Blooming Sequence

Do you ever feel that yuri/GL as a genre doesn't take itself seriously enough, especially in Korean webtoons? Usually a GL series consists of a couple schoolgirls living in a blissful, bubbly world where love is love and nobody's ever bothered to worry about the concept of sexual orientation. The characters get into an alternating series of cute and melodramatic moments for our entertainment, a confession in the final chapter wraps up the series, and we all go back to the depressingly-less-cute real world. But Blooming Sequence isn't like that. It's a rare example of a yuri series with adult characters living in a realistic worldwho actually bother to communicate with each other. That's right, no dozens of awkward misunderstandings that could be solved with 2 sentences, no pages and pages of "will they or won't they?" before a rushed finale, no magical world where sexual minorities are just accepted by society. Our main characters Seowoo and Hayoung are intuitive, reasonable human beings, acutely aware of each other and able to reasonably interpret each others' feelings. They are aware of the heterosexist nature of the world around them, they are aware of their own sexual orientation and the consequences of it in their society. To me, that alone makes this series something special. But realism is not all it has to offer. All characters in this series are deeply flawed, each dealing with their own personal deficits and difficult pasts. The plot itself is about the characters, especially the main couple, overcoming their pasts and growing as individuals and it's handled excellently. Seowoo's lack of self-confidence and inability to push for what she really wants, Hayoung's difficulty opening up to and trusting others, both of these problems play into each other and the resulting character growth leaves us with a beautiful but mature relationship that is engaging to the reader. This coupled with the fact that the art is above average in quality for a webtoon with lovely character designs and style means I definitely recommend it and give it an 8/10.

Besides the romance between the two protagonists (which is cute), Yi Hwa is definitely the best character in this manhwa. She’s deep, complex, strong yet sensitive, with a really compelling backstory. For me, her character development is even stronger than Seowoo’s and Hayong’s. The art is beautiful and very easy to follow — I ended up binging the whole thing in just three days. Seowoo is not really my type, and sometimes her sensitivity felt almost childlike when she was being romantic, which got a bit irritating for me (though that’s more about my taste than an actual flaw in the writing). Yi Hwa, on the otherhand, is totally my type. I guess I like characters who feel like hot peppers — warm, intense, and a little burning. Another thing I really appreciated was how the cinema club added to the atmosphere. It even gave me some indirect contributions to my movie watchlist, which I loved. Now I want a cinema club too 😭 And honestly, I wish we had seen more of Ga Eun’s side romance, because it felt like it had potential. Overall, I’d rate it an 8/10. Sometimes the pacing slowed down, even while things were happening, but it was still a very engaging and enjoyable read.