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67
8
Finished
Mar 3, 2016 to Mar 22, 2019
6.9/10
Average Review Score
60%
Recommend It
20
Reviews Worldwide
[Spoiler Warning] There seems to be some tension about the merit of Killing Stalking due to a toxic fanbase and relatively questionable content, so there are a few things that should be made clear right off the bat: Killing Stalking is NOT a Romance. Yes, the series centers around a pairing is gay. Yes, it is sexually explicit. But it is NOT cute. It is NOT hot. It is not about the romance, if you can even consider it that. What it IS is a Psychological Thriller manhwa that truly excels in every category, and Iâll be addressing some of the discourse surrounding it first. Yaoi is avery loaded genre in terms of both content and fanbaseâThere are some (a lot) of BL (short for boyâs love, i.e. everything male x male no matter how explicit or not explicit the content) that are extremely fetishizing and problematic, perpetuating a âfemale fantasyâ of what gay relationships are like with tropes such as rape and pedophilia. A good portion of the fanbase would also consider themselves diehard fujoshis/yaoi fans (fujoshis literally meaning rotten girl, as in âI'm rotten for reading about gay relationshipsâ which isnât homophobic at all of course) that glorify such tropes and deny any criticism that comes their way. This portion of the fanbase also tends to be the loudest and most unapologetic, which is why theyâre looked down upon by non-BL readers as they should be. However, many non-BL readers then go to label all BL and BL readers according to these trends because these trends are the most âloudestâ (cringey and vocal fujoshis, notorious rape and pedophilia yaoi series). Do you see where this is going? So now we have Killing Stalking, a twisted story about two mentally unstable people in an incredibly toxic and unhealthy relationship, and those two people are male. So not only is it now labeled as a Yaoi and inheriting all the stereotypes that come with that genre, but itâs also now inherited a fanbase that definitely has a few crazies that will see that relationship as hot. And so then non-BL readers have this opinion, or at the very least a preconception, about what Killing Stalking is: a gay torture porn that is the epitome of fucked up yaoi. Just to be clear, the blame doesnât fall just on the crazy fujoshis. If you have a Thriller with straight, ânormalâ romance itâs still a Thriller. If you have a Thriller with gay romance, like Killing Stalking itâs suddenly become Yaoi. When series have gay (particularly male x male) relationships, that series will suddenly get the âGay label.â Itâll be placed on a special Gay bookshelf where all the other books with The Gay are placed. Even if there is a substantial amount of gay content (like with Killing Stalking), the main genre is far overshadowed by the fact that itâs Gay. With Killing Stalking, I imagine that a lot of people see the Yaoi tag and automatically turn away, or are at least somewhat deterred. Then they hear about or see the violence/abuse/psychological aspect and they tie the two together and think, âoh, so itâs weird gay torture porn,â whereas if the couple was straight it would just be âan abusive relationship.â To reiterate what I said before, Killing Stalking is first and foremost a Psychological Thriller. The story centers around Yoon Bum, a loner with attachment issues, who falls in love with Oh Sangwoo, a popular, charismatic, attractive guy that he finds out is also secretly a serial murderer (you learn all this in the prologue and first chapters donât worry). For some reason Sangwoo decides to spare his life after Bum confesses to him and thus an incredibly complex relationship/character dynamic ensues and evolves. There is gore, sex, murder, and some fucked up themes surrounding all of those. I don't want to reveal too much because the reveals are worth experiencing, but does get a little heavy at times, but if you can handle it then itâs definitely worth the read. The characters, their development, and their relationship are for sure the winning point of Killing Stalking. I donât think Iâve ever seen it as well done as in KS. Koogi does a masterful job in this aspect in multiple ways: first, both Bum and Sangwoo have extreme emotional depth, the complexity of which is slowly revealed throughout the story. While Bum seems like and is a quiet, socially anxious stalker and Sangwoo seems like and is a manipulative psychopath/sociopath, the degree to which these characterizations are true and how they change throughout the story as the two characters interact and develop is the most interesting part. From the first several chapters, we already learn that Sangwoo has several sides to his personality and is able to project and manipulate a certain image of himself based on his audience. This leads to a variety of questions: which Sangwoo is the âtrueâ Sangwoo, what triggers him to act a certain way/shift personalities, do more sides exist, why all these different sides of him exist, and how they originate. At the same time, we begin to see how these sides of him change and develop as other characters and events impact his psyche. With Bum, our understanding of him is totally different. The story is told mainly from his point of view and so the reader is let in on his thoughts and feelings from the start. However, as the story progresses, the reader learns that what Bum hides from the readers and consequently, himself, reveals just as much about him as what we are otherwise shown and told. This also means that one of the driving forces of Bumâs character development is how he changes and evolves, whereas with Sangwoo, the focus is primarily on unearthing his already existing complexity. These two different modes of character development are a testament to Koogiâs ability to create characters that arenât just interesting and complex, but also complex in different ways. This leads into the second thing Koogi does really well in terms of characters, which is the execution of their development. More specifically, Koogi is a master of storytelling, subtlety, and a slow, bit-by-bit reveal that isnât too vague nor too explicit. Especially in the second half of the series, each new chapter begins to feel like an additional puzzle piece in the larger puzzle that is what the hell is going on. The foreshadowing is also very well done. This is particularly true for Sangwooâs past, which becomes more complicated than anyone couldâve imagined at the beginning. There are definitely a lot of âwoahâ and âoh shitâ moments throughout the story that are credited to the way Koogi is able to build suspense and execute reveals. Playing into that is the way the charactersâ relationships reveal more about each character while simultaneously flowing completely naturally. Nothing feels forced and everything slots together truly like a puzzle, creating a seamless and immersive experience. Even the sexually explicit scenes have a purpose and are rarely just for the sake of appealing to fans. Another thing that makes KS so seamless is how interconnected the plot is with the characters. Plot events happen because it makes sense for the characters. Itâs as if the characters are deciding the plot, which is how it is in real life and how it should be in non-fantasy, real-world manhwa. The suspense and story are especially gripping because Sangwooâs mysteriousness and mental state make him unpredictable and able to take the story anywhere. This is established from an early point onward and keeps the story from falling into cliches. The plot never gets boring for the majority of the story. However, because of the focus on the characters, the last third-ish of Killing Stalking ends up becoming not as plot driven as some other Thriller/Horror series near the middle and end. This isnât necessarily a good or bad thing and is pretty expected given the large psychological aspect of KS. There are also some times when the plot does slow down a little. It usually makes sense later on in establishing a certain image/mood, but can feel flat in the moment. The art is stellar. The style is pleasing while avoiding same face syndrome and the color palette nicely complements the mood of the manhwa. Art plays a large part in the quality of storytelling through things such as perspective, angles, and progression of panels, and itâs safe to say both are top notch. I will say that it does get explicit, both with sex and with gore. Itâs definitely not the worst Iâve seen and itâs artfully done so that itâs not âdepictions and close ups of gore/sex for the sake of gore/sex.â Finally, I highly HIGHLY suggest you read the chapter reddit threads for the later chapters when it becomes more subtle and confusing. I only did it from chapter 55/67 onward and a few random chapters before then that I was confused about. This is because sometimes you might miss out on crucial foreshadowing and they usually pick up on it in those threads. People also have some interesting theories and predictions that enhance the experience a lot, given that so much is left to be implied/not explicit until much later. Go onto reddit.com/r/killingstalking and search âchapter ##â and youâll get the discussion thread for each chapter when that chapter was released. There most usually wonât be spoilers because future chapters havenât been released yet at the time the thread is made. TL;DR: Do NOT read this if: - Youâre here for the Yaoi/a âdark but cuteâ romance. Sorry but the only ships you should shipping are Yoonbum x Therapy and Sangwoo x Prison. If you ultimately think the main pairing is cute or hot you need to stop fetishizing gay couples and you probably also some need help. - You canât handle gore, murder, physical and psychological abuse DO read this for: - The best characters + character development Iâve ever seen, hands down - Unique, suspenseful story that avoids cliches - Amazing storytelling through pacing, foreshadowing, etc - Amazing art Even if youâre deterred by the Yaoi tag, give it a shot. Itâs not a Yaoi with Psychological Thriller aspects, itâs a Psychological Thriller with Yaoi aspects. Read the chapter discussion threads on Reddit. *******Also! if you do plan on reading it, here are some things to think about/watch out for while reading: - Placement and types of injuries (won't be hard to miss) - Clothing (won't be hard to miss) - Who has power, and what actions or objects show that (becomes very interesting near the end) - Significance of the different floors of the house (interesting to think about)
Yoon Bum is a broken, beaten, and scarred human being, whose mental instability and loneliness have led him to unhealthy outlets for his pent up emotions. With his weakened mind, Bum has found solace in watching his handsome classmate Oh Sangwoo; Bum's love runs so deep, in fact, that he has begun stalking him. While creeping in Sangwoo's house one day, Bum makes a horrifying discoveryâa torture chamber and a naked young woman tied up, gagged, and pleading for help. The life of this woman is doomed, and Bum cannot escape either, as he is soon discovered. His eyes sickening and crazed, Sangwoo takes Bum as his newest pet and victim. What awaits the mentally tortured Bum is a world of physical mutilation, toxic dependence, and abuse masquerading as so-called love. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Beware of Spoilers. I'm not into Yaoi, needless to say, i know it wasn't for me. But I was interested. After reading it, it's not something I would consider "Yaoi" in any way. It's a Psychological Thriller, much Abuse and Toxic Stuff. It seemed the whole time like the Author tried to do something, but all I could catch were Cliche troupes. Yoon Bum-Chapter 1 literally shows a flashback of him being almost raped in military, he's underweight, he's lonely, he's mentally ill, he's hurt, he's traumatized and that stays for the rest of the Manwha. He got abused by everyone, his parents died when he waslittle, his uncle abused him physically, sexually and mentally, he never had friends and was bullied, it got revealed later that he was actually raped in military several times and Sangwoo does all of that stuff combined to him and even worse. It's like the Author wants you to pity him and I guess it worked because his life is literally hell and makes Guts(Berserk)'s past look nice. No idea if the car hit him in the end or not, either way, its just tragic. Oh Sangwoo-A Sociopath. A Serial Killer. A Abuser. A Rapist. A Narcissist. Everything that would make you hate someone. Many, including me despise him. So he's hated, right? Right? Well, not quite. Unfortunately somehow, his crazy fans love him. Had a off-screen death and got away quite easily for what he's done to so many people.(Karma Houdini). I expected him to be finally caught and rot in jail. Yang Seungbae-Had more potential. No idea how his past even was, that, or it was so unimportant that I already forgot about it. Only character in the police who knew how Sangwoo already is. Unfortunately for him, everyone other than him over there is quite dumb that it makes me even wonder how they've gotten their jobs. Seungbae also had many moments where he acted dumb. I guess I'm happy that it ended got for him? Art was alright, had many disturbing scenes where I had to look away(Poor Bum). So yeah, quite an experience, but not something I would want to read again. Kinda overrated imo.
First things first, I found out about it per edits which completely gives this a different representation. SPOILERS WARNING! I was already genuinely disgusted after Chapter 2 by anyone who would still ship this after finding out who Sangwoo really is. So we find out that Sangwoo is a Serial Killer who beats women and kills them after torturing them. Bum, the MC, gets his legs broken by Sangwoo and goes through hell during the story. Yoonbum: Suffers from PTSD, Borderline Personality Disorder and then Stockholm Syndrome because of Sangwoo. Textbook victim, doesn't mean that the Author did a bad job with him, the way he acts and reactsmakes sense and although Bum isn't fully innocent, he doesn't want to harm anyone and is really just a sad, severely traumatized individual. He is 28 or 29, but looks and acts way younger due to the abuse he endured while growing up, getting starved by his uncle, he literally looks as if he just entered middle school, loves frogs, and is very naive. His BPD causes him to obsess once he gets affection for one since he never received affection from anyone due to his parents dying when he was a baby and his beyond horrible uncle abusing him+getting bullied in school and also abused in military. Bum is in the Grey Zone, but he is in any way not a bad, or evil individual as he didn't even want to kill his uncle during the story when Sangwoo brought him to Bum. His fate his unknown as far as I know, but I wish he survives and gets the help he needed for so long. Sangwoo: Textbook Serial Killer with Mother Issues. Very unlikable, Narcissists are already unlikable to me but he's also abusive, homophobic, homicidal and a Serial Killer and Rapist. I feel like most of his fans only like him because of his appearance as they already did so before his past was revealed. His past didn't explain much nor did it justify his behavior. Got what he deserved, although I'm one of these people who think that vile criminals like him should just get thrown in prison and rot instead of dying and get the easy way out. Seungbae(?): The cop. He didn't have as much appearance in the story as Yoonbum or Sangwoo, but I really liked him as he only wanted to bring justice to the world, arresting Sangwoo who murdered so many people. He had kind of a depressing turn in the beginning of S3 which is understandable, but then fortunately came back to finally end Sangwoo and save Yoonbum. Season 1 was how it should've stayed the whole time. I did not like Season 2 and 3. Season 1 had mindfuckery going on the whole time, Bum was trying to escape, Sangwoo was the scary antagonist, Seungbae tried his best to catch proofs to arrest Sangwoo. But then...it just kind of dragged out? And that for too long which I just didn't like. The fanbase is HORRIBLE. Ya'll really gonna hate on Yoonbums uncle (Trust me, I do hate him too), but then like or justify Sangwoo who is worse and ship him with Bum, WHO gets abused and raped by Sangwoo as well? It's so hypocritical. But a fanbase shouldn't make the actual source material worse, so this was just a extra point.
*Review contains spoilers* I was dared to read this as a joke. The only time I have ever seen this manga before reading it was from the fanbase, which is awful. This is NOT a yaoi by any means and should not be romanticized like it is. The only thing I really enjoyed while reading this was the art. There's a lot of care and detail put into each panel and I can appreciate the work put into it. However, this manga was awful to read. I found myself hating every single character, including the protagonist. Many times I burst out laughing due to how awkward, bad andunnatural some of the dialogue is. The s/x scenes are hell to sit through and there are way too many, considering how toxic the relationship is. This is a manga I loved to hate. This will probably be another series that becomes a joke to me and my friends. Not once while reading did I enjoy the story or characters, in fact I found myself counting down each chapter until it was over. Would I recommend this to someone who is a fan of psychological thrillers and is looking for a good read? Absolutely not. Would I recommend this to someone who is looking to feel wildly uncomfortable? Absolutely.
In general what is considered bad is the construction of the characters going on for a reason, the manga is good for a 14 year old girl who supports rape but has a great development, everything generated well but besides the bad ending, the story didn't makes a lot of sense. the art is beautiful with very few mistakes that you canât even tell if theyâre mistakes or purposeful design. I had a great use of the manga, but even so I was not touched by the story. For those who started in this manga world, it may seem to be VERY GOOD WOW but the story ingeneral is pretty bad compared to everything else the author had done. The characters have a good story in general, but as it is done, it is very poorly done and could be better worked but in general 6/10 due to the bad story.