It's amazing seeing how and how much Ichikawa's art has changed over 10+ years. comparing v01 to v11 is like looking at two different artists' penmenship. It's one thing to see it across stories, but something entirely different to see it across volumes. But there are some facial expressions that still hearken back to the early days. Art styles change for many reasons. Each stroke is a refinement of the last. Their grip might change due to injury or if their schedule is tight they may take shortcuts, but there are some that change because they want to or they needed to (yaoi hands). I've been reading comics/manga/wha/hua for so long that I've gotten to see it with a number of artists. Some I'd call an improvement or a nice change and others, not so much, but I still like seeing the gradual transformation.
I'm not particularly a fan of horror, but something about this just drew me in. It's truly one of the best stories I've read and the characters are dynamic and interesting. If anything deserved or needed side stories, this was it. And I'm happy that the creator's note confirmed that there will be. So happy that I got a little teary-eyed. Seriously, I'm truly excited.
I do feel a little bad for the author because some people thought the plot was complicated, but I feel even worse for the people that thought it was complicated and couldn't enjoy the story to its fullest. I like generic setting stories and routine story mechanics as much as the next person--not everything needs to be groundbreaking and great stories can be told with those familiar foundations--but there's something about layered, complex stories that scratch my analytical itch. Even with some stories I absolutely love, when I reread them, I do scroll/flip by some parts, but I've never once took a shortcut on any of my rereads of Dreadful Night. I think it's just that great.
On another note... for anyone that's reading both Dreadful Night and Blue Sky Complex, hear me out... I've been rereading BSC and think that Doha and Motochika are cut from the same cloth when it comes to their devotion to their lovers and their tunnel vision. They don't see anyone but them. I think the main difference is that Doha is a psychopath and even though he was friends with the other guys if he and Bada were the only ones to escape, he wouldn't think too much about it. On the other hand, Motochika was just never interested in anyone, romantically or platonically, but due to Natsuki oddly being a people magnet, he's opened up a bit to the people in their circle and even made his own friend, and if they were to be forever lost in some catastrophic event they all experienced and only he and Natsuki survived, he'd feel the loss, but the feeling would be overshadowed by how grateful, relieved, and happy he was that Natsuki was okay.
I read read the story after 73 came out. It wasn't my first time rereading it, but it's been a while. This was already great, but I still got that feeling of awe this around as well.
With 74, it really brings home that the author has manged to convey something that is kinda of rare. Many of us love the smut and that often fills in a lot of holes in some relationships. Like, it's easy to see how sexually compatible two charters are and all the emotions they feel during those moments and we buy into that intimacy and we let it shape the relationship for us, let it replace real chemistry.
And that's fine, some really good stories get away with that, but if you've read as far as 74, you can see that their sexual relationship was not hot in the beginning; well, the scenes were good, but they were gaming the system. Doha became more invested first and Bada took a lot longer, but eventually, they were on the same sexual page. But the other side of their relationship, their partnership... this story has managed to illustrate numerous times that the are ALSO intellectually attracted to each other. And that really sells the severe and sincere devotion that Doha has for Bada. Bada's is more understated, but it's definitely there, too. Since the beginning of the story, since he unknowingly put himself back into play, Doha has been overwhelmingly intrigued by Bada and how his mind works. Bada, as well, once he understood that Doha's moral compass was broken, his actions made sense and he could understand Doha to a more intimate degree. Trust was a tricky thing, but they also built that up over time.
They have true chemistry; multifaceted chemistry, and it's not solely based on passionate sex and has very little to do with them going through a traumatic experience together. Not that that aspect can be ignored, but it's not the foundation of their relationship. I'm completely sold on them. And I hope you all are too.
You put it so well girl! They honestly are the best, really well suited for each other, obsessed with each other in every way, we need more stories like this, I love that they are equals however Doha is such an alpha energy however so whipped for his pigtail cutie (●'◡'●)
I have to hand it to the author... It's so hard to tell a groundhog's day type story and keep readers engaged. After season 1, you realize at any moment, one of them could be active or back to character mode and you gotta keep up with whose doing what and whose on whose side. It such a clever take on the I-woke-up-in-a-game story and endless loop story. The pacing is great; fast enough to keep things moving, but slow enough to not lose readers with gameplay dynamics, the switching alliances and ongoing suspense. I really love this story as a story concept and what makes it even better is the outright unhinged nature of Bada and Doha's relationship. They are both insane, but they are also both sharp and crazy about each other, like, literally ride or die. Bada is a lot more levelheaded than Doha because Doha has tunnel vision (Bada4Life and death!). But Doha is more act now explain later guy compared to Bada's more calculated approach. But, they work so well together. So glad this story exists. I think I'm going to reread it before the next chapter comes out.
Here's my response to another poster... Try thinking about it this way... It doesn't take much for your head to bleed; it also bleeds a lot even from small cuts. If a person like Chanyoung, someone who doesn't fight back, gets thrown off balance, they will essentially leave their fate up to gravity. Hyunjin, who is strong, but has a smaller build than Chanyoung, lunged to catch his boyfriend. Lunging can also throw you off balance, especially when it's an impulsive movement. So, we have dead weight Chanyoung being caught by disrupted center-of-gravity Hyunjin right in front of a brick wall. And, with both of Hyunjin's arms around Chanyoung, he couldn't do anything to break his momentum or stop himself from colliding into an immovable object. That type of impact would easily lead to a wound, but even without the blood, we should be concerned about the possibility of Hyunjin getting a concussion.
And before I even finished the chapter, I scrolled up to read it again and cried some more.
I have been reading manga/manhwa/manhua for nearly 20 years and be it the original, the scanned, or the licensed version, there will always be stories that never get completed. Though it definitely hurts more when when it's the original. If it's a scan or license, there is always the possibility that someone else can/might pick it up, but when it's the original, it's the rarest of the rare that the story ever resumes.It happened so many times that there was a time that I stopped reading anything that was ongoing. But I love my boys in love and lust, so that ban only lasted a few years.
I really like this story and it was really interesting how such a major incident in the MC's life became a memory. And rather than a few episodes of "3 years later..." we got to see how they continued to live and change after living through such a crazy experience, possibly finding themselves living through others. All things considered, the slice of life pacing of the post-soul swap arc made this abrupt ending feel less awkward. I wish we could see their relationship grow and the market employees lives a little more, and the discipline teacher as well as Taekin, like what is he up to? But I guess not.
This was such an experience. I took a chance because I'm not fond of stories that are often under covers like V01, but I really like double life stories and decided to give it a go. SO glad I did. They had completely believable and relevant reasons for the lack of communication, not just some raggedy plot device. The characters were likeable in their own way and the way the author used how Haruki was so bad at maintaining his on screen persona... It was one of the best vehicles for character development I've read in a while. Official V03 is slated for June. Meanwhile I dying for more of this verse.
Both Jaewon and I feel uncomfortable whenever he interacts with the Haeyul. And I'm starting to get annoyed with how Jaewon fails to set boundaries with him every single time. It's creepy how Haeyul acts like they're close and he knows it's not reciprocated and he's only being humored, yet he keeps pushing. Obviously Haeyul believes something that Jaewon is not privy to, but if he was sincere, he would have already tried to talk about it for real instead of this gross emotional projecting he's doing.
To me, I'm more grossed out by dojoon. At least haeyul has the decency to stop when asked, but not can be said for dojoon. He forced himself and took advantage of jaewon when he is drunk. Dojoon is no different froma rapist.
You didn't understand the plot here. There's a mystery between these characters , we don't know yet. Haneyul and Dojoon both aren't normal , nor do they seem like high school student. Hameul's character isn't creepy , rather , his character shows the depth of the plot , so does dojoon's.
Refer to when I wrote "Obviously Haeyul believes something that Jaewon is not privy to." I do understand the plot and it being part of the plot doesn't negate that Haeyul's actions make me or Jaewon uncomfortable (hence he desire to set boundaries) or that Jaewon's inaction is starting to annoy me.
Try thinking about it from this perspective: If someone kept treating you like they had a more intimate relationship with you, a deeper emotional connection with you than you were aware of. And they constantly dismissed the weight of your words, and were in your house when you got home like they belonged there even though you never told them where you live. And if it was someone who, to your knowledge, you only met recently, and after however many interactions you had with them, you didn't reciprocate their feelings, how would you feel?
I feel like the person that doesn't find that kind of intrusive behavior creepy is either naive, has no self-awareness, or has low self-esteem. You can't be even a moderately adjusted person and not feel like a line was crossed. Except for the fact that they interact directly, Haeyul's behavior is much like those people who take para-social relationships to extremes and are at the stage where they start pleading with the object of their obsession to not make them worry/make they angry, which is the stage right before they decide that confining the person would be for their own good.
Regardless of what the truth behind Haeyul's actions are, that truth hasn't been revealed, so up to now, he's just being creepy.
I think Dojoon and Haeyul are equally gross; they just have different approaches, but the outcome is the same: a form of coercion, be it physical or emotional/mental, they are both guilty of taking advantage of Jaewon and interfering with his agency over himself. I just felt like commenting about Haeyul today.
Also, Haeyul is a repeat offender. Jaewon shouldn't have to ask him to stop every time; he keeps crossing the line, so the fact that he stops doesn't mean much.
Not that this excuses anything, but the only thing Dojoon has over Haeyul in the current story line is that Jaewon likes Dojoon.
They both have a lot of work to do before I can seriously root for either of them and I can't wait to see if the author can convince me to.
You've got a point