As a fan of dark romance, a genre that isn't really overflowing in manhwa (you can't easily find something like Trapped, trust me, I tried!), when I find one that I like I dive right down into it... This done held my fancy for a few chapters and then, it simply became a mid tier, bland, meh manhwa. Why?
Well, simply put, I didn't like characters that much, and found their chemistry severely lacking. This is dark romance, this is the core of the show, so if that isn't working, what is the point? The worst part is that I often had no clear idea why I disliked them. Eunha is actually a pretty flawed character, and acts frighteningly realistic, but I just found her too one dimensional, without a clearly outlines personality. She is vengeful and angry. Great we get it, but more! While her backstory, about wanting to avenge her parents, was a starting point, it leaved her dry and a typical manhwa trope! I know her whole point is to kill her parents murderer, but even a person whose main goal in life is revenge has something other personality traits. She does stupid things all the time, which I also find refreshing, as she's not a typical Mary Sue, but at some point this was too much, even for me! I expected her to be a bit more... Capable? She spent her life in the gang, I wanted to see more of her skill set.
The ML was a bit better but not by much. He falls for Eunha right away, which is a big no no in my book (I want to see how a yandere becomes a yandere). His backstory isn't the worst, but he comes out cold, uneven and quite frankly boring. His selling point is that he is only obsessed with Eunha, which I also don't like about male characters when his obsession with the FL is his only trait. He does have some more worthwhile moments, especially later in the story, but not nearly enough to make him a compelling char.
Their interaction was pleasing at only a few points, otherwise it was tepid, and underwhelming. No fireworks here, no slow cooking until it boils, no finesse. Not to say there were no sensual panels, and the artist does some pretty good sexy scenes, but it's far from igniting any kind of passion towards the main couple, with in dark romance is a major omission.
The story, about gang and drug trade, was only marginally interesting and seen before many times. Not enough time was spent on supporting characters, especially Eunha's Serim teammates. The art style, with it's sketchy aesthetics, piqued by interest, as it was different than the usual genetic manhwa look, but the quality of it veered wildly from mesmerizing to simply sloppy. Overall I have to say I prefer cleaner styles.
But not to see too depressive, this is a notch above the typical happy go lucky manhwa, and it is dark romance for sure, and the ML is a yandere. He's a green flag yandere, to be sure, so people who like this kind of stuff will be delighted. And Eunha, for all her lack of depth, was still a much better heroine than any Mary Sue you can find, especially in isekai manhwa. And the story was solid enough and will push you to read it. While generally a so so, this is a rec for all dark manhwa lovers.
(-5)
