It took me so long to finish this. I used to take breaks all the time because I kept getting pissed off at the characters. I hated most of them. I understand how this was one of the mangas that you could say "it set the bar" or "paved the way", because I agree on that, every shoujo and romance manga that came after looked up to this one.
If something like this was published in 2020, it would receive so much backlash that I doubt it would have gotten to like half of the volumes it had, but I guess back then thats what they had, what they wanted and what was selling haha.
The good thing is that the art improved so but like so so so much from the earliest chapters that a couple of characters dont even look like what they were originally. Thankfully they also made Doumyouji's dreadlocks/croissant hair disappear, it made me so uncomfortable...
There's really so much to talk about... the unrealistic situations? The lack of authorities? The way the school was just a setting? The head-bites-tail plot? The weird romance? I will set aside how much the story was corny and unoriginal since of course I'm not the "main target" of audience and I'm in 2020 and I don't really know how much of these kind of story were going around back then. But the "poor nice girl that changes rich bad guy" is something that nowadays we are all sick and tired of haha.
At the beginning Doumyouji was just hella annoying, mostly because I'm not some 12 year old who thinks that boys being mean to me is cute, and most of the time the tsundere type really makes me sigh. Then his little crush for Makino bursted out and he started getting violent, insistent and just a straight up asshole, calling her a bitch and hitting her. Then suddenly he "lets her go". Then wants her back. Then gives her up. Then they're back together. It was honestly so tiring ahahah
The rest of the F4 were fine, bullying in the beginning aside, not good characters but they were not the worst. The parents were awful and irresponsible, even annoying when they were supposedly the comic relief and even more annoying was the group of her classmates who bullied her. Also that one girl who faked being her friend to get close to the F4 who got plastic surgery and made all that hell happened with Makino getting tied up and dragged on the street? That later autoclaimed herself her friend and kept roaming around her?? She made me sick everytime I saw her.
Though I will say that the one I liked the best was Hanazawa Rui. If I think back about my favorite moments in the entire manga I genuinely can only think about panels with him. Maybe that makes him the best character, although they were times I really hated him for his "not getting involved" and "whatever makes you happy" attitude. He should've fought for Makino, he was the best choice for her. It really made stand out, to me at least, how much Makino cared for him and how "beautiful" of a person he was in her eyes, so much that it got me too. His marble eyes, the way they could talk freely outside on the stairs, how warm yet cold he was, how dependable he ended up being. It really made me feel like I had a crush on him too, so I will give kudos to the mangaka for that. Even with modern romance manga it's hard for me to fall for a character and feel what the female lead feels for that character. It even sticked to me the way he called him, with his full name, even when all the others called him either by his name or his surname.
I'm actually not sick of that trope at all, but I also want to see stories about a nice rich female lead and a cold poor male lead if there's any lol. We need more of those too!
I read this manhwa in two nights. I really like Taekyung. If he was a real person, I'd be so head over heels for him and it upsets me a lot since I think it would bring me nothing but headaches. I love the way he thinks and the evolution his thoughts and emotions had throughout 69 chapters, from where we saw him fir the first time, to the flashback of when he was still in college to when he asked Haesoo to choose him.
I genuinely hope Haesoo chooses him over Joowon. I'm sure he's going to get a redeeming arc, especially when we get that flashback of when Joowon was in a slump and Haesoo helped him, and of course something bad will happen with Taekyung to stir up some more drama but I feel like I'm going to stay team Taekyung for a while. For what's worth it none of the relationships Haesoo had were healthy, he really just needs a fucking hug.
I really wish to see Taekyung's photos in real life. As well as the whole interview that Haesoo wrote about him.
I suspected of the whole class, thinking they were the ones who bullied him because they were too nice like asking him to join the groupchat but I wasn't really suspicious of that beta until the very end I'm so mad ugh
So he already knew what Seungho was doing to Nakyum amd he still had the courage to pretend he didn't and even encouraged him to basically surrend to him... he's getting these hands I'm telling you
Shshsh I was so caught up with the zombie story I forgot why we're all here: the sex scenes
The random drinking scene brought me back to reality lmao now I feel like reading a zombie manga like gakkougurashi
THIS IS SO CUTE AND NATURAL AND AWKWARD AAAAAH I'VE WAITED FOR THIS FOR SO LONG THANK YOUU THEY ARE ADORABLE THANK YOU TO HIRANO AND HANEZAWA SENPAI TOO UGH
Yes it's harada so: sex, tears and fucked up minds
Also when he says that the viewers were commenting with "88888" it means they were enjoying it. Repeated 8s in internet slangs it means saying that you approve something, since in japanese it sounds like the sound you make when you clap. In the same way 7s means something underwhelming since it's lower than an 8.
YES THE THREESOME WOULD SOLVE ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS AND FIGHTS FOR SHIPS LET'S DO THIS
and yes everyone wash your hands regularly and wear masks when going outside!