Jan 15, 2021
Note: it's been more than a year since I last published this review. I have, more or less, matured and improved my writing skill since the time of review. Any new informations that I either forgot to put in, or only thought of adding some time after the original review, will be marked with 'X'.
I got recommended this manhwa a while ago by one of my friends as an attempt to get back into reading webtoons. And...huh? The world-building and storytelling in this manhwa is very confusing and messy. I get the premise that it's trying to establish, but the execution is very poor.
...
Not to mention that it has one of the most unbearable asshole female characters I've seen in the form of Harin. The way she was portrayed in the first arc was so nonsensical I almost stopped reading. All of a sudden, one boo-hoo moment later then we're supposed to be sympathetic for her? FOH.
X: I still retain my stance on most of the things I said above. The story was very messy for the most parts, and so was the world-building. The backstories of some characters were quite illogical. The dynamic between the main and supporting characters also didn't feel natural. More importantly, tlhe point I made about Harin also still stands. Character-wise (as I viewed her as an early antagonist), she was massively overpowering the other characters (sometimes, for no reason), and that's not something you wanna do to your antagonist, unless it serves a purpose to your story, which here, it does not, since she evolved into a (supposedly) more sympathetic character. And they still fucked up on making her more sympathetic, because we as the readers weren't given any clear reasons to like Harin. So yeah, Harin was a massive lowlight in this manhwa. But the magic system also didn't help whatsoever, because if I recall, there was a technique that allowed a person to borrow another person's animal power -- a technique that can basically solve most of the problems contained in the manhwa. Plotholes are the last thing that Flow needs as the manhwa didn't have much of a strong structure as the story went on, so it didn't come as a surprise that when I notice a problem in the magic system, it hindered my reading experience quite a bit.
Despite all that, I think the manhwa redeemed itself at the VERY end by giving us a real tearjerker, when all puzzles of chaos in the manhwa are able to piece themselves together to give us a really touching ending.
X: This is a pattern I'm beginning to see more often in most manhwas. The premise is promising; the ending is coherent; but the middle story is a big bundle of mess. The way the ending of Flow turned out was honestly a miracle in itself, because before the ending, a huge fight broke out because big bro wants his friend (or sis? i forgot their relationship in this manhwa) brought back to life in another timeline. Even though it has decent actions, the fight was stupid and a waste of time, merely for the fact that if big bro actually understands how alternate universe actually works, big bro probably wouldn't even call for the fight in the first place. But anyway, the ending happened, and it was quite touching. The ending was handled well because it's obvious that the author planned it from the beginning. Shame that the same can't be said for the middle parts.
That being said: is it really worth reading the other 99 chapters? Till now, I'm still torn about it.
X: As of now, I'm leaning towards 'no'. But hey, I'd still read this than most western webtoons.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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