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Manhwa vs webtoons


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#1
Purple Library Guy

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I actually find that on average, I like Korean webtoons but on average, I often don't like Korean published-on-paper manhwa. I'm assuming it has something to do with more room for individual creativity and voice in the less-constricted web cartooning arena than in the publishing industry. But it's not just about industry vs web, because it feels like I dislike the sensibility of the Korean publishing industry while often getting along OK with the directions the Japanese manga industry goes. Dunno. Maybe the Japanese industry is more pushed from below by the fans, what with all the doujinshi and stuff.
But whatever the case, this is good. And so is, f'rinstance, Orange Marmalade, Annarasumanara, "Nineteen, Twenty One", the one with the pets and so on.

#2
hero

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yes, I also think that the webtoons are better than manhwa. I don´t know but manhwa, is often just over the top. a good manhwa that I like to read is Seol Hui.
I think a lot of good webtoons would have never made it to manga/manhwa, I don´t think that anyone would have published Annarasumanara or Melo Holic.

#3
Comadrin

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I haven't read as much manhwa as I have manga, as I usually read the summary and glance at the comments before committing to a new work, but I have definitely found some manhwa worth reading. Off the top of my head: I laughed out loud, to the annoyance of a sleeping wife over "Little Witches Diary," and I thought that "Daddy Long Legs" was extremely well done, and with a lighter touch that kept it from being overly sentimental. What I read of "There's Something About Sunyool" I found very good, as well.

At the same time, I have to agree that there is a preponderance of syrup in many of the manhwa romances. The manhwa editions of Harlequin stories for example, are not just gooey, but the characters don't even act like any real person I have ever met. Every time I read something where the innocent heroine (as pure as the driven snow) gets kicked down the stairs, called every filthy name in the book, and thrown out in the cold after what amounts to rape because the testosterone overdosed MC has decided she is an evil slut on evidence that wouldn't convince anyone, only to cling to her pure love for this egotistical dirtbag, I feel like taking a long hot shower in case some of the offal has stuck to me.

#4
Vueiy

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I agree. Most of the manwha I've read seems like it's written to grab attention and keep it w/ too much action and/or fanservice, but the webtoons usually seem more thought-provoking and have better pacing, even if they're the same genre. Then again, there's stuff like "The Breaker" (and its sequel). Don't even get me started on the "shoujo" manwha! Hwang Mi Ri (sp?) and that other chick (might be the same person for all I know) have pretty much ruined that genre for me, but "Orange Marmalade" and "Nineteen, Twenty-one" are awesome.

#5
Purple Library Guy

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I heard a while back that Hwang Mi Ri and Han Yu Rang, who I had long suspected to be androids due to their huge production, are actually sort of collective pen names used by a couple of big publishers, who actually publish stuff by a number of different people under those handles. Kind of like the way Tom Swift books were always theoretically written by "Victor Appleton II" but were actually done by a number of different people using a common template. Hardy Boys is another example, I think (bit of wiki later: Yup).

#6
Yaomo

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that sounds like a very logical explanation. hwang miri stories have so many things in common and still are so different in other ways that i could easily believe this. but the publishers definitely have too much to say when it comes to the content, all those manhwas are similarly annoying to read. lots of manga also suffer from this, editors get too worried about whether today's youth will like some of the author's more interesting ideas, so they go with conventional instead. the greatest literature isn't what's written to please an audience, but more often stories that the author really wanted to write.

webtoons really are great since the authors are free to write pretty much anything they want, as long as they get good ratings. some seem to have been axed because the ratings dropped too much and didn't get back up again... i enjoy reading stories where i'm surprised by the way things develop, too many mangas and manhwas are so predictable that reading them is almost like torture
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#7
MissMumbai

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Whoever this Hwang Mi Ri is, I want to go and really punch the person in the face as he/ she likes violence so much. Must be a masochist or a sadist for sure. There is angst and there is too much unnecessary unrealistic angst. The only manga of her's that I have completed is Hot Blooded woman. It is simply because it was the first one I picked. All the rest seemed eerily similar and I dropped them without 2nd thoughts. There is much better work for me to read out there.

 

In short, I second your opinion. Webtoons are better than Manhwa's any day. They variety in story and emotions is simply superb! My favourite is Ties of Compassion and Meloholic had a superb ending ! I am not sure where Pinocchio is going and still have to read Tower of God. Orange marmalade is a must read. Art and story wise, webtoons is a clear win IMHO.



#8
Theoderich

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Well naturally Webtoons are better because the authors live by the webtoon being read online(for free) while you have to buy a magazine/tankobon to read something serialized on paper(better to have it printed in your cupboard though).
And another + is that webtoons are usually fully-colored, increasing their overall artwork while mahnwa often tend to look crooked because the specific Korean art-style is something that takes getting used to it(black+white<fully-colored).

The webtoons on Batoto are usually of high quality(either storywise like fight ghost!) and/or high artistic sense (like a friendly winter), but I can't speak for those that are out there, I bet even there there are some webtoons of low quality...

As for Mahnwa, I'm glad to own "Kumiho" and that's it. Unbalance Unbalance was sadly cancelled in English and never made it to Germany, and other mahnwas like "Legend of Maian" are rare pieces of good quality I've come along so far by accident on Manga-reader/download sites...

P.S.: As for Hwang mi ri, I wouldn't even bother reading her stuff, the artwork hurts my eyes and I despise those sexistic Shoujo-stories that mirror a womans innerst perversions/desires...

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#9
iconxraiza

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It's so hard to finish manhwa.... I just can't, which is actually sad. I think I finished only Shin Angyo Oshi and Kungfu Komang. But I read webtoon, a lot, and seriously like it. I think my problem with manhwa is the panelling. Sometimes I do not get what's happening, no details, and the flow is either too fast or too slow. In webtoon the flow is better. And one click one chapter is really nice. The flow stays 'intact' and feels completed. The other problem, I think, is translation/scanlation. Some manhwa translated years back with not quite so good editing. I read some in korean directly, and I can, am sorry, say that some scanlation isn't really convey the story. Yet to release another version is too much to ask hahaha. Maybe the fact that manhwa is not as common as manga in the past, and it's quite hard to find people that speaks korean?

 

Art wise, the webtoon wins hands down. The color, and sometimes music background is very nice!

 

I see some of you recommend some manhwa, I'll try it out :)