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Manhwa Review | Rix Vanus by Chanseong

Title: Rix Vanus

Author(s): Chanseong

Artist(s): Chanseong

The royal family’s third child, second son, Rix Vanus, has just returned home after defeating the demon king, a monstrous demon who had been consuming human hearts to gain power. The people celebrate him as a hero, but those nobles who hoped he would die quietly return to plotting how best to remove him from power. Rix isn’t worried about trying to survive, though. After killing the demon king, Rix was cursed with dreams full of sexual assault and rape at the hands of his closest friends and family. He’s grown weak, trying his best to avoid sleep, and the dreams are beginning to mix with reality, causing him to avoid and rebuff any support from those he holds dear. Rix is ready to run off and either find a cure or die trying, but while sleeping in the woods, he encounters a glowing wolf that makes all terrible dreams disappear.

When he wakes up, he reencounters the wolf. The wolf explains that he is a divine beast named Nuah, and he has the ability to stave off the curse for a period of time. But the only way to do it is if Nuah has sex with Rix. Rix is not keen on that idea; sex is no longer a pleasurable experience after the endless nights of rape-filled dreams. Still, Rix is desperate, and he ends up agreeing. As Nuah promised, the dreams stop for a time, but only for a while. He still has to find a cure, and with Nuah by his side, it seems like it might be a real possibility. In exchange, all Nuah wants is to see a festival. Rix finds Nuah to be silly and not all that divine for a divine beast, but over time, those are the things he falls in love with.

But love could never happen between a divine beast and a human. At least, that’s what Rix believes. Nuah, though, is under no assumptions about who can or can’t fall in love.

Title: Love So Pure

Author(s): Plan B

Artist(s): Plan B

Jihyun isn’t the best student. He’d prefer to just have sex, sleep, and work at his part-time job as a bartender, but his mother wants nothing more than for her son to get an education. So, after taking extended periods off, he’s forced to return to college or risk being expelled entirely. But it isn’t necessarily that he hates school that he took so much time off. In reality, Jihyun has gone through a traumatic event with an ex-boyfriend, where much of his personal and private information was leaked, forcing him to leave or risk being bullied and ostracized by his peers. With so much time having passed, Jihyun is hopeful that most people who knew about the situation have graduated or, at the very least, moved on from campus.

Still, he’s not looking forward to waking up early and attending class. However, some of that frustration is alleviated when he finds that one of his classmates, Yohan, is a hulking beefcake – his soldier, as he likes to refer to him. Jihyun would love nothing more than to climb around that giant tree of a man, but he’s pretty sure Yohan is straight. Thankfully for Jihyun, Yohan finds himself entranced by Jihyun, too. But the two want very different things. Yohan, a softy at heart, wants to woo and date Jihyun, and while Jihyun, deep down, would love a relationship, he feels he is incapable of having one due to his trauma. Can these two find common ground, or will they perpetually be stuck in situationship limbo?

Title: Frenzy Train

Author(s): Meuhwagwa

Artist(s): hellowon

Sovian Darnell is on a mission. He’s destitute, but he’s intent on changing his future, all thanks to a marble he has hidden in a private place. All he has to do is smuggle the marble down to the south of the country, and then he’ll be set for life. Literally and figuratively, he’s sitting on immense wealth, but the only way he’s going to get it is if he can make it onto the train heading to the south. Thankfully, he does, but onboard, he runs into a strange man who introduces himself as Zerkin Sicario.

Zerkin is strangely forward with Sovian. While Sovian would like nothing more than to escape to economy class and hole up there until they get to the south, Zerkin doesn’t seem willing to just let Sovian go. Zerkin offers Sovian some cool water, a rarity on the train, which apparently only has warm water. Despite his better judgment, Sovian accepts the water but discovers his body permanently changed upon drinking it. He craves for someone to touch him, and he finds himself getting wet.

Thankfully, Zerkin is there to take care of him, but just as quickly as Zerkin appears, he disappears. And along with him, Sovian’s precious marble. Sovian has no choice but to hunt for Zerkin, but he has to traverse the entire train to get to him, which is full of men looking to take advantage of Sovian’s new constitution.

Title: The Housekeeper's Load

Author(s): Kang Pu Con / Kangpucon

Artist(s): Kang Pu Con / Kangpucon

Choi Woojin is an erotic novel translator. Unfortunately, being a virgin, he has a hard time envisioning the scenes and understanding the emotions in them. But just because he’s a virgin doesn’t mean he doesn’t have an imagination. Unfortunately, all of his lustful imaginings feature one person: his housekeeper, Kim Ha-yeon. As Ha-yeon’s boss, Woojin knows the housekeeper is off-limits. But ethics can’t touch his imagination, and little does Woojin know that Ha-yeon is beginning to look at him differently, too.

Meanwhile, Woojin’s good friend Kang Sol, whom he usually asks for advice on sex-related matters, is having a great time teasing Woojin and his secret attraction to his housekeeper. While Woojin and Ha-yeon are figuring out their weird relationship, Sol ends up running into Ha-yeon’s little brother, Kim Jae-ho. With Woojin, his favorite person to tease, occupied by a chaotic love life, Sol sees a lot of promise in Jae-ho. But Jae-ho isn’t interested in this weird man. Undeterred, Sol continues to pursue Jae-ho whenever they run into each other, and in a cruel twist of fate for Jae-ho, they run into each other a lot.

Title: Subscribers Only

Author(s): Just / Junggak

Artist(s): Just / Junggak

1st Couple (Seasons 1 and 2)

Hanseok Choi is a workaholic. He spends every waking and even sleeping moment in the office, leaving him no time for his personal life. His friend, and coworker, is determined to help Hanseok relax a bit, so he shows him an anonymous online account that posts solo porn. The man is exactly Hanseok’s type, and soon, when he isn’t working, Hanseok finds himself checking up on the man known as mil_tea. But his attention is soon diverted elsewhere once more when a new hire, Doyoon, starts at work, and by happenstance, Hanseok catches sight of a tattoo that mil_tea also has.

2nd Couple (Seasons 3 and 4)

Chakyeong Shin is known as Valenti online, a popular cammer. While playing on camera, Valenti often listens to someone he calls Threesome, though whose actual username is Story Awesome. Story Awesome’s voice sends Chakyeong right into bliss, and many times, he hunts for partners solely based on how closely they can mimic his voice. But when he’s not having fun on camera, he’s renowned interior designer Chakyeong Shin, and for a time, he plans on teaching a class at his old college. While in the middle of class, he sees a beefcake. This man is exactly Chakyeong’s type, named Woojin, and judging by the books hanging out of his bag, he’s a big fan of Chakyeong’s work.

He’d love to leverage that and get the burly student into his bed, but he realizes this fan behavior is a two-way street when he hears him speak. Woojin is a fan of Chakyeong. But Chakyeong is also a fan of Woojin, who is none other than Story Awesome himself.

Title: Kill the Lights

Author(s): Jang Ryang / Jangryang

Artist(s): Mync

Haley Rusk, real name Reese, is a wild child. He is well known for drug use, excessive drinking, and his unusual obsession with Noah Raycarlton, a well-known rich kid turned rich man. No matter how bad his public image is, Haley is only interested in his own self-interests. Unfortunately, while trying out the occult to get Noah’s affection, all of the damage to his body finally catches up to him. Haley Rusk, as he is known, passes away due to a heart attack.

Miles and miles away, Mason, a mercenary, is on a mission with two other mercenaries. His target is begging for his life, offering the code to a safe where there are possibly millions, if not billions, hidden away. Mason isn’t interested and takes out the mark, only to be shot by his teammate, who wants the money for himself. This is supposed to be the end of Mason’s life. But to his surprise, he ends up waking up in a hospital room where people talk about how they can’t wait for “Reese’s” inheritance.

Mason couldn’t be any more different than Haley Rusk, but somehow, he’s “reborn” or “transmigrated” into his body. Rather than be bothered or disturbed by the sudden change, Mason sees this as an amazing opportunity. He doesn’t have to do dangerous and horrific work anymore; he has enough money to quietly retire from show business and start a cafe, and if he decides to stay in the business, he can make loads of money in a short time. There’s just one problem: he seems to have kept some of Haley’s preferences. Specifically, his sexual preferences, and when he ends up running into Noah Raycarlton, who he used to protect back in his bodyguard days, he finds himself attracted to him.

Much to Noah’s surprise, this new Haley is pretty attractive to him, too. Haley now reminds him of the man who protected him all those years ago – the man he’s been obsessed with for as long as he can remember.

Title: Recipe For Disaster (Lezhin) | Curious Recipe (TappyToon)

Author(s): COM

Artist(s): COM

Taesoo is a college student. His life isn’t exactly what he expected it would be, but it’s not too bad. He enjoys time with his friends, runs the taekwondo club, and makes the best out of everything. However, things get a bit more complicated when a new neighbor moves in. The man is very extroverted, which already turns Taesoo off, but somehow, this man knows Taesoo’s name. As it turns out, this stranger isn’t a stranger at all. It’s his childhood friend, Junghyuk, who used to be a chubby, bullied boy that Taesoo spent much of his time protecting.

Junghyuk is unrecognizable. He’s buff and unnervingly handsome. But more important than all of that, he bakes. Taesoo has an unquenchable sweet tooth, and while he’s a bit disturbed by how touchy-feely Junghyuk is, he craves more of those sweet treats Junghyuk makes. But while Taesoo is dealing with the obsessive man in front of him, another more obsessive man lurks in the background, waiting to strike.

Title: Banana Scandal

Author(s): Dolsha

Artist(s): Dolsha

Dojin is a college student from Korea who is attending university in the States. He enjoys it, but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Even though he’s no longer in Korea, the experience of rumors and judgment is just as rampant in the tight-knit Korean community on his campus. Dojin does his best to stay out of the drama while still enjoying college life, but when his roommate Taehwan goes off to intern in Hong Kong, Dojin’s peaceful college life is thrown into disarray as Taehee, Taehwan’s younger brother, comes to stay in their apartment.

It’s not so bad at first. Dojin has known Taehee since they were young, and despite being taller and a bit gloomier, he’s still the introverted boy who loves cartoons for kids. Taehee, however, is no longer that innocent young boy. While Dojin is sleeping in their room, he happens to hear something odd. It doesn’t take much to realize that Taehee is playing with himself behind Dojin’s back. Dojin should be repulsed. He should get up and tell Taehee to get out.

But for some reason, all Dojin wants to do is see how Taehee looks in the throes of passion.

Title: Miscreants and Mayhem

Author(s): Brothers Without a Tomorrow

Artist(s): Brothers Without a Tomorrow

Nanmu has been punishing himself for years. He’s in a leadership position in a gang, having been adopted from a cult by the leader of the gang alongside his two closest friends, who he considers his brothers. Unfortunately, Nanmu committed one of the greatest sins, having fallen in love with the leader’s, his adopted father’s, mistress. To be with her and adopt her son as his own, Nanmu willingly gave his body over to the gang, where he was ruthlessly raped and passed around by all the members. In a desperate attempt to rescue him, his two brothers offer to take the punishment with him. Instead, their father commands Nanmu’s brothers to have sex with him instead. It’s a perverse and painful situation, but one that Nanmu believes he deserves, especially when he ultimately loses the woman he did this for, along with the child he considered his son.

Many years have passed, yet Nanmu is still punishing himself with painful sex between his two brothers. As if that isn’t already hard enough, the men of his gang are steadily being assaulted, bludgeoned with a hammer, and left for dead. Nanmu struggles to find the culprit until one of his men calls him for help. When he arrives, he sees a familiar face, a beauty like the one he lost long ago. But it’s not the woman he was in love with. It’s her son, Pil-gyun, and Pil-gyun is looking for the man he calls ‘dad’ – Nanmu. But Pil-gyun has no intention of being a filial son.

Title: Cheeky Habits of My Rabbits

Author(s): Donggobi, Mum

Artist(s): Gongil

Haru is Habibi’s pet rabbit. They found each other when they needed each other the most and have been dedicated to one another ever since. However, Habibi doesn’t know that she didn’t rescue just any rabbit. Haru is actually a member of the rabbit tribe, a tribe of humans that can shift their forms between human and rabbit. Haru is not a pet rabbit, but he loves Habibi like family. So, he spends his days making sure she gets up and ready for work, and then, when she’s away, he cleans the house and cooks her meals. When she comes home in the evenings tired and usually drunk, he makes sure she gets to bed, and the whole routine starts over again the next day. It’s a lot of work, but Haru does it willingly because he loves Habibi.

Unfortunately, Haru spends most of his time alone in Habibi’s house. Feeling bad for Haru, Habibi decides to get a female rabbit to be Haru’s bride. Once again, she doesn’t realize that the rabbit she gets is another member of the rabbit tribe. She also fails to notice that the rabbit is not a female. It is actually none other than a prince of the rabbit tribe, Neungso. He has been sent out of the Rabbit Kingdom on a quest alongside his brother to determine who will take the Rabbit Kingdom’s throne. The quest is simple: Neungso has to find the fabled Moon Rabbit, a god born on Earth, to provide longevity and fertility to the rabbit kingdom.

Haru, the suspected Moon Rabbit, is not at all what Neungso expected, and, as a half-breed (a half-human half-were-rabbit), Neungso feels he was sent to Haru because they knew Haru wasn’t the Moon Rabbit. First off, Haru is male, and though the Moon Rabbit can give birth regardless of gender, Neungso can’t imagine they would actually be a man. Next, Haru is far too silly (yet perceptive) to be the Moon Rabbit. Not to mention, he’s cute… Well, even if he isn’t the Moon Rabbit, Neungso can still find him cute, right?

Manhwa Reviews

Manhwa Review | Rix Vanus by Chanseong

Manhwa Review | Love So Pure by Plan B

Manhwa Review | Subscribers Only by Just

Manhwa Review | Kill the Lights by Jang Ryang

Manhwa Review | Recipe For Disaster by COM

Manhwa Review | Banana Scandal by Dolsha

Manhwa Review | Miscreants and Mayhem by Brothers Without a Tomorrow

Manhwa Review | Cheeky Habits of My Rabbits by Donggobi