80s Style and 80s Bigotry
About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series Anemone Theater.
Content Warning: There may be references to strained familial relationship, chronic pain, homomisia, bullying, hazing, classism, social gap, gossiping, blackmail, exhibitionism, abuse, noncon, dubcon, overuse of medication, hallucinations, excessive drinking, police, protests, violence, riots, sexual assault, sextortion, nepotism, cheating (in reference to academics and relationships), death, mentions of stalking, sexism (including toxic masculinity), manipulation, peer pressure, self-deprecation, disownment, homelessness, assault, blood, murder, possessiveness, BDSM, domestic violence, child abuse, slut-shaming, mentions of sex work, overwork, car accident, drugging, human trafficking, theft, confinement, kidnapping, mentions of suicide, corruption, arranged marriage (not between the main couple), and bribes, as they do appear in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Sungho has to be perfect. He’s at the top of his department. When he’s not in class, he’s studying for class, and even when there is a break, he’s reading ahead for when classes start again. His life is diligent and rigid, but it’s equally lonely. But loneliness is a worthy sacrifice for perfection. Why is Sungho so determined to reach perfection? His father. Due to his inferiority complex, Sungho’s father will accept nothing less than perfection from his son. Sungho’s failures would reflect on his father, and his father refuses to let that happen.
So, Sungho works and works. But his neverending struggle to reach the top and stay there leads to painful and debilitating headaches. No matter how much medication he takes, nothing helps the pain, and it’s starting to hurt his performance. Desperate for any relief, Sungho ends up taking so much medication that he hallucinates. These hallucinations result in a run-in with a stranger named Duk-gwang. Duk-gwang tries to help Sungho and takes him back to his house. As the effects of the medication wanes, the pain becomes unbearable once again.
Sungho is frantic. As a last-ditch effort, he tries to introduce some new stimulation and hopefully stave off the pain. What is this new stimulation? A heated kiss with Duk-gwang that then leads to something much more… stimulating. Sungho now has his cure, but is he willing to keep taking part in these activities to achieve his goal?
Review:
Sometimes, the art in this hits hard – and I mean hard. But other times, the art is so round and cartoony that it puts me off. The art isn’t perfect. The story can be dramatic, and the very round and cartoony style can detract from the emotional scenes. Plus, we get some crazy big shoulders for some reason. But then there are stunning panels. But most importantly, Duk-gwang is such a babe. He has beefy pecs, fluffy hair that makes him look like a puppy, and he’s an artist. He’s truly my knight in shining armor atop a… motorcycle. However, he does fall victim to the art style. I know you’ve heard of Yaoi hands, but how about Yaoi shoulders? Duk-gwang has a wall of shoulders.
Similar to how the art flip flops between stunning and inconsistent art, the story seems to eventually do the same. To start, let’s talk about the good. The core conflict in this narrative is the expectation Sungho has to live with because of his father. His father has an unyielding inferiority complex that he’s hoping to cure through his son’s success. But, of course, no matter what Sungho does, he can’t meet his father’s expectations. Even the school Sungho attends is subpar. Though, I find it hilarious that his dad puts down the school when he’s a professor there. What does it say about him working at a subpar school? This is a neverending problem that is never really fixed in any significant way, as Sungho simply hides his life away from him in the end. That is pretty frustrating, though there is some reprieve when Sungho yells at him over the phone in the side stories, but that’s really it.
But this poisonous relationship between father and son leads to one of the most powerful revelations I’ve seen in manhwa. Specifically, the realization that love and fear can feel the same. The plot line this manifests from is a halfhearted love triangle with Joon. Joon plays this sweet and doting sunbae, though it becomes clear he has much crueler and darker intentions. They’re hardly ever romantic together, so it’s hard to say they ever had a relationship. But what this weak relationship leads to is Sungho realizing the heart-racing feelings he had for Joon when they first met were not from attraction as he had assumed, but fear, the same way he feels when he is in the presence of his father. I love this comparison because it calls back to why Sungho might feel so compelled to follow his father. As cruel and horrible as his father is, he is still his father. There’s an instinctual and primal love there, just as there is a reflexive fear. It makes total sense why Sungho might confuse fear and love, as these are the same emotions he holds for his father – love and fear. It gives me chills just recalling the scene where he realizes this. It makes the Joon romance so worth it.
Now, I was all about this story until the third season. From there, it becomes a rushed mess. It’s like 3 or 4 separate arcs were all shoved together to make one, so by the time I reached the end, I had whiplash. After the Joon story is concluded, in a pretty anticlimactic way, Duk-gwang suddenly disappears, only to reappear on an island. I hoped his father sent Duk-gwang away so his son wouldn’t be distracted. That would align with the core issue Sungho has, his relationship with his father, and it would give Sungho the chance to finally fight his father, but no. Of course, Sungho was being threatened, along with Duk-gwang, so Duk-gwang was compelled to leave. It leads to the horrible “pretending to hate you to protect you” thing, which is resolved almost instantly. It was such a short, painful bit that it doesn’t even feel worthwhile because it ends in an episode or two. It’s unnecessary drama that could’ve been better served to resolve Sungho’s relationship with his dad. I know this was meant to finally conclude Duk-gwang’s storyline of being a suspected murderer, but even that subplot felt needless to me. I think Joon outing Duk-gwang (and Sungho) would’ve been plenty to establish that he is an evil asshole, and then we could skip the island arc or at least utilize it for something better, like the father issue. I hated this season so much.
Results:
This was unexpectedly mid. I’d heard many good things about it, and I was looking forward to reading it. I wouldn’t say it’s terrible, but it’s not great, either. There are many amazing moments, but there are just as many poor ones, if not more. Plus, the main issue at hand, Sungho’s relationship with his father, is never resolved in any meaningful way. So, in the end, it feels unfinished. I love Duk-gwang, and there is lots of yummy smut with him, but smut can’t always save a story.
Have you read Anemone Theater? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!