I’ve known Kanjaye for over a decade now. That’s so long that time feels surreal at this point and against her better judgement, she’s let me on here to talk about my most committed relationship to date, Webtoons. Consider this the official publication of my PhD in Yapanese, focusing on the study of reincarnated villains, tragic second leads who are almost always blonde (seriously I don’t know what writers have against non-black haired protagonists but anyway) and sappy romance.
Isekai (Reincarnation): The genre that has me in a full nelson
I thought my isekai phase would pass. It didn’t. it persisted, it evolved. The whole thing in a nutshell is “I died and now I’m hot and evil but trying to do good”
Some personal highlights:
1.Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story
Read it twice while waiting for updates (the struggle was real). Luckily it’s complete now, so you won’t have to go through what I did. I’ll be taking cash donations of gratitude.
Also read twice. No regrets. Imagine if you could go into your favourite book or movie and save the very good looking male lead that you’ve been a fan of for a long time? Come on.
Also read twice. Fun Fact: It also got adapted into live action in both Korea and Japan. As a K-drama loyalist, I’m sad to say the Japanese one was the better version by far.
4. I’m a Villainess but I Won’t Live Like One
Title says it all really. She’s done with evil.
5. Ten Ways to Get Dumped by a Tyrant
She wants nothing to do with him, he doesn’t agree.
This one, like “Marry my husband”, is more of a time regression one but it’s amazing because there’s divorce and revenge.
Anyway,
If I had to build an altar for my ‘Read Twice’ Hall of Fame, it would have “Marry Me Husband”, “My Derelict Favourite” and “Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story” framed in the center like the Mona Lisa.
You might be suspecting by now that I have too much time on my hands and have nothing better to do. You are right.
Romance: I’m a sucker for a happy ending.
I will fold under zero pressure and admit I live for romance. Even when it’s questionable. Especially when it’s questionable.
Some of my go to’s:
- Operation: True Love
- Ugly Duckling Complex
- Iseop’s Romance
- The Mafia Nanny (Yes, she’s the nanny. I defy you to tell me why that shouldn’t be.)
- Selfish Romance
- Love 4 a Walk – Sappy and refreshing just the way I like it
- I Abdicate My Title as Empress
- Our Night Shift
- Chasing Red – If you were a Wattpad veteran, you know. You’ve seen things.
- Locked Onto You
Each one of these has a main lead who either needs emotional regulation or divine intervention, and I love that for them.
The following recommendations, I couldn’t comprehensively categorise so I’ll just slap them down here:
This is one of those series that makes you sit there like, wow, maybe I do need therapy because why am I rooting for the bad guy. There’s romance but not in a conventional sense its ongoing at the moment but I don’t know that it will have a happy ending, we’ll see. Heavy, but brilliant and amazing art work.
In a total 180, this webtoon is a total joke. It’s just pure comedic nonsense that’s all I can say about it. It’s also extremely long and every episode is standalone.
Not romance (tragic), but it’s getting a live action adaptation staring my favourite Korean actor Lee Min Ho, I might be biased because of that. It’s about a guy who is the sole reader of webcomic about the apocalypse then things from it actually start happening IRL. I’ve just started it though so I can’t fully attest to its greatness yet but I have faith.
My Scientific Tried and True Formula for a Good Webtoon (Source: Trust me bro)
Read it twice = Masterpiece.
Delete the app because no updates and reinstall several times = Unhealthy attachment confirmed.
Comment section looks like group therapy = 10/10 would recommend.
This is peer reviewed by the way, It’s the wisdom my PhD entitles me to share. Yes, thank me, inflate my big head.
Moving on,
This is just the beginning. My Webtoon memory functions like a library with no real order, just random placement, more titles will surface eventually, probably when I’m actively ignoring my work.
For now, a big thank you to Kanjaye for letting me hijack her blog. I might someday return with more questionable recommendations and unsolicited opinions. Until then, may your updates be quick and your fictional love interests emotionally available but then again where’s the fun in that?
