Toxic Couple Keeps Murdering Each Other and Coming Back
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Warnings
Synopsis
Review
Results
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Tags:
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Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series After Killing You.
Content Warning: There may be references to violence, sexual assault, blackmail, sextortion, breakups, blood, murder, death, obsession, self-harm, manipulation, excessive drinking, PTSD, child neglect, possible child abuse, possible domestic violence, mentions of abortion, child abandonment, self hatred, grooming, innapropriate relationship between adult and student, drugging, self-deprecation, dubcon, noncon, gossiping, internalized homomisia, being outed, stalking, possible cheating, and abuse, as they do appear in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Eunsung and Hyunwoo are together, but tenuously so. Things have finally come to a head, and an exasperated Hyunwoo is ready to call it quits. Eunsung, though, is not quite as ready. Hyunwoo is everything to Eunsung, and if Eunsung can’t have him, no one can. This results in a violent struggle, ending with Hyunwoo’s death. Eunsung, horrified and mournful, wants nothing more than to get another chance. If he could do it again, he’d make sure that he and Hyunwoo could be happy.
Well, when Eunsung awakens next, he gets that very chance. What he finds in Hyunwoo’s stead is his own dead body. In this parallel world, rather than Eunsung successfully killing Hyunwoo, Hyunwoo was able to defend himself and kill Eunsung. This should be horrific. This should be traumatizing. But for Eunsung, this sacrifice is his chance to make things right and finally make Hyunwoo all his.
These two are destined for each other but in the worst way possible.
Review:
The cover art on this one is stunning. It’s heavily shaded and super dynamic. Plus, the contrast between the brightly designed Hyunwoo and the much darker design of Eunsung really tells you who these characters are. I have to admit, when I saw Hyunwoo with bright purple hair and eyes, I was smitten. It’s such a unique color choice, and it really spoke to me. Thankfully, although the coloring and shading are flatter in the main story, the style is not that different. I’ve read titles where the cover appears to be from an entirely different series, and thankfully, that’s not the case here. It is nice to look at, which is a win.
I have to admit, there’s a lot about both of these characters I don’t like, but I really ended up loving Eunsung. In these stories, where both characters are meant to be unlikable in one way or another, it’s essential to still provide readers a way to connect with them. Sure, Eunsung is manipulative, a murderer, and a stalker, but he is who he presents himself to be (at least to us). We’re not given a sanitized version of him. Plus, seeing his background, with heavy neglect and abandonment from his parents, makes his decisions and choices much more understandable – not acceptable, but understandable.
However, Hyunwoo has the complete opposite effect. Although he is the victim in much of this story, being stalked and manipulated by Eunsung, he does everything he can to conceal who he truly is. When he’s with Eunsung, he pretends to be a tolerant and loving boyfriend. With others, though, he expresses his internalized homomisia, entertains relationships with women, and ultimately gaslights Eunsung when confronted. Eunsung is troubled and wrong, no doubt about it, but Hyunwoo does just as much manipulating, if not more so, of Eunsung. He pretends to be the exclusive victim when, in reality, this is a couple made up of simultaneous perpetrators and victims. It makes the entire story much more compelling and gives us someone to align ourselves with, which makes this much more enjoyable than a title with wholly unlikable characters.
Unfortunately, though, this title suffers from being far too short. With a foundation of semi-reincarnation and a twisted version of fated mates, this needed much more time to explore these elements. Well, I say ‘needed.’ Admittedly, for a 19-episode morsel, this is relatively cohesive. Some could argue that Hyunwoo’s possible cheating could have been more fleshed out and confirmed, but I think the vagueness of that enhances Eunsung’s desperation and impulsivity. What I really would have wanted was to see more cycles between these two and how they reconcile after much more violent and dramatic endings. This has a ton of potential to keep reiterating this dark fate between two very dark and broken people, and as someone who likes to bask in this darkness, I really just wanted more in the best way.
Results:
I really enjoyed this one. This is one of those titles you feel like you shouldn’t like because of how dark and depraved it is, but it’s so interesting and well-done that it’s hard not to. Is it perfect? Not at all, but it had so many interesting elements to it that I couldn’t dislike it if I tried. However, even if you like the more dark and twisted titles, this does feel a bit superficial with some aspects, such as Hyunwoo’s perceived attempts to cheat, so if you need a perfectly tied-up and resolved narrative, this will probably disappoint you. But for those who want a dark, smutty, and depraved morsel, look no further. I do recommend this one.
Have you read After Killing You? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
