Damn, this hit all the right spots when it comes to it's themes, at least for me. Societal expectations, "rotten adults" (Persona 5 players get it), the importance of keeping your childhood innocence. Hell, even one of the best ones, anti-escapism (learning to face reality, the opposite of isekai's). While I only tipped my toes in the manhwa form of comics, it sure has quite some good ones (like Dr. Frost and Bastard (here, as far as I can remember) ). And this one earned its spot as one of my favorite manhwa's, that's for sure. What I should get out of the way at first though, the questionable decision to add a "romance" tag, since this manhwa barely has any and it's almost pointless to the plot,themes and maybe it was fine just for a character's development, but it's still not a main focus and it's not that relevant. For someone who wasn't in the mood for it while reading it, I was satisfied with what I got in terms of it's romance though. It was a short, but nice paced read that I finished in 2 or 3 hours and I believe I got plenty of value from it, judging by its length. Now on with the review itself.
Artstyle
It is almost like a manga in terms of the color palets, it's mostly in black and white, with some hints of color here and there, but it's almost inexistent, so it wasn't hard to get into it. There are also some photorealistic images used in some cases, which, while they are uncanny and goofy, were an interesting artistic decision which I welcomed with open arms, since they aren't common. There is also a case of Punpun drawing, where a character is drawn different then how he looks in reality, which you can kind of figure out when it is stated in the beginning that people around him think he is handsome. It was also a bit unexpected that this style decision was addressed latter in the story, which, if it was forshadowing, it's greatly appreciated, and if it was a last moment decision, it was still alright, since we can't know which is the case, although I feel it was the former. No complaints about the artstyle, I believe the wacky artistic decisions and even the manhwa style of panneling were fitting in context of the story, characters , dialogue and themes, since these decisions are in relation to important aspects of this manhwa's world.
Story
A girl meets a magician that makes her remember the passion that she had when she was little for magic. What stays in her way though is the fact that she is extremely poor, has debts to pay and in order to do that, she tries to mature as fast as possible in order to make a living. Then there is the magician itself who is quite a mystery, he is really eerie, especially in the beginning, and the story focuses on learning more about him, gradually replacing the eerines with humanity. The last of the main characters is long head dude, we see how he deals with the perfectionism that has he in order to please his parents and to secure his future. While it was a short story, all of them got to shine and had plenty of time for living as characters, developing and for having a satisfying end to each of their respective arcs.
Characters
Well, you have the usual nice but timid girl that doesn't socialise, but not for some unfounded reason, as it so often happens in other cases, but because she is focused on academic performance in order to secure a good and safe future and to make money, seeing as she really is in need of it in order to live with her younger sister. What was to be appreciated is that, while she isn't really talkative, she still didn't seem to have any problems communicating with the other 2 main characters, so it looks more like a choice to focus on other aspects of life rather than her being socially awkward. Her goals were also well established, earning money even if she has to sell her dignity and pride, she chooses to sacrifice her innocence, time, money, youth, joviality for her sister, and to a lesser extent, also for her. There is also an interesting conflict between her desire to become more mature (so the aspects I just talked about) and the rekindling of her childhood dream to become a magician with the help of her new magician friend, highlighting the importance of finding and keeping your "inner child", as some psychologists may put it. While I am not a big fan of anime girls and maybe even some manga girls due to the way they are portrayed, usually pretty one or two dimensional and by representing the usual stereotypes, this one is a good addition in my small collection of enjoyable and respectable characters with whom I can empathize, that I can understand and care about, because she is portrayed in a humane way.
Then there is the magician. While, at first, even his existence can be doubted, seeing as how strange of a presence he has, he gradually becomes more humane as we see more of his interactions with other characters, hints of a past, rumors and even flaws. While the main girl tries to get away from her childhood and become an adult, the magician instead tries to avoid adult responsibilities and remain a child. What makes her change is the influence of the magician, while what makes him change is the current and past problems that come back to ruin the bubble that he lives in, as an adult that can play all day with magic like a kid, both of them ending up supporting and helping each other grow and face reality, where the anti-escapism aspects come to light. His character development was something that I wasn't really expecting, I thought he would be more like a plot device that helps the main girl change for the better, but he became a character in his own right. Not only I didn't expect it, but the direction his character went in was also quite unique, especially in execution. All in all, a very satisfying and intriguing character, the only personal problem that I have with him is the ambiguity when it comes to the existence of his powers, although the answer probably can be brought down to "it doesn't matter" because it doesn't matter if the power exists or not, only that it captures the innocence and gullibility of children, which we should also accept in our own lives, in a healthy amount. Despite that, I would have enjoyed a clearer ending to him, but that's just my opinion, I still greatly appreciate his character though and this doesn't take it away from him.
And the last main character, long head dude. Not gonna lie, at first, I thought he was a secondary character and perhaps that was how it was made to look because we still had to be introduced to the other main characters I just talked about, but it was still necessary to establish him as a character and it was a good choice to connect him mainly to our main character, but to then differentiate them in the second half of the story, because we get to learn about both of them by using their interactions, efficiently using the little time that the story has to establish 2/3 main characters with ease and with creating an interesting dynamic between the two, since they both strive for academic perfectionism, yet they come from different worlds (the protag is poor, while he comes from a rich family). He goes through quite the internal conflict and changes, which, once again, while they were not expected to this extent, they were well executed; he had the time to establish himself and to be made understood in the first half, so when the story starts to focus on him more, you begin to empathize with his struggles even more and want to see how he deals with them. It takes a bit for him to really shine and show his true potential, but when that time comes, I believe he shines the brightest and by the end of it, I love his character (and character development) the most. And that ain't easy with an already great duo of MC's and themes that they represent, but it all comes down to taste and personal experience/values. Long head is used to highlight the youth who try to find their real self in a world that already has plans for them and has to become what's expected from them without question, like slaves.
Can't complain here. All 3 of them are focused character with their distinct personalities, traits, values, morals, backgrounds, problems, doubts, dreams and thematic relevance. While they may all seem different, what all of them have in common is their perspective as to what being an adult means and how they should become one, so the author clearly knew what he was doing in term of the direction of the character development. The fact that all 3 of the main characters shine in their own rights and the appreciation of their character writing all comes down to personal taste and how close you can relate to any of the themes is quite impressive and takes a high level of skill to accomplish in such a short time (in terms of the manhwa's length) with this good of an execution.
Themes
"Keeping your childhood dream" (or rather, your childhood self, to some extent). While the story focuses on the dreams aspects of childhood, the message in itself is about not forsaking your immaturity, innocence and playfulness, for the sake of some emotionally detached maturity that focuses on rationality, logic, income and societal status. This theme works very well in societies where maturity at any cost is the main focus of the respective population, since their own humanity is stolen from them and is replaced with slavery to money, society and government. I guess you could say that this is the case everywhere, only to to different degrees, so it's a universally important and relatable theme. To be of note here is also the traumatized children (both the real children and adults who still carry their traumas) that believe they need to become more mature, to stop expressing their emotions, that they aren't natural or needed. I guess you could say that for these kinds of people, this is the only way they learn how to survive and I can't take it from them. But what should be taken into consideration is that the lack of balance between maturity and childlike traits, going in either extremes, isn't something we should live with and simply accept. As someone who's seen and been on both sides, being a child forever just makes it harder to face hardships that are everpresent these days, with the societal and academic expectations that constantly rise and being all mature and detached from emotions can only take you so far before breaking down, and even if you can live with that, it's still a sad life not much worth living, whether these people can see it or not. Although, in the end, I guess it's not really a choice, it's just something that happens, so can't blame anyone for the type of life they live. Despite all that, first, there were feelings, then there were words and thoughts, so no matter how much people try to ignore their childlike traits, behavior and feelings, they are still alive and part of them. And this manhwa shows how abandoning your childhood dream only leads to misery, as can be seen by the protagonist's father, but also the girl herself, and I believe it was beautifully and realistically portrayed in this case. On the opposite spectrum, we can see how living in a constant childlike state can be a sign of immaturity and incapacity of growing up,which leads to the dangers of these dreams as portrayed with the help of the magician, who is incapable of adapting to society and instead runs from his responsibilities in order to pursue his childhood dream. He helps balance the way the theme is shown by not overromanticizing it, but showing both sides of the argument, which leads to a realistic depiction of what living with and without important aspects of your childhood lead to. So yea, the takeaway here is that, while you should still grow up, have some responsibilities, and try to adapt to society, you should still try to keep a part of your childhood alive, in some contexts, since not only it is something natural for us, to a certain extent, but it's a show of maturity in it's own right, since not everyone can easily balance a life where he can behave both like an adult and like a child, depending on the context that they are in and this manhwa shows both perspectives in a simple but believable way (whether it's effective all depends on your personal experience, so I can't guarantee it).
Since I was just talking about the magician, I also have to bring up the "anti-escapism" aspects of his character arc. While he wants to stay and act like a child forever, reality catches up to him, leading to his own conflict, which I believe is really easy to predict in terms of the direction his character takes, without the particular details regarding his life. Still, it's highly appreciated to see a story that doesn't go for the whole "this world sucks, let's go to a fantasy one" trope, but instead shows you how 3 characters try to become stable adults that try to face their realities that aren't by any means easy, fair and enjoyable quite often. I won't go in the direction of "escapism is bad", seeing as, even if everyone indulges in some sort of escapism in it's life, including myself, it is still a way to relax from all the negativity and shitty life circumstances that we have to grow up in and live. What I will argue about, though, is the importance of having more stories that encourage self-reflection, making your life better and taking it in your own hands, seeing as what usually gets adapted into anime is escapism stories. Having more motivating, but realistic stories will probably never be too many or get too old. Escapism can be good, but anti-escapism is the best (especially when it comes to the themes it can tackle).
"Rotten adults" (or if you prefer a fancier and more boring way of describing this theme, "the societal and academic expectations that adults (parents) put on their children). As I previously mentioned, this is shown with the help of long neck dude whose parents put pressure on him to earn perfect scores in all exams. Just like irl, in some places more or less, there is always pressure from the adults to "become someone”, to have a good paid job, to be an adapted member of society (slave) and to always follow what others deem "good” for you, instead of listening to your own feelings, instincts and thoughts (which, to be fair, with how traumatized people are these days, it's probably for the better). Despite all that, some people, once they find themselves interested in their own independence, self-discovery and the truth, it's pretty hard (if not almost impossible) to stop this process, which inevitably make you question your decisions, your family, friends, adults in general, your future and the path that you should follow. And, of course, this story shows how choosing to live free from the chains that adults put around your neck is better than living like a dog of society, even if the path will have it's own hardships, it's still better to be free and struggle than to be an obedient slave. If you are familiar with this theme and how it usually plays out in anime/manga/games, this isn't an exception, but it's executed nicely and it's definitely welcome, as long as the author understands it and how to execute it in a story format (which he does).
While I mainly have only good things to say about the themes, my main gripe with them is that they don't have enough complexity and longevity, seeing as the story doesn't have a lot of chapters and I believe it's a shame, because the themes and characters have a lot of potential and can only benefit from having more time to be developed and highlighted.
Conclusion
There ain't anything left to say, it was a very short, but focused manhwa that knew what it wanted to do from the beginning and executed it to a high degree in the small amount of time that it had. Seeing as my reviews are actually quite long, compared to what I usually see on this site, I should probably end this by thanking everyone that reads until the end, even if you do or don't like what I write (or myself and my taste, seeing as some people probably hate me only because of that). Still, I appreciate it and thank you for reading until the end.
