Interesting that the suggestion “the author may be oversaturating the story with trauma” is received as “you just have no media literacy.” There is a very fine line between realism and fetishism. It’s worth pointing out that there are some things in the story that feel less like realism and more orchestrated to achieve maximum pathos, lol. This is not to say it’s bad (I’ve personally had enough of it, but that’s just me), but it’s not completely unreasonable to say that jiho has unlikeable qualities. Obviously his character is reflective of his past abuse, and you can emphasize with that, but forgiving all of a character’s behaviour/actions because they are results of trauma is a slippery slope. It is not a moral high ground to defend jiho with your life, and nor is it nuanced to say that he deserves what he gets. Trauma can make bad people. Before anyone says I have no media literacy please be informed I have a masters in English literature
It might sound harsh, but you really do come across as the one lacking media literacy here. Having a master’s in English literature doesn’t automatically make your take deeper or more balanced. You’re talking like people are defending Jiho out of some moral obligation, when most of us are just acknowledging that his actions come from a place of deep trauma. Saying “trauma can make bad people” isn’t the insightful statement you think it is ,it just sounds like a way to stay detached while pretending to be objective.
And no one said that criticizing the writing equals having no media literacy. But when people start blaming a traumatized victim for being broken, or expect him to act perfectly mature after everything he’s gone through, that’s when it really does feel like they’ve missed the point. And there's literally no "fetishism" here .The author has portrayed the necessary and harmful parts in a gruesome, raw, and deeply uncomfortable way, not eroticized or romanticized. It’s meant to disturb you, not entertain you. There’s nothing glamorized about what he goes through.And if we're being real what’s his worst crime here?the fact that he didn't tell the mc that he's going abroad right?which was basically him getting forced into going abroad?I’d understand the criticism if he were taking his pain out on others, but he’s not. He’s hurting himself instead.
Hiya, by no means did I say that anyone is defending jiho out of moral obligation. Instead, I said that his trauma does not automatically absolve him of all wrongdoing. Moreover, this is not necessarily about jiho specifically; my statement “trauma can make bad people” is very broad for this reason. This, like you said, acknowledges that his actions come from a place of trauma, and affect his behaviour. It is not needlessly critical to say that his behaviour is often manipulative (again I used a broad term, “bad”) even before he went abroad. I certainly did not imply that jiho was to blame, I said that it is more nuanced than fully condoning or condemning him. I don’t mean to be harsh, but media literacy requires logical interpretation, not drawing unfounded conclusions. You suggest that I mean multiple things I did not say, such as the text being fetishistic. I said there is a fine line, and while I agree that the story intends on being disturbing, intention does not exist in a vacuum. If you doubt my media literacy I’m more than happy to debate you on Homer
Not to be that guy but the fish thing was so fucking stupid
I agree
Me too
The red line “piercing” through the panel/his ear was really cool, I’m assuming it represents something like tinnitus? Very sharp and visually striking. You can really appreciate the story through some of the creative choices such as this one, it’s such a small detail that conveys a feeling so well. Artist is cracked out of their mind I’m ngl
for some reason it also reminds me of a heart monitor going flat, but tinnitus makes more sense lol
It’s really interesting that “there is naught to gaze into but the self” means that Guts’ innermost “self” is represented by Griffith and Casca during the Golden Age. It helps drive home the point, I think, that once a desire for revenge burns out, you are left with the knowledge that you are still suffering. It goes to show that Guts’ character is driven by love far more than hate (or that they’re two sides of the same coin). Meaning, to me, revenge will never heal you, because you will always be left with the same loss that angered you in the first place. Seeing Griffith and Casca, probably coming from where they are always in Guts’ subconscious, was like a punch to the gut (lmao). Though I initially thought that Berserk might end with Guts actually killing Griff, it doesn’t seem so cut-and-dry like that anymore. That “finally” is really heartbreaking. It would be good to see him recollect himself out of devotion to the people he loves, which is the kind of person he has always fundamentally been. Anyway berserk is amazing rest in power miura my goat
once you read enough stories with the same dull conflict and resolution you don’t realize how mediocre they are until you read an actually good one. There is so much to praise here: the female characters aren’t faceless plot-device marionettes, the thought processes of the leads are realistic and logical, there is genuine attention placed on the effects of financial instability. I think that Yujae, in particular, is an incredible character because he feels so real. Growing up with his parents treating love as transactional obviously has a lasting effect on his worldview and relationships. The conflict here isn’t a boring misunderstanding, but a very honest struggle between two people that are fundamentally different in the way they view love. I like that friendship is not considered less valuable, in that way. Romance stories, especially friends-to-lovers, have a tendency to brush over the meaningfulness of friendship and platonic intimacy, which I don’t get from this at all. It’s such a pleasure to see that friendship is so valuable here, not just between Hanjun and Yujae, but the supporting characters as well. Very rare to see what is a relatively common plot developed so naturally and turns out to be so interesting! :)
The concept and execution is very cute and thoughtful, I just wish the angels didn’t feel more like aliens than they do angels. The fact that Shahar is only 105 years old makes no sense to me, angels having “mothers” doesn’t really have reason behind it, etc. etc. I think the story is very cute and I love biblical themes, but it seems to me that it is a little superficial in the sense that it’s very inaccurate. This is obviously just me looking at the manga more critically because I’m passionate about religion lmao
Tbf this is its own thing with the concept of angels
Doesnt need to be as close to the original or commonly known stories of angelic beings
If we used biblically accurate angels this would be a horror story.
Visually I agree, I don’t mind their appearances. I think what just felt a bit odd to me was the fact that Shahar had a mother and has only been alive for a century. I wish there was something that made the angels feel a bit more angelic, but definitely not a “be not afraid” look to them lol
I normally hate abo because it almost always perpetuates rape culture and inherently dehumanizes the “feminine” sex. It usually has incredibly misogynistic undertones. This manga serves as critical commentary instead of fetishization. Obviously, omegas are metaphors for women, and it’s interesting to explore internalized/socialized hatred for one’s own sex. I still think abo is gross and weird for a thousand reasons, but I like how this manga criticizes the grossness and weirdness instead of embracing it. This is just my opinion, not attacking the people who like abo. I just think it’s worth pointing out that this story is primarily about the oppression of women, and it’s refreshing to see it through the perspective of an “oppressor” forced into the role of “oppressed,” and how he tries regaining control over his social image. Cool stuff
Abo?? What that means??
I mean alpha/beta/omega universe, not sure if abo is the correct term lol
Oh, I see. Well, this genre is called Omegaverse. I too hate this genre for many reasons. But it was an exception, I really love it because of its characters, storytelling and how they draw the parallel between the real world.
I’m not hating if you enjoyed this, but it’s getting annoying with how many stories will take meaningful classical myths and bastardize them into what is essentially porn. Need more things inspired by Greek mythology that actually care about representing the value of the story, instead of just using it as a poor context for porn. Again I’m not yucking anyone’s yum I just wish there wasn’t porn in the first three chapters at least ykwim
Lol dude have you read Greek mythology, that shit freaky.
and plus greek mythology is a has lots of red flag!!! r*ape, non-con, p*do , bride k*dnapp*ng and more dreadful things ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ
Yes bro, I’ve been studying Greco-Roman literature for four years. I’ve read the original story by Apuleius written in the 2nd century. It is far better than this
I don’t understand if you’re suggesting that this retelling isn’t a red flag, because it not only implies all the things you mentioned, but it does so as fetishization. Yes, ancient historical myth has problematic themes. They are not problematic for the purpose of jerking off to