Complexity delusion?
Good evening everyone. Lately I’ve been noticing comments where some people keep saying that a manga/manhwa is “complex” and it got me thinking about something I wanted to share.
I’m just a reader sharing my take (not claiming to be a literature expert) and I’d like to know what you all think about it too.
I've seen this a lot specifically with BLs that handle themes like rape, sexual assault, murder, etc... Sometimes people justify a character’s actions by calling the story “complex” when in reality it’s just poorly written and I believe that people fail to realistically see what’s actually happening and end up excusing problematic behaviors under the excuse of "depth" . They see a story that’s confusing, has morally grey characters or includes extreme stuff like abuse or obsession and automatically assume there’s some deep meaning behind it. They think contradictions, shocking behavior or plot twists = layered storytelling.
Of course I think that complex characters can be morally grey or unpredictable but their actions must be justified in motivations you can trace. If a character’s behavior makes zero sense in context, that’s not complexity... that’s inconsistency if it makes sense. They aren't chaotic for shock value but they're following a twisted but coherent logic (for example horse-face Jaekyung vs Sangwoo).
But then again... How do you guys determine whether a story or character is genuinely deep and complex?
Thanks in advance for any answer.
I love your question and statement btw. So here is my opinion. (brace up for a little lengthy answer)
As you said Sangwoo vs jaekyung. Imma use them as an example too for familiarity and difference between them.
See, sangwoo is a complex character, his actions are rooted from past trauma, as people have read this know. About his parents especially ......
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