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
This had such a good start!! I’ve missed fun, comedic BLs like this I love that it begins with friendship instead of rushing straight to a relationship (it does move quickly after though).
Haruomi though does not listen and keeps saying “it’s just friends messing around” while literally harassing Taishi?? Please slow down sir
Still, I really liked that Haru doesn’t care about top/bottom stuff, it’s refreshing. And shy Haru is actually so cute!
Even though the story moves fast (it had to, with such short chapters), their first time felt real and sweet. It wasn’t overly polished or unrealistic, Haru kept checking in, asking if Taishi was okay, and even if he could finish. It was way better than the usual “perfect sex” BLs like to sell, it feels true to being a teenager figuring things out.
I want more of them
Okay so I get why I gave it 5 stars back when I first read this I was naive, young, blinded by abs and angst however they are AWFUL, like truly. Toxic. Messy. But also I’ve seen worse, so..
Jiwon is literally the poster boy for “I’m like this because of trauma” and honestly? That’s the worst excuse but also valid and annoying part is he does get slightly better. Like a crumb of growth. A grain. A molecule. I’ll allow it
Tbh, once you survive the emotional warzone that is the beginning, it’s actually kinda fun?? It’s clearly not what I once thought it was, but it’s not the worst either. it’s not that bad, not 5 stars level, maybe a solid 3.5.
Cha Woo and MD were so much shorter than I remember!?! Why was that arc SO short?? I blinked and it was over I used to be OBSESSED with Chanwoo truly down bad!!
Feels like bunch of one shots with minimal plot and then they ended it with omegaverse and pregnancies of this weird fucked family.
Taeha is with Youngshik (which are lowkey so cute!!) but Hoon (youngshik’s son btw!!!) watched them smash, loved it and finds Taeha so attractive that he went for his literal twin, his son Jaehui like WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK
Jaehui is the most normal but still has a ‘crush’ on Youngshik and finds Hoon’s jealousy and big dick hot. If he had any will to carry his boundaries, their family wouldn’t be in this weird ass dynamic
Not to even mention that both Taeha and Jaehui got pregnant at the same time and they have this fucked sex competition with each other, I just CAN’T
what do you even call their kids?!?! Like that’s ur brother
I hate cliches it’s sweet that Hyeongoh and Namsoo are twin brothers but I could live without the cliche!!
I love how nonchalantly crazy Namsoo is, he literally pushed someone in front of a moving truck because it had the possibility to save Hyeongoh… like it worked but fuck you’re insane beating up your brother’s bullies to the point off hospitalisation?!?
You don’t even know Hyeongoh like that, how can you fuck with him so hard you only knew he existed when your dad LITERALLY dropped dead like… huh???
I love how Namsoo, has no pride and isn’t afraid to use all he’s got. He will cry, grovel and apologise but still give you a head injury lol
Soyeon and Huhyeong had literally no point of being there, idk what they were even for.
I think the best bit is how fruity Namsoo came across, it’s so hilarious
I’m extremely grateful for the happy ending, though Namsoo is in a mental institute, Hyeongoh visits him continuously and they live happily together, Hyeongoh even wants to study psychology. It’s sweet the way they both had such extreme difficulties but want to be close to one another
Here U Are was such a good read! The pacing was perfect, I flew through 100 chapters like it was nothing. The only thing that slowed me down was the side couples, who I just couldn’t bring myself to care about sometimes.
Wangwang was so annoying, always playing around with people’s emotions like they weren’t real people with their own struggles. But Xiaoyi handled it so well!!! He explained things to her in such a sweet and patient way, which made me like him even more (even if I don’t get why he likes her). He’s just a genuinely nice guy, and I’m glad he got the girl.
Ji Yuan is the cutest thing ever!!! I need one of him for myself. He’s just this shy, nervous little baby, and I love him so much. I totally forgot he had a crush on a girl at one point, and when it came up again, I was shook all over again.
Uncle Pan and Qiu? Meh. If they had their own story, fine, but here? I wasn’t invested at all. There wasn’t enough backstory for me to care, and their dynamic wasn’t as interesting as I thought it would be.
Qiu was so rude to Yangyang, but at the same time… he wasn’t wrong. For me, Pan was just annoying, and Qiu was annoyingly cute, so I guess I warmed up to them by the end.
Yangyang’s relationship with his parents broke me. That feeling of hating home but still going back for comfort? Too real. The way his mom still managed to comfort him despite their distance hit so hard. And his talk with LiHuan’s dad? Easily one of the best moments in the whole story. LiHuan seriously had the best parents!! Meanwhile, with Yangyang having to be the one to put in the effort with his own parents was just sad but also realistic… parents are human too, even especially when they mess up.
LiHuan was amazing at understanding Yangyang and making him feel safe. I need one of him TOO!!! And their first real kiss!?!? Absolutely stunning!!! I kept going back to reread it because it was just that good.
Huanwen and his grandpa were adorable, but also heartbreaking. People don’t realize that when a kid is that responsible, it’s usually because they felt the need to be. He gave up so much for his grandpa, and it made me so emotional.
Huanwen and Ji Yuan definitely deserved a longer side story, like how did you get together!?! I want a play by play but overall, the main story had everything!! love, pain, growth, and healing. It was such a beautiful ride, even with the parts I wasn’t super into.
WE DON’T EVEN GET TO KNOW HER NAME
I need this to be longer do they get together?? Meet during the holidays?? I have so many questions.
Such a meet cute tho Seunghyun and his pony
It’s annoying because I find them interesting but I hate that I’ll never get over how Jae Hyeong literally made Min BLEED!!!!!!
Like I know it’s meant to be Jae Hyeong is a big cry baby who can’t control his anger and therefore his strength but fuck you!!!! and Min you went back!?!?
Like first time and your ass was 100% RIPPED LIKE SHREDDED and you’re okay because it’s him?!?! I’m done.
Even after, the very next day they fuck again.. Min did you even heal they still don’t listen to each other going extremely hard for a new couple and continually hurt each other, they’re so toxic but also sweet.
It’s not that bad, the idea is great but the way it was done is hurting my head just fuck off both of you
I liked this a lot, the second season is definitely better, I hate cliches but the amnesia was really good!!!
Jungoh didn’t change once and after Ibeom realised how much he liked him, he was the cutest ever
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