>>2770134>it's popular but not that specialI'm gonna quibble with this. SPOILERS AHEAD.
First some positives...
There's the general satisfaction at the narrative symmetry and irony in the ending: Bum obsessively pursues an illusory ideal of who Shangwoo was, the very thing that got him into this mess, and it's the same thing that likely dooms him in the series final moments. Meanwhile Shangwoo, for all his efforts, dies in a similar vein as his first brush with death: suffocated via pillow by a mentally disturbed maternal figure.
I also appreciating the small, unobtrusive details sprinkled throughout, such Shangoo's mother's shoes continually reappearing in certain pivotal scenes, thereby having her presence overshadow most of the series.
Moreover, some of the very best parts are near the end, wherein so many of the previous seemingly inconspicuous plot points ( defective rat poison, or the manner in which Shangwoo slices Jun's throat) are re-contextualized. This repetition occurs quite a bit (in fact, it is one of the KS's controlling metaphors), and gives a depth to previous characterizations and scenes that they might not otherwise have had for the story's bulk.
Also, unlike with most manwha's, I actually feel the composition and spacing of panels lends itself well to generating legitimate moments of tension, especially during Sangwoo and Seungbae's final confrontation (I actually thought he snapped his neck there).
I agree in terms of characterization it's shallow and some of the narrative developments and reveals are well rote for the genre ( some of them don't even do the minimal work of justifying character motivations), or are otherwise left too vague to determine.
Essentially it's a case of the parts being greater than the sum, and despite being mediocre overall, there are genuine moments of artistry here.
Clearly there was more thought put into this.
As for the fandom, honestly who the fuck actually cares?
