she asked queer people to share personal experiences. And I can't help but wonder, is that something someone submitted ? I felt like this for a very long time. When someone offered me a drink, I’d decline. I wasn't religious anymore, it wasn't out of fear for a god. I was scared I'd talk too much, and that I'd tell the wrong people that I liked girls. This is so painfully real, and even if it makes me tear up, it's somehow in a good way. I’m not alone. People lived that too. It's such a trivial line, but it touches me so much, that's why I love Welcome to room 305. Yoona as a whole is for me the best character. Her development to slowly accepting her identity, but still refusing to date any girls, and then finally having the courage to go out with one, is something I resonate with a lot. When I realized I liked girls, I just decided I'd never date. I’ll stay alone, marry a man to please my mom, and live that way. I thought that’d satisfy me. Until I fell for my current gf. It's funny, if you look at one of my older reviews (the one about “I want to be a wall”), I mention that I want nothing more than a lavender marriage. I felt a lot like Yoona at the end of her first arc. I knew I wouldn't work well with a man, so I thought I'd be glad to never pursue anyone. I'd have crushes but I wouldn't really wish for us to end together. I told myself I already made a plan in my head, and I'll follow it. And then I found a girl I really liked, and I just couldn't let her go. Not without trying, at least. A little like Yoona and Seol. Anyways, Yoona is a very good embodiment of a lesbian with internalized homophobia, and the author wrote her development in such a resonating way for me that I can't help but feel immense attachment for her. She makes me think, just like the whole manhwa forces me to think about myself, the people around me and how lucky I am that I haven't experienced that much discrimination for my sexuality. Idk it's so properly written while trying to constantly be silly that I can only praise the author for this wonderful writing, and for having taken the time to research about queer experience to give something like this. Something I wish the author did was to expand more on Hom. He’s a central character in the series, yet we know little of his home situation, how he met his boyfriend, his close friends etc… I know it's supposed to be left unsaid because the MC would've hated to hear about it, but it's not like he knows the whole story with Yoona and Seol, or with the trans guy. I rlly wish we got to see him more characterized outside of his relationship w mc, like how and why he has this weird relationship w Mina, the ring, etc… The author mentioned she had to cut some parts of the story because it was getting long, but argh i wish it was longer!! Overall I recommend it with all my heart, it's funny and hurts so much at the same time. Another masterpiece from Wanan, and ty oomf for always giving me good recommendations like those ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ extra long topic today i had a lot to say and I fear Welcome to room 305 is just that good.
I promise, this anecdote is relevant so bare with me…. a year ago, a boy i barely knew recommended me “goodnight punpun”. The only thing he knew about me was that I liked manga. He told me how it changed his life and was the best thing he ever read. So I gave it a try. It wasn't bad, it just didn't touch me. Goodnight punpun is seen as so good because it talks in a raw way about the experience of growing as a guy. But i didnt grow as a guy, i couldnt relate. I saw the events of that manga as fiction, while a male reader might see it as a reality.
My point is, goodnight punpun was for that guy what Welcome to room 405 is to me. It's so real, it hits so close to me, that I can't help but have such an adoration for it. I'm not kidding, until the arc about Rose’s secret fujoshi hobbies, i would have tears in my eyes at the end of every single chapter. The way characters treat Hom or homosexuality for the majority of the manhwa is just so horrific, but even more for me. This is how my family thinks, this is how some friends around me think. This is a reality that I cannot escape by simply closing the page.
I will not make the same mistake as that boy, to recommend this manhwa to someone who's whos cishet, someone that can see this story as fiction and nothing more. The scariest arc might've been about hom’s and the mc’s mutual friend, who can forgive someone who ruined his life, but not a homosexual. It's something that I've seen happening, but that I couldn't understand before reading this arc. I'm in a country who’s much more accepting of the lgbtq, so when i heard that my brother would dump any of his friends if they came out as gay, i thought to myself, “surely, he's exaggerating”. The situation with hom’s “friend” made me realize my brother was 100% serious. Welcome to room 305 is forcing me to exit my echo chamber, me who's surrounded by so many supportive people, and actually look at reality. Some people do care that much.
I'd also like to mention Yoona. I made the mistake of reading her first arc in my living room. I ended up going to the bathroom to cry. I can see myself in her se much. She can barely accept herself, and she's terribly lonely. If i didnt have the support system i have now, I would've ended up just like her. In fact, it took me years to call myself “queer” or “gay”. When someone asked, I'd just be “someone who likes girls”, because deep down, I was so ashamed. I feel like Yoona, even after accepting she doesn't like guys, being mad for a while when her twin refers to her as “lesbian”, even tho she is. Saying it out loud is so much scarier.
“Im so scared I’ll accidentally come out by mistake that I never drink with any of my friends”. The author mentioned that to write this manhwa, she asked queer people to share personal experiences. And I can't help but wonder, is that something someone submitted ? I felt like this for a very long time. When someone offered me a drink, I’d decline. I wasn't religious anymore, it wasn't out of fear for a god. I was scared I'd talk too much, and that I'd tell the wrong people that I liked girls. This is so painfully real, and even if it makes me tear up, it's somehow in a good way. I’m not alone. People lived that too. It's such a trivial line, but it touches me so much, that's why I love Welcome to room 305. Yoona as a whole is for me the best character. Her development to slowly accepting her identity, but still refusing to date any girls, and then finally having the courage to go out with one, is something I resonate with a lot. When I realized I liked girls, I just decided I'd never date. I’ll stay alone, marry a man to please my mom, and live that way. I thought that’d satisfy me. Until I fell for my current gf. It's funny, if you look at one of my older reviews (the one about “I want to be a wall”), I mention that I want nothing more than a lavender marriage. I felt a lot like Yoona at the end of her first arc. I knew I wouldn't work well with a man, so I thought I'd be glad to never pursue anyone. I'd have crushes but I wouldn't really wish for us to end together. I told myself I already made a plan in my head, and I'll follow it. And then I found a girl I really liked, and I just couldn't let her go. Not without trying, at least. A little like Yoona and Seol. Anyways, Yoona is a very good embodiment of a lesbian with internalized homophobia, and the author wrote her development in such a resonating way for me that I can't help but feel immense attachment for her. She makes me think, just like the whole manhwa forces me to think about myself, the people around me and how lucky I am that I haven't experienced that much discrimination for my sexuality. Idk it's so properly written while trying to constantly be silly that I can only praise the author for this wonderful writing, and for having taken the time to research about queer experience to give something like this.
Something I wish the author did was to expand more on Hom. He’s a central character in the series, yet we know little of his home situation, how he met his boyfriend, his close friends etc… I know it's supposed to be left unsaid because the MC would've hated to hear about it, but it's not like he knows the whole story with Yoona and Seol, or with the trans guy. I rlly wish we got to see him more characterized outside of his relationship w mc, like how and why he has this weird relationship w Mina, the ring, etc… The author mentioned she had to cut some parts of the story because it was getting long, but argh i wish it was longer!!
Overall I recommend it with all my heart, it's funny and hurts so much at the same time. Another masterpiece from Wanan, and ty oomf for always giving me good recommendations like those ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ extra long topic today i had a lot to say and I fear Welcome to room 305 is just that good.