To Be an Actor

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8.7/10

In the simplest way I can put it, "Be The Actor" has been the most heartfelt story I have read to date. There have been many times when I’ve cried reading a manga/manwha/manhua but never in successive arcs. This, though it may not be my preference of story, made me tear up so often that I was blaming invisible onion ninjas.

The plot itself is so immersive and well-paced, so my tears are not for naught — Each character is well written and developed throughout their arc, and no character feels disposable and used for plot convenience’s sake. To add to this, the main character ... is extremely likable due to his redemptive qualities: In his previous life, he was the scum of the scum, but with a second opportunity he fixed all his mistakes in a non-forced manner.

As I’ve read the growth of the main character, in age and personality, a strong attachment is formed, almost like I know him personally. Thus, I want nothing but the best for him and experience happiness for his success. In other words, the characters and pacing of this manwha has been done well; however, there are some issues with the engagement in the later chapters, as there are some stagnant plot points for the sake of it, losing some interest in the next coming chapters.

Truly, this story has one of the best writings in manwha history. Even if you don’t like slice of life/non-action stories, I would give it a shot—that is how good it is.

Reading Rankings (Portnoy inspired & A Huang Teizan Original)
10 – God’s penmanship
9 – Must-read. Drop everything else.
8 – Instant bookmark
7 – Entertaining
6 – Good to pass time
5 – Why are you reading this?
4 – Bad.
3 – Typical garbage.
2 – My head hurts.
1 – Retirement is a thought.
0 – “Did they even give you a story?!”

"To Be an Actor" is a delightful webtoon that offers a captivating glimpse into the world of Korean entertainment. The story follows a talented young actor as he navigates the challenges and triumphs of his budding career. With its engaging plot and well-developed characters, the series shines in its depiction of the protagonist's growth and relationships. The manhwa expertly showcases the intricacies of acting, providing readers with a unique behind-the-scenes look at the industry. While the pacing occasionally feels rushed, the heart of the story lies in its exploration of dedication, passion, and the pursuit of dreams. Overall, "To Be an Actor" is a charming ... and inspiring read that will appeal to fans of slice-of-life stories and anyone curious about the entertainment world.

Self indulgent and uninspiring, that's the words I'd use to describe this manhwa.

The author gives off a vibe of being completely clueless about any topic they write about. All of season 1 felt like a waste of time, as outside of cheap plays on emotion, the author could not for the life of theirs write anything even remotely close to a good depiction of acting. Whenever there is any acting being done, it feels like we're reading the aftermath of a scene, rather than the process of creating one.

That's a symptom of another problem, though, which is that the main character is simply too ... perfect. Everything he does is simply flawless and without mistakes, which is the aforementioned self indulgence that this manhwa suffers from. Him being too perfect means there is no room for error and thus, no introspection, or any kind of analysis of what a good scene should look like, how and why the characters should act a certain way, etc. and worst of all, no room for growth, as there is nothing for the main character to grow from.

All the characters have a degree of personality, but it always feels like it acts as a tactic to elevate the main character even higher up. Even if another character gets more screen time, it gives off the feeling that it's very filler like, or if the character gets their own mini arc/backstory, it always comes off as very barren and stripped off any purpose and lacking any detail. Usually in a story, when the focus is switched to another character facing an issue, it serves as a learning lesson for the main character and/or as an introduction of a new key character, but if the main character is perfect, it only ends up as a waste of time as we neither get the payoff of the main character growing as a person, nor do we get a new character introduced into the main cast, as the characters in this manhwa come and go and usually never come back and if they do come back, they do so for a few short scenes at most.

Even recurring characters such as the girl actress who acted with Jang in that one movie at the start, even though she's one of the recurring characters, she barely gets any screen time, and except for one or two times, it is inconsequential to the overarching plot. Obviously, whenever she does something even remotely important for the plot like forgetting her lines during a play, it's to once again show how perfect Jang Youngkuk, the main character is, when he decides to enter the stage and ad lib to cover for her mistake.

On a scale of 1 to 10, this series deserves no more than a 4. The author is wasting their potential away, as there are flashes of good writing in their work, but they are way out of their depth with a story about acting, as they are extremely uninformed in the topic and anything that gets explained in the story shows a very surface level understanding of acting and the industry as a whole.