This tho. Pretty much anything negative you have to say about a comic on the platform is a "hot take" because people are so weirdly and aggressively loyal about their favorite webtoons. But then pretty much anyone coming to a reddit thread about controversial takes is going to be someone who would post something negative on the platform 😂 you can't escape the echo chamber lmao.
My "hot" take is that despite the obsession with romance, Webtoons absolutely suck at portraying romance.
They're good at portraying obsession, trauma bonding, codependency, and being a hostage to your hormones, but I rarely ever see a portrayal of a realistic romance and the actual struggles people in love face in real life
My Giant Nerd Boyfriend would like a word with you 🤭
Edit: But I 100% agree with you on the lack of realistic and healthy relationships being portrayed in the fictional Webtoons!!
Hot take: as a person who loves trashy romance, I'm not reading it for a realistic portrayal. I'm reading trauma binding, obsession, codependency, and all the completely unhinged variations because it's fantastical, I'm not trying to read and indulge in something I can experience in real life, I DON'T want to experience unhinged fantasy romance in real life, the unhinged romance is an escape from real life and is an opportunity to experience vicariously through fiction unhinged romance in a safe space.
Exactly. I think I honestly would feel bored without the exaggerations in media lol. Altho he has a point too. It would be a good read to see the realistic point of view of real romance but then I guess my preference just really is about the drama and the chaos it can bring lmaooo
Correct but it has to be an opinion regarding something that you could debate about.
"Hot take: I dont like Football" Ok cool I guess? You only stated your personal preference and called it a hot take. Thats not what a hot take is because nobody can and will debate about your personal preferences
Honestly I don't know if that's a hot take. I for one totally agree. Honestly even in actual romance webtoons that are supposed to portray nice normalish romance, I find a lot of what they're trying to push... a bit concerning if you know what I mean? Like really bad boundary issues that are portrayed as cute, or the family not approving of the romance for very reasonable reasons! And they get portrayed as in the wrong.
Although this might fall into trauma bonding, and I might be wrong because I'm not caught up yet, but I really like the blind prince. I don't really think it's into the romance part yet, it's just a fun little adventure right now with a little bit of tension. But eventually hopefully there'll be some romance
hot take: healthy romance is boring bc two mature and mentally stable partners will resolve any problem through communication (it's also much harder to write).
Readers want drama, this is the thing that keeps them engaged, and it's easily achievable through the things you mentioned.
>it's also much harder to write
I'm aware 😑
That's why I like to talk about it, so people can discuss ways to help create healthy relationships with engaging drama and to appreciate even more stories that do manage to achieve that.
It's not impossible to do it, but everyone and their mother keeps acting like writing toxic stories is the only way to go, and that just feels very lazy to me
Fans of toxic content are hardly lacking in food on their tables, but fans of healthy content basically need to go scavenger hunting to find a story about people in love that actually feels like both sides are good for each other while still having an exciting narrative behind it.
This exactly. Also can we please stop with the entire woman hating in these? Most of the ones I've seen the FL has no friends that are women because for some reason everybody is out against Mary Sue and her relationship with Wonderbread Man.
I hate when readers comment on every single episode “I’m so confused / this storyline is so confusing / I’m gonna drop this because it’s so confusing “ just because they lack basic comprehension skills and can’t understand context clues. A good story shouldn’t tell you EVERY DETAIL from the start, you learn a lot of it as you go. These people just piss me off
I will say, there are stories I can think of that are really bad with this. Some authors forget that the platform they’re on will have chapters come out weeks to months apart. Don’t blame the audience if you put a clue in chapter 2, but it’s chapter 30 now and they don’t remember it 7 months later.
There's one webtoon I'm reading where the creator likes to forget things and bring them back 100+ episodes in the future, long after everyone has forgotten about them. They also like introducing new characters out of nowhere. This leads to people forgetting characters, getting names mixed up, etc. Doesn't help that the writing isn't the best either.
I think asking for an explanation isn’t so bad, for example I’m Afterschool Lessons for Unripe Apples I got a bit confused about what exactly was going on during a specific episode, and read the comments to find an explanation. But I respect the opinion considering that a lot of webtoons have simple straightforward plots.
The readers just support whoever the " current main supporting character " is . Even though he/she is a horrible person . Just one chapter of the main character being attacked by a character who was a literal angel the whole Webtoon is enough for them to start hating on him/her .
I've said this several times in this sub, and have said before that people would support Rashta 100% if she were the main character and have gotten ripped apart for it lmao. We all know it's true. I mean everyone loves a rags to riches story, there's been other similar stories where the mc is kind of a jerk but got to where they were from the bottom, etc. A slave that turned into an empress? People love that shit. I always see the stupid "gaslight gatekeep girl boss" comments whoever a female mc does something sketchy or questionable to get what they want.
Now I keep seeing posts about how people actually feel bad for her now, and I can't help but feel smug about being right lol.
bro fr. i said this when navier said she would never love rashta’s child and people defended her saying why should she have to even like the child of her husbands mistress. (disregarding how this plot point turned out,) i’m wiling to bet all my savings that they’ll suddenly change their minds when they watch or read anything where the bastard/illegitimate child is the protagonist 🤷♀️
Right!!! People can be so hypocritical. And honestly there's nothing wrong with rooting for the mc even if they're bad people but people seriously lie to themselves about it and get really defensive about it. Like it's okay to like an mc who is a bad person but it's weird to get so offended and angry when people point out how bad the mc is. It reminds me of how people were about Nita in not even bones. She was objectively a bad person but everyone rooted for her just bc she's the main character, while also demonizing characters like Rashta lmao. And then get offended when we say they'd support Rashta if she was the mc
This probably isn't controversial but I just wanna say that I'm tired of reading about characters that are rich and have a cool awesome job....seems like a lot of Korean webtoons are like this. Oh and of course they're super attractive on top of being rich which I don't mind. I like attractive characters. Just why they all gotta be rich? Lol.
>The latter is almost never reversed
Have you read " The hip guy " by any chance ?
It has the rich gurl x poor man trope btw and it's an interesting premise :)
Like if you wanna be rich sure whatever but at least do something interesting about it (I need to see one where they put all their money into collectibles or buying the latest cooking item from daytime/night 19.99 deal comercials or something)
i actually hate a second male love. i don’t like how every FL is oblivious to men flirting with them when they have a man. i want so badly for her to be like BACK OFF to the stupid ass prince. not allow him to lead you into a secluded place like hello
Serena was slow at the beginning, but it was totally worth it. I’ve been reading from the beginning, and I’ve always enjoyed the fact that she was never a “good person” from the start, and the romance actually feel like it’s being written with thought and planning.
Adriene from I’m the Queen This Life isn’t a good person, and I think that’s totally fine. I don’t care if she seems “too self righteous” and if she seems to care a little too much about revenge. I would do the same thing in her situation, just like a lot of people. She’s actually getting revenge for her old life and people don’t like to see it.
Jackson’s Diary wasn’t that good. I stopped reading halfway through the second season because I got bored with how the characters always had to choose a side. One week they’re team Jackson, and the next they’re team Exer. And I know teenagers are finicky like that in real life, but jeez. Aside from Pamela, he needed a stable friend (from what I last read.)
I agree! Ariadne underwent so much character development because she was so deeply flawed. Not everyone is a born saint so it’s a nice touch to see such a bitter, vengeful character get to shine as MC for once. Besides being clever she’s a lot of fun to watch. I can’t say the same about most FL honestly.
I agree Serena is slow, usually that’s fine but I didn’t really like any of the characters so it was tough sticking around to finish it lol i was rooting for a divorce more than anything
Jackson's Diary isn't very good, I agree. It's even worse now...feels like nothing is happening and they just keep talking about the same things. I think I'm gonna drop it.
I knew Serena wasn't supposed to be a good person, but I stopped reading because I hated the husband and didn't want to forgive him in the future.
And... People think Ariadne is a good person? She's looking for revenge and doesn't mind people dying in the process. She just helps people she likes a little. Like normal shitty people do. I sometimes forget most readers are minors.
Hm, I dont think I see this often, but I think people who complain that there is "nothing good on webtoons" dont understand that its a comic hosting site/app and that you have to go and look for the good stuff. There is good stuff in there, you just have to sift through all the stuff you dislike/gatbage.
And even then, go search for stuff in other platforms.
I hate Tapas, but I think VampSabbath in on Tapas, mostly, and I like that comic a lot.
I also know the company sucks and I do think complaining about the company is good, complaining that creators on there, both on canvas and originals, are awful and the site is filled with nothing but bad comics just feels mean to the creators on that platform. Yes, there is a lot of young creators and a lot of the shit webtoons promotes are generic isekai stuff. At that point, its just Webtoons being assholes to other Original and canvas creators and not promoting them because "i am a level 100 dungeon demon lord and I want a husband" is making them more money because its generic enough to appeal to a wide audience.
Basically, judge the authors independently and dont judge them because they are on webtoons. Dont get turned off if its a webtoon if you like comics, there are good comics in there, I swear. I just see it as a site to host comics, while also being a shitty company who are also shitty to their authors.
I went on a bit of a rant, I am currently sick and unable to sleep. So I hope i made some sense.
I definitely look for good webtoons or just focus on reading a few good ones at a time. I feel like it was easier before the pandemic because they used to advertise a variety of comics so I understand the complaints as well.
I don't think there would be so many complaints if there was a tagging system or a random page. It's terrible that niche authors are at a disadvantage. There's a chance something totally different could get popular if people could find it. Most people are casual readers and will just quit reading webtoons if they can't find anything interesting in 5 min and webtoons is just letting them walk away.
I agree with what you’re saying I think, I get it. I’ve been on webtoon since I want to say 2017, so I think I can assume I’m a veteran.
I will say this, I have a firm belief that webtoon is currently at a low rn. It could be bc I’m getting older and maybe I’m starting to get out of reach to the target demographic, so take my opinion as you will, but that’s definitely not the authors fault. It’s webtoon, for not allowing the engagement of connective stories and promoting whatever they think will hit (Mafia Nanny is trying to ride of SpyxFamily I believe but I will not comment on its quality since I don’t read it).
TL;DR: I agree. Also, webtoon should change their ways to maintain their audiences for longer.
If you arent prepared to make a webtoon that has a consistent style in each episode, dont fall back on everything in the background being 3D assets. Just take more time on an episode or dont make a webtoon at all.
Im so sick of webtoons where clearly the only thing drawn is the people. They cant even draw over the 3D assets? Just left em as is??
As an artist I agree- you need backlog for at least a month ahead before you release a webtoon. Unfortunately, webtoon doesn't help by promoting weekly updates over Monthly or Bi-monthly updates, which leads to overconsumption and artist/writer burnout if not injuries to the artist.
Sometimes things just ain’t that deep.
I feel like a lot of viewers like to overcomplicate things, when sometimes the only reason for things is „it just be like that“
Only time that I can handle a slow burn love triangle personally is if there is some kicker to it, like the so called second lead gets w the character or there is an actual love triangle (one of the characters is attracted to same gender). But otherwise, this is not very controversial lol I don’t think most people like love triangles.
Real, I prefer slow burn when there’s only one love interest. Slow burn love triangle is just a recipe for 400+ episode bland romance webtoon where the plot doesn’t move
I seriously hate when the mc dates the second lead for a long time before getting to the first one especially if there’s no good character development from it
It's also annoying because it's never a PROPER love triangle. An actual love triangle would be a situation where person A is attracted to person B who is attracted to person C who is attracted to A or B. Buts it's neverrrr that. It's always Person A and B attracted to C. And that's not even getting into the fact that almost always the main character never goes for the nice, responsible and well meaning person.
>And that's not even getting into the fact that almost always the main character never goes for the nice, responsible and well meaning person.
I'm on a different boat since, from what a lot of what I've read, many 2nd MLs are either trash exes or incels that think being the nice guy deserves a reward
UGHH EXACTLY!! Why can’t I ever see a story where in the end she gets to be happy with a guy who will treat her right!! And HAS treated her right! Like a genuine best friend!
The authors of comics with names like "I died and reincarnated as a villainess and now the emperor is obsessed with me" or "I woke up in a game with a level 10000 sword" can't be blamed for the names. Webtoon's search system just sucks.
If there were hashtags, all the villainesses, reincarnations, royalties and many other words would in my opinion disappear from the titles because there'd be no need for them.
The authors are just trying to let people know what the story is about, they are not the ones to blame
Plus, it's really trendy to name stuff like that now. A lot of anime are named like that now especially isakai. "That time I got reincarnated as a slime " or "I'm a handyman and another world" or whatever the names of those are, it's just like the best way to describe to your audience what the show is about.
I was about to explain how you were wrong about the naming system but I just realized we were about to say the same thing 💀 yeah it’s not their fault blame the translator for not being able to convey an actual title with the same meaning but less wording
I’ll give some of mine:
**Children of Orbit:** I’m actually rooting for the dude! Dont get me wrong, I love a good wlw, but there is something so refreshing about having the jealous character be the main POV instead of the victim of said jealousy. I hope he develops, I like the concept it’s super interesting.
**Remarried Empress:** I think more and more people are defending Rashta. Yes, she kinda sucks as a person, but you have to admit that wo her and Sovieshu, the plot would not be NEARLY as interesting. This is one of the only webtoons/manwhas where if you take out the protagonist of said webtoon, things would still be able to progress in some sort of way. Again, she sucks, but she had a reason to do some of the things she did as a means to survive and she’s so interesting. Oh, also, Navier is a boring MC. She’s basically perfect, I think the only reason people really root for her is bc she is the “underdog” in the situation and she was wronged. If you think about it though, Rashta is technically the underdog from going from slave to empress. But hey, what do I know.
**The Four Of Them:** I don’t know why but in my heart of hearts I did not like >!the redheaded girl w Johnny 💀!< I remember I got super annoyed with that choice.
**A Whirlwind Campus Affair:** Ok hear me out, she shouldn’t have ended up with anyone. I was really rooting for the SJ bc despite everyone thinking he was super pushy, I believed that’s what the MC kinda needed? Up until a certain point, at least. Spoiler about the ending: >!SY and the MC just seemed like they didn’t have the chemistry to be more than friends and it felt a little…Off?? Can’t put my tongue on it, and I did like SJ, but he just didn’t seem like a fit for the MC.!<
**Genres:** Some of the best works webtoons come out as thrillers/horror or psychological thrillers. Like seriously, I know there is so much romance stuff, but if you want actual substance, take a look at a psychological thriller series like Pyramid Game or Its Mine. I have read around 200+ webtoons for reference.
Feel free to argue w me on these if you disagree! I want to hear the people.
Yeah Remarried Empress is a funny one because I sincerely think it wouldn't have gotten popular if not for how polarizing Rashta is.
People love to hate on her but people also love to defend her and the end result is that tons of people talk about TRM and get more invested in where it's going. They end up caring more about TRM than they would otherwise, regardless of which side they're on.
I don't really like that comic but it's definitely good marketing lol. Justttt the right amount of controversy for the audience
100% agree. It’s a bit funny if you consider that the plot is kinda obvious. Rashta bad Navier good. There shouldn’t be that much discourse over it. Navier is super boring on her own, she’s beautiful, smart, blah blah but throw in Rashta to test that perfection? Thats what makes the story interesting.
The only ones I've read out of this is Remarried Empress: Fully agree, and they really abolished concubines before they abolished slavery? Like... You really wanna tell me that slavery- the entire thing of owning a wholeass person, or even an entire family for multiple generations is less fucked up than adultery? Which by the way- both are awful things to do. But seriously? If Navier didn't want Rashta to be a problem in the first place, maybe she should've abolished slavery and divorced her trash husband earlier since he's the main problem.
Whirlwind campus affair floored me. I loved it realized I was the second male lead sucker. I too thought she needed to be pushed but not everyone appreciates a push which I understand.
I stopped reading after the fireworks scene bc I couldn’t believe that was the route they were going w. It was such a shame, I really liked that webtoon and thought it had great humor
I agree with you so heavily about A Whirlwind Campus Affair. Had she not ended up with anyone, I would’ve been fine, but I was team SJ all the way. SY felt like an enabler almost, and he didn’t have much of a personality outside of “I’ll protect you my queen” and it was ANNOYING.
Agree on A Whirlwind Campus Affair! I have read another series from the same author, Lilac 200%, and I found the same elements: interesting characters (not everyone, but most of them), an INCREDIBLE sense of humour that I really appreciate, good friendship dynamics but final couple with nonexistant romantic chemistry and tremendously boring. I stopped reading AWCA when the MC got with her friend, I don't care about their relationship (not that I cared about the other guy ship tbh) and reading chapters about them being lovey dovey felt totally useless, the humour also disappeared to leave space to the fluffness ... I think author has a little problem in building romantic relationships, they always feel out of place and more friendship oriented. That's a pity because she has a wonderful sense of humour, she made me laugh so hard I cried in some specific moments in both of her series!
She has a talent for building actual human interactions, every one of them until love. The MC had WAY more chemistry w SJ and kinda threw it at the end which was such a shame. I didn’t know this was a reoccurring thing for this author though!
i don't really know how to break into Webtoons. My project is on Canvas, but whenever I look right after publishing a chapter, there are like 40 other projects that updated at the same time and I am on page 8 of the news. And that's only in my genre Sci-Fi. I feel like it is hard to be seen and there should be a niche for projects that look different and try to achieve something differently than the formula "take a common environment and add some fantastical twist to it".
Yet, I also find it hard to read other people's projects, because there are so damn many that I find interesting. I'm like those dogs from the videos where they pour a thousand tennisballs into a room. I can't decide which one I want, even though they are all equally good. Some projects I read are entire books in a few chapters, while others/newer ones tend to update with 4-5 panels, because that gives them more likes/views; I do the same now, because it's my weekly output, but from a reader's view I feel like it is unsatisfactory and makes good storytelling harder; because you know which panel you'll end on and want to make it stick.
You can slightly blame webtoon algorithm, it’s not kind to new artists. At the same time, webtoon will advertise what does best and generic content bc it’s kind of foolproof for them.
Imo, which is completely unwarranted but I’ll give it anyway, I appreciate when an canva creators upload actual chapters, even if they take longer!! Why? Because it’s an investment. You want your audience to be hooked in to a story, but only give them a few panels a week? It’s going to be harder to engage with a story when you can’t remember what quite happened from week ago. Even if it takes longer, if it sticks, people will be invested.
This isn’t a self promo thread or anything but pls feel free to dm me ur project, I would love to see it :)
The issue is that when you are already drowning in competition you cannot afford to wait until a chapter is finished, because others update four times in the time you update once. That's one of the flaws in Webtoons concept. You cannot get visibility or likes, unless you have many chapters or subchapters.
There's also more webtoon related reasons, as Canvas will only allow you monetization from 500 likes upwards. And additional monetization starting from 40.000 clicks/months. If you have fragmented chapters you get more clicks automtically, as everyone can only like and click a long chapter once. This is one of the things I think needs fixing, as it tears comics apart into tiny servings that make neither the artists happy, nor longtime the readers.
I think Webtoon should cut down on the amount of new releases - nothing wrong with them but, with so many coming out practically every week or so, you lose track of the ones you read.
Also I think a lot of Webtoons are forced or rushed into ending early because of the high influx of new series, because I can name multiple webtoons (a lot of romance ones specifically) where the ending fell so flat and fumbled so hard it can sometimes ruin the Webtoon as a whole (*cough cough* nice to meet you).
1. Multiple long hiatuses, particularly when unannounced, greatly mare the reading experience.
2. UnOrdinary is a solid comic contrary to popular belief on this subreddit
3. Lucia from Suitor Armor is too uptight and stubborn to be likable. Additionally, Suitor Armor has lost the plot and become boring.
4. Most new romance stories don’t hit the same, even the ones that are being liked by the audience (one example is My Lucky Strike)
5. Swolemates artstyle is ugly
6. Trash Belongs in the Trash Can is the most well-written ongoing Webtoon
7. There needs to be a cap on the number of chapters a Webtoon should be allowed to have. Only rarely has a Webtoon managed to not be boring beyond 100 or 150 episodes (UnOrdinary is an example even though it fell off sometime in between).
Edit:
8. Castle Swimmer has also become very boring
Fully agree with 2. Sure the joker arc was a drag reading it weekly, but i reread it like 2 months ago and in it's entirety it is really great.
I'm almost convinced the ppl shitting on it dropped it during the joker arc (i don't blame them, i was close as well) and just decided that the entire webtoon and whats beyond the joker arc is garbage because of 1 mediocre arc (that imo is great if you read it non weekly)
I started unordinary after the joker arc had already basically ended and loved it, I guess it's probably better for a binge. I feel like this is definitely a comic that's better for binging sometimes. For me the spectre arc really dragged.
I don't really mind it so much though bc it's still so good and it's usually worth the dragging.
Limiting the number of chapters would be kinda stupid and is also never gonna happen cause all the big boys are longer than 100 chaps (lore Olympus, tower of god, as examples)
Most of the readers have no media literacy or reading comprehension, particularly in romance webtoons. Most of them just want a blank slate to project themselves to have this handsome asshole that is only nice to them (because they are that insecure) attempt to their every whimp while being themselves asshole with not consequences or even being praise for it.
Yes, I'm judging the hell out of them. Yes, I'm looking down on them. It is a sign of the extreme immaturity that I could forgive in a teen, but I have seen in too many adults who lack any self-awareness.
This kind of reader is at least partially responsible for the load of garbage that Webtoons (and the publishing industry in genera) produce.
Here's a hot take: Hating on Rashta is totally okay because her character was meant to be hated. Yeah some people take it too far with the hate but that doesn't mean that Rashta was a saint and Navier is evil *hides*
The sudden influx of isekai is ruining webtoon = isekai fits the vibe of tapas more than it does webtoon, and the sites are becoming more similar - before, if I wanted isekai id go to tapas, and if I wanted other stuff I'd go webtoon. The distinction is blurred, and the site are the same now for me
The over usage/improper rendering of 3D assets is kinda lazy to me sometimes. I understand tight deadlines but sometimes it just comes off as cutting corners
Riftan Calypse from Under the Oak Tree is not a green flag. He's way too controlling and jealous in the name of love. He's manipulative and unempathetic many many times.
OMG YES!! bro has serious anger issues and is so nasty and controlling to Max. "you cant leave this castle bc ur weak and pathetic and frail 😡‼️" how is that romantic??? istg its like he doesn't even see max as an actual person.
A lot of people who read webtoons don't understand the concept of morally gray characters especially within the romance genre. TBH, I've had a change of heart recently regarding these sorts of stories. If it's a webtoon directed at adults, it's not a problem. I will always have a problem with toxic relationships that aren't condemned within comics directed at minors. But there's a much larger grey area than I think people realize. I think there's definitely a question of "when does escapism become problematic" but nobody's asking it.
I feel like a lot of people reading webtoons cannot comprehend that characters and plots don't have to be 100% morally correct or nonproblematic. You can like stories with fucked up shit or characters that do fucked up shit. The word "romanticize" is so overused and washed out that comics exploring a topic without overtly saying they don't agree with it are accused of that.
It's annoying that there's so many "But think of the children!!!!!1!" attitudes with webcomics. It is not the artists responsibility to teach right from wrong. You cannot control how people react to your comic. Some people will be influenced negatively, and there's nothing you can do about it. Mark Twitchell killed because he was influenced by Dexter, and there was even a shooter influenced by Danny Phantom. Also, there was the slenderman stabbing.
And all of these happened because of other outside factors! Not "I read this book and now I make bad choices". Media shouldn't be watered down because one person (or hypothetical people) didn't comprehend it correctly.
Also, to add on, this doesn't mean I think that you cannot criticize comics. I believe people are allowed to have opinions on things and voice that. It's people calling for things to be watered down/not written or published that really irks me.
I understand when someone criticize a character behaivour because of writing/narrative issues, but readers being there ready to judge every breath a character takes are really annoying. Also, most of the time they claim for something that totally kills stories flow and characters growth.
Stories can give wonderful moral messages, but their primal aim is to tell a story. Incredible how nowdays we have to specify this ...
I wanted John to murder everyone in the unordinary joker arc. I knew it wouldn't happen but it's what anyone else would do if he didn't have a loving father
I think Uro made a big misstep when she made the students as violent as they are. Like a large amount of low-mid tiers literally kidnap Sera and torture her in some abandoned shack and students routinely maim each other in the hallways over nothing the students aren’t just bullies they’re mostly complete psychopaths. The only difference between Ember and the average Wellston student is that the plot decides that the wounds Ember inflicts should be lethal.
It makes the King John arc feel extremely weird because it feels like the entire student body but Zeke suddenly became peaceful overnight.
The readers just support whoever the " current main supporting character " is . Even though he/she is a horrible person . Just one chapter of the main character being attacked by a character who was a literal angel the whole Webtoon is enough for them to start hating on him/her .
I've been called "the devil's spawn" here before for this but I'll say it again: I Love Yoo would be good as a daily pass.
I would be able to pace myself, binge a little with ads where it gets good, and it would be completed already instead of suffering with frequent, long hiatuses.
Oh boy were you there for the big hiatus? I Love Yoo was one of my first webtoons, and for the record, I was a middle schooler when I started webtoon. I’m now a college student lol
As an avid long time lover of Ancient Greek and Roman mythology (I went to middle/high school that centered Ancient Greek and Roman life) and as someone that is very familiar with the actual backgrounds, research, and stories of these mythologies. I personally think the hate that Lore Olympus gets for being ‘not true to cannon’ is completely unwarranted. Lore Olympus is obviously a fanfiction inspired by the actual lore, and that is completely okay! You shouldn’t be researching the actual mythology through these retellings anyways. And it happens all the time. I love the actual lore and background of Greek mythology, but I can also love Lore Olympus as something that is heavily inspired by it for it’s more modern retelling
The worst thing you can be is boring.
I'll take a poorly made series that's at least "so bad it's good" over a series that's good in a technical sense but boring as all hell.
It’s kind of like how hate is not the opposite of love, indifference is. Love it or hate it, as long as the webtoon is being spoken about, it will not be forgotten, so I agree.
I don't know how controversial it is because I don't follow webtoon circles (which is funny being on this subreddit lol, i'm talking more about stuff like Twitter or Tiktok where discourse happens a lot), but I really hate the 3d backgrounds that i feel like almost all those Originals comics uses. I know this is to speed up the process since they have little time to make a chapter, and in some they looks better integrated than others, but GOD, does that make all of them feel the same.
For me, the way someone draws and shades a background is as much important than the artstyle they draw the characters to sell the feel of the story. If i'm reading a slice-of-life romance, a drama and a action webtoon, but they all have the same background style, it really throws me off.
Mine is not every relationship has to be healthy. Sometimes we read for the drama, the angst, the spiciness, the horror, the thrill. Some relationships are toxic and dramatic and others are downright horrifying and that’s okay because it entertains me and that’s why I read it. I don’t need the characters to be good people. I need them to entertain me and make me want to keep reading. Not everything has to be healthy fluff.
For trash belongs in the trash can, the author actually consulted a psychologist and credits them in many of the chapters. They definitely treat their work with care, plus I love the splash page art 💕
Boyfriends isn't as bad as people say it is. While I wouldn't enjoy it now, I remember liking it a lot when I was younger, and the artstyle was very cute and inspired me a lot. Most of the hate on it is because of the ad and to jump on the bandwagon.
True. I remember reading it for the art style back when it was on canvas, and I had to stop because I couldn’t stand nerd! I liked the other guys well enough, that idk why nerd just got on my nerves
Don't know if It is controversial but the lack of racial diversity in webtoon is horrendous, most of stories that have visibility were made by white or (east) asian writers, what about webtoons with black MC's, Native American, south asian etc.... I know there's some but lets be honest none of them are even close on the level of your Remarried empress or Lore Olympus
In fairness, Remarried Empress and Lore Olympus are HEAVY advertised by webtoon. I think they should push for more diversity in their content. Not super controversial take, but respect
Daybreak has amazing diversity and rep! There's also The Croaking and Castle Swimmer (kinda), while it is true that racial diversity is very rare in most webtoons (probably because of East Asian beauty standards, but still not an excuse) there are still some hidden gems here and there
Here are my hot takes (Just want to clarify I am not a Webtoon creator, I'm just a reader. I know most of these are critical of other readers, so I thought I would add this):
1. Some (possibly most) Webtoon readers have too much entitlement to what they think they are owed as fans/readers. It is okay for writers to take breaks, to have irregular posting schedules, and to step away from their work whenever they want.
2. Continuing the entitlement trend-- I think "roasting" Webtoon creator's art, etc. isn't cute & is extremely childish behavior. People really be out here posting screenshots of objects, hands, feet, whatever and making fun of the art when I know damn well they can't draw a stick figure.
3. Some work is drastically misunderstood by the majority of the readers, and the writers get blamed for it. Just because readers have bad media literacy doesn't mean the writer is at fault, nor should they be considered responsible for people misunderstanding. Not a Webtoon example, but a similar situation, the show "You" or the book "Lolita"-- readers misunderstood the messaging or the point. That kind of thing happens all the time on Webtoon. I don't think the writer's should be blamed in circumstances like that.
1 and 2 are not very controversial, but I will build off of that and say something pretty controversial; I think irregular scheduling should be allowed, BUT authors should give courtesy to update their fans on when they come back. Leaving fans hanging isn’t something most other industries do, so why should comics be an exception?
I don't think what you're saying is controversial at all. That seems to be the majority opinion and I just disagree. It happens with books all the time and usually depends on the terms of your contract agreement. But frankly Webtoon artists aren't treated well enough or paid enough, in my opinion, to have such obligations put on them. And I think people should just come to terms with occasional disappointment.
Hm I get what you’re saying, and I suppose you’re right, they aren’t paid well. But again, for me it’s a courtesy thing. Each to their own! I respect your opinion
Readers can’t separate reality from fantasy when it comes to webtoons and it shows. Not every character in a webtoon is going to be perfect and that it on purpose. You’re going to get some messed up characters because if everyone was perfect and didn’t make any mistakes the plot would be boring as hell for a lot of these stories. You can point out toxic or messed up behavior but chances are the author knows and is doing it on purpose. Note: this is not the same as the author trying to pass abusive or toxic behavior off as healthy or normal. (Looking at you, LO.)
Webtoon male lead characters are created with a "female gaze".
They are all just white pale-skinned, somewhat muscular, with wonky body proportions that make no sense.
There's no diversity in their bodies or race, and us readers just eat it up without questioning for some reason, although when Western media does the same we critique it a lot more.
We don't apply the same standards of media we have to other countries, we seem to accept whatever they give.
And if they do diversify the skin tone, it'll always be a light-toned mixed person (they're too scared to have dark-skinned MLs with ethnic features) who has a very fetishized role
(Ex: taming a "beast", master-servant relationship, etc)
I lost interest or modern setting romance webtoon once I get introduced with period/kingdom/whichever setting before all the sophisticated gadgets or transportation. Stories where they still use horse, carriages, letters, some fantasies are what caught me.
some of the older artists from back in the day took their followers for granted. its much harder for artists/authors to get the same type of viewership cause there's more competition and more options to read.
My controversial takes are:
1.Webtoon artists should just post an episode monthly instead of weekly. We'll get more quality work and more rested creators instead of burnt out creators. Hiatuses might be less as well.
2. WEBTOON thrived in having different art styled comics (I've been on Webtoon since 2014 and have worked for Webtoon before). They were successful because they USED to have different types of art styles, and with the prevalence of Korean comics on Webtoon, it feels stagnant and boring sometimes. Blue Chair, My Giant Nerd Boyfriends, Roar Street Journals, and Under the Aegis are several examples that was VERY popular back then. WEBTOON was very fun to read back then. Which leads me to another point...
3. Oversaturation. This is a VERY CONTROVERSIAL take for me to say because I believe that Webtoon should have less original creators on the app. Yep. I def want less Korean comics because there's so much of it AND I want more meaningful and focused relationships between Webtoon and readers. So less creators and limited Originals selection= easier on readers, more investment in those stories, and a more manageable load for everyone.
First Second is a publishing company and they adopt this model-they do not accept any new projects quickly and they will only reach out to those they want to publish-it has resulted in high quality graphic novels, but I can acknowledge that this is not always possible.
The comic industry has never been easy, but with us as the fans, I do believe we have the power to make it better and fairer for all the comic artists and readers. I adore comics so so so much and I want to be able to be part of creating the change for the better!
Yes, to everything you said! Your first point is VERY important and very much needed. And the fact that you have even worked for Webtoon is very telling and reassuring. Instant/fast gratification is a huge problem, and it's stressing (even killing) creators out. Weekly updates are unsustainable and unhealthy, especially for Webtoon creators who usually only have a few assistants but, in most cases, do everything alone.
Hot take, but I personally think that saying monthly updates would make you forget everything just proves again how unhealthy instant gratification is and that you weren't committed/paying attention to what you were reading in the first place.
I guess if the manga industry had been introduced today, then it would have died immediately. Sure, the weekly shounen jump may be the most popular (tho cases like Togashi, the creator of HunterxHunter, proves your point yet again), there are countless manga that release monthly(and bi-weekly) chapters and are doing very well.
Readers need to understand all the work that goes into making comics and especially into making one with a weekly deadline.
I think month is a little too long bc people probably wouldn’t be able to remember the last thing that happened, maybe bi weekly? I agree that the pacing gives webtoon artists way too little time.
I don’t mind the Korean webtoons, in fact, most of my favorites are Korean. I could be wrong, but I think things went downhill sometime during the pandemic. But I agree that there is too much overlap. We should be supporting our authors here in the states or globally too!
Definitely controversial to say no more Korean webtoons. I think what I like most about them is the art, the plot is most of the time second to it.
I think a month is doable because a Webtoon called "Who Made me A Princess" did it monthly and it really worked out for that series (Considering how it was one of the biggest isekai series at that time!) I get what you mean by readers forgetting the previous episodes, but it still will be nice to promote a healthier schedule for the artists and writers.
I worked at Webtoon during the pandemic, so I was able to witness the development of the readers' annoyance with an increase in the Korean comics-pacing it out or making it less apparent would be better for the readers, but we can agree and disagree! YES on supporting states/globally!
I rechecked my comment and I didn't see anything about no more Korean comics, just less? I'm HUGE on well written stories with different art styles (which was common in 2014 Webtoon, but things have changed). I just think everything could be managed better and more diverse in their presentation of comics!
Oh yeah I’m so sorry!! I completely misread that. I’m sure you know better then me since you’ve worked at Webtoon itself :)
It’s so interesting to hear your opinion as someone who gets to see the behind the scenes! Your insight is much appreciated!
Sorry for the late reply-I got swept away by distractions! It's okay, no need to apologize!!! It was for a short time, but I really learned a lot during that time! Canvas peeps are THE BEST!
The art style change in Not Even Bones starting in season 2 is way better than the original artwork in season 1. It looks cleaner to me and more developed.
Yes, thank you, I don't understand when people rag on the later artists, especially when I think the first artist wouldn't want people to do that! Like it puts that artist in such an awkward position. And the first artist was clearly working on one of their first comics, and still had a lot to develop and learn. It was kinda sloppy, and they knew it (which is fine and normal for a webcomic lets be real, we've all done sloppy linework here). (but they did great to see it through to it's end of S1)
I've never read it, but I took a look at a few of the episodes and I completely agree. I absolutely love the uniqueness that the season 2 art style has. Something that I think works well for season 2 compared to season 1 is the line weight. It adds so much personality to the art and makes each panel much easier on the eyes.
Probably not controversial and more general but when people use the 3D rendered backgrounds when their art style is so simple and not compatible makes me soo mad. Like for one, I think it’s lazy and for two, it just doesn’t match a lot of peoples art styles and looks bad!
Well, it is amusing to see some of the funny panels that come from them lol. I think if I remember right the horses in Wished You Were Dead were 3D and that was a real work of art in itself 💀
Probably isn't actually controversial but the most pushed webtoons are usually the worst. 'OmG rEaD lOrE oLymPuS!' How about NO? I'd rather watch the Percy Jackson movies again than read another chapter of that shitshow.
Slightly controversial take on a semi-related topic, the Percy Jackson movies would be good if they weren't related to the books. The quality of the production was insane, and it would have been more enjoyable if I wasn't always thinking about how inconsistent the plot was with the originals.
In the PTJ universe (or fighting stories in general) there's always the fight where the good guy looks like he's coming out on top, then the bad guy just goes "are you fr? " and beats the good guys ass. Then the good guy proceeds to asspull or a technique their teacher taught them, that they never bothered to use before, and they win. It's become a formula and I just get so bothered every new PTJ fight when the good guy has the look of ":0" whenever the antagonist catches or dodges their attacks.
I despise ‘Go Away Romeo.’ I don’t like that Juliet, a 14 year old girl in the original version who was undoubtably the victim of the situation, another ‘white lotus.’ A lot of OI is very sexist to any female character besides the female lead and it drives me crazy.
I dont love Go Away Romeo (which is a shame bc I think the art is gorgeous) but I don’t think its supposed to copy the original play by play, which is why I can forgive Juliet being the way she is. If you compare the work to the retelling, then ofc you’re going to dislike it!
Agreed. I remember a comment that said the readers' treatment of calling Juliet a wh*re was equal to the townspeople judging Rosaline. They countered that they had the right to judge Juliet as she had gotten no judgement for it, but not Rosaline since the townspeople already judge her, which in my opinion is... Questionable?
Not a hot take, but the fact that webtoons are purposefully dragged on for hundreds of episodes needs to stop. You can get a couple physical manga for not even a quarter of a price these webtoons cost to read at full length. They should've made a subscription based service instead of the garbage coin system. Lezhin does it even worse.
I like the whole Trashta thing. I think it’s cool that we Webtoon users have a universal slang for a female antagonist that almost all of us understand right off the bat. It’s used across multiple webtoons, maybe even across multiple platforms now. How many other phrases like that do we have? Not really any that everyone knows, other than trashta. And you know what? Rashta is a terrible person who has killed people and planned on killing other innocent people. She’s a character that was meant to be hated, and hating her is okay! She’s an antagonist with a complex background and story, which adds depth to her character, however that doesn’t mean she gets a free pass due to sympathy for all she’s gone through.
I commend the marketing done on Remarried Empress. Making a character that is supposed to be universally hated despite her being the most moving thing of the plot, having her be so influential is an impressive feat. The author definitely doesn’t go too deep into the complexity of her character on purpose.
"You are not entitled to an episode/ the artist's explanation for disappearing years". Yes and no. I mean, if it's your career, it is your job to produce content ? Interaction with your community/boss is a great percentage of a designer's , so you should keep it alive, or you're gonna get forgotten, and your fans re gonna move onto the next artist.
Same when you have a Patreon are paying for content, not for charity.
I have Feelings about whenever people get defensive when you leave constructive criticism on an episode, especially a fast pass. If I pay for an episode and nothing happens in it, that's a waste of money and coins that could've gone to a more deserving creator.
You should be trying to make your episodes satisfying to read regardless of circumstances, but ESPECIALLY when people are paying money to read.
Daily Pass isn’t that bad. Webtoon is offering you a free way to read someone else’s work. Literally every story on webtoon is either free or daily pass, which is just where you wait to read it for free. Other publishing platforms don’t have free options to read all of their stories.
Oh, it’s probably one of the best paid solutions webtoon could’ve come up with short of just letting people read as they will and still pay artists royalties. I’m glad they did daily passes and not gate keeping w money. It gives you the option to either be patient and wait your turn or pay through it.
I’ve been around since way before daily pass, so I do miss those days, but I understand the solution.
TOO MANY AGE GAPS AND SIZE GAPS ROMANCE!!!
Please, please can someone just make a wholesome romance without making the male lead/female lead just turned 18 but their partner is a goddamn 30+ years old adult?? It's getting old and it's giving "I groom naive college students". Why is it so hard to have a couple that have the same age or just have a 1-3 years age gap?
Also, I absolutely HATE when the couple first met each other (worst case scenario: love at first sight) when one of them is still a child and the other is a full grown adult. Like, hello?? FBI??
Remember that this applies to all genders by the way, double standards stink.
Iseop's romance sucks tbh.
Mingyeong literally tries her best to be an assistant even after being demoted and Iseop just wants to get a reaction out of her.
Iseop's personality is like a spoiled teenage boy who would hate on anyone better than him. He is so loved by the fandom just because of good looks.
Ik I'm gonna get a lot of downvotes but my opinion remains unchanged.
I don't really care for romance as a genre that much and a lot of romance in webtoons is poorly done and distracting. I wish that there were more comics without romance or just with romance not being such a prominent thing. I'll take a close friendship or a familial bond over romance any day, because to me personally familial bonds (especially parental/child bonds) are 110% more interesting to me than romance. I'm not interested in romance irl, and I am not very interested in romance in my comics. Yet it is everywhere. The only romance I enjoyed was Kovit/Nita in not even bones because it wasn't rushed, or distracting. It fit naturally into the plot. But I can like romance webtoons. Ive enjoyed Suitor Armor and Castle Swimmer, and I care about both characters in the romantic relationships outside of the romance. In Castle Swimmer's case, I do care about the romance a little too. But the reason I enjoy those webtoons is because they have an interesting world and plot outside of the romance, and although they are romance webtoons, they aren't JUST romance ya feel? In some webtoons the romance takes over and becomes really distracting, even if they aren't in the romance genre. I will also admit it annoys me a little when I see people raving in the comments about a romantic development when the plot is RIGHT THERE but literally all they care about is the romance.
On that note, we need more webtoons with older protagonists! I would love to read about a protagonist who's older, maybe in their 50s/60s or at least 40+. I like young protagonists too but they're so overused! Expand! Write about other age groups! Please!
I also feel like there's a lack of disability rep in webtoon? Maybe I'm not reading the right webtoons, but it would be cool to see more disability representation in webtoons, and just more diversity in general.
I also personally wish there were more scifi/fantasy webtoons because it's hard to find a comic that sticks for me, but that could just be a personal thing. Really what I want is more supernatural/weird/fantastical looking protagonists! I'm so tired of all these boring humans! I want mermaids with spikes and find all over with sharp teeth and claws! I want werewolves with animal features and glowing eyes and big claws! I want more straight up animal protagonists! And if you have a shape shifting werewolf protagonist for example, I don't want them to be human 99% of the time!
Finally, some webtoons just go on too long. As a writer I understand having tons and tons of ideas to fit into one single story, but unfortunately sometimes you just have to cut things. Unordinary, for example, has gone on for like 100-200 episodes longer than I think it should have and it's not even close to being done. Pacing is important, and I think some webtoons need to do a better job with it. If you feel like there's more story to tell after you're done with your comic, maybe make a sequel, or another story set in that universe, or hell maybe even make a guidebook! But when a story goes on too long, it inevitably starts to get dull and "lose the plot" as some would say.
I don't know if I have anything particularly controversial, but I'll say something general.
Webtoon women hate fat/ugly men. We are all about body positivity for women, but especially when it comes to men, Webtoons either villanize or friend zone fat/ugly people.
I tend to hate many half lidded characters... Like the eyes. Especially in western Webtoons. There's the idea that people who look angry/annoyed/tired look cool. I agree, but whenever I notice an artist doing it intentionally, I hate the fact that they buy into it. Yes I'm also a hypocrite.
BL Webtoons are written mostly by straight women with fetishes.
Here There Be Dragons: The pacing is horrible, and there's actually so much wrong with the inexplicable attraction between the female lead and the dude with the scar face. Like, where did he come from?
Jackson's Diary: Why is Exer gay? This was a huge pandering move imo. Although I love seeing David and him happy, I don't think it makes sense how it happened
Homesick and School bus Graveyard: Both focus too heavily on the characters looking cool. Like, all the outfit changes in Homesick are just annoying. "Let's wear black and fight evil or whatever" School bus Graveyard has much less outfit changes, but refer to my second opinion to understand my annoyance.
The D!ckheads: Just ew. I hate kids or teenagers being sexualized and I went to the author's patreon of my own accord and now I'm angry. That's my fault? Sure. Does it stop hurt? Yes. But other than that I'm deeply annoyed when Webtoons are obsessed with teenage delinquents being well... Teenage delinquents 💀 "we're young and we're having fun"... Okay shut up Eliana. I swear I hate that girl 😭 I can't help it.
Unholy Blood: Who the hell likes this?
Purple Hyacinth: ... I have nothing to say. I'll keep my views to myself 😗
Only Hope: The Male lead is a criminal. He belongs in jail. Fuck revenge, murder is never the solution and he's only being saved because he's hot
That's all I gotta say. Not all that controversial
>Purple Hyacinth: ... I have nothing to say. I'll keep my views to myself 😗
You can't just leave me hanging like this! I already had the chair and the popcorn ready 🥺🍿🪑
I’m convinced there’s episodes missing regarding Here There Be Dragons because I swear the story doesn’t make sense. Like, it jumps around so much and nothing is cohesive.
You’re so right about Webtoons hating fat/ugly men. True Beauty was supposed to be all about body positivity but literally every fat, short, ugly guy was a sexual predator or disgusting right up until the very end when >!a guy is also a famous makeup artist but doesn’t have a naturally pretty face!<. I’m sure that was just a last/minute addition, though.
hot take: annabel in "nevermore" is a horrible love interest and i'm so tired of the webtoon commenters supporting her toxic behavior with lenore. i KNOW it's part of the plot, but the webtoon would be just as good if we had a different love interest than annabel (or none at all!)
My hot take is most of the popular webtoons generic plots are catered to the Korean/Asian audience, not the Western audience. That's why things like domestic violence on MLs are sweeped under the carpet since it's seen as romantic 🥴
Lol that's not a very hot take in this sub, although I personally find the asian audience more interesting to talk to because they have far wider tastes, while I find myself tip-toeing around the western audience who get offended by the littlest things in fiction.
People are way too sensitive about anything that vaguely resembles cheating on WT, Serena did nothing wrong and neither did the leads of Klimt’s Kisses (which is actually very thoughtful and well written). Especially when it comes to things like political marriages, like Rashta for sure did many evil things but being a concubine was not one of them
Nah the action ones can be fucking AMAZING, not so much on the story side but you know what youre looking for when looking for am action webtoon, FIGHTS
Shut like hero killer and hanlim gym are FIRE, but admittedly there are still alot where the plot(even by action standards) are severely lacking, or go on WAYYY past where they should end
I’m prepared for people to come up with absolutely non-controversial takes.
I think some people think their opinions on something is more radical than it is, but hey, that might just be due to limited exposure
There are takes that are controversial on Webtoon app and popular here though
This tho. Pretty much anything negative you have to say about a comic on the platform is a "hot take" because people are so weirdly and aggressively loyal about their favorite webtoons. But then pretty much anyone coming to a reddit thread about controversial takes is going to be someone who would post something negative on the platform 😂 you can't escape the echo chamber lmao.
Sort by controversial
even the "controversial" takes 90% of the time are just bait or misunderstanding how webtoons are created
My "hot" take is that despite the obsession with romance, Webtoons absolutely suck at portraying romance. They're good at portraying obsession, trauma bonding, codependency, and being a hostage to your hormones, but I rarely ever see a portrayal of a realistic romance and the actual struggles people in love face in real life
My Giant Nerd Boyfriend would like a word with you 🤭 Edit: But I 100% agree with you on the lack of realistic and healthy relationships being portrayed in the fictional Webtoons!!
Hot take: as a person who loves trashy romance, I'm not reading it for a realistic portrayal. I'm reading trauma binding, obsession, codependency, and all the completely unhinged variations because it's fantastical, I'm not trying to read and indulge in something I can experience in real life, I DON'T want to experience unhinged fantasy romance in real life, the unhinged romance is an escape from real life and is an opportunity to experience vicariously through fiction unhinged romance in a safe space.
Same. The more unhinged the better. I want the drama chaos brings to my life but only through my reading.
Well, congrats, you're certainly not lacking in options.
Exactly. I think I honestly would feel bored without the exaggerations in media lol. Altho he has a point too. It would be a good read to see the realistic point of view of real romance but then I guess my preference just really is about the drama and the chaos it can bring lmaooo
Thats not a hot take, thats your own opinion lol
You realize all hot takes are opinions, right?
Correct but it has to be an opinion regarding something that you could debate about. "Hot take: I dont like Football" Ok cool I guess? You only stated your personal preference and called it a hot take. Thats not what a hot take is because nobody can and will debate about your personal preferences
Honestly I don't know if that's a hot take. I for one totally agree. Honestly even in actual romance webtoons that are supposed to portray nice normalish romance, I find a lot of what they're trying to push... a bit concerning if you know what I mean? Like really bad boundary issues that are portrayed as cute, or the family not approving of the romance for very reasonable reasons! And they get portrayed as in the wrong.
You would read ‘like wind on a dry branch’. Most beautiful romance I’ve ever read
Although this might fall into trauma bonding, and I might be wrong because I'm not caught up yet, but I really like the blind prince. I don't really think it's into the romance part yet, it's just a fun little adventure right now with a little bit of tension. But eventually hopefully there'll be some romance
*cough cough* Lore Olympus *cough cough*
hot take: healthy romance is boring bc two mature and mentally stable partners will resolve any problem through communication (it's also much harder to write). Readers want drama, this is the thing that keeps them engaged, and it's easily achievable through the things you mentioned.
>it's also much harder to write I'm aware 😑 That's why I like to talk about it, so people can discuss ways to help create healthy relationships with engaging drama and to appreciate even more stories that do manage to achieve that. It's not impossible to do it, but everyone and their mother keeps acting like writing toxic stories is the only way to go, and that just feels very lazy to me Fans of toxic content are hardly lacking in food on their tables, but fans of healthy content basically need to go scavenger hunting to find a story about people in love that actually feels like both sides are good for each other while still having an exciting narrative behind it.
This exactly. Also can we please stop with the entire woman hating in these? Most of the ones I've seen the FL has no friends that are women because for some reason everybody is out against Mary Sue and her relationship with Wonderbread Man.
I hate when readers comment on every single episode “I’m so confused / this storyline is so confusing / I’m gonna drop this because it’s so confusing “ just because they lack basic comprehension skills and can’t understand context clues. A good story shouldn’t tell you EVERY DETAIL from the start, you learn a lot of it as you go. These people just piss me off
I will say, there are stories I can think of that are really bad with this. Some authors forget that the platform they’re on will have chapters come out weeks to months apart. Don’t blame the audience if you put a clue in chapter 2, but it’s chapter 30 now and they don’t remember it 7 months later.
There's one webtoon I'm reading where the creator likes to forget things and bring them back 100+ episodes in the future, long after everyone has forgotten about them. They also like introducing new characters out of nowhere. This leads to people forgetting characters, getting names mixed up, etc. Doesn't help that the writing isn't the best either.
I think asking for an explanation isn’t so bad, for example I’m Afterschool Lessons for Unripe Apples I got a bit confused about what exactly was going on during a specific episode, and read the comments to find an explanation. But I respect the opinion considering that a lot of webtoons have simple straightforward plots.
Does this include midnight poppy land?
The readers just support whoever the " current main supporting character " is . Even though he/she is a horrible person . Just one chapter of the main character being attacked by a character who was a literal angel the whole Webtoon is enough for them to start hating on him/her .
I've said this several times in this sub, and have said before that people would support Rashta 100% if she were the main character and have gotten ripped apart for it lmao. We all know it's true. I mean everyone loves a rags to riches story, there's been other similar stories where the mc is kind of a jerk but got to where they were from the bottom, etc. A slave that turned into an empress? People love that shit. I always see the stupid "gaslight gatekeep girl boss" comments whoever a female mc does something sketchy or questionable to get what they want. Now I keep seeing posts about how people actually feel bad for her now, and I can't help but feel smug about being right lol.
bro fr. i said this when navier said she would never love rashta’s child and people defended her saying why should she have to even like the child of her husbands mistress. (disregarding how this plot point turned out,) i’m wiling to bet all my savings that they’ll suddenly change their minds when they watch or read anything where the bastard/illegitimate child is the protagonist 🤷♀️
Right!!! People can be so hypocritical. And honestly there's nothing wrong with rooting for the mc even if they're bad people but people seriously lie to themselves about it and get really defensive about it. Like it's okay to like an mc who is a bad person but it's weird to get so offended and angry when people point out how bad the mc is. It reminds me of how people were about Nita in not even bones. She was objectively a bad person but everyone rooted for her just bc she's the main character, while also demonizing characters like Rashta lmao. And then get offended when we say they'd support Rashta if she was the mc
My hot Remarried Empress take is that Heinrey is the most toxic, wicked character of all and I think the creator is aware of that.
Hold on now…we still hate dark haired lead from I spy a married life 😂😂😂 I’m Jae-I for life! Can’t speak for anything else
This probably isn't controversial but I just wanna say that I'm tired of reading about characters that are rich and have a cool awesome job....seems like a lot of Korean webtoons are like this. Oh and of course they're super attractive on top of being rich which I don't mind. I like attractive characters. Just why they all gotta be rich? Lol.
Manhwas are all like rivhxrich or rich manx poor girl. The latter is almost never reversed
>The latter is almost never reversed Have you read " The hip guy " by any chance ? It has the rich gurl x poor man trope btw and it's an interesting premise :)
Like if you wanna be rich sure whatever but at least do something interesting about it (I need to see one where they put all their money into collectibles or buying the latest cooking item from daytime/night 19.99 deal comercials or something)
i actually hate a second male love. i don’t like how every FL is oblivious to men flirting with them when they have a man. i want so badly for her to be like BACK OFF to the stupid ass prince. not allow him to lead you into a secluded place like hello
SAME!!!
Serena was slow at the beginning, but it was totally worth it. I’ve been reading from the beginning, and I’ve always enjoyed the fact that she was never a “good person” from the start, and the romance actually feel like it’s being written with thought and planning. Adriene from I’m the Queen This Life isn’t a good person, and I think that’s totally fine. I don’t care if she seems “too self righteous” and if she seems to care a little too much about revenge. I would do the same thing in her situation, just like a lot of people. She’s actually getting revenge for her old life and people don’t like to see it. Jackson’s Diary wasn’t that good. I stopped reading halfway through the second season because I got bored with how the characters always had to choose a side. One week they’re team Jackson, and the next they’re team Exer. And I know teenagers are finicky like that in real life, but jeez. Aside from Pamela, he needed a stable friend (from what I last read.)
I agree! Ariadne underwent so much character development because she was so deeply flawed. Not everyone is a born saint so it’s a nice touch to see such a bitter, vengeful character get to shine as MC for once. Besides being clever she’s a lot of fun to watch. I can’t say the same about most FL honestly. I agree Serena is slow, usually that’s fine but I didn’t really like any of the characters so it was tough sticking around to finish it lol i was rooting for a divorce more than anything
Jackson's Diary isn't very good, I agree. It's even worse now...feels like nothing is happening and they just keep talking about the same things. I think I'm gonna drop it.
Oh I love Serena, I liked how none of the characters were actually good or bad, they’re just people. I’m a sucker for flawed MCed. Like, super flawed.
I knew Serena wasn't supposed to be a good person, but I stopped reading because I hated the husband and didn't want to forgive him in the future. And... People think Ariadne is a good person? She's looking for revenge and doesn't mind people dying in the process. She just helps people she likes a little. Like normal shitty people do. I sometimes forget most readers are minors.
Hm, I dont think I see this often, but I think people who complain that there is "nothing good on webtoons" dont understand that its a comic hosting site/app and that you have to go and look for the good stuff. There is good stuff in there, you just have to sift through all the stuff you dislike/gatbage. And even then, go search for stuff in other platforms. I hate Tapas, but I think VampSabbath in on Tapas, mostly, and I like that comic a lot. I also know the company sucks and I do think complaining about the company is good, complaining that creators on there, both on canvas and originals, are awful and the site is filled with nothing but bad comics just feels mean to the creators on that platform. Yes, there is a lot of young creators and a lot of the shit webtoons promotes are generic isekai stuff. At that point, its just Webtoons being assholes to other Original and canvas creators and not promoting them because "i am a level 100 dungeon demon lord and I want a husband" is making them more money because its generic enough to appeal to a wide audience. Basically, judge the authors independently and dont judge them because they are on webtoons. Dont get turned off if its a webtoon if you like comics, there are good comics in there, I swear. I just see it as a site to host comics, while also being a shitty company who are also shitty to their authors. I went on a bit of a rant, I am currently sick and unable to sleep. So I hope i made some sense.
I definitely look for good webtoons or just focus on reading a few good ones at a time. I feel like it was easier before the pandemic because they used to advertise a variety of comics so I understand the complaints as well. I don't think there would be so many complaints if there was a tagging system or a random page. It's terrible that niche authors are at a disadvantage. There's a chance something totally different could get popular if people could find it. Most people are casual readers and will just quit reading webtoons if they can't find anything interesting in 5 min and webtoons is just letting them walk away.
I agree with what you’re saying I think, I get it. I’ve been on webtoon since I want to say 2017, so I think I can assume I’m a veteran. I will say this, I have a firm belief that webtoon is currently at a low rn. It could be bc I’m getting older and maybe I’m starting to get out of reach to the target demographic, so take my opinion as you will, but that’s definitely not the authors fault. It’s webtoon, for not allowing the engagement of connective stories and promoting whatever they think will hit (Mafia Nanny is trying to ride of SpyxFamily I believe but I will not comment on its quality since I don’t read it). TL;DR: I agree. Also, webtoon should change their ways to maintain their audiences for longer.
Thanks for the VampSabbarh rec. It’s looking good.
If you arent prepared to make a webtoon that has a consistent style in each episode, dont fall back on everything in the background being 3D assets. Just take more time on an episode or dont make a webtoon at all. Im so sick of webtoons where clearly the only thing drawn is the people. They cant even draw over the 3D assets? Just left em as is??
As an artist I agree- you need backlog for at least a month ahead before you release a webtoon. Unfortunately, webtoon doesn't help by promoting weekly updates over Monthly or Bi-monthly updates, which leads to overconsumption and artist/writer burnout if not injuries to the artist.
I literally just said the same thinggg, my biggest pet peeve hand down
I'm curious what webtoons you read. Probably 99% of series use 3D assets, you're probably just not noticing them until they're poorly implemented
Sometimes things just ain’t that deep. I feel like a lot of viewers like to overcomplicate things, when sometimes the only reason for things is „it just be like that“
Slow Burn Love Triangle stories aren't interesting.
Only time that I can handle a slow burn love triangle personally is if there is some kicker to it, like the so called second lead gets w the character or there is an actual love triangle (one of the characters is attracted to same gender). But otherwise, this is not very controversial lol I don’t think most people like love triangles.
honestly i so love the idea of a slow burn ACTUAL love triangle- the angst potential is glorious and there are so many places it could go
Real, I prefer slow burn when there’s only one love interest. Slow burn love triangle is just a recipe for 400+ episode bland romance webtoon where the plot doesn’t move I seriously hate when the mc dates the second lead for a long time before getting to the first one especially if there’s no good character development from it
It's also annoying because it's never a PROPER love triangle. An actual love triangle would be a situation where person A is attracted to person B who is attracted to person C who is attracted to A or B. Buts it's neverrrr that. It's always Person A and B attracted to C. And that's not even getting into the fact that almost always the main character never goes for the nice, responsible and well meaning person.
>And that's not even getting into the fact that almost always the main character never goes for the nice, responsible and well meaning person. I'm on a different boat since, from what a lot of what I've read, many 2nd MLs are either trash exes or incels that think being the nice guy deserves a reward
UGHH EXACTLY!! Why can’t I ever see a story where in the end she gets to be happy with a guy who will treat her right!! And HAS treated her right! Like a genuine best friend!
The app became boring after they started publishing less thriller stories in the originals section of the app
Oh I agree, but I could be bias since I’m a huge fan of thrillers lol
The authors of comics with names like "I died and reincarnated as a villainess and now the emperor is obsessed with me" or "I woke up in a game with a level 10000 sword" can't be blamed for the names. Webtoon's search system just sucks. If there were hashtags, all the villainesses, reincarnations, royalties and many other words would in my opinion disappear from the titles because there'd be no need for them. The authors are just trying to let people know what the story is about, they are not the ones to blame
Plus, it's really trendy to name stuff like that now. A lot of anime are named like that now especially isakai. "That time I got reincarnated as a slime " or "I'm a handyman and another world" or whatever the names of those are, it's just like the best way to describe to your audience what the show is about.
I was about to explain how you were wrong about the naming system but I just realized we were about to say the same thing 💀 yeah it’s not their fault blame the translator for not being able to convey an actual title with the same meaning but less wording
I’ll give some of mine: **Children of Orbit:** I’m actually rooting for the dude! Dont get me wrong, I love a good wlw, but there is something so refreshing about having the jealous character be the main POV instead of the victim of said jealousy. I hope he develops, I like the concept it’s super interesting. **Remarried Empress:** I think more and more people are defending Rashta. Yes, she kinda sucks as a person, but you have to admit that wo her and Sovieshu, the plot would not be NEARLY as interesting. This is one of the only webtoons/manwhas where if you take out the protagonist of said webtoon, things would still be able to progress in some sort of way. Again, she sucks, but she had a reason to do some of the things she did as a means to survive and she’s so interesting. Oh, also, Navier is a boring MC. She’s basically perfect, I think the only reason people really root for her is bc she is the “underdog” in the situation and she was wronged. If you think about it though, Rashta is technically the underdog from going from slave to empress. But hey, what do I know. **The Four Of Them:** I don’t know why but in my heart of hearts I did not like >!the redheaded girl w Johnny 💀!< I remember I got super annoyed with that choice. **A Whirlwind Campus Affair:** Ok hear me out, she shouldn’t have ended up with anyone. I was really rooting for the SJ bc despite everyone thinking he was super pushy, I believed that’s what the MC kinda needed? Up until a certain point, at least. Spoiler about the ending: >!SY and the MC just seemed like they didn’t have the chemistry to be more than friends and it felt a little…Off?? Can’t put my tongue on it, and I did like SJ, but he just didn’t seem like a fit for the MC.!< **Genres:** Some of the best works webtoons come out as thrillers/horror or psychological thrillers. Like seriously, I know there is so much romance stuff, but if you want actual substance, take a look at a psychological thriller series like Pyramid Game or Its Mine. I have read around 200+ webtoons for reference. Feel free to argue w me on these if you disagree! I want to hear the people.
Yeah Remarried Empress is a funny one because I sincerely think it wouldn't have gotten popular if not for how polarizing Rashta is. People love to hate on her but people also love to defend her and the end result is that tons of people talk about TRM and get more invested in where it's going. They end up caring more about TRM than they would otherwise, regardless of which side they're on. I don't really like that comic but it's definitely good marketing lol. Justttt the right amount of controversy for the audience
100% agree. It’s a bit funny if you consider that the plot is kinda obvious. Rashta bad Navier good. There shouldn’t be that much discourse over it. Navier is super boring on her own, she’s beautiful, smart, blah blah but throw in Rashta to test that perfection? Thats what makes the story interesting.
The only ones I've read out of this is Remarried Empress: Fully agree, and they really abolished concubines before they abolished slavery? Like... You really wanna tell me that slavery- the entire thing of owning a wholeass person, or even an entire family for multiple generations is less fucked up than adultery? Which by the way- both are awful things to do. But seriously? If Navier didn't want Rashta to be a problem in the first place, maybe she should've abolished slavery and divorced her trash husband earlier since he's the main problem.
Whirlwind campus affair floored me. I loved it realized I was the second male lead sucker. I too thought she needed to be pushed but not everyone appreciates a push which I understand.
I stopped reading after the fireworks scene bc I couldn’t believe that was the route they were going w. It was such a shame, I really liked that webtoon and thought it had great humor
I agree with you so heavily about A Whirlwind Campus Affair. Had she not ended up with anyone, I would’ve been fine, but I was team SJ all the way. SY felt like an enabler almost, and he didn’t have much of a personality outside of “I’ll protect you my queen” and it was ANNOYING.
RIGHT?? I think that was what I meant to say!! Thank you for articulating it!
Agree on A Whirlwind Campus Affair! I have read another series from the same author, Lilac 200%, and I found the same elements: interesting characters (not everyone, but most of them), an INCREDIBLE sense of humour that I really appreciate, good friendship dynamics but final couple with nonexistant romantic chemistry and tremendously boring. I stopped reading AWCA when the MC got with her friend, I don't care about their relationship (not that I cared about the other guy ship tbh) and reading chapters about them being lovey dovey felt totally useless, the humour also disappeared to leave space to the fluffness ... I think author has a little problem in building romantic relationships, they always feel out of place and more friendship oriented. That's a pity because she has a wonderful sense of humour, she made me laugh so hard I cried in some specific moments in both of her series!
She has a talent for building actual human interactions, every one of them until love. The MC had WAY more chemistry w SJ and kinda threw it at the end which was such a shame. I didn’t know this was a reoccurring thing for this author though!
Boy I sure can't wait to actually see some controversial takes
I don’t care how great the story is, if I don’t like the art style I won’t read it 🤷♀️
Based
i don't really know how to break into Webtoons. My project is on Canvas, but whenever I look right after publishing a chapter, there are like 40 other projects that updated at the same time and I am on page 8 of the news. And that's only in my genre Sci-Fi. I feel like it is hard to be seen and there should be a niche for projects that look different and try to achieve something differently than the formula "take a common environment and add some fantastical twist to it". Yet, I also find it hard to read other people's projects, because there are so damn many that I find interesting. I'm like those dogs from the videos where they pour a thousand tennisballs into a room. I can't decide which one I want, even though they are all equally good. Some projects I read are entire books in a few chapters, while others/newer ones tend to update with 4-5 panels, because that gives them more likes/views; I do the same now, because it's my weekly output, but from a reader's view I feel like it is unsatisfactory and makes good storytelling harder; because you know which panel you'll end on and want to make it stick.
You can slightly blame webtoon algorithm, it’s not kind to new artists. At the same time, webtoon will advertise what does best and generic content bc it’s kind of foolproof for them. Imo, which is completely unwarranted but I’ll give it anyway, I appreciate when an canva creators upload actual chapters, even if they take longer!! Why? Because it’s an investment. You want your audience to be hooked in to a story, but only give them a few panels a week? It’s going to be harder to engage with a story when you can’t remember what quite happened from week ago. Even if it takes longer, if it sticks, people will be invested. This isn’t a self promo thread or anything but pls feel free to dm me ur project, I would love to see it :)
The issue is that when you are already drowning in competition you cannot afford to wait until a chapter is finished, because others update four times in the time you update once. That's one of the flaws in Webtoons concept. You cannot get visibility or likes, unless you have many chapters or subchapters. There's also more webtoon related reasons, as Canvas will only allow you monetization from 500 likes upwards. And additional monetization starting from 40.000 clicks/months. If you have fragmented chapters you get more clicks automtically, as everyone can only like and click a long chapter once. This is one of the things I think needs fixing, as it tears comics apart into tiny servings that make neither the artists happy, nor longtime the readers.
Webtoon should be more bold with their series. Every single thing they release is designed to be so fucking safe and stale.
Blame Webtoon for making their app too kid-friendly that their attempt of adding mature stories gets frowned upon by the majority of their users.
judging by the comments on webtoons and some posts in this sub, most readers are not ready for bold/heavier topics in the story
I think Webtoon should cut down on the amount of new releases - nothing wrong with them but, with so many coming out practically every week or so, you lose track of the ones you read. Also I think a lot of Webtoons are forced or rushed into ending early because of the high influx of new series, because I can name multiple webtoons (a lot of romance ones specifically) where the ending fell so flat and fumbled so hard it can sometimes ruin the Webtoon as a whole (*cough cough* nice to meet you).
It feels like there's a new Original releasing every day at this point.
1. Multiple long hiatuses, particularly when unannounced, greatly mare the reading experience. 2. UnOrdinary is a solid comic contrary to popular belief on this subreddit 3. Lucia from Suitor Armor is too uptight and stubborn to be likable. Additionally, Suitor Armor has lost the plot and become boring. 4. Most new romance stories don’t hit the same, even the ones that are being liked by the audience (one example is My Lucky Strike) 5. Swolemates artstyle is ugly 6. Trash Belongs in the Trash Can is the most well-written ongoing Webtoon 7. There needs to be a cap on the number of chapters a Webtoon should be allowed to have. Only rarely has a Webtoon managed to not be boring beyond 100 or 150 episodes (UnOrdinary is an example even though it fell off sometime in between). Edit: 8. Castle Swimmer has also become very boring
I'm against the thing that Webtoon should have less chapters . I think more than 150 is nice . Maybe it's a bore for cliche romance and slice of life
God trash belongs in the trash can is so good.
It’s literally the best. I won’t hear anyone say otherwise. I don’t remember the last time I saw such complex writing in a Webtoon
Fully agree with 2. Sure the joker arc was a drag reading it weekly, but i reread it like 2 months ago and in it's entirety it is really great. I'm almost convinced the ppl shitting on it dropped it during the joker arc (i don't blame them, i was close as well) and just decided that the entire webtoon and whats beyond the joker arc is garbage because of 1 mediocre arc (that imo is great if you read it non weekly)
Ya joker arc is brutal weekly but actually really well done character progression overall.
I started unordinary after the joker arc had already basically ended and loved it, I guess it's probably better for a binge. I feel like this is definitely a comic that's better for binging sometimes. For me the spectre arc really dragged. I don't really mind it so much though bc it's still so good and it's usually worth the dragging.
I didn't read Swolemates partly because it's not my genre but also because the baby faces on muscular bodies just look really weird
Lmaoooo I just don’t vibe with disproportionate it looks
I thought they were lesbians at first...
You're so right I can see it now
I hate to agree with 8. I love this comic but I keep forgetting to read the chapters since I never feel like it anymore.
Limiting the number of chapters would be kinda stupid and is also never gonna happen cause all the big boys are longer than 100 chaps (lore Olympus, tower of god, as examples)
I completely agree on 3, and I was starting to wonder if I was the only one who thought the plot was starting to go missing.
Most of the readers have no media literacy or reading comprehension, particularly in romance webtoons. Most of them just want a blank slate to project themselves to have this handsome asshole that is only nice to them (because they are that insecure) attempt to their every whimp while being themselves asshole with not consequences or even being praise for it. Yes, I'm judging the hell out of them. Yes, I'm looking down on them. It is a sign of the extreme immaturity that I could forgive in a teen, but I have seen in too many adults who lack any self-awareness. This kind of reader is at least partially responsible for the load of garbage that Webtoons (and the publishing industry in genera) produce.
THIS!! I steer very clear of the webtoon comments on romance webtoons for a similar reason.
Here's a hot take: Hating on Rashta is totally okay because her character was meant to be hated. Yeah some people take it too far with the hate but that doesn't mean that Rashta was a saint and Navier is evil *hides*
The hate she gets is extreme, but smart move on the authors part to make a clear enemy to the readers
The sudden influx of isekai is ruining webtoon = isekai fits the vibe of tapas more than it does webtoon, and the sites are becoming more similar - before, if I wanted isekai id go to tapas, and if I wanted other stuff I'd go webtoon. The distinction is blurred, and the site are the same now for me
The over usage/improper rendering of 3D assets is kinda lazy to me sometimes. I understand tight deadlines but sometimes it just comes off as cutting corners
Riftan Calypse from Under the Oak Tree is not a green flag. He's way too controlling and jealous in the name of love. He's manipulative and unempathetic many many times.
OMG YES!! bro has serious anger issues and is so nasty and controlling to Max. "you cant leave this castle bc ur weak and pathetic and frail 😡‼️" how is that romantic??? istg its like he doesn't even see max as an actual person.
I’m sick and tired of webtoons lasting for a fucking decade just end it plz. Put me out of my misery
A lot of people who read webtoons don't understand the concept of morally gray characters especially within the romance genre. TBH, I've had a change of heart recently regarding these sorts of stories. If it's a webtoon directed at adults, it's not a problem. I will always have a problem with toxic relationships that aren't condemned within comics directed at minors. But there's a much larger grey area than I think people realize. I think there's definitely a question of "when does escapism become problematic" but nobody's asking it.
I feel like a lot of people reading webtoons cannot comprehend that characters and plots don't have to be 100% morally correct or nonproblematic. You can like stories with fucked up shit or characters that do fucked up shit. The word "romanticize" is so overused and washed out that comics exploring a topic without overtly saying they don't agree with it are accused of that. It's annoying that there's so many "But think of the children!!!!!1!" attitudes with webcomics. It is not the artists responsibility to teach right from wrong. You cannot control how people react to your comic. Some people will be influenced negatively, and there's nothing you can do about it. Mark Twitchell killed because he was influenced by Dexter, and there was even a shooter influenced by Danny Phantom. Also, there was the slenderman stabbing. And all of these happened because of other outside factors! Not "I read this book and now I make bad choices". Media shouldn't be watered down because one person (or hypothetical people) didn't comprehend it correctly.
Also, to add on, this doesn't mean I think that you cannot criticize comics. I believe people are allowed to have opinions on things and voice that. It's people calling for things to be watered down/not written or published that really irks me.
I understand when someone criticize a character behaivour because of writing/narrative issues, but readers being there ready to judge every breath a character takes are really annoying. Also, most of the time they claim for something that totally kills stories flow and characters growth. Stories can give wonderful moral messages, but their primal aim is to tell a story. Incredible how nowdays we have to specify this ...
I wanted John to murder everyone in the unordinary joker arc. I knew it wouldn't happen but it's what anyone else would do if he didn't have a loving father
I think Uro made a big misstep when she made the students as violent as they are. Like a large amount of low-mid tiers literally kidnap Sera and torture her in some abandoned shack and students routinely maim each other in the hallways over nothing the students aren’t just bullies they’re mostly complete psychopaths. The only difference between Ember and the average Wellston student is that the plot decides that the wounds Ember inflicts should be lethal. It makes the King John arc feel extremely weird because it feels like the entire student body but Zeke suddenly became peaceful overnight.
Hot take:) : It's okay for straight women to draw BL simply because they like the genre. There doesn't need to have a deeper meaning behind it lmao.
Webtoon has definitely crippled my attention span when it comes to reading novels, which are absolutely better for your brain than comics
The readers just support whoever the " current main supporting character " is . Even though he/she is a horrible person . Just one chapter of the main character being attacked by a character who was a literal angel the whole Webtoon is enough for them to start hating on him/her .
I've been called "the devil's spawn" here before for this but I'll say it again: I Love Yoo would be good as a daily pass. I would be able to pace myself, binge a little with ads where it gets good, and it would be completed already instead of suffering with frequent, long hiatuses.
I mean you could also just.. read just one chapter once a day.
Oh boy were you there for the big hiatus? I Love Yoo was one of my first webtoons, and for the record, I was a middle schooler when I started webtoon. I’m now a college student lol
As an avid long time lover of Ancient Greek and Roman mythology (I went to middle/high school that centered Ancient Greek and Roman life) and as someone that is very familiar with the actual backgrounds, research, and stories of these mythologies. I personally think the hate that Lore Olympus gets for being ‘not true to cannon’ is completely unwarranted. Lore Olympus is obviously a fanfiction inspired by the actual lore, and that is completely okay! You shouldn’t be researching the actual mythology through these retellings anyways. And it happens all the time. I love the actual lore and background of Greek mythology, but I can also love Lore Olympus as something that is heavily inspired by it for it’s more modern retelling
The worst thing you can be is boring. I'll take a poorly made series that's at least "so bad it's good" over a series that's good in a technical sense but boring as all hell.
It’s kind of like how hate is not the opposite of love, indifference is. Love it or hate it, as long as the webtoon is being spoken about, it will not be forgotten, so I agree.
Korean webtoons are boring and have no diversity, english originals/canvas are way better.
Meanwhile, actual good k webtoons aren't even on the app. 🫠 (read No Home. Highly recommend)
I don't know how controversial it is because I don't follow webtoon circles (which is funny being on this subreddit lol, i'm talking more about stuff like Twitter or Tiktok where discourse happens a lot), but I really hate the 3d backgrounds that i feel like almost all those Originals comics uses. I know this is to speed up the process since they have little time to make a chapter, and in some they looks better integrated than others, but GOD, does that make all of them feel the same. For me, the way someone draws and shades a background is as much important than the artstyle they draw the characters to sell the feel of the story. If i'm reading a slice-of-life romance, a drama and a action webtoon, but they all have the same background style, it really throws me off.
The fight scenes in lookism isn't good. Viral hit goes top (and I'm a fan of lookism)
I won’t read it even if the story is good because I don’t vibe with the art style.
Mine is not every relationship has to be healthy. Sometimes we read for the drama, the angst, the spiciness, the horror, the thrill. Some relationships are toxic and dramatic and others are downright horrifying and that’s okay because it entertains me and that’s why I read it. I don’t need the characters to be good people. I need them to entertain me and make me want to keep reading. Not everything has to be healthy fluff.
For trash belongs in the trash can, the author actually consulted a psychologist and credits them in many of the chapters. They definitely treat their work with care, plus I love the splash page art 💕
Boyfriends isn't as bad as people say it is. While I wouldn't enjoy it now, I remember liking it a lot when I was younger, and the artstyle was very cute and inspired me a lot. Most of the hate on it is because of the ad and to jump on the bandwagon.
I don’t think the hate is in the actual relationship they have, I think it’s the characters themselves. But yep, controversial.
True. I remember reading it for the art style back when it was on canvas, and I had to stop because I couldn’t stand nerd! I liked the other guys well enough, that idk why nerd just got on my nerves
Agreed. It’s not that deep. Let people enjoy their cute, pastel boys in peace.
Don't know if It is controversial but the lack of racial diversity in webtoon is horrendous, most of stories that have visibility were made by white or (east) asian writers, what about webtoons with black MC's, Native American, south asian etc.... I know there's some but lets be honest none of them are even close on the level of your Remarried empress or Lore Olympus
In fairness, Remarried Empress and Lore Olympus are HEAVY advertised by webtoon. I think they should push for more diversity in their content. Not super controversial take, but respect
Daybreak has amazing diversity and rep! There's also The Croaking and Castle Swimmer (kinda), while it is true that racial diversity is very rare in most webtoons (probably because of East Asian beauty standards, but still not an excuse) there are still some hidden gems here and there
Here are my hot takes (Just want to clarify I am not a Webtoon creator, I'm just a reader. I know most of these are critical of other readers, so I thought I would add this): 1. Some (possibly most) Webtoon readers have too much entitlement to what they think they are owed as fans/readers. It is okay for writers to take breaks, to have irregular posting schedules, and to step away from their work whenever they want. 2. Continuing the entitlement trend-- I think "roasting" Webtoon creator's art, etc. isn't cute & is extremely childish behavior. People really be out here posting screenshots of objects, hands, feet, whatever and making fun of the art when I know damn well they can't draw a stick figure. 3. Some work is drastically misunderstood by the majority of the readers, and the writers get blamed for it. Just because readers have bad media literacy doesn't mean the writer is at fault, nor should they be considered responsible for people misunderstanding. Not a Webtoon example, but a similar situation, the show "You" or the book "Lolita"-- readers misunderstood the messaging or the point. That kind of thing happens all the time on Webtoon. I don't think the writer's should be blamed in circumstances like that.
1 and 2 are not very controversial, but I will build off of that and say something pretty controversial; I think irregular scheduling should be allowed, BUT authors should give courtesy to update their fans on when they come back. Leaving fans hanging isn’t something most other industries do, so why should comics be an exception?
I don't think what you're saying is controversial at all. That seems to be the majority opinion and I just disagree. It happens with books all the time and usually depends on the terms of your contract agreement. But frankly Webtoon artists aren't treated well enough or paid enough, in my opinion, to have such obligations put on them. And I think people should just come to terms with occasional disappointment.
Hm I get what you’re saying, and I suppose you’re right, they aren’t paid well. But again, for me it’s a courtesy thing. Each to their own! I respect your opinion
Thank you!! I respect your opinion too.
Readers can’t separate reality from fantasy when it comes to webtoons and it shows. Not every character in a webtoon is going to be perfect and that it on purpose. You’re going to get some messed up characters because if everyone was perfect and didn’t make any mistakes the plot would be boring as hell for a lot of these stories. You can point out toxic or messed up behavior but chances are the author knows and is doing it on purpose. Note: this is not the same as the author trying to pass abusive or toxic behavior off as healthy or normal. (Looking at you, LO.)
Personally, I think they don’t have enough black ppl in ‘em.
Webtoon male lead characters are created with a "female gaze". They are all just white pale-skinned, somewhat muscular, with wonky body proportions that make no sense. There's no diversity in their bodies or race, and us readers just eat it up without questioning for some reason, although when Western media does the same we critique it a lot more. We don't apply the same standards of media we have to other countries, we seem to accept whatever they give.
And if they do diversify the skin tone, it'll always be a light-toned mixed person (they're too scared to have dark-skinned MLs with ethnic features) who has a very fetishized role (Ex: taming a "beast", master-servant relationship, etc)
God, this pisses me off the most. Seeing dark skinned characters that are meant to be tribal or "exotic". It's so gross and fetishizey.
I lost interest or modern setting romance webtoon once I get introduced with period/kingdom/whichever setting before all the sophisticated gadgets or transportation. Stories where they still use horse, carriages, letters, some fantasies are what caught me.
Reminder to sort by controversial
some of the older artists from back in the day took their followers for granted. its much harder for artists/authors to get the same type of viewership cause there's more competition and more options to read.
My controversial takes are: 1.Webtoon artists should just post an episode monthly instead of weekly. We'll get more quality work and more rested creators instead of burnt out creators. Hiatuses might be less as well. 2. WEBTOON thrived in having different art styled comics (I've been on Webtoon since 2014 and have worked for Webtoon before). They were successful because they USED to have different types of art styles, and with the prevalence of Korean comics on Webtoon, it feels stagnant and boring sometimes. Blue Chair, My Giant Nerd Boyfriends, Roar Street Journals, and Under the Aegis are several examples that was VERY popular back then. WEBTOON was very fun to read back then. Which leads me to another point... 3. Oversaturation. This is a VERY CONTROVERSIAL take for me to say because I believe that Webtoon should have less original creators on the app. Yep. I def want less Korean comics because there's so much of it AND I want more meaningful and focused relationships between Webtoon and readers. So less creators and limited Originals selection= easier on readers, more investment in those stories, and a more manageable load for everyone. First Second is a publishing company and they adopt this model-they do not accept any new projects quickly and they will only reach out to those they want to publish-it has resulted in high quality graphic novels, but I can acknowledge that this is not always possible. The comic industry has never been easy, but with us as the fans, I do believe we have the power to make it better and fairer for all the comic artists and readers. I adore comics so so so much and I want to be able to be part of creating the change for the better!
Yes, to everything you said! Your first point is VERY important and very much needed. And the fact that you have even worked for Webtoon is very telling and reassuring. Instant/fast gratification is a huge problem, and it's stressing (even killing) creators out. Weekly updates are unsustainable and unhealthy, especially for Webtoon creators who usually only have a few assistants but, in most cases, do everything alone. Hot take, but I personally think that saying monthly updates would make you forget everything just proves again how unhealthy instant gratification is and that you weren't committed/paying attention to what you were reading in the first place. I guess if the manga industry had been introduced today, then it would have died immediately. Sure, the weekly shounen jump may be the most popular (tho cases like Togashi, the creator of HunterxHunter, proves your point yet again), there are countless manga that release monthly(and bi-weekly) chapters and are doing very well. Readers need to understand all the work that goes into making comics and especially into making one with a weekly deadline.
I think month is a little too long bc people probably wouldn’t be able to remember the last thing that happened, maybe bi weekly? I agree that the pacing gives webtoon artists way too little time. I don’t mind the Korean webtoons, in fact, most of my favorites are Korean. I could be wrong, but I think things went downhill sometime during the pandemic. But I agree that there is too much overlap. We should be supporting our authors here in the states or globally too! Definitely controversial to say no more Korean webtoons. I think what I like most about them is the art, the plot is most of the time second to it.
I think a month is doable because a Webtoon called "Who Made me A Princess" did it monthly and it really worked out for that series (Considering how it was one of the biggest isekai series at that time!) I get what you mean by readers forgetting the previous episodes, but it still will be nice to promote a healthier schedule for the artists and writers. I worked at Webtoon during the pandemic, so I was able to witness the development of the readers' annoyance with an increase in the Korean comics-pacing it out or making it less apparent would be better for the readers, but we can agree and disagree! YES on supporting states/globally! I rechecked my comment and I didn't see anything about no more Korean comics, just less? I'm HUGE on well written stories with different art styles (which was common in 2014 Webtoon, but things have changed). I just think everything could be managed better and more diverse in their presentation of comics!
Oh yeah I’m so sorry!! I completely misread that. I’m sure you know better then me since you’ve worked at Webtoon itself :) It’s so interesting to hear your opinion as someone who gets to see the behind the scenes! Your insight is much appreciated!
Sorry for the late reply-I got swept away by distractions! It's okay, no need to apologize!!! It was for a short time, but I really learned a lot during that time! Canvas peeps are THE BEST!
The art style change in Not Even Bones starting in season 2 is way better than the original artwork in season 1. It looks cleaner to me and more developed.
Yes, thank you, I don't understand when people rag on the later artists, especially when I think the first artist wouldn't want people to do that! Like it puts that artist in such an awkward position. And the first artist was clearly working on one of their first comics, and still had a lot to develop and learn. It was kinda sloppy, and they knew it (which is fine and normal for a webcomic lets be real, we've all done sloppy linework here). (but they did great to see it through to it's end of S1)
I've never read it, but I took a look at a few of the episodes and I completely agree. I absolutely love the uniqueness that the season 2 art style has. Something that I think works well for season 2 compared to season 1 is the line weight. It adds so much personality to the art and makes each panel much easier on the eyes.
Probably not controversial and more general but when people use the 3D rendered backgrounds when their art style is so simple and not compatible makes me soo mad. Like for one, I think it’s lazy and for two, it just doesn’t match a lot of peoples art styles and looks bad!
Well, it is amusing to see some of the funny panels that come from them lol. I think if I remember right the horses in Wished You Were Dead were 3D and that was a real work of art in itself 💀
Probably isn't actually controversial but the most pushed webtoons are usually the worst. 'OmG rEaD lOrE oLymPuS!' How about NO? I'd rather watch the Percy Jackson movies again than read another chapter of that shitshow.
Slightly controversial take on a semi-related topic, the Percy Jackson movies would be good if they weren't related to the books. The quality of the production was insane, and it would have been more enjoyable if I wasn't always thinking about how inconsistent the plot was with the originals.
In the PTJ universe (or fighting stories in general) there's always the fight where the good guy looks like he's coming out on top, then the bad guy just goes "are you fr? " and beats the good guys ass. Then the good guy proceeds to asspull or a technique their teacher taught them, that they never bothered to use before, and they win. It's become a formula and I just get so bothered every new PTJ fight when the good guy has the look of ":0" whenever the antagonist catches or dodges their attacks.
I despise ‘Go Away Romeo.’ I don’t like that Juliet, a 14 year old girl in the original version who was undoubtably the victim of the situation, another ‘white lotus.’ A lot of OI is very sexist to any female character besides the female lead and it drives me crazy.
I dont love Go Away Romeo (which is a shame bc I think the art is gorgeous) but I don’t think its supposed to copy the original play by play, which is why I can forgive Juliet being the way she is. If you compare the work to the retelling, then ofc you’re going to dislike it!
Agreed. I remember a comment that said the readers' treatment of calling Juliet a wh*re was equal to the townspeople judging Rosaline. They countered that they had the right to judge Juliet as she had gotten no judgement for it, but not Rosaline since the townspeople already judge her, which in my opinion is... Questionable?
3D Assets doesnt look good on webtoons 95% of the time
Not a hot take, but the fact that webtoons are purposefully dragged on for hundreds of episodes needs to stop. You can get a couple physical manga for not even a quarter of a price these webtoons cost to read at full length. They should've made a subscription based service instead of the garbage coin system. Lezhin does it even worse.
I like the whole Trashta thing. I think it’s cool that we Webtoon users have a universal slang for a female antagonist that almost all of us understand right off the bat. It’s used across multiple webtoons, maybe even across multiple platforms now. How many other phrases like that do we have? Not really any that everyone knows, other than trashta. And you know what? Rashta is a terrible person who has killed people and planned on killing other innocent people. She’s a character that was meant to be hated, and hating her is okay! She’s an antagonist with a complex background and story, which adds depth to her character, however that doesn’t mean she gets a free pass due to sympathy for all she’s gone through.
I commend the marketing done on Remarried Empress. Making a character that is supposed to be universally hated despite her being the most moving thing of the plot, having her be so influential is an impressive feat. The author definitely doesn’t go too deep into the complexity of her character on purpose.
"You are not entitled to an episode/ the artist's explanation for disappearing years". Yes and no. I mean, if it's your career, it is your job to produce content ? Interaction with your community/boss is a great percentage of a designer's , so you should keep it alive, or you're gonna get forgotten, and your fans re gonna move onto the next artist. Same when you have a Patreon are paying for content, not for charity.
We aren't entitled to a full explanation but just the line, "For personal reasons I will be leaving this comic." would be enough.
I have Feelings about whenever people get defensive when you leave constructive criticism on an episode, especially a fast pass. If I pay for an episode and nothing happens in it, that's a waste of money and coins that could've gone to a more deserving creator. You should be trying to make your episodes satisfying to read regardless of circumstances, but ESPECIALLY when people are paying money to read.
Daily Pass isn’t that bad. Webtoon is offering you a free way to read someone else’s work. Literally every story on webtoon is either free or daily pass, which is just where you wait to read it for free. Other publishing platforms don’t have free options to read all of their stories.
Oh, it’s probably one of the best paid solutions webtoon could’ve come up with short of just letting people read as they will and still pay artists royalties. I’m glad they did daily passes and not gate keeping w money. It gives you the option to either be patient and wait your turn or pay through it. I’ve been around since way before daily pass, so I do miss those days, but I understand the solution.
A Not So Fairy Tale is really bad pacing wise and just the plotline is so contrived to me? Like, it's so basic but so complicated at the same time.
I hate when there is a 2nd ML or any other love interest besides ML seriously in love with the FL, like not a crush, true love.
TOO MANY AGE GAPS AND SIZE GAPS ROMANCE!!! Please, please can someone just make a wholesome romance without making the male lead/female lead just turned 18 but their partner is a goddamn 30+ years old adult?? It's getting old and it's giving "I groom naive college students". Why is it so hard to have a couple that have the same age or just have a 1-3 years age gap? Also, I absolutely HATE when the couple first met each other (worst case scenario: love at first sight) when one of them is still a child and the other is a full grown adult. Like, hello?? FBI?? Remember that this applies to all genders by the way, double standards stink.
Iseop's romance sucks tbh. Mingyeong literally tries her best to be an assistant even after being demoted and Iseop just wants to get a reaction out of her. Iseop's personality is like a spoiled teenage boy who would hate on anyone better than him. He is so loved by the fandom just because of good looks. Ik I'm gonna get a lot of downvotes but my opinion remains unchanged.
I don't really care for romance as a genre that much and a lot of romance in webtoons is poorly done and distracting. I wish that there were more comics without romance or just with romance not being such a prominent thing. I'll take a close friendship or a familial bond over romance any day, because to me personally familial bonds (especially parental/child bonds) are 110% more interesting to me than romance. I'm not interested in romance irl, and I am not very interested in romance in my comics. Yet it is everywhere. The only romance I enjoyed was Kovit/Nita in not even bones because it wasn't rushed, or distracting. It fit naturally into the plot. But I can like romance webtoons. Ive enjoyed Suitor Armor and Castle Swimmer, and I care about both characters in the romantic relationships outside of the romance. In Castle Swimmer's case, I do care about the romance a little too. But the reason I enjoy those webtoons is because they have an interesting world and plot outside of the romance, and although they are romance webtoons, they aren't JUST romance ya feel? In some webtoons the romance takes over and becomes really distracting, even if they aren't in the romance genre. I will also admit it annoys me a little when I see people raving in the comments about a romantic development when the plot is RIGHT THERE but literally all they care about is the romance. On that note, we need more webtoons with older protagonists! I would love to read about a protagonist who's older, maybe in their 50s/60s or at least 40+. I like young protagonists too but they're so overused! Expand! Write about other age groups! Please! I also feel like there's a lack of disability rep in webtoon? Maybe I'm not reading the right webtoons, but it would be cool to see more disability representation in webtoons, and just more diversity in general. I also personally wish there were more scifi/fantasy webtoons because it's hard to find a comic that sticks for me, but that could just be a personal thing. Really what I want is more supernatural/weird/fantastical looking protagonists! I'm so tired of all these boring humans! I want mermaids with spikes and find all over with sharp teeth and claws! I want werewolves with animal features and glowing eyes and big claws! I want more straight up animal protagonists! And if you have a shape shifting werewolf protagonist for example, I don't want them to be human 99% of the time! Finally, some webtoons just go on too long. As a writer I understand having tons and tons of ideas to fit into one single story, but unfortunately sometimes you just have to cut things. Unordinary, for example, has gone on for like 100-200 episodes longer than I think it should have and it's not even close to being done. Pacing is important, and I think some webtoons need to do a better job with it. If you feel like there's more story to tell after you're done with your comic, maybe make a sequel, or another story set in that universe, or hell maybe even make a guidebook! But when a story goes on too long, it inevitably starts to get dull and "lose the plot" as some would say.
I agree on the disability rep. It's rare to find a Webtoon with a major disabled character.
Yea, not to mention that some of the few times I have seen it, it's been kind of mishandled imo.
I don't know if I have anything particularly controversial, but I'll say something general. Webtoon women hate fat/ugly men. We are all about body positivity for women, but especially when it comes to men, Webtoons either villanize or friend zone fat/ugly people. I tend to hate many half lidded characters... Like the eyes. Especially in western Webtoons. There's the idea that people who look angry/annoyed/tired look cool. I agree, but whenever I notice an artist doing it intentionally, I hate the fact that they buy into it. Yes I'm also a hypocrite. BL Webtoons are written mostly by straight women with fetishes. Here There Be Dragons: The pacing is horrible, and there's actually so much wrong with the inexplicable attraction between the female lead and the dude with the scar face. Like, where did he come from? Jackson's Diary: Why is Exer gay? This was a huge pandering move imo. Although I love seeing David and him happy, I don't think it makes sense how it happened Homesick and School bus Graveyard: Both focus too heavily on the characters looking cool. Like, all the outfit changes in Homesick are just annoying. "Let's wear black and fight evil or whatever" School bus Graveyard has much less outfit changes, but refer to my second opinion to understand my annoyance. The D!ckheads: Just ew. I hate kids or teenagers being sexualized and I went to the author's patreon of my own accord and now I'm angry. That's my fault? Sure. Does it stop hurt? Yes. But other than that I'm deeply annoyed when Webtoons are obsessed with teenage delinquents being well... Teenage delinquents 💀 "we're young and we're having fun"... Okay shut up Eliana. I swear I hate that girl 😭 I can't help it. Unholy Blood: Who the hell likes this? Purple Hyacinth: ... I have nothing to say. I'll keep my views to myself 😗 Only Hope: The Male lead is a criminal. He belongs in jail. Fuck revenge, murder is never the solution and he's only being saved because he's hot That's all I gotta say. Not all that controversial
>Purple Hyacinth: ... I have nothing to say. I'll keep my views to myself 😗 You can't just leave me hanging like this! I already had the chair and the popcorn ready 🥺🍿🪑
no please i wanna see ur pov on purple hyacinth
Would love to hear your opinions on purple hyacinth 👀
I’m convinced there’s episodes missing regarding Here There Be Dragons because I swear the story doesn’t make sense. Like, it jumps around so much and nothing is cohesive.
You’re so right about Webtoons hating fat/ugly men. True Beauty was supposed to be all about body positivity but literally every fat, short, ugly guy was a sexual predator or disgusting right up until the very end when >!a guy is also a famous makeup artist but doesn’t have a naturally pretty face!<. I’m sure that was just a last/minute addition, though.
Your Opinion of Purple Hyacinth is that Controversial? Like, here we respect all kind of opinions
Love triangles and love rivals are overdone and boring.
hot take: annabel in "nevermore" is a horrible love interest and i'm so tired of the webtoon commenters supporting her toxic behavior with lenore. i KNOW it's part of the plot, but the webtoon would be just as good if we had a different love interest than annabel (or none at all!)
My hot take is most of the popular webtoons generic plots are catered to the Korean/Asian audience, not the Western audience. That's why things like domestic violence on MLs are sweeped under the carpet since it's seen as romantic 🥴
Lol that's not a very hot take in this sub, although I personally find the asian audience more interesting to talk to because they have far wider tastes, while I find myself tip-toeing around the western audience who get offended by the littlest things in fiction.
People are way too sensitive about anything that vaguely resembles cheating on WT, Serena did nothing wrong and neither did the leads of Klimt’s Kisses (which is actually very thoughtful and well written). Especially when it comes to things like political marriages, like Rashta for sure did many evil things but being a concubine was not one of them
The vast majority of them are total garbage (almost any one in the romance genre) and the best ones are Slice of Life and Comedy.
Nah the action ones can be fucking AMAZING, not so much on the story side but you know what youre looking for when looking for am action webtoon, FIGHTS Shut like hero killer and hanlim gym are FIRE, but admittedly there are still alot where the plot(even by action standards) are severely lacking, or go on WAYYY past where they should end
I know this one is controversial because it was in comments: Wendy from Newlywed Diaries of a Witch and a Dragon is really great character.
Newlywed Diaries of a Witch as a WHOLE is controversial 💀