In Reaper of the Drifting Moon, Soma isn’t literally shrinking in size the way a character might in a comedy manga. Instead, what you’re seeing is his body reverting toward its original, suppressed physical state.
This effect appears because:
1. The ‘Soma Body’ isn’t fully natural.
Soma (the character) is heavily tied to the Soma Method, an internal-energy cultivation that reshapes the practitioner’s physique. When the technique destabilizes or when its internal flow becomes disrupted, the enhanced body can temporarily weaken or “contract,” giving the visual impression that he’s shrinking.
It’s less Honey, I Shrunk the Martial Artist and more your body losing the unnatural energy that kept it bulked, aligned, and reinforced.
2. Injury + exhaustion = regression.
At certain points in the story, Soma’s body is: •overexerted •internally damaged •running out of the cultivated energy that maintains his form
When that happens, the artist depicts him as thinner, smaller, more shrunken around the shoulders or waist, symbolizing the physical regression.
3. Visual symbolism is big in this series.
The manhwa uses body size to express: •the collapse of inner strength •the loss of control over the Soma Method •the return of vulnerability beneath the assassin’s shell
It’s intentional; the shrinking effect is a metaphor for depletion and instability, not a supernatural size change.
According to chatgpt:
What’s happening with Soma?
In Reaper of the Drifting Moon, Soma isn’t literally shrinking in size the way a character might in a comedy manga. Instead, what you’re seeing is his body reverting toward its original, suppressed physical state.
This effect appears because:
1. The ‘Soma Body’ isn’t fully natural.
Soma (the character) is heavily tied to the Soma Method, an internal-energy cultivation that reshapes the practitioner’s physique.
When the technique destabilizes or when its internal flow becomes disrupted, the enhanced body can temporarily weaken or “contract,” giving the visual impression that he’s shrinking.
It’s less Honey, I Shrunk the Martial Artist
and more your body losing the unnatural energy that kept it bulked, aligned, and reinforced.
2. Injury + exhaustion = regression.
At certain points in the story, Soma’s body is:
•overexerted
•internally damaged
•running out of the cultivated energy that maintains his form
When that happens, the artist depicts him as thinner, smaller, more shrunken around the shoulders or waist, symbolizing the physical regression.
3. Visual symbolism is big in this series.
The manhwa uses body size to express:
•the collapse of inner strength
•the loss of control over the Soma Method
•the return of vulnerability beneath the assassin’s shell
It’s intentional; the shrinking effect is a metaphor for depletion and instability, not a supernatural size change.