It was okay. I think the ending was definitely rushed, that's the biggest consensus. Not sure what happened to the author, but I think they had to axe the manhwa, which is disappointing because this was a legitimately really good manhwa. One of my all-time favorites because of the intense character and relationship explorations.
What I liked:
- Stawberry looks much stronger and much more confident. Her hair is really pretty, too.
- Walnut remains the same, unchanged and happy. He was my favorite of manhwa, though Cherry, because of her humor, and Strawberry, because of her beautiful character development, are closing in on him.
- Stawberry and Walnut are still dating! That is amazing. I didn't like how the author had to include random misunderstandings to liven up the drama, but I'm glad that it led to a discussion about the toxicity of Strawberry's past relationship. I'm surprised people in this thread really liked Darin and Strawberry together, I thought it was obvious that they were an ill-matched couple that deceived each other multiple times. Darin was a toxic source that fed off this delusional version of Strawberry because he's a weak, fragile character that constantly needs a "someone." Besides that, Strawberry really did not like Darin, and it was emphasized several times that she loved Walnut.
- Same humor. The bits where Walnut and Strawberry were talking about their future was really cute and funny.
What I didn't like:
- It feels like such a copout that Darin just left the school. It's both out-of-character for him and detrimental to his character development. He was supposed to change from a stalker ex-boyfriend to a better man by learning to deal with Strawberry, but he just leaves out of nowhere. That bothered me, especially since we don't really see what happened to him in those two years, except that he became a model. He doesn't seem like he's changed much, but he seems freer and happier, which I guess is a bonus.
- The wasted potential between a developing relationship with Pear and Darin. I thought it was obvious that Pear had a crush on Darin. Comforting him all the time, helping him "get" Strawberry, and sacrificing his future on a whim for Darin. Pear even seems to have lingering feelings at the end, if the way he looked at Darin was any confirmation. I think the author really could've developed a romantic relationship, or at least discussed Pear's complicated feelings towards Darin. It was heavily implied by the author a few chapters ago that Pear was holding onto a delusion of Darin, similar to what Darin was doing to Strawberry. Yet there was no "ending" or confrontation for Pear regarding his feelings for Darin/Cherry.
- Side characters are left out of the equation. I want to know what happened to Sage, most of all. She reminded me a lot of Darin, and when she was so upset that he left, we never saw what happened after the time skip. Did she change? Did she drop out? We see the real Cherry and Cinna for a little bit, but not much else. I'd love to know how their lives when. It was implied at times that Cinna might have feelings for Cherry, but he had a girlfriend, so I'm not really sure where that came in.
Overall, the manga is definitely a rocky 7/10. While it has some severe faults with pacing, unnecessary melodrama, and a rushed ending, I really, really loved the discussion on relationships and character explorations. The author's smart commentary and character developments were really well done enough to shine through the shoujo manhwa foil. |