Asshole Thinks He’s Getting Revenge, but He’s Not
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Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series Love Me Again.
Content Warning: There may be references to memory loss, mentions of car accident, lack of proper medical care, self-deprecation, gun violence in the context of acting, blood, mentions of murder, gossiping, suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, mentions of suicide, sexual assault, dubcon, noncon, ableism, confinement, manipulation, misuse of medication, PTSD, chronic illness, death, violence, child abandonment, self harm, mentions of sex work (sex in exchange for favors), strained familial relationships, obsession, child abuse, child neglect, child labor (in the form of child acting), disordered eating, overwork, toxic work environments, nepotism, mentions of drug addiction, mentions of drug use, power imbalance, slut-shaming, nonconsenting porn, excessive drinking, mentions of domestic abuse, mentions of sexual assault of a child, mentions of gambling, BDSM (forced), classism, social gap, bullying, implied pedophilia/statutory rape, and blackmail, as they do appear in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Wooju is out in the countryside, but not by choice. After a horrendous accident, he is left with chronic issues, including memory loss, and in order to protect him, his mother moved him back to his hometown, where he resides. His existence is constant pain, and he’s plagued by this nagging feeling that he’s missing important parts of himself. However, though he is back in his hometown, the parts of his memory he’s missing aren’t from here. He longs to find them again, but he’s certain he’ll never get the opportunity while confined out in the countryside.
That is, until famous actor Youngwon suddenly appears before him.
Youngwon acts like he knows Wooju, and though Wooju doesn’t immediately recognize him, he feels that they knew each other to some extent. Desperate to find himself through Youngwon, Wooju clings to him. But as they spend time together, things that seem impossible begin to surface. For one, it appears that Wooju and Youngwon were in a romantic relationship, and secondly, Wooju was a very talented actor. It all feels so out of the realm of possibility, but deep down, Wooju knows it’s all true.
While Wooju is distracted by this new, yet old romance, and the unearthed dream of acting, Youngwon’s purpose for suddenly appearing becomes more and more apparent – and it’s not as innocent as he makes it seem.
Review:
The art in this is very clean. Admittedly, upon first viewing the cover art, it reminded me of RISA LISA. But it, thankfully, is nothing like that within the series itself. It’s not perfectly consistent, as some poses do look a bit stiff, and when facing forward, they are on the square side, but it’s overall very clean, which is always a plus. However, as much as I like the art, the lip shading can be a bit weird sometimes. Wooju has some big, juicy lips, and the way they are shaded makes the bottom lip look like a sausage. Delicious? Maybe. Hilarious? Most definitely. As usual, the art improves as it progresses, but the lips stay looking weird. Also, here be yaoi hands. You have been warned.
With the art out of the way, let’s talk about one of the most frustrating parts of this series: Youngwon. It’s made clear that Wooju has zero memories of the past. None. Absolutely none. Yet, throughout the series, Youngwon is constantly punishing Wooju for things he doesn’t remember, and pushes him as if he’s lying about forgetting everything. These two have clearly been through some traumatic stuff together and apart, so trust is tenous at best, but it’s frustrating how Youngwon doesn’t trust Wooju’s diagnosis despite seeing all of the medical issues he has. He also goes out of his way to make things more difficult, refusing to talk to Wooju or listen to him when he wants to talk, resulting in Wooju ending up in dangerous situations. This story is full of self-harm in various forms, and Youngwon loves to self-harm in every way possible – direct or indirectly.
This raises an interesting question: if someone has forgotten who they were before, should they still be held accountable for their crimes? Wooju is essentially an entirely new person, having forgotten all of the “cruel” things he did to become the monster Youngwon perceives him to be. While I do feel for Youngwon, as he had no idea what was going on with Wooju and was hurting on all fronts, the Wooju he meets is 100% innocent. Wooju was innocent regardless, but the Wooju he found again was not the same one that he felt harmed him. Yet, I still feel that if Wooju had actually done something wrong, Youngwon would be deserving of some kind of retribution. It’s a very interesting puzzle.
Before I finish this up, I do think it’s important to mention that this series undergoes a significant tonal shift. There are hints that Youngwon has nefarious goals in the beginning, but where season one is mostly fluffy and mysterious, season two is chock-full of rape, violence, confinement, etc. It’s a huge shift from the tone of the first season, which I think is partly due to the chaotic pacing of the first season. It tries to rush us through all the relationship building and manipulation on Youngwon’s side so we can get to Youngwon carting Wooju away to the city, where all the terror can start. It needed more time for that gradual shift to happen, but since we didn’t have that time, it felt a bit like a punch in the gut. I love dark series, but I love sensible transitions and narratives more. So, don’t let the sweet, loving panels at the beginning fool you; the content warnings are real.
Results:
This was interesting. I hated the pacing of season one, I disliked Youngwon as a character, but I loved the darker side of everything. Season two was much more compelling, but it was a bit of a slog due to the constant misunderstandings and cruelty from Youngwon’s side. Yet, some of the best parts come from there. If I could delete or extend the first season and cull down some of Youngwon’s shittiness, I think this would actually be a favorite. But that is like 75% of the work, so… yeah. This one is rough. Read at your own risk.
Have you read Love Me Again? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
