why i dont like most webtoons (+ comics i do like!) || speed.. doodle?

I was told once that Webtoon aims for a 13 y/o age demographic, hence all the high school stories, big exposition dumps and hand held narratives. Kinda sucks, I feel like they should make a mature section for older audiences. With more mature characters and nuanced storytelling

A trope I dislike in webtoon is just the villainization of timid, slightly overweight girls with glasses? Like idk, I feel like too many of them portray these types of girls as either someone who needs a makeover (True Beauty) or someone who's psychotic and envious of the main character because she's so "ugly" and insecure (My Deepest Secret). Like as someone who sort of looks like that, it does hurt that even webtoons that I like such as Sweet Home fall into this :((

I think the best comic I’ve ever read on WEBTOON was Hooky. It started off cute and aloof but then it starts getting more serious and high-stakes.

i'm reading 'marry my husband' and BOTH the mc and love interest stopped wearing their glasses! JUST LET THEM WEAR GLASSES! STOP TAKING AWAY THEIR GLASSES

shaking your hand so so much as someone who reads thru webtoon and manhua at the speed of light everything you have said is SO REAL. literally read a manhua where the guy had fucked up scars allll over his face and i was like YESSS YESSS THIS RULEESSS and literally. ten chapters in. he loses the scars. i honestly couldve CRIED. HE WAS SO HANDSOME W HIS GANKED FACE GRRRR i was genuinely sooo mad. and yes oh my god girl protags will either have red hair with green eyes or black hair with purple eyes or blond hair with blue or green eyes AND SHE IS NEVERRR BROWN. AND NEITHER IS THE MALE PROTAG its always one (1) side character that has anyyyyy melanin its so . (EXPLLODES) RAHHRRGGH diversity LOSS!!!

the repetitiveness of webtoon honestly makes me want to go ahead and make a webtoon, not to blow up but just to give someone out there something different even if its 1 person

For the high school topic, I'm pretty sad that the genera is so badly treated. I don't know if it is just because of my social circle (im between 20-15 yo), but teenagers in this age range in my opinion, can be used in such interesting ways to tell compeling stories and can be just as interesting as adults. Alot of kid have gone through shit but due to their lack of experience usually dont know how to deal with themsleves as well as just discovering how to be a person in general. You can touch on so many subjects such as social anxiety, addiction, the struggle of the parent child relationship that is changing so brutally and other stuff. This genera is just so badly used, only told through the lense of cheeky romances and that's it. Almost 90% of the genera suffers from a big lack of substance that makes me sad compared as to how in real life, this age range is the most interesting and chaotic time for a person, full of insecurities and change. I really hope people will one day salvage it.

You should read the WEBTOON original "Shiloh". It doesn't really have a main character but most of the cast is POC. Hell, the poster children, Chloe and Sawyer, are black and Indian. It also just has a really interesting supernatural-mystery plotline, wrapped up in complicated relationships, systemic criticism, and subtext. I also think something it does quite well is use the scrolling vertical format to its advantage rather than as a deficit. There are so many cool transitions that couldn't be done on any other format, and I love it.

if youre looking for a romance webtoon featuring black characters i suggest daybreak !! both the main characters are black and trans along with a few other poc characters in the friend groups

The fact that you roasted Yoo Junghyeok (the guy you said had more play than anyone in America) makes me respect you ten times more lmao. I love the guy, and the webtoon he's in is genuinely amazing, but he legit has the hairstyle and face of every black haired love interest in romance manhuas 💀 Your whole video basically described the reason I stopped reading webtoons. Amazing art btw!

I felt like a majority of the comics on Webtoon had no passion behind them, and the creator came up with the plot within one minute. So I started reading manga instead, and it's refreshing to read something that has good pacing, dialogue, and an actual plot.

The thing about highschoolers is why I love Manhwa tbh. They have super interesting stories that mostly feature adults in their 30s. One of my favorites is Match Made in Heaven By Chance, it's really good, and the characters are so interesting, the story really keeps you interested.

A WEBTOON that I personally love is “I am the grim reaper” featuring a woman who died and was sent to hell and now has to work for satan as the grim reaper. The art and action are amazing but the story also has time to be introspective and questions what makes a good vs a bad person. The main characters are very likable despite their questionable morality. it’s honestly probably my favorite WEBTOON.

I would like to point out that a lot of artists complain about how webtoon treats them and their work. Webtoon restricts a lot of artists freedom in order for the comic to follow the webtoon format. This leads to Webtoons feeling bland or like they have no passion behind them, which is really sad because the artists see their work become like this and are unable to do anything. Webtoon artists are also no given much time to complete episodes or chapters. They got like one week to create at least 40 panels, which can become tedious for a person working alone. This is why they have to take shortcuts and results in boring looking comics. I would love if you would make a video discussing the bad choices Webtoon makes that causes stuff like this.

5:48 I actually saw another person cover that before, apparently when webtoons go from canvas to original, there are certain things webtoon will change about the artists’ comic and will even change some character’s personality to cater to an audience

for a story with black characters/ older MCs i suggest Shoot Around. it’s about a young basketball team and their coach surviving a zombie apocalypse it’s my fav on webtoon!

I love all the points you've said in this video. Maybe that's why I've slowly stopped reading there even though I know there are still stories that are good. One thing tho, the vertical format. As someone who has been reading comics since I was little, I think vertical formats are something that has a lot of potential. It's a fairly new concept and not everyone knows how to make it work (given that webtoon started the format, I'd say it is new). I've read a comic that blew my mind, they utilized the format in a way that added impact to the panels. It felt as if I was watching a movie. Ex. Song of the Skypacers by Xia Da (not from webtoon), Ilkwon Ha's works, LICO's works Think of vertical format as a medium where readers take part on how the story is read. I think there are only a few videos giving tips on how to utilize the format. It can be used greatly to aid the story telling. When done right, it makes it more immersive like a movie. (For example, huge white gaps in webtoons are similar to how white noise is used in movies.) Sorry if it's all over the place. I'm writing this late at night.

The one webtoon I totally miss is LMLY it was so adorable, but it's been on a 10 month hiatus. They are totally different from what you currently see :)

The same looking mcs are so relatable 😭😭, that’s why when I go on like Webtoons or Tapas I go through the community ones instead, because most of the originals are like what you described. I remember at one point I was in the romance genre and I swear I saw the same character in 4 different covers 🥲

Yeah not a lot of African representation out there but hope through my Webcomics I can bring through that diverse mix of South African that I love so much about my country, keep up the great owrk and stay awesome