One of the positive things that have come from the pandemic has been the time to read more. In my case, it’s included a whole bunch of new and new-to-me web comics on Webtoons, such as Freaking Romance. In a multi-part series, I’ll share some of these: See You in My 19th Life, Suitor Armor, The Makeup Remover, Kind of Love, and Phase.
See You in My 19th Life
Creator: Lee Hey
See You in My 19th Life is story about a person who remembers all her last lives and lessons from each. In her 18th life, she starts to form a bond finally while looking out for a friend, against her MO. This starts out extremely seriously and deals with difficult topics, such as death, reincarnation, grief, survivor’s guilt, mental health issues, and disabilities. However, it does get much lighter and even amusing with the approach to some of these over time, particularly love transcending a lifetime.
I’m pretty impressed by how directly and casually this comic approaches various lifetimes. The dynamic between the protagonist and her love interest is interesting and fun. She pursues him with confidence and intent while he is convinced he doesn’t care for her.
Suitor Armor
Creator: Purpah
Suitor Armor is story about Lucia, who is the lady-in-waiting and bestie for the future queen. But Lucia is a fairy who hides that identity for fears of persecution. The King’s mage animates a massive suit of armor, Modeus, who becomes Lucia’s protector and companion as he starts to become sentient and learns to speak. They go on adventures to learn more about the past history of the war between fairies and humans, the present and related lies, etc. This seems like it would be a really lighthearted story to start, with Lucia initially serving as the bridge between her bestie and the king as they get to know one another. It quickly evolves into a lot of backstory, leaving more questions the more gets answered.
This story has good pacing and is really well told. It explains complex topics with a novel approach as Modeus learns about his purpose and free will. Can’t wait to see where it goes!
The Makeup Remover
Creator: Lee Yone
The Makeup Remover is about a shy, plain young photography major who has focused on her studies and not her looks. One day, she is introduced into the world of modelling by a talented makeup artist. As someone who doesn’t wear makeup and isn’t known as a snazzy dresser, I was concerned this wouldn’t be relatable or worse, would be boring and vain, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. This has a ton of social commentary about what idols are, societal expectations, beauty standards, and authenticity. I was also concerned that this would be very sexist because modelling and make-up, but to my surprise, it also applies men with the cultural norms. An explicit line demonstrating this after a makeup artist explains a skincare routine for men: “remember, there are no ugly men, only lazy men.” It’s been very fascinating about the industry and the commentary, and definitely worth a read.
Kind of Love
Ren, from Yum Cha episodes, written by Jane Keranen
A collection of short stories related to different types of love, Kind of Love is so varied and fun! Great job at including representation of various groups and lifestyles, as well as animating inanimate objects! Some shorts navigate through difficult topics, such as complicated relationships, bullying, unresolved grief, spirituality, etc. These capture the human experience in its infinite nuance so well, that it is truly impressive. Many full stories could only dream to be as effective. These stories have taken me on a roller coaster thus far. The approach has been really effective to have these as collaborations and contributions between various artists. The second season was food-themed, which is always a great idea!
Phase
Creator: Jouki
Phase is the story of Min, a person with superpowers that include phasing (of course). It started well, but pacing and early cliffhanger (from ep 20) make this pretty frustrating. That early cliffhanger still hasn’t been resolved (it’s on episode 53), as it jumped to backstory from there… also makes it hard to decide who to ship. Come on now! Hopefully this gets resolved soon and we can move in to present day after the tragedies we know to expect. I’m still on the fence about this one due to the pacing, but will continue to give it a chance.
Join me next time for more Webtoons to check read.
