Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context YMMV / SuicideBoy

Go To

1* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Sana's feelings for Soorim. Does he sees him as the Big Brother he wanted his whole life or does he have a crush on him?
2* AngstAversion: While it manages to balance being completely bleak by [[ThrowTheDogABone giving Hooni enough breaks]] and make him create meaningful connections with his friends, this is still a {{Manhwa}} of a boy BornUnlucky that gets constantly bullied and keeps attempting to kill himself. With some arcs involving him being drived to really bad places that [[RealismInducedHorror a person in that situation could you except to get driven into it]], as such many understandably prefer not to read it.
3* AngstDissonance: One common criticism of the Big Brother Arc is that is a almost 15 chapters arc long focused on Sana that tries to paint him in a postive light after spending most of the {{Manhwa}} being a {{Jerkass}} ManipulativeBastard and the arc not acknowledging his jerkass aspects from previous arcs (particulary his manipulation of Hooni), as such some readers felt that [[spoiler:his comic getting cancelled]] was less of a TearJerker and more of a moment of [[CallItKarma him getting his desserts]].
4* ArcFatigue: The entire thing with [[KnightOfCerebus Yang Heemin]], he first appears at the beginning of Volumen 2 and then disappears until [[spoiler:The Streaming Arc, where he finds out Hooni is still alive]], then during the final bunch of chapters of Volumen 2 he's constantly teased but it isn't until the very ending of the last chapter [[spoiler: he finaly meets Hooni again]], then the series got hit with a 29-chapters CliffhangerWall and has gone in a SeriesHiatus since then.
5* BaseBreakingCharacter:
6** Sana is the biggest example. Readers either think he's an hilarious UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist that serves as an interesting look on the Webcomic world, are interesed in his relationship with Soorim and think his backstory makes him very sympatethic despite his more jerkass traits. Other readers find him an unlikable brat [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse that no amount of sad backstories can make him likeable]] and an insufferable AuthorAvatar whose storylines are mere metacommentary that are too on the nose and out of place in the comic. Another major point of contention with the character is the fact that his arcs would commonly have Hooni getting OutOfFocus or DemotedToExtra leading to accusations of being a SpotlightStealingSquad, There are also those readers who do like him but agree he appears too much.
7** Harim was an EnsembleDarkHorse but fall into this trope after the Boxing Arc particulary once [[spoiler: Hooni started to like her back]] in chapter 133. To a lot of readers she's a great presence in Hooni's life that helped him [[spoiler: against his bullies, interfered on his streamings to avert him from making things that make him unconfortable]] and find his crush on him adorable. Other readers took issue with her deciding [[spoiler: to change her entire life by trying to lose muscle to look less intimidating and then give up on her dream of Boxing]] for the sake of a guy she barely knows yet giving her attention and think her fixation is unhealthy and more creepy that the narrative presents it as. Other readers simply dislike her [[DieForOurShip for being a potential love interest for Hooni and not being Soorim or the Librarian]].
8* BizarroEpisode:
9** The Hoonirella arc. Basically a WhatIf WholePlotReference with Hooni as Cinderella, Soorim as the Prince and Jaehoon as the Fairy Godmother. [[spoiler: Then it suddenly becomes a fight between Jaehoon and Sana as another Fairy Godmother over who can make their job better which [[GoneHorriblyWrong accidentaly leads to Hooni being confused with a witch and almost executed.]] ]]
10** Chapter 100 and 101 had [[spoiler:Hooni becoming a woman for a day and then reverting back without explanation]] and unlike other chapters with more fantastic elements this arc is not handwaved as a WhatIf
11* BrokenBase:
12** The LighterAndSofter approach the series started getting which pretty much consolidated in the second half of Volumen 2. While some readers see it as justified given the slow but constant improvement of Hooni's life and argue that him keeping being miserable as at the start of the {{Manhwa}} would [[TooBleakStoppedCaring get boring and repetive after a while]]. Other readers however missed the edgieness of the early chapters and think having the series being much lighter took away what make the early portion of the story special. There's other fans who would argue the series still has some dark arcs and that just because things are better for Hooni doesn't necessarily mean the early edginess is gone.
13** The ArtEvolution. Some prefer the newer art style feeling it looks much better and cleaner, while other prefer the rougher and more detailed art style feeling it fits better with the series.
14** The Hooni and Harim ship. To a lot of readers is an adorable relationship between two individuals who complement each other nicely despite their respective flaws and shyness, while other readers find Harim's fixation on Hooni to be unhealthy, swallow and more creepy that the narrative presents it as and [[spoiler: found Hooni suddenly having feelings for her to be very forced]]. There are also those who liked the ship but [[spoiler: thought the way it became canon in the Boxing Arc was poorly done]].
15* CatharsisFactor: After seeing Hooni being mercilessly bullied since the beginning of the manga with him and his friends being unable to do nothing about it, [[spoiler: having [[TomBoy Harim]] find out about this and giving a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to the three bullies in Chapters 89-90 is beyond satisfying]]. It becomes a bit of a zigzagged trope however as [[spoiler: the incident ends up scaring Hooni meaning he doesn't get to enjoy it]].
16* CommonKnowledge: The already controversial Boxing Arc is sometimes asumed to be the series's GrandFinale. Park Gee has clarified multiple times that's not the case, as the series is right now in SeriesHiatus but a Volumen 3 is planned.
17* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: The Twitter arc is basically all about Hooni taking embarassing pictures of himself for a tiny bit of appreciation in Social Media, which lead to him getting distance from his friends, starting to taking more sexualized pictures and having a encounter with a creepy StalkerWithACrush. That didn't stop readers from thinking the pictures Hooni took were absolutely adorable.
18* EnsembleDarkHorse:
19** The Librarian has a fanbase for being one of the few persons in his school to actually be a kind person unconditionally towards Hooni. Even those who didn't ship them admited they would like to see her coming back.
20** Park-Taejoo, an ex-classmate of Harim that actually regretted the way he treated her and TookALevelInKindness off-screen because of it making him quite dynamic for a one-off character. Some fans even admitted to prefer him dating Harim instead of Hooni.
21* FanonDiscontinuity: Given how controversial the Big Brother Arc and the Boxing Arc are, is unsurprising some fans prefer to act like they didn't happen.
22* FanPreferredCouple: Despite [[spoiler: Hooni and Harim deciding [[MaybeEverAfterplanning to date in the future]] once he can take care of himself]] and that ship having many fans, the fandom's preferred couple remains being [[HoYay Hooni/Soorim]].
23* FetishRetardant: Given how young looking both Hooni and Sana look like, some readers can get creeped out by the instances of FanService they receive.
24* FirstInstallmentWins: Volumen 1 is the most universally beloved and praised portion of the story, Volumen 2 is well liked as well but has a bit of a BrokenBase for the LighterAndSofter second half and some of the ADayInTheLimelight arcs being more divisive and is overall considered good but not as good as the first Volumen and the less we say [[SeasonalRot about Volumen 2.5]] the better.
25* GrowingTheBeard: Is commonly agreeded that the first bunch of chapters [[TooBleakStoppedCaring are a bit too depressing]], luckily it picks up in the "Meeting of 3" two-parter where the trio of Hooni, Soorim and Jaehoon is formed and becomes more of a CerebusRollercoaster that a straight up KafkaComedy.
26* JerkassWoobie:
27** Sana is a ManipulativeBastard that pretends to be Hooni's friend just to get inspiration for his comics, has no issue with putting him in conflict with Soorim for the sake of ideas and shows a complete LackOfEmpathy to his situation. He also suffers from being LonelyAtTheTop, has being carrying with himself and his older brother (who hasn't being of any help) from way too young since [[spoiler:his father's death]] and seems to be completely clueless how to interact with people or being a kind person in general despite his attempts. Also once [[spoiler: his comic is cancelled he pretty much crosses the DespairMomentHorizon showing he has nothing on life besides his career.]]
28** Many times when Hooni sucess on something he would often get cocky or try to take advantage of the situation, like pretending Soomi is his ExtremeDoormat to impress Sana or trying to steal Harim money to himself, but given how [[BornUnlucky much he has passed throught]], you can't help but root for him anyway.
29* JustHereForGodzilla: Inverted. Some fans only care about the main trio of Hooni, Soorim and Jaehoon and would skip [[ADayInTheLimelight chapters or arcs that focus on anyone else.]]
30* LGBTFanbase: It’s not uncommon to find male fans who read the comic mostly because they find the characters attractive. The fact that the creator often includes FanService shots and even occasional Rule34 content reinforces this trend.
31* {{Moe}}: Hooni and Sana, [[spoiler: Soorim and Harim as kids also count.]]
32* MisaimedFandom: There's some fans, particulary those who aren't fond of the LighterAndSofter route the series took who wish Hooni would go back to his suicidal tendencies, either because they miss the early edginess of the story or because they found him more relatable back then. Needless to say, Hooni's suicidal tendencies were never portayed as a good thing and the point of the series is him slowly leaving them behind.
33* NeverLiveItDown: To Harim detractors, she's the one who downloaded Hooni's pics from Twitter for...[[PornStash uncertain reasons]].
34* OneTrueThreesome: More that a few fans approve of Soorim/Hooni/Harim, given both sibilings are sympathetic characters and good influences on Hooni's life.
35* SeasonalRot: Volumen 2.5 got a polarizing reception from the fanbase (besides the [[BreatherEpisode Breather Arc]] "Hoonie Is Also A Boy" which [[ActuallyPrettyFunny is considered pretty funny]]), mostly for being a 29-chapters long CliffhangerWall focused on [[ADayInTheLimelight the secondary cast]], leaving to Hooni and Soorim going OutOfFocus and Jaehoon getting DemotedToExtra. Even when taked in their own account, fans found the arcs [[{{Wangst}} too melodramatic]], [[ArcFatigue unnecessarily long]], full of OutOfCharacter moments [[labelnote:Explanation]] Sana affection to Soorim being [[BashBrothers more brotherly]] that romantic unlike what [[HomoeroticSubtext their previous encounter implied]] (and then changed back in the following arc), [[spoiler: Hooni suddenly having feelings for Harim and being completely calm in her presence immediately after]], Hooni in general was thought to be OutOfCharacter in the last two chapters [[/labelnote]] and the [[AudienceAlienatingEnding conclusion of both arcs were rather controversial]] [[labelnote:Explanation]] [[spoiler:Minhyuk being EasilyForgiven and treated as a CoolBigBro after many years of being neglectful]], [[spoiler: Hooni and Harim getting StrangledByTheRedString]] .[[/labelnote]]. The official English translations are also considered to be much worse in this point with some fans even comparing it to Google Translation.
36* ShippingBedDeath: [[spoiler: The Boxing Arc made a lot of Hooni/Harim shippers to start to dislike the pairing. Basically, the arc involves her deciding to go on an extreme diet to lose her muscles so she can look less intimidating to Hooni and then deciding to give up on her passion of boxing and turning down a golden opportunity to be in a really good school dedicated to that for the same reason, it briefly works before the ArcVillain Minseon beats up both of them and Hooni gets scared of being around her again, despite this she refuses to give up on being with him and decides to recover her muscles to face Minseon in a Tournament, invites Hooni to the event and then spends the entire tournament looking to see if he has arrived, Hooni arrives later on and has a sudden LoveEpiphany and they get a MaybeEverAfter. This ended up upseting fans of both characters. Harim's fans hated how her interest ended up feeling less like a cutesy crush like before and more like an toxic obsession with her deciding to have her life revolve around a guy she has barely interacted with and Hooni fans hated that he had to be written OutOfCharacter in the last two chapters for him to get interesed on Harim instead of developing the relationship more organically.]]
37* ShipToShipCombat: Hooni/Soorim vs. Hooni/Harim. Fans of the former ship would commonly argue the two have more chemistry and screentime and would argue Soorim likes Hooni the way he is while Harim just [[CutenessOverload thinks he's cute]]. Fans of the latter ship would argue Hooni/Soorim is more of a PlatonicLifePartners relationship and think Harim has done a lot for him ([[spoiler: defending him from his bullies]], [[spoiler: finance him anonymously throught his streaming]] ) to prove her worth as a potential love interest of Hooni.
38* StrangledByTheRedString: [[spoiler: After spending most of their screentime together with Hooni afraid of Harim and then spending at best two ocassions on calm together which were quickly overshadowed by him getting scared again after Minseon beats up both of them. Hooni suddenly comes to the realization Harim likes him and that he likes her back in less that five pages.]]
39* {{Squick}}: Soorim holding the tissues Hooni [[CaughtWithYourPantsDown used to masturbate]] and then bury his face into them to avert Jaehoon from figuring out what the tissues were really about and Hooni from embarassing himself.
40* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Hooni himself goes OutOfFocus in the last two arcs despite having very solid reasons to be more relevant in both storylines:
41** In the Big Brother Arc [[spoiler: Sana crosses the DespairMomentHorizon once his comic is cancelled and basically becomes an in-universe {{Expy}} of Hooni, you would think that they could have had a conversation to help Sana out or even have Hooni finally discovering the true intentions behind Sana's visits but this never happens and he's reserved to a brief cameo having no relevance in the arc. In general the fact that Sana's manipulation of Hooni is never acknowledged can make some of his suffering fall into deaf ears.]]
42** The Boxing Arc [[spoiler: is meant to be a RomanceArc between Hooni and Harim but they only interact for two brief instances that are mostly offscreen and then Hooni is absent for multiple chapters before he appears in the second-to last chapter to the Boxing match and suddenly decides [[StrangledByTheRedString he likes Harim all along]]. If Hooni was more of an active presence on the arc and we actually got more chapters of them interacting then it would have feeled more natural]].
43** In the Harim arcs, Soorim is OutOfFocus, despite the fact he's Harim sister and Hooni's best friend, you will think he could be a helpful ShipperOnDeck or would have an role of importance on the relationship between the two but he's mostly ignored, [[spoiler: even when he does find out he doesn't seem to have much a reaction towards it and doesn't do much beyond giving her an advice]].
44** Harim herself is often accused of this, she's a fairly interesting character herself being a boxer with a FaceOfAThug and a BullyHunter that had a lot of potential for a interesting character, but most of her screentime is dedicated [[SatelliteLoveInterest to have her gushing over how cute Hooni is]] rather that developing her own character.
45* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
46** The [[spoiler:Genderbender]] arc. It lasted merely 2 chapters and has Hooni interacting only with Soorim for the usual dosis of HoYay / ShipTease and then the situation is resolved as suddenly as it happened. One can't help but feel it would have being interesting to have more characters react to [[spoiler:the female Hooni]].
47** Considering all the extreme measures Harim takes to impress and then protect Hooni in the Boxing Arc, it could have being a perfect oportunity to give Hooni some realization on how he can't keep depending on the people around him constantly saving him and that he needs to learn to take care of himself, something that has being lampshaded by Jaehoon multiple times. But he never finds out about what Harim did and pretty much disappears of the arc halfway through it. [[spoiler: He does come to the conclusion he needs to learn to take care of himself before dating Harim but entirely off-screen]]
48** [[spoiler: Soorim's FriendlessBackground and previous status as a BullyMagnet making him quite similar to how Hooni is in the actuality is reserved to give Harim two brief YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre moments. Considering such a piece of information gives us a whole new perspective between the relationship with two of our protagonists (Hooni and Soorim) is rather odd this is reserved to be shown only how it connects with a rather secondary character like Harim]].
49* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: [[spoiler: Jung Minhyuk is revealed to have being practicing to become a competitive gamer all along and that he was actually inspired by his own little brother aspiration for comics to dedicate to his own dream, this reveal is meant to paint him as something of a CoolBigBro that Sana looked down on, but the problem is that to achieve his dream he still decided to give up on a profitable job and left his little brother to take care of everything economically and domestically while he spended all of his time practicing in a impractical dream (that is stated in-universe that if he didn't sucess at the age he was gonna debut he will inmediately be ruined), so the revelation doesn't really stop him from looking neglectful.]]
50* UnpopularPopularCharacter: Hooni who was abandoned by his father, is the ButtMonkey of his school to the point those who don't bully him find him so pathetic [[spoiler: the time he manages to make one exercise right, all of his classmates try to double it to not look lame]], only has 3 friends (one who is a FalseFriend using him to gain fame and other [[VitriolicBestBuds being unable to stand him most of the time]]) and is such a huge NervousWreck that he can barely talk with anyone else. Readers on the other hand [[TheWoobie just wanna give him a hug]].
51* {{Wangst}}:
52** A major criticism of Volumen 2.5 is that a not insignificant portion of the chapters are focused on Sana and Harim thinking about their personal issues through [[WallOfText Walls of Text]] to the point both characters can feel excessively melodramatic about their situation even if their reasons to feel sad are justified.
53** Harim in particular is acussed of this. In comparison to the most tragic backgrounds of other characters, most of her angst comes from a guy she has barely interacted with not returning her feelings, which is sympathetic but not nearly as tragic as her inner thoughts make it out to look like.
54* TheWoobie:
55** Lee. Hoon. His mother died, his father abused and abandoned him, he's in perpetual debt and sometimes doesn't even have enough money to buy himself food, is a BullyMagnet and to top it all he's a major BornUnlucky ButtMonkey. All of this has lead to him becoming a NervousWreck with constant suicidal thoughts. Is very hard not to feel sorry for the poor kid.
56** Harim is a boxer with a FaceOfAThug who has a crush with Hooni but can't help but scare him every time they interact, unsurprisingly leading to her attempts to get close to him fall flat despite her best intentions, commonly leading her to end up depressed every time her efforts fail.[[spoiler: Also because of her fondness for boxing since she was a kid she has being stigmatized her whole life for her male classmates leading her to be deeply insecure.]]

Top