The author seems to have chosen too rare and little understood a condition, or simply hasn't thought through a fictional condition quite thoroughly enough, I think.
Neither character is acting characteristically. At 28, Chayoung was still pursuing Gyuha, based on his then past and present memories. Yet this 28 y/o version adamantly goes NOT to feel anything? And why would no-one mention /Gyuha not be aware after of, 8 years together, such an important family occasion??? Why wouldn't each be asking questions And sharing thoughts with the other to try to fill in gaps And not memory??? Not just "why you like me?" like middle schoolers, when theres OBVIOUSLY so much more at stake. ... Like 2 baby humans separated from a stable family life And parental love!!
And, even if we accept these pretty convenient but weak, plot holes and plot devices, wouldn't Gyuha be snatching up that FACE-DOWN family portrait from Chayoung's desk, as he's been tolerating Chayoung's behaviour while missing his babies, and here's obvious proof that Chayoung has no intention of trying to connect with them as a family?
Nah! That face down portrait is fighting action!
I like these characters and the story by the end of S3 part1. This would have been bettered an AU or VERY SHORT side story..... Sigh......
Myreadingmanga and also yaoimangaonline
This is like a series of stills from the anime. I was hoping for a little more insight/ personal history here
My sweet Mignon suffers so terribly. But his sweetness will break your heart.
Doc Oh is made to seem less co-operative during union than in the manhwa, so I prefer him here...
Wow! He could have spared him years of pain by saying something cryptic, like, "Look for me in Yugyeol" or 10 years, or SOMETHING! He didn't spare or help that SUPER SWEET kid anything at all! What purpose? Author missed a trick, I think.....
I've just re-read the story, uninterrupted, from chapters 1 to 101 - no annoying breaks or hiatuses, and.... I get it! !!!
Despite loving BL, Yaoi and all the smut, one of the other things I love about the genre (and, i guess, manga/manhwa/manhua/webtoons in general) are the heart-wrenchingly beautiful chibi, child and baby designs. Think of any childhood flashback and half of the emotional resonance with the story comes from the deadly cuteness of those big heads and bigger beautifully designed eyes, so carefully rendered with top-class artistry.
This mangaka has brought us two increasingly attractive main characters... So, WHY, OH WHY was such a non-descript baby design, with literal dots for eyes, green-lit??? She is at the heart of the story, and even performs some critically-timed baby noises. Yet they expect us to warm to it just because the characters say she is cute?
She is not, and its super-distracting and doubly annoying as a tragically missed golden opportunity to raise the emotional appeal of this already wonderful story. If the mangaka wasn't confident in proper baby design, they really should have chosen to tell a different story altogether!
Does anybody know why the mangaka, or at least the editor, who really should have known better, made this terrible creative choice? Even choosing to keep the kid's eyes closed would have worked better, since its a common supporting character design detail.
But, its like they launched the story having forgotten to finish (or have) the damned baby meeting!
They didn't even use a "get out of jail free" option like, once she was named, her features would miraculously resolve to fit it. No, instead, they named a blob the most spectacular object in the Heavens! Is there no irony in their workplace?????
Its a crying shame....
Why does a baby have to be "beautiful" for her personality to appeal to you? She's a cute kid and just a baby, those exaggerated character designs for babies in manga are so overused it was a relief to see an actual baby being treated as such and still being a fashion icon.
She's obviously not gonna fashion full eyelashes and huge creepy doll eyes bc babies aren't like that, it's unnecessary.
She's a baby. Beauty standards or pretty art style is not needed to adore her. She's doing her best. The way she is and how she's drawn captures what we see in her. She's an adorable fluff. Don't go shoving your standards on her. We all love her. She is the best.
If you READ my post and not leapt to judge the content, I'm expressing my OPINION and ASKING A QUESTION to try to understand the artistic choice, because my understanding was that there was a convention to these things, which I happen to enjoy on children, but DISLIKE on female and Omega characters. I love the cat-like slant of many a seme character, I guess depicting predator, vs the doe-like impression of their prey.
I asked, (and thought I was being funny... But, oh well), because I had not seen this choice before! I could write to the artist and bring attention to mangago, but that would be stuoid and self-defeating, so i thought I'd ask the community...
I am non-white and am sincerely aware of cultural misappropriation and the beauty standards of others being brutally imposed and enforced on MY people most of all.
I actually avoided manga and anime for YEARS, because I assumed the use of big eyes was a reflection of cultural self-rejection of (what I believe to be) the beautiful sultry single/monolid! It upset me on behalf of the bearers. Then, I realised that denying myself access to such obviously beloved media like manga and anime in ignorance was a personal contradiction. So, I ACTUALLY ASKED THE QUESTION, did the research, only to feel rather stupid.
It had been a conscious choice by the pioneers of manga, particularly Osamu "God of Manga" Tezuka (Astroboy [1952], Dororo, Buddha), to highlight facial expressions based on his love of and influence by Walt Disney characters Mickey Mouse and Betty Boop, and other pioneers of the genre. Others then continued the choice, turning it into a trend and then a marker of the genre as it was adapted to the Japanese style. Not only does shape and colour of individual eyes helps artists distinguish characters without the huge effort of reproducing countless other details, and as the widely held "windows to the soul", help express emotions without the work burden of drawing body language and poses, whilst "making the characters more relatable".
They can also distract from animation or background flaws!
Much earlier, since World War I, Yumeji Takahashi and Katsuji Matsumoto had used the convention in kawaii character illustrations, to POORER reception as vulgar.I
1990s realist mangaka attempted to modify characters, drawing smaller eyes... to POOR reception, as "lifeless"-seeming characters.
"Babies have big eyes, so humans tend to like big eyes..."
( https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/how-disney-influenced-a-distinctive-trait-of-anime-characters-2134208/; https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/4748/why-do-anime-manga-characters-have-big-eyes; https://skdesu.com/en/big-eyes-anime-manga/; and so on...)
Babies and young children have proportionally larger eyes compared to their heads than do adults, so their eyes appear bigger in relation to their facial features ( https://birthworks.org/do-human-eyes-remain-the-same-size-from-birth-to-death-by-cathy-daub-cce-cd-bwi/)
SO...
A more intelligent and less rude response would have been that Korean manhwa does NOT generally follow the big eye convention seen in manga.
HOWEVER, it seems that Korean manhwa DOES tend to emphasise more realistic character proportions, and DOES tend to focus on facial features.... PARTICULARLY THE EYES (fact-checked https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhwa). You could have given me examples of other manhwa where this style was used.
And who exactly is shoving personal ideals on whom, when you actually end your post with "WE ALL love her." without providing the results of your poll/survey of EVERYONE who reads this story, or actually agrees with YOU!I
You haven't answered the question of why the artist chose this style.
Good grief!
I just don't even know where to start with this!
I asked a question, which youve failed to answer, and have expressed an opinion, just as I did, based on inaccurate information.
My understanding was that there WAS a convention to these things, which I happen to enjoy on children, but DISLIKE on female and Omega characters. I love the cat-like slant of many a seme character, I guess depicting predator, vs the doe-like impression of their prey.
I asked, (and thought I was being funny... But, oh well), because I had not seen this choice before! I could write to the artist and bring attention to mangago, but that would be stuoid and self-defeating, so i thought I'd ask the community... Silly me!
I am non-white and am sincerely aware of cultural misappropriation and the beauty standards of others being brutally imposed and enforced on MY people most of all.
I actually avoided manga and anime for YEARS, because I assumed the use of big eyes was a reflection of cultural self-rejection of (what I believe to be) the beautiful sultry single/monolid! It upset me on behalf of the bearers. Then, I realised that denying myself access to such obviously beloved media like manga and anime in ignorance was a personal contradiction. So, I ACTUALLY ASKED THE QUESTION, did the research, only to feel rather stupid.
It had been a conscious choice by the pioneers of manga, particularly Osamu "God of Manga" Tezuka (Astroboy [1952], Dororo, Buddha), to highlight facial expressions based on his love of and influence by Walt Disney characters Mickey Mouse and Betty Boop, and other pioneers of the genre. Others then continued the choice, turning it into a trend and then a marker of the genre as it was adapted to the Japanese style. Not only does shape and colour of individual eyes helps artists distinguish characters without the huge effort of reproducing countless other details, and as the widely held "windows to the soul", help express emotions without the work burden of drawing body language and poses, whilst "making the characters more relatable".
They can also distract from animation or background flaws!
Much earlier, since World War I, Yumeji Takahashi and Katsuji Matsumoto had used the convention in kawaii character illustrations, to POORER reception as vulgar.I
1990s realist mangaka attempted to modify characters, drawing smaller eyes... to POOR reception, as "lifeless"-seeming characters.
"Babies have big eyes, so humans tend to like big eyes..."
( https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/how-disney-influenced-a-distinctive-trait-of-anime-characters-2134208/; https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/4748/why-do-anime-manga-characters-have-big-eyes; https://skdesu.com/en/big-eyes-anime-manga/; and so on...)
Babies and young children ACTUALLY DO have proportionally larger eyes compared to their heads than do adults, so their eyes ACTUALLY DO appear bigger in relation to their facial features ( https://birthworks.org/do-human-eyes-remain-the-same-size-from-birth-to-death-by-cathy-daub-cce-cd-bwi/)
SO...
A more intelligent, more factual response would have been that Korean manhwa does NOT generally follow the big eye convention seen in manga.
HOWEVER, it seems that Korean manhwa DOES tend to emphasise more realistic character proportions, and DOES tend to focus on facial features.... PARTICULARLY THE EYES (fact-checked https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhwa). You could have given me examples of other manhwa where this style was used.
Oh, there are 13 thumb downs and counting, admittedly out-numbering 2 thumbs up, at time of writing.But you didn't even think to hit me with that.
All these citations you're showing are just bases for character design, not unbreakable rules (I would know bc I'm an animation student).
As I told you before, she's a baby and her character design is meant to be simple bc the focus of her whole being is her personality. Her eyebrows and her clothes are the main point of interest visually, her face is not meant to be exaggerated but simple and fun to contrast with her parents.
You refuse to see the point and say I didn't answer your question, but my first answer was just simple and direct.
At the end of the day people perceive characters differently, I'm not going to tell you what to feel about the baby I can just explain why she's designed like that.
.... On another level!
I really don't think I've ever had such a feast for the eyes and soul in a webtoon, which seriously rivals the colourful splendour of Chinese manhua (like Heaven Official's Blessing). The added bonus of Mary Jane is the realism and grit that artist, G. Wagen, uniquely and skillfully infuses into each beautiful frame, unlike the manhua, which generally retain the dream-like fantasy feel. Either way, it says something for the quality of the story-telling that the outstanding art does NOT distract, but synergises into something "more". You might also be tempted to double your chapter reading time in order to simply go back and savour the art again, genitalia and all! Gorgeous!
As for Mary Jane, the story? Superb! Disturbing, engaging, funny at times, and satisfying to enotionally invest in convincingly human central characters, as well as the plot and its twists and divots. Congratulations! Now, bring on the finale and eternal side stories (as I really dont want this to end.... Like, EVER!!!
For what HAVE TO BE the CUTEST CHIBIS EVER CREATED!!!!
OMG!! I could seriously bask in their super sweet gwiyeopda for hours! And they are SO expressive! Artist Zoelgu is amazing.
Chibis for their own series!!!
They not only create some of the most visually stunning worlds, and MCs so serenely beautiful, that by the time you realise youve become totally engrossed in the stories.... Such deeply engaging, emotionally challenging and ultimately satisfying stories of love, loyalty and commitment - completely irresistable. This is going to be right up there with Taming the Tiger, Smyrna & Capri and Tale of the Yellow Dragon.... I can FEEL it..... And (YAY!!!) No distracting lightsabers in this one! Thank you, Gods!
The only criticism I've read which is approaching any accuracy is that the author is failing Woo Won.
But still, you guys need to chill, lay off my sweet Woo Won, and start reading this story PROPERLY from chapter one!
Seo-an was a gibbering mess and a shut-in who suffered frequent panic attacks outside and around people. It was WOO WON WHO HEALED HIM so that he could "do so much" in these later chapters!!
Woo Won braved the rain to give Seo-an an umbrella, when he saw him stranded. THAT'S how they ACTUALLY first met - even the author forgot, FFS!! Woo Won calmed a panicking Seo-an on multiple occasions and became his anchor of safety, his rock of reliability, through the hand woven bracelet that Seo-an STILL uses as his calming touchstone! Woo Won has accepted Seo-an completely, without judgment or a desire to "fix" him, change him, or otherwise meddle.
On the other hand, from the point where Seo-an recognised the delivery man as his rainy day saviour, he has done nothing but manipulate him (HOW many pizzas did SA order to get WW to come back???) SA not only seduced a straight man, he has criticised, yelled at, and lashed out at WW in an effort to "fix" him, change him and meddle!
SA has done nothing to get to know WW, despite the evidence of a hard life and WW's obvious low self-esteem. It is only in chapter 90 that it occurs to SA that WW's past might have been more damaging than his own, because all he's seen is debt (rich people think all poor people have that though), and the trauma of the accident.
Seo-an has fallen into the trap of becoming exactly what has hurt / is hurting him - a manipulative family who won't allow others the autonomy to make decisions!!
The author has taken TOO LONG to reveal just how terrifying Woo Won's home circumstances were, and it's been too disjointed. The introduction of the father was too sudden and poorly handled, such that WW's long history of suffering abuse is still being revealed in chapter 89, having been drip fed to us, mainly through the criticism of others (friends, exes and co-workers) and his extreme self-denial and tortured self-judgment!!
The author depicted Woo Won unsympathetically from the start, presenting him as an airhead ditz. But Woo Won was NUMB, withdrawn and isolating himself in a subconscious attempt to protect himself from the harsh life which has wounded him deeply. Even his mother has contributed - checking out from motherhood for a few days to find herself, leaving her kid in that emotional hell, only to think that an apology would be enough to erase the enormous damage inflicted. It wasnt... He was a kid in an emotionally and physically abusive home, which was also filthy. WW's mother held the key to his release and sat on it, as so many abused mothers do.
I actually expected WW to condemn SA's outburst as sounding just like WW's father! How could SA complain about NOT being WW's top priority when WW just said he was - thats why he went where he went, doing what he did and WHY!
Every word out of Seo-an's mouth is to manipulate and control WW - even to WW's emotional separation, he responds, "I cant wait too long..." , ie bugger however much WWs hurting or how much time WW needs to recover, SA won't wait too long!
That said, i do believe their love is genuine - men in love will do anything for that person, and theyve both proven that. But Seo-an needs to have more confidence in WW's love and just stop with the scheming.
All of this is to say that MY HEART BREAKS FOR WOO WON, and I think y'all have missed the bigger picture, because the author/editor have been remiss with WW's character and story.
Yeah, they've each got their own faults but I feel like Woo Won's difficulty in asking others for help is starting to feel disproportionate to how much Seo An is accommodating Woo Won's behavior.
Sorry I couldn't get past the way Seo-An's name is shortened, I kept seeing SA and kept bothering myself with it it's hilarious but still read it though, and YES you're spot on
The author seems to have chosen too rare and little understood a condition, or simply hasn't thought through a fictional condition quite thoroughly enough, I think.
Neither character is acting characteristically. At 28, Chayoung was still pursuing Gyuha, based on his then past and present memories. Yet this 28 y/o version adamantly chooes NOT to feel anything? And why would no-one mention /Gyuha not be aware after of, 8 years together, such an important family occasion??? Why wouldn't each be asking questions And sharing thoughts with the other to try to fill in gaps And not memory??? Not just "why you like me?" like middle schoolers, when theres OBVIOUSLY so much more at stake. ... Like 2 baby humans separated from a stable family life And parental love!!
And, even if we accept these pretty convenient but weak, plot holes and plot devices, wouldn't Gyuha be snatching up that FACE-DOWN family portrait from Chayoung's desk, as he's been tolerating Chayoung's behaviour while missing his babies, and here's obvious proof that Chayoung has no intention of trying to connect with them as a family?
Nah! That face down portrait is fighting action!
I like these characters and the story by the end of S3 part1. This would have been bettered an AU or VERY SHORT side story..... Sigh......