Whoops, there I go writing another SUPER LONG review of a manga/mangwa after I finish it. Hope you all enjoy my analysis!
seriously though, I feel so fucking bad for Jimin and Jang-gun. Jimin really really loves and gives so much to Hyunwoo. Yes, Hyunwoo is suffering and it's just the ultimate drive of love that Jimin does this all despite the hurt he gets- all because he loves and wants to help Hyunwoo; but its also hard to watch since no matter what- Hyunwoo will always be more in love with Jihye. It just hurts that the only reason he really went along with the marriage was because he was hopeless, and Jimin looked like Jihye. Not to say I'm not super happy for them at the end, seeing that Hyunwoo really came around and understood Jimin's feelings.
That goes for Jang-gun as well, though he had that random creepy twist to him, he loved Jimin unconditionally and was left behind and broken. Though its obviously not Jimin's fault, he couldn't help not being in love with Jang-gun, but its just- ouch. Unlike all the other stories I've read, this one doesn't fall into some romantic fairytale where everyone ends up happy and in love. Sometimes you love someone and they don't love you back. And that's it.
Damn you wrote a whole essay-
And I don't even know why- plz kill me --
Plotline wise, there were many many things left unanswered and as a reader I'm left confused, and dissatisfied.
But then again, given the story we're suffering through and watching, I feel like the author purposely made that choice. You're not supposed to feel any satisfaction.
Though, I have to applaud the analogies and symbolism of the entire piece. Jimin's character was actually a beautiful stroke of genius, and I hardly see characters like them in any media forms- not even LGBTQ+ webtoons.
The most important thing about this piece is the way the story pushes against the social construct of gender. I know I sound crazy saying that, but let me summarize that briefly:
- what we consider 'feminine' & 'masculine' is all man-made. Gender, (like we see w race, etc.) is divided on biology- male vs female genitals & development. However GENDER is the product of assigning specific physical characteristics/objects (unrelated to biological sex) to each sex. For example: from things like the colors pink & blue, to differentiate 'male' & 'female', to less noticeable things like: hair styles, types of clothing, interests. All those characteristics can be altered among people, men and women can wear, like, and style themselves in any way they like.
However, society has made it seem as if gender and sex are synonymous. Thus, since these are characteristics tied to the concept of GENDER EXPRESSION, it focuses the view not on the items, but on SEX and the biological characteristics of the individual. I'm going on such a tangent but essentially, this boils down into the concept of sexuality- basing love and affection off of gender and sex. In essence its hard to explain, but basically my point is: WE, NO MATTER OUR GENDER EXPRESSION, GENDER, SEX, ETC. ARE ALL PEOPLE CAPABLE OF LOVING AND BEING LOVED.
That, is what I adore about this piece. Jimin struggles throughout the story with the differences of sex and gender expression. He/She regrets their male body/sex, and wishes that they could love openly- but feel like they can't because of their physical sex. At the end, when Hyunwoo asks if he should call Jimin his boyfriend or girlfriend, and Jimin replies just to love them as JIMIN: we see their final character development and acceptance of themself. That's what I find so beautiful. From even Hyunwoo's hallucinations of Jihye in Jimin- this serves as an ingenious analogy of the concept of "love is love" and that "love sees no boundaries". Jihye was an analogy for the woman soul in Jimin, and validated their expression and gender.
Though Jimin & Hyunwoo's relationship is far from perfect, and even Jang-Gun, who loved Jimin for who they were, is left heartbroken-- 'Story of Our Lives' encapsulates the fluidity of gender and in turn, love, in a bittersweet story of loving, and not being loved back.