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I had no memory of anything going in and yet, the second 707 appeared and called us cute!? Boom. Memory unlocked. Heart stolen. Again I’m now a Love and Deepspace girlie but when I came across this I knew I had to unlock everything again. (Zayne btw it’s the glasses c’mon).
I was right back in 2016, Mystic Messenger was such a cultural moment. I was fully obsessed, playing at ungodly hours, waiting for chatrooms to open, trying to keep up with all the lore (such as Seven knowing it was a game all along???). Seven, Luciel, my favourite hacker man with his Honey Buddha Chips and existential dread.
The manga gives us something we didn’t get in the game Hana!! (So cute, it suits her ).
Rika was such a sweet angel in this, just to disappear and never be seen again
We have Yoosung, our cute blondie with too much emotion and not enough self-control. The cousin thing?? Still weird. But he’s sweet and clearly head over heels for Hana. Maybe a little too into her being a Rika 2.0 though...
The white-haired, red-eyed musical actor Zen (not an idol like I thought, blame K-pop brain rot) who flirts like it’s his job. I get why Hana almost fell for him too and you know what? I love him for it. He’s my Bi king the way he has Jumin and Hana wrapped around his finger
My girl Jaehee. My secretary. My almost-route in the game. She’s my wife and I was rooting for her entire time, she’s so married to Hana in every panel and also deserves the world including a new job which she gets now that she’s opening her own café.
Rich, hot, emotionally stunted, and obsessed with Elly. Jumin’s got his moments, though he fully pays for dates I love his wallet
Oh, V. Mysterious, blue-haired, photography boy. I forgot so much about him, but now I remember
Let me be real: we all knew Seven was endgame right?? The pacing for him and Hana’s dynamic was good and it fit the slice of life setting, Hana is assertive and emotionally intelligent which did great for the pacing. Though she challenges Seven, she’s still completely understanding of who he is as a person. She doesn’t try to fix him, she meets him. Now their kiss?? Though super simple I loved it!! The way Hana just grabbed Seven and kissed him. OH MY GOD, MY BLOOD LEVELS WERE SO HIGH She kissed him first!! This proves her love for him so wellit just adds to how funny it was when Seven almost fell off the railing because the kiss scared him.
To be honest this was everything. Hana is a great MC: kind, flirty, cynical, real. And the art? Beautiful. Everyone looks hot. Especially Seven in a wig. I genuinely didn’t expect to fall in love with this story all over again, but here I am. Heart full. Ready to redownload the app. Mystic Messenger manga isn’t just a retelling, it’s a love letter. To the game, to the characters, and to all of us who once fell too hard for a hacker in glasses
I just have so much to say because I feel so warm and nostalgic, last thing though definitely play the game versus reading this because it’s not the same!! I didn’t expect extensive lore and we didn’t get it but the game has plenty. I don’t wanna keep rambling. Rating: 707/10
I didn’t love this. I didn’t giggle over bow tie sheep and hat sheep. I didn’t fall in love with a blue haired nerdy ‘delinquent’ and his friends. Nope. Not me. (I did. I so did.)
This story is extremely cute, Tang Tang definitely likes Qingye straight off the bat but then there’s Xia Yiyi and Qiu Mang being hella pushy leave him alone!! They do back out of going to a basketball game because they don’t want to cheer against Tang Tang’s boyfriend (sweet), but they also accidentally outed him (less sweet). I’m glad this is a manga or I’d straight up hate them.
Now Lin Hang (aka hottest guy in school), I love all the nicknames he gives especially how he calls Tang Tang ‘Toffee’ but the way he did his QiuQiu!?! manipulative but perfect. I love him. I hate him. I'm confused.
There’s one scene where Qingye keeps hurting Tang Tang’s feelings and Tang Tang thinks it’s because he smells fuck this weather indeed. The whole miscommunication is hilarious.
But it’s not all fluff—there’s a loaded background with Qingye where a teacher literally tries to beat Qingye up for being gay with the top student (even though there was nothing going on), we moved past that so quick.
My baby Qiu Tian he is the hot blue-haired boy who likes Hang. He’s so smart—the way he explains things to Tang Tang works so well but he’s also out here changing his look for a boy. Smart but silly. I adore him, my fave little fake delinquent
When Tang Tang finally tells the girls the truth… they’re upset, but honestly, they brought it on themselves by not leaving him alone from the beginning!! I do understand though, they were invested.
The confession!!! When Hang calls Qingye and makes him listen in on Tang Tang’s confession . He also KNEW QiuQiu lied and called it out over the phone, asked for his sweets back I literally thought that I was going to cry!?! He was awful and sadistic. I love my QiuQiu a little too much all ended well tho!!
As punishment, QiuQiu and Tang Tang have to kneel on a washboard… and then Hang and Qingye flexed their abs. Oh I will die with this scene
I REALLY wanted a little slice-of-life glimpse of them older or just together, just a moment more
One of the cutest Shounen Ai I’ve read in a while