About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series The Words In Your Snare.
Trigger Warning: There may be references to violence, blood, gang activity, kidnapping, child abuse, implied cheating (not between main characters), incest, drugs, drug trafficking, extortion, sexual assault, break-ins, murder, impersonating police, gossiping, death, mentions of overdose, invasion of privacy, sextortion, mentions of sex work, murder, suicide, mentions of involuntary commitment to a mental health facility, obsession, mental health issues, ableism, car accidents, xenophobia/racism, abuse, child neglect, drug addiction, drug use, child abandonment, corruption, homomisia, mentions of chronic illnesses, attraction between a student and teacher, and misuse of medication, as it appears in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Jooin is just trying to enjoy his life. He's running a little cafe in the middle of the country, enjoying spending time with the locals. But more than anything, he enjoys the words, and that doesn't mean conversation. One of the main reasons Jooin enjoys the conversation so much is because he can read minds. His ability is limited to physical words that spawn off people and linger around where they hang out. In the city, Jooin was often bombarded with negative and positive thoughts. In the rural areas, Jooin sees more positive words than any other kind, and there are fewer, making his life much more peaceful.
However, that peace is disrupted when a strange bag of coffee beans appears at his cafe. Not long after, a group of police officers and a handsome man in a suit come looking for that bag of coffee. It's an odd scenario for a random bag of coffee, but nothing is stranger than the man who, for whatever reason, doesn't give off any words at all. Jooin has never encountered anyone whose thoughts he couldn't see, but no matter how much he looks, he can't see any of his thoughts. Things only get stranger as the man returns time and time again, lingering around Jooin for a reason he can't even fathom. The man then makes a request, one that Jooin has no intention of complying with.
This stranger, Mookya, wants to date Jooin.
Thankfully, Mookya works hours away in the city, so Jooin plans to let their odd relationship fade away. But then a young man with a knife drops by, looking for drugs. Jooin can only assume that the random bag of coffee beans was actually a bag of drugs, and after subduing the young man, Jooin has no choice but to go back to the city. He ends up right back where he started, working alongside the police to read possible criminal's minds. Unlike before, though, Mookya is there, too. As Jooin spends more and more time in the city, with the gangster Mookya wooing him, Jooin feels himself softening up to the mystery man, but love can't cover up the dark feelings and thoughts lurking around the city Jooin has left behind.
Review:
Aeju's art is super recognizable, which is both good and bad. It's good in that you know what great things to expect when you see it, but it's bad in that I know what bad things to expect, too. Just like with Love Shuttle, it has that clean outline and shading of the faces with smudgy shading everywhere else. The body proportions are also all over this place. The sex scenes are painfully stiff, too, resembling dolls being posed rather than people actually doing anything. I won't say it's all bad. Their closeups are typically killer, and some moments are truly stunning (there's a panel of Eugene in the side story without the weird, smudgy body, which just makes me wonder why they use it when it looks so good without it). However, the greatest travesty of all is the use of 3D stock models. The fruit scene is painful. If you know, you know; if you don't, check out my video. I put in a screenshot of it.
The story is all over the place. I love the idea of the segmented words rather than Jooin being able to read minds fully. I think this method of mind reading makes so much more sense since I'm sure human thought is fragmented into words and phrases when we're not concentrated. I especially like that the words seem tangible and that we can leave them around like our thoughts have energy and ambiance that can alter the space we occupy. That's such an amazing concept, and I love that Jooin collects nice and pretty words. I also adore that he often messes with the words without realizing how he appears to others. It gives him a ton of believable character and provides additional reasons why he may be perceived negatively or why people might avoid him. It would also lend itself to why he wants to avoid others, though that is much more multilayered, as we learn throughout the narrative.
However, as much as I like that concept, it is overshadowed by the disjointed and seemingly rushed story. I've read some whirlwind romances where the couple is having sex within the first couple of panels. Usually, that is predicated on explaining why, like they were on the hunt for a casual hook-up or something similar. In this case, we are completely unaware of why Mookya suddenly falls in love with Jooin. It also makes no sense how Jooin initially tries to avoid Mookya's affections only to move straight to Seoul. I get him wanting to experience a relationship with someone whose mind he can't read, but closing his cafe and moving is just so out of the realm of understanding to me. The reason for Mookya's immediate love for Jooin is later explained in the epilogue. Still, while I do adore the explanation, I wish it had been integrated into the main story somewhere, as I think it would've remedied some of that rushed feel. Regardless, the story is painfully disjointed with broken crime and mystery story tethered together with smut and piles of abuse.
Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up another weird incest addition. Just like with Love Shuttle, we have a brother who is obsessed and in love with another brother. Aeju didn't write this, but you could've fooled me with this addition. It's so similar to Love Shuttle that it almost feels like a copy-paste. Jooyul is Jooin's younger brother, and Jooyul, in his desperate obsession, tries to rape Jooin but only succeeds in sexually assaulting him (though that isn't much better). I understand Jooyul and Jooin are meant to mirror their father's and uncle's relationship, which also consisted of implied romantic and obsessive feelings that were never dealt with. Jooin and Jooyul are supposed to right the wrongs of the previous generation, but even knowing all of this, I didn't hate it any less. Both mentions of obsessive incest felt completely random and out of place, and because of that, it just felt icky.
The discussion of why their father beat them is also summed up in a throwaway line of “It doesn't matter,” which sucks out all of the importance of all the abuse and trauma we are subjected to throughout the series. It makes it seem like it's just abuse for the sake of abuse, as the writer hadn't determined why their father did all that to them when he could see the words, too. If he was abusing them for the sake of rage, it doesn't make sense why he would give Jooin antipsychotics. Maybe it's the adaptation of the story that just isn't as thorough as it should be, but either way, it feels terribly disjointed with dark elements that make no sense narratively. I love dark narratives as much as the next person, but I need some purpose for it.
Results:
I have to admit it: I hated this. Rereading it for this review was painful, but I did all the same. The story was all over the place, the art isn't all that great, and it definitely doesn't align with my preferences. This is as smutty as they come, and while I didn't mention this in the main review, the addition of beads in Mookya's penis was fun. But all the smut and body mods in the world wouldn't have made me enjoy this. I am not one to police anyone's preferences for ethics or morality, but I do think it's important to share these things with those who also don't enjoy them (and also those who do). So, because of the violent incest and the needless abuse, I can't recommend this one.
Have you read The Words In Your Snare? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!