A Guideverse, Time-Traveling Story That Makes No Sense
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Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series Guiding Light.
Content Warning: There may be references to violence, dehumanization, memory loss, death, suicide, implied rape, blood, murder, manipulation, experience gap (due to memory loss), dubcon, drugging, animal abuse, animal death, self-harm, sexual assault, gossiping, forced blood play, hacking, mentions of war, nepotism, child abandonment, child death, mind washing, corruption, self-deprecation, kidnapping, human experimentation, and eugenics, as they do appear in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Seoyoung has woken up in the rubble of a ruined world. He has no memories beyond someone calling out to him, and from that, he at least knows his name. Otherwise, he is entirely alone and lost. As he meanders through the broken streets and buildings, he encounters strange, small creatures, and is about to assume he is the last human survivor when he sees a large fire suddenly appear. He takes off towards it, unsure of what he is going to find. Unfortunately, it turns out to be just a fire, but it is a sign of humanity.
So, he stays there.
After a short nap, he wakes up again, and this time, he meets a man. The man seems to recognize him, but Seoyoung has no recollection of him. The man’s name is Younghyun, and he has the power to manifest fire. Seoyoung feels drawn to this stranger, and he might be the key to recovering his memories. But Younghyun is unwilling to talk to him about anything. However, he is more than willing to do some other things with Seoyoung, and Seoyoung is all too willing to reciprocate.
Review:
When I saw this finally show up as complete on Lezhin, I jumped at the chance to read it. Clarju is one that I felt had a ton of potential, but they only ever had one title licensed in English, so Siren’s Song is the entirety of what I knew them for. I will say, art-wise, they have really grown. They still suffer from the big-bobblehead proportions issue, and some panels look a bit goofy, but overall, their style is much cleaner. If you liked the art in Siren’s Song, I think you will be even more pleased with the art here, which is a win. Unfortunately, there aren’t a ton of wins, but at least the art is one.
Now on to the story. This is one of the most convoluted, nonsensical narratives I’ve experienced. In the beginning, it makes sense. We are experiencing everything from Seoyoung’s point of view. He has no memories and has woken up in a world of ruin. That feeling of confusion is to be expected at this point. However, midway through? Clarity is still near-zero on my end. At the end? No difference. If you are hoping for a well-crafted narrative, you are in the wrong place.
Now, you may be saying to yourselves, “Surely it can’t be that bad.” Let me detail some of the reasons it is that bad. For one, there is an antagonist character named Yeonsung. Every few chapters, he talks with another character named Green. Those two are constantly talking about the world, the past, other characters, their plans, etc. We never see any of these things. We just see the conversations about them. Almost all of the major worldbuilding is relegated to these conversations, including some high-level, technical discussions that might’ve made more sense visually. This is a visual medium. Why not just show me the things? Even if these characters narrated it, or if it was framed through their conversation, but no. We just read their conversation and are left to imagine.
There are also multiple instances during these conversations where Yeonsung suddenly admits to having new powers. He just manifests them out of nowhere, presumably to further the tension and story. It feels like a desperate grasping at straws rather than a true reveal. There is also a huge amount of weight put on this major antagonist, who finally wakes up at the very end, kidnaps Seoyoung, then just disappears after a self-sacrifice from Yeonsung that we don’t actually get to see. There is zero payoff from any of the esper fights and all of the scheming, making it all needless and more nonsensical than it already was. Add in the half-hearted explanations of backstories, time warps, and glimpses into an esper x esper relationship that was 1,000 times more interesting than the main story, and this is just a waste of time. This title mimics many elements of Siren’s Song, such as the innocent, childlike bottom who is controlled and tossed around like a popular toy before finding his own voice, and a cold top who has to learn to trust and communicate, but without the charm. There is some beautiful symbolism regarding the sun and such, but that is a drop of water in a desert – it isn’t a relief, but a prolonged torture.
Results:
Admittedly, I was a bit harsh. But the bar was pretty high on this one. It was a new Clarju title, a creator I had been very interested in seeing more from for a long time. Also, it is guideverse, a relatively less popular verse usually relegated to AU side stories in other titles, if represented at all. This was a story told through conversations, rather than shown to us, and a bum rush of nonsensical flashbacks at the end that were more superficial than helpful, in a shell of a story. Is there a ton of smut? Yes. But there is also a ton of nonsense, and for that reason, I would never recommend this one.
Have you read Guiding Light? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
