I was hoping to go to concerts this year but it seems they're out of the question. Thus have been burying my head in reading again, only this time it's webtoons. I've read Solo Levelling and currently working through Dark Moon - Blood Altar and The Grey City.
Managed to finish reading Solo Levelling over the months but have not read the original novel yet. Not sure if I will pursue that in a hurry but from what I skimmed in a bookshop some of the original content still shows up in the webtoon so it is almost like the pages in the novel are being brought to life through pictures rather accurately.
An action/gaming genre isn't something I would normally read when it comes to comics but I wanted to see the hype after listening to The Boyz's song Echo.
I was constantly reading the chapters because of how fast-paced and exciting the plot was that I had to find out what happened next. Sung Jinwoo starts off as a weak E-Rank Hunter, coming close to death a few times while on raids but is one day given an opportunity to reawaken and become a player of a system, which allows him to level up and gain strength easily. It does sound rather Gary Stu-ish and every person's dream to be given this ability. On the other hand, his determination to grow stronger is partly due to his need to support his family, aiding his ill mother and younger sister Jinah.
I like the art in this webtoon and even with the second artist who took over the previous one after he unfortunately passed away, the drawing style is maintained well. There are instances where when there is a battle scene, I had to re-read a few times to understand what was happening.
The epilogue chapters were bittersweet. I think the ending was appropriate but it was open to another series if the original author wanted to proceed further. I wonder how the Anime will turn out.
Dark Moon The Blood Altar
Sooha wants to lead a normal life and is transferred to Decelis Academy to get away from the gossip surrounding her special abilities and family. She befriends seven handsome boys who are instantly drawn to her for some reason. The main characters are based on ENHYPEN. Everyone has special abilities. Heli, Jino, Jaan, Jakah, Shion, Solon and Noa are not human. They're all vampires. Sooha also has a secret of her own which consists of superhuman strength and turning into fog (the latter is more evident in the web novel from what I'm reading so far). We learn as go further into the story that these characters all knew each other in the past. Sooha was a princess and the seven vampires were her knights.
I will admit there are cliche Reverse Harem tropes in the webtoon, which made it quite a mission to read through. I hear they will update with a second season which would make sense after the cliffhanger. The web novel goes in a very different direction when it comes to the characters. Heli seems more emotional and Shion is less bubbly here. Solon is still grounded and cautious in both media though.
Dark Moon - The Grey City - depressing and angst-ridden. I never felt so bad for Khan, Tahel, Najak and Enzy. A spin off story focusing on the werewolves who appeared in The Blood Altar. We learn how the characters met each other and became a pack. It took me a while to get used to the art style here as I was expecting it to be like The Blood Altar. The story is much darker than The Blood Altar. I felt my heart aching whenever there was mention of the characters' backstory and the impact of the battle against the vampires. A never-ending feud. I'm still reading the webtoon and will work on the web novel when I have the opportunity.