By Grace To
Webtoons are digital comics that can be accessed through the app or online on the website. Chapters or episodes are uploaded weekly. I visit several comics regularly, but here are reviews of my thoughts so far on three unfinished thrillers / horrors that I have been following:
Escape Room
The protagonist, Sean, gets drunk one night and wakes up in an escape room. He learns that it isn't a regular escape room, but rather a game of life or death. However, Sean isn't a "normal" person either, and neither are the other people he meets in the escape room.
This is one of the Webtoons that I believe is really well thought out. Not only are the escape room puzzles and solutions, each character presented has their own personality. Sean is a social outcast because he looks at everything from a rational rather than a moral perspective. When he is paired with this escape room, his choices reflect his personality perfectly - he kills when he has to. I don't think that there is much more to criticize about it other than some very few nitpicky things. I would be really interested if there was a novel version of this comic or something to similar to it.
Killstagram
The story follows Remi Do, a social media influencer that seems to have everything: looks, money and fame. But she also has a serial killer that's stalking her
I think that the characters and plot in general are a bit shallow. A lot of the characters are either on one side or the other, not really having an "in-between". For example, Remi is naive and innocent despite having dealt a lot of things. I also think that the author adds side stories about characters that reveals something new about them, but they don't always line up perfectly with what was mentioned in previous chapters. Although the story can be a bit bland, what makes the story interesting is the thrill. Remi is almost always in a life or death situation, and you want to know what happens next.
Uriah
On a rainy night, a young boy with no memory of who or where he is is stuck in a car - with his thumb bitten off and "murderer" carved on his back. Someone finds him on the island as he begins a mysterious journey to uncover some dark secrets about himself to learn that it might be the only way to survive. (As a warning, the content might be a little disturbing for some people because there is some graphic content that probably isn't PG13).
Along with Escape Room, the storyline is very well structured. Even though the genre is horror, there are heartwarming bits in the story that make it seem more realistic. None of the characters are shallow. It's one of the best stories that I've seen narrated in a while, and everything that needs to be good is good.
I also read Webtoons and have read the first two you mentioned. I agree that it's very well thought out. Sean is indeed creepily rational, and the art reflects this very well. I've also read Killstagram. It's interesting how you pointed out her odd naivety, but now that you mention it I've found I agree. She seems to have a very clear "trust or don't trust" mindset and is not familiar with nuances in people's behavior that would warrant partial trust. In recent episodes, she's also displayed some behavior that makes me think she's too quick to look for a protector. If she's desperate to trust she'll probably trust undeserving people.
ReplyDeleteUriah sounds very interesting, so I'll be sure to check that out. You've made excellent observations and I'll keep them in mind as I read :-)
Nice review! I liked the way you managed to keep your summaries simple, too the point, but still make the Webtoon sound super interesting. I've only seen snippets of Escape Room but after reading your review I'm eager to try it out. The way you described Sean was also really interesting, he's very different from your normal "good guy" protagonist. I also appreciate your gore warning :).
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this review! I liked how you reviewed multiple Webtoons that were pretty different from one another to give a variety. It was also helpful how you were honest about the pros and cons of each one. I've always wanted to read Webtoons but never got the chance to, so thanks for giving me some recommendations!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting this!! I have been needing some new reads on webtoons, and these stories look great to check out. You did a great job of keeping the summaries short and sweet, the perfect combination.
ReplyDeleteI've actually just started reading Uriah, and while I've only gotten to read a few chapters, I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. It's a truly intiguing beginning.
ReplyDeleteI personally love webtoons, I read them all of the time. I also love anything to do with horror or thriller. These all seem like some really nice stories to look at for the future. All of these mini summaries gave me the perfect amount of insight on each of these webtoons. Overall I'm really exited to check these out! Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI started reading Killstagram a few months ago and have enjoyed the plot. Like you said, Remi always seems to be in danger, but always seems to get out of it, even for a split second, which keeps me wanting to read more. I also agree with you that Remi might be a bit naive because she doesn't realize that sharing everything on social media might be putting her in danger. For me, an important takeaway is that you shouldn't overshare too much on social media because there can always be people coming after you.
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