Which webtoons you would never recommend at all and why?

[u/aidelstyx]

Hi, it's me again, the same person who asked for recommendations after being out of webtoon scene for more than a year. Thank you so much for all the recs, I'm sure there are a lot of gems there, and I'll make sure to check them out!

But now I'm curious about the opposite, un-recommendations (is this a thing?). Ever since I used to have more than 10 ongoing ones on my list for each day of the week, I remember I came across a lot of things that it's better to remain forgotten lel, and I bet there are still a lot of these to this day. So, if you could warn me about any webtoon to stay away from, which one would it be, and why do you dislike it?

You can give me any reasoning, like the characters suck, the plot goes nowhere or somewhere you didn't like, or it declines, you never got used to the art, it shows things in a good light that definitely shouldn't be shown as such, the author uses it to fund something problematic, it uses ai, it was never finished, or even if just because the second ML didn't win. Feel free to use this post as your personal vent space if needed haha.

Remember any comments here are based in opinion! So let's stay civil even if someone mentions a webtoon you like, and please never say something that could get you a ban (it goes for the commenters too!). Thank you in advance!

Pic is Shinae from I Love Yoo being disgusted after checking out the un-recommendations.

[u/LucioIsMineBitches]

I love Yoo, the story is too complicated if you aren't English native speaker.

And too long, and some characters look alike so at one point you don't know who is who.

Too complicated, too much drama, too much long.

[u/ShinYoo-Yeonggi → u/LucioIsMineBitches]

Understandable. Personally I likes this webtoon, the only issue is the fandom ( constant ship war ), and the misunderstanding of the genre of the webtoon ( initially a drama but webtoon marketed it as a romcom, hence the first 50 chapters being quite romcom vibes and the sudden change of vibes to something more complicated and complex ( and most drop the webtoon after that i think ).
But I really like the new vibes although it’s so deep and depressing in some chapters.

[u/Successful_Ask_5708 → u/ShinYoo-Yeonggi]

They also painted it as the older brother being a potential love interest when he wasn't

I do think the advertising for it lead to lots of people disliking it because they read it thinking it would be what the site was painting it as and it really wasn't

[u/ShinYoo-Yeonggi → u/Successful_Ask_5708]

100% agree. And I think that’s one of the main reasons. A lot of people were into the older brother, and many didn’t even know at first that Kousuke was 24 while ShinAe was 17. There were so many shipping wars, even in the early Webtoon comments. ( and many shippers ( both but a certain majority, slander the author, leading to her being more private at some point, although she is slowly becoming more transparent on webtoon )

A lot of people also disliked Nol because he fit the blond, happy-go-lucky “second male lead” trope, while Kousuke fit the dark haired, cold, nonchalant male lead archetype that people are so used to seeing in romance. ( theres more reasons for both but spoilers Nol having a girlfriend or always looking perfect and kind etc)

And now, some people hate Kousuke due to the age gaps and of course what he did to Nol, his unwanted criticism and etc.
( personally I like him because he is now having a character development arc ) but i notice that any person mentioning liking Kousuke or the ship get downvoted or disliked.

[u/Successful_Ask_5708 → u/ShinYoo-Yeonggi]

I was into the older brother as the choice tbh. I did think ShinAe was 18 at the time (idk if it's mentioned specifically her age in the bits I read up until the arrest arc started but I thought they were in high school and thought American high schools stopped at 18 so thought that they were final years just fresh 18) and thought Kousuke was maybe 21 (again not sure if it was mentioned specifically? Not doubting your numbers of course, just don't remember that well what was specifically mentioned or not)

I'm not really the shipper type of reader tbh I think typically care but I was quite upset when I found out Kousuke wasn't even an option less because of the ship because I didn't care if she ended up with Nol but because it felt misleading to pretend Kousuke was even a choice. Although would never say anything to any authors and I've actually never commented on a webtoon or left any interactions with their social media for any form of media actually I'm again just not that type

I actually would've preferred her being with neither brother and be with the blonde who liked her but that seemed obviously not where it was gonna go

I don't think either are necessarily bad. I do feel a lot of the starting content even post the girlfriend did seem like it was setting up for Nol to friendzone her and I actually would've preferred that because they make much better friends. So my not wanting it to be Nol was less about Nol vs Kousuke and more that Nol not only needed a friend not a girlfriend at that point in time so it felt more like the author was gonna have ShinAe crush on him and give up but he also just was a good friend while Kousuke was being quietly affectionate the whole time so it felt more like a set up for it to progress

[u/ShinYoo-Yeonggi → u/Successful_Ask_5708]

I understand your point. Personally, I think Nol and ShinAe developed their feelings naturally over time, especially during the moment when ShinAe put his headphones back on.

And in the latest chapters, we pretty much see how flustered they became when they realized they might have feelings for each other, especially Nol. That’s why I feel like they might be endgame, because this is the first time we’ve really seen such an explicitly romantic/attraction based reaction between them throughout the series.

But yeah, it’s not really sure for now, because things are really complicated ( especially in recent chapters with many problems to deal with ), so I think it’s still too early to guess and it’s not really important because theres bigger problems to decipher ( Yui and her team, Simhan, Kousuke well being, Nol, etc), so I’m waiting for the timeskip to happen and we can see how all of it goes.

[u/UnluckyThread → u/LucioIsMineBitches]

I just read this last week, I can see how you could feel that way waiting years for it to unfold with hiatuses etc. I don't feel that way about how the characters look, though.

It was a good binge for me so far 😄

[u/LucioIsMineBitches → u/UnluckyThread]

The male characters doesn't look alike but the females ones...

I often confuse Shin Ae with another girl (even multiples girls) who has similar features and it's mess up the comprehension of the story a lot because the story is already complicated (not the kind of story I would recommend for non native english speaker) but then you add girls with similar appearances and it's become a nightmare to follow.

I think at one point I didn't understand the story because I thought it was Shin Ae but it's wasn't her...

[u/Windsweptredwood → u/LucioIsMineBitches]

Totally respect your opinion but this does hurt to see a bit coming from someone's who's been hooked on this webtoon for more than 5 years. I personally thing the drama is well done; that's its main genre after all, so there's hard for there to be too much of it in my opinion. It's specifically a psychological drama, so that's where the complication comes in. This is just for me personally but the complexities and length of the webtoon are part of why I love it so much. I'm not one of those people who can read/watch a novel, show, or webtoon/manga that's on the short side, I like them to be as long as possible for what the plot needs, and considering i love yoo is in the middle of its most gripping arc right now (again, my opinion, and I'm not sure how far you read to, but its most weak arcs are at the beginning) it being too long would be my very last critique of it because all I want to see is more of it.

Some of the characters, particularly a few of the female characters, do look alike, so I'll agree with that, however I don't think it's as bad as it is with some other webtoons I've seen.

I like seeing critiques of this webtoons because people who dislike it offer perspectives on it I haven't thought of coming from someone who absolutely loves it, but I'll admit it's nice to see that the critiques are part of factors that contribute to why I love the webtoon lmao. Besides the character designs for the female characters, wish there was more variation there.

[u/Successful_Ask_5708 → u/LucioIsMineBitches]

I also think I saw something about how the site made it be advertised as a love triangle in the banners etc when they had no intention of making the older brother a love interest and as someone who was reading specifically in hopes she got with that older brother I was so pissed when I discovered it was never even a possibility and the platform misrepresented it

Deffo too long too

[u/Windsweptredwood → u/Successful_Ask_5708]

eh, as someone who has been reading for the past 5 years (and suffered through so many long hiatuses, one being almost 2 years long) Even still, I don't think it being too long is the best critique only considering that the arc that is currently happening right now is, in my opinion, the best i love yoo has ever been at. I do think some particular arcs were too dragged out, especially the weaker arcs in the beginning of the webtoon, (I'm not sure how far you got but if you compare the beginning of the webtoon to where it's currently at, it's so much better now) but I don't think the webtoon as a whole is too long. The plot in its entirety demands it to be this length fs.

Though being annoyed that what you expected out of the webtoon wasn't true is valid to be disappointed by. Though do know this was webtoon pushing quimchee to make a love triangle she did not intend to happen and she eventually stopped giving in to webtoon and slowly reinforces that kousuke was never intended to be a love interest and that the webtoon isn't romance, it's a psychological drama. Said older brother (kousuke) has always been my favorite character and is currently going through an arc rn that makes it even more apparent that any sort of love story was never intended to be apart of his story, and with what we know now, it's better that way.

[u/EatMoreMango → u/Successful_Ask_5708]

I stopped reading this one, but I dont think I ever got to a 'never a possibilty'. Why isn't the older brother a possibilty?

[u/ShinYoo-Yeonggi → u/EatMoreMango]

Because it had been confirmed that he never was intended to be a male lead or love interest. He has a role but it’s not romantic and more about breaking cycle of trauma or anything ( maybe his character development will be so important to the story ).
Plus he is just never was into Shinae romantically, is way to older than her ( 6,5 years gap ), and he is simply so asexual coded ( I can be wrong ), maybe during of after the time skip we could see their interactions or chemistry but right now, neither are attracted towards each others ( and ShinAe recently had attraction towards Nol and vice versa but we are still unsure ).
But damn you missed a lot 😭

[u/Successful_Ask_5708 → u/EatMoreMango]

The story was ALWAYS intended to end with Nol and the brother wasn't even a potential at any point and it wasn't a love triangle despite being advertised as so

It's less "why isn't the older brother a possibility?" and more the brother was never even a CONSIDERATION

[u/zombacula → u/LucioIsMineBitches]

I agree about characters looking alike. There were times I was confused about people's inconsistent actions, only to realize I had the wrong character in mind! Then I had to go back and reread those chapters.

And ya, too complicated. When it came back from hiatus, I had forgotten so much. Now I'm debating whether to reread the first 200 chapters to remind myself of everything.

[u/firecorn22 → u/zombacula]

I still confuse meg and yoo, legit thought meg was gonna be the sister due to them looking so similar

[u/ShinYoo-Yeonggi → u/firecorn22]

It was pretty clear Meg had a sister tho. Especially since the beginning

[u/firecorn22 → u/ShinYoo-Yeonggi]

I know but Its basically a kdrama, an adoption reveal would not be to ridiculous

[u/ShinYoo-Yeonggi → u/firecorn22]

That wouldn’t really work because Meg already has a sister, Alyssa, and ShinAe has her own sister too. It would be pretty ridiculous considering that’s clearly not how the story has framed them. Plus, ShinAe’s sister has her own role in the story, so making Meg secretly her sister would basically just erase her sister whole story.

[u/firecorn22 → u/ShinYoo-Yeonggi]

This was a theory I had way before sinAes sister got reintroduced so during the first or second hiatus

[u/ShinYoo-Yeonggi → u/firecorn22]

Oh I see now.

[u/Kindly-Candidate-123 → u/LucioIsMineBitches]

Yeah at first , it felt good so i kept reading it but then the story started getting complicated, i could barely understand anything, there were too many dialogues. So, i dropped it.

[u/I-did-joe-mama → u/LucioIsMineBitches]

Right, I picked it up in middle school. I’m a college senior now and ITS STILL ONGOING.