복종하는 방법

BOKJONGHANEUN BANGBEOP

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
Not Available
RELEASE
January 16, 2020
CHAPTERS
42

DESCRIPTION

Jinyoo’s life is a living hell—he’s become a hermit due to an abusive father and a traumatic bullying experience. But just when he thinks life can’t get any worse, he is kidnapped by his high school classmate, Gyuh-wool, who’s developed a twisted obsession over him. Jinyoo quickly learns that there is no escape… The only way to survive is to obey Gyuh-wool’s orders.

(Source: Lehzin)

Note: Chapter count includes three side stories.

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

ushijimas
1/100
it was more than confusing. it was a mess.
**NOT SPOILER-FREE**
A slight disclaimer: it’s important (and irrelevant) to note that I’ve written and rewritten this review more than once, mostly because I found it difficult to reflect on this manhwa from an unbiased perspective. As of right now, you’re reading my ninth attempt. Because I don’t want to type the same words again for the tenth time, I’m going to skip the formalities, as there’s no use sugarcoating it: *Obey Me* is not worth your time. In fact, don’t acknowledge its existence. Don’t add it to your planning list. I respect you too much to watch you settle for anything less than decent. That’s it. That’s the review. Thank you for reading. In all seriousness, simply thinking about the fact that I actually sat down and wrote a review about this *disappointing* manhwa is enough to piss me off. I don’t think I’ve ever been visibly upset over something as insignificant as what I read on a whim a few Thursdays ago. Reading *Obey Me* made me think about murder and what it could’ve done better. With every page, I grew frustrated to the point where I was scared my bitch face would remain permanent, and I know it’s because I care too much. It’s wasted potential, and I’m angry because I really wanted to like this manhwa. Over the years, I’ve developed a love for psychological stories, so I tried to force myself to give this the benefit of the doubt and wait for the story to progress — *really* progress, not get progressively shit. In the end, I couldn’t like it. No one is surprised by this. Call me weak or dramatic, but it’s the honest truth. No matter how much I deceived myself, I couldn’t give it the appreciation I usually give to things I read. It was more than confusing. It was a mess. One of the many things you should learn to expect in *Obey Me* — if you plan on reading this, of course, which I don’t recommend doing — is the abundance of “what the fuck just happened” moments. There are also countless situations that escalate in the worst way possible in almost every chapter, most of which are unnecessary and only exist to cause drama (read: a majority of the characters). Similarly, there’s little to no character development, something I pray for and know doesn’t exist in various psychological manhwas. Another thing is the art style: I don’t have anything bad to say about this, as it’s nothing short of beautiful. Like most manhwas, there’s nothing unappealing about the way each character is drawn to the slightest detail, each pool of blood more defined than the last. It’s possibly the only thing in *Obey Me* that’s keeping me from losing it. The plot isn’t anything great, however, and that’s the third thing I want you to know. As I wrote earlier, I strongly believe it’s messy and unfinished. For context, it focuses on the relationship between Jinyoo, the protagonist, and Gyuh-wool, the deuteragonist, including why Gyuh-wool’s bullshit literally follows him everywhere. We first meet Jinyoo in the darkness of his bedroom, muttering to himself about how much he hates his father and wants to die. Already, we learn of the extent of his father’s abuse and the detrimental effects that it has on his mental health and social life. The next day, he’s kidnapped by Gyuh-wool, is forced to watch him stick his fingers up his high-school-best-friend-turned-bully’s ass and rape him, and feels aroused by it. Upon noticing this, Gyuh-wool decides to sexually assault him as well before trapping both of them inside different prison-like cells. Jinyoo encounters Hanan, and the two come up with a plan. Just kidding. Forget the plan. All Jinyoo has to do is have sex with Gyuh-wool in order to escape. That was his epiphany, and it made perfect sense to him at the time. Thus, Jinyoo and Gyuh-wool grew intimately close in this weird and violent way, having defiled my eyes and every inch of whatever they deemed “furniture”. Jinyoo wasn’t into it in the beginning because “I’m not gay”, but he found himself liking it up the ass more than he wanted to admit, so they end up fucking a lot until he finally did what he’s been meaning to do all along — no, it’s not escaping. He’s going to snoop around in Gyuh-wool’s bedroom to find out why he’s doing this to him and the others. There are two reasons. One: Jinyoo’s dad paid Gyuh-wool to kidnap Jinyoo. Two: as it turns out, Gyuh-wool is more than just a psychopath and a stalker. He was someone Jinyoo used to love in high school. They were in a serious relationship, but they had to keep it a secret due to Jinyoo’s reputation. Jinyoo has no memory of this, and we learn that it’s because he experienced two memory losses, both of which happened not even five months away from each other. So, other than being completely unrealistic, this manhwa piled on a load of drama by making Hanan the endgame love interest for Jinyoo, as though his amnesia wasn’t already turning it into a mess. Yes, in the end, the main character gets together with a character whose sole purpose for existing is to make the story even more unreasonable. For example, Hanan tells Jinyoo a story about a fox not fitting in with sheep, which is supposed to be a metaphor for Hayan wanting to wear “girly” or traditionally feminine clothing. I don’t have a problem with him crossdressing, but why is it important? To gain sympathy, I guess, because Jinyoo totally falls for it and decides it’s a great idea to fuck him in a dirty ass bathroom in a situation where both of them could literally die at any moment in the hands of an L from *Death Note* wannabe. They love each other, though, so it’s fine. Like, who cares if they don’t have chemistry? Chemistry is an abstract concept that doesn’t (and shouldn’t) belong in a manhwa with rape, kidnapping, abuse, neglect, and emotional manipulation as its focus. Look at *Killing Stalking*. As much as I hate it, I can’t deny how terribly good it is, especially for a thriller. It’s fucked up, horrifying, and I don’t want to read it again. Coincidentally, *Obey Me* serves as a recommendation for people who are interested in those kinds of things, but, if you ask me, it’s almost a crime to compare the two because *Killing Stalking* fits the psychological horror genre. *Obey Me* doesn’t. That’s all. I’m annoyed that, despite being subjected to a traumatic experience, Jinyoo is happy — *genuinely* happy, almost as though it never happened. While he ended up liking it in the end, he was still forced to do things he was uncomfortable with, and that alone should be enough cause for at least one therapy session. I’m not saying he’s not allowed to be mentally stable, nor is he allowed to return to a normal life, but can you really go back after that? Of course, I understand the essential role that therapy plays in helping overcome trauma, but it’s the way these characters are depicted when they’re supposed to be going through the healing process is what’s so irritating. An instance of this is the epilogue. Jinyoo’s best-friend-turned-bully, whom I mentioned earlier and whose name is so irrelevant that I forgot about it, was raped by Gyuh-wool and left to die. I don’t care about him because he’s homophobic, but it was still hard to watch. When Jinyoo and Hanan found him, he was in a bad state: malnourished, sleep-deprived, etc. Later, we see him at a hospital, laughing and talking to other people so casually that it makes you question whether or not he’s the same pussy from Chapter 3. The same goes for Jinyoo. He didn’t go to a hospital, but he’s living together with Hanan in an apartment. They talk about what happened to them as though they’re discussing the weather. It makes me sick. Hey, Jinyoo, did Gyuh-wool fuck you too hard on the sushi conveyor belt that it messed up your brain? Of course, I’m all for a plot with good horror and characters getting the ending they deserve, but it’s embarrassing to think that *this* is included in the psychological genre.
**TL;DR**
Don’t read *Obey Me*. Fuck your curiosity. Have a nice day.
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GiantSpider
50/100
Obey Me has all the trappings, but none of the charm
__SPOILER FREE__ or at least as best I can get it tw: there are graphic and frequent instances of suicide, self-harm, rape, psychological and physical torture, and abuse in this manhwa. I will try not to include them here, but I doubt it is completely avoidable.
I want to start this review by dispelling the belief that this is an ideal step to take for fans of Killing Stalking. It is not. For reasons that I am going to explain further, all I need to explain at this early stage is that is a similar premise that is dealt with in an entirely different way. This is a positive, placing it apart from others in this genre of dark, psychological horror manga that is seemingly gaining more prominence recently (see Painter of the Night or Hate You, Love You). However, that is where the comparison with Koogi's work ends. Bokjonghaneun Bangbeop, or Obey Me, deals with its topic in a way to shock the audience into sympathising with characters that, upon reflection, do not deserve that kindness. The plot is virtually non-existent, details changing or being forgotten in favour of upping the shock factor. Ultimately, this is a premise that has all the promise of being something truly inspiring but is being penned by an author that does not have the prowess to see it through.

First, the positives. The art style, as we have seen from plenty of digital manhwa, is impeccable. There was never a case, at least for myself, where the art style faltered. I was a bit taken aback by how every character's toes seemed to be permanently curled up, but if that is the worst aspect then I can accept it. There was also a good use of suspense, so it is not hard to understand why the author chose this genre. There were genuine moments where I found myself tensing up to prepare for the reveal of the next panel. This was more towards the middle of the plot, past the point where the reader has become desensitized to the horror element at play. How the author uses the unreliable narrator is impressive, though the realisation that there is not a reliable or trustworthy person anywhere to be found does remove the reader from feeling a connection to anyone involved. Everyone has a secret, nobody can be entirely trusted and the reader is left wondering what else is being hidden. It's an interesting concept if a bit overused at times. Apart from these things, there is little else of merit to be found here. You can be carried through a story by these two positive aspects alone, I have in the past. But there were also characters that made sense in the world.

The characters are, for lack of a better phrase, incredible one note. Any attempt at character growth, mostly done in the final chapters, frankly, is not deserved. In fact, most character development is slotted in at the end as extra chapters, almost as an afterthought by the author. Everyone serves their purpose to forward the plot onward towards a pre-determined conclusion, one that is made more obvious upon reflection. I will get into my thoughts on the plot later. However, the characters suffer the same issue that the plot faces, in that it feels like every move is intentional. This is not a negative, planning in advance is a necessity in this field. The characters just feel as though they are going through the motions, checking off objectives as they continue through the story. Side characters serve their purpose to further the journey of the main protagonist, a person that we are meant to want to survive but not once does the reader feel sorry for them. Yes, horrific things happen to everyone involved, with the main character witnessing some of the worst aspects of humanity (at least the ones that the author can imagine). But, by the finale, he does have some trauma but his solution to that is to just 'get over it'. Only he is allowed the chance to experience any form of PTSD. That itself is not handled ideally, but I almost have to appreciate the attempt at its portrayal. Nobody else is given the same treatment. One could argue that it's because he was treated the worst, but one character was starved while chained up and, at a minimum, at least three people were still kidnapped. That alone is enough to warrant a few years of therapy.

Going into depth on each character, I want to show how little care the author treated them without going into too much detail. This serves to support my argument that everyone needs therapy and nobody is safe from the dreaded one-line characterisation.
- The mother, given the least time, is the stereotypical dead mother. Just include some elements of spousal abuse and that's all you need to know.
- The father, given the second least screen time, is the equally stereotypical abusive father. He is the most one-dimensional character, never given the chance for redemption or understanding. He just exists.
- Hayan is the most hard-done to. I can't say more without spoiling her character, apart from a forced romance that is so obvious it hurts and acts almost at a disservice to the overall plot. She is a trans-woman, but is treated with little consideration and is used as a get out of jail free card for the main character being gay, even after he admits it to himself
- Sungtae get the most in terms of in-story character development. It feels tacked on, and he also appears to have the least trauma despite being kidnapped, abused, starved, and raped.
- Heyeon exists only to make the main character's story sadder. I don't know what else he could be used for, apart from as a reason to jumpstart the final act.
- Gyu-Wool, the antagonist, is so one-note it hurts. Given no in-story character development, only an extra chapter to explain how he was really a mistreated child himself and deserves sympathy. It is lazy writing and does nothing to change the reader's opinion. He is the same person throughout, changes only occurring when the author seems to have forgotten about character traits.
- Jinyoo, the main character, does have times where he grows as a person. That, however, is in vain since, by the end of chapter 6, we have already been forced to write off his character as just as deplorable as Gyu-Wool. There are times where we meant to feel bad for him, meant to understand his decisions, meant to feel something. However, this is not possible since, as I will get into, the plot is just as flawed as the characters acting it out.
Having completed this manhwa, I found myself wondering what was next. There was no clear resolution for any of the conflicts, which definitely was not helped by the cliff hanger ended that acts as a promise of a sequel. That was until the author started serialising a completely new concept. So, we are left with a universe that is littered with incomplete threads, both in terms of the characters and the plot. Plot points that are brought up early are seemingly dropped, either because they were forgotten or they just didn't fit the story the author wanted. One example is how Gyu-Wool is obsessed with cleanliness, which is brought up early and repeated in various scenes but then is dropped because he wanted to eat sushi off of Jinyoo. Another is how Gyu-Wool wants to 'save himself' for the main character (read: bottoming), the statement acting as a large beacon that this will happen later in the narrative. It doesn't. In fact, it seems to have been forgotten or dropped as a way to end the story sooner. That seems to be the overlying issue here, that the author possibly changed their mind about the length, shortened it, and then didn't alter the narrative to fit this. We are constantly teased with the number of potential kidnap victims, shown corridors of locked doors, being told that the antagonist has this great plan to get revenge on many people. This never comes to fruition. This, therefore, makes the extra chapters that go into various characters backstory even more hurtful. It could have been included more naturally, not as an afterthought.

I began this review with a note that this is not Killing Stalking. This is obvious to anyone that has read both. There are better narratives out there that can offer the same sense of dread and suspense while fulfilling any need for the more NSFW scenes. What Obey Me has in its favour it does well, but that is overshadowed by the flaws that make it a less than an enjoyable read. You are thrown headfirst into an incredibly hardcore scene, almost making me drop the manhwa entirely. As you continue on, there is little escalation since you are reminded of what you saw early on, just now it's in different scenarios. Nothing is shocking, there is no suspense from the abuse and torture scenes. They are not handled well, there is no impact from anything after the first scene. If that was entered later, it would have the same impact but make the antagonist a more villainous character while adding some much-needed depth. It feels like the author had these ideas for a hardcore story about abusive and psychologically torturing individual, but had none of the skill to write convincing or likeable characters for them to interact with. So what we have left is something that tries and fails at a genre that is getting slowly over-saturated.

The subject matter is 'in vogue' for a lot of authors, that is something I cannot deny. I am a fan of this genre, and will probably remain one long into the future. Obey Me, for all its faults, has that lasting power that will stay with some people long after finishing the final chapter. Whether that is for the best reasons is left to be seen. What I can say is that, unfortunately, this is one that will most likely be forgotten, laying on the pile of shock-inducing manhwa that is all style and none of the substance.
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