Man Wakes Up Missing His Memories and a Foot
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Synopsis
Review
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Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series Legroom.
Content Warning: There may be references to confinement, amputation, kidnapping, memory loss, violence, dubcon, suicidal ideation, blood, depictions of cannibalism, death, manipulation, mentions of cheating (not between the main couple), experience gap, zombies, gun violence, attempted murder, murder, attempted cannibalism, gore, religion, animal death, child abandonment, age gap, depression, nonconsensual sex work (sex in exchange for survival), PTSD, gang rape, brain injury, theft, torture, arson, gossiping, and bombs, as they do appear in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Song Gitae has woken up, and he is missing more than just his memory. The last thing he remembers is fighting with his boyfriend and getting grabbed from behind, but then everything else is missing. Beyond that, all he has is the sterile white room he doesn’t recognize, and the strange man who comes to feed him. The other thing he’s missing, though? His foot. Somewhere along the way, his foot was removed with surgical precision, and he is pretty sure it was done by the strange man taking care of him.
Why?
Gitae can only guess that it is because this man wants to keep him from running away. Well, Gitae has no intention of being a prisoner, and he’s willing to do anything to escape. But what Gitae has forgotten is that the outside world isn’t as welcoming or safe as he remembers. Perhaps the man wasn’t trying to keep Gitae in, but keep something else out.
Review:
I would say that the cover art for this one does not do the series itself justice. The art in the series isn’t perfect by any means, but it is so expressive and vibrant. The coloring is certainly on the cooler side, which I think is very fitting for the dark and desolate story, and I much prefer cool tones as it is, but the story is so much more exciting and interesting than what I think the cover conveys. I especially adore the character designs, as I think they line up with the characters’ personalities perfectly. We’ll get more in-depth later on the review, but just know that I love this art style.
Story-wise, this starts off like it’s going to be May Belongs to Me if the top actually went through with his body mod plans. However, it is very, very different in the best way. Admittedly, I bought this series on a whim. I wanted something short, smutty, and dark, which this seemed to be. And it certainly is. However, what I wasn’t expecting was the intense emotion and heartrending romance that followed. Considering how short this is, it could have easily been packed with smut, left with little to no content, much less romance, and concluded with a bleak, forever-prisoner-esque story or a kinky, mind-break style ending. It sets up that way, for sure, but it ends up twisting the entire thing around and creating something amazing.
What begins as a story that sets up as a potential stalker and his victim story transitions into a love-at-first-sight dystopian love story. When Gitae finally escapes, we learn that zombies have overrun the world, and much of what Gitae had forgotten was due to the trauma he experienced while surviving for nine years. So, nine years of memories were blocked out, and Jihun turns out to be a savior rather than a kidnapper. I adored this twist. But what I love even more is that they didn’t run away from Jihun being creepy. He remains strange and unnerving in several ways, aspects that we don’t delve into in-depth until the side stories. I would usually complain about integral elements being relegated to extras, but I loved them so much, I honestly didn’t care. It is worth noting that Jihun is very childlike, which would usually disturb me, but the reason why is understandable and makes it less creepy. It’s still creepy, but in a much sadder way than what you might feel initially.
But maybe more satisfying than everything else is the ending. I have recently read a bunch of titles that I found interesting or really nice, only for them to miss the landing. This absolutely sticks it. We get age progression, which is always fun. I love seeing how Gitae and Jihun have changed alongside the world in this dystopia. However, the final timeskip, where the world has become completely devoid of humans and zombies alike, presents the POV of a game camera nearing the end of its functional lifespan. We then see the final humans surviving out in nature: Gitae and Jihun. The loss of all human life is sad, but knowing that Gitae and Jihun are safe and able to thrive in their isolation together is so beautiful that I can’t even call it bittersweet. It’s such a soft and peaceful ending for such a violent and dark story, and I love it for that. It’s the ultimate pay-off.
Results:
I love this. I love this so much that I’m close to saying I adore it. It’s so succinct, yet still packs in so much meaning, romance, lust, and much more. This is a masterclass in short-form comic storytelling. For a random, mindless purchase, I couldn’t have won more with this one. If you like darker stories, this is a huge win, and I can’t recommend it enough. This is no doubt a favorite of mine.
Have you read Legroom? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
