기물들의 세계

GIMULDEURUI SEGYE

MANGA

STATUS
RELEASING
VOLUMES
Not Available
RELEASE
Invalid Date
CHAPTERS
Not Available

DESCRIPTION

As a male prostitute in the slums, Je-oh is at the bottom of the social hierarchy. A pawn among pawns. Sure, he's tried to break away, but each attempt has only left him with more wounds. Until one day, he gets rescued...by a serial killer who kidnaps him along with his pimp. The killer, Seong-rok, is on a mission for his lover, a former prostitute plotting to turn the tables. Why he rescued Je-oh is unclear, but a slick-talking manwhore was definitely not part of anyone's plan. Regardless, Je-oh is no ordinary pawn. Now that he has entered the game, he will use every trick up his sleeve—or in his pants—to get revenge.

(Source: Lezhin US)

CAST

Je-Oh Lee
Seong-Rok Do
Hui-Seong Jeon
Hyeon-U Kang

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

Julyfire
20/100
A Watered-Down Knockoff of "Killing Stalking"
CAUTION: REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

"Killing Stalking" was the first psychological, thriller genre BL webtoon that I've read. I was rather late to the party, only discovering it when it was nearly halfway finished. Now that it's long been completed, fans eagerly await the next entry to the tiny category it has trailblazed for the BL niche. While that webtoon won't be appreciated by quite a lot of people due to its dark and problematic themes, it definitely has earned itself a cult following, and thus, there have been a small trickle of new webtoons emerging in this similar vein of storytelling. However, so far, I have not found a proper successor among those that have come forward to vie for its throne and topple it, not that people haven't valiantly tried to, of course.

When people write a psychological BL nowadays, it will be sure that someone will naturally bring up "Killing Stalking" as a comparison, because that webtoon was the one who practically and successfully pioneered the genre to popular new heights. Even when the webtoon in question bears no similarity to "Killing Stalking," other than sharing the same genre, it will unfortunately be compared to it, since many readers will have either heard of it or read it already themselves, so it's a easy point of reference. That might seem unfair to some people, because it would mean that the new work won't be able to shine on its own merits, putting the artist's hard work to waste, et cetera et cetera. I don't see it that way. If the new webtoon has its own drive and potential for greatness, it will undoubtedly stand on its own, comparison be damned. Many works are inspired by the works that come before it. It's inevitable that someone will compare something to something else they've already read, seen, or heard. This world is a constant fluid exchange of ideas, and imagination is drawn from what you've known and experienced; it's not an enclosed, sealed bubble with zero net flow in and out.

What is not fair, however, is when fans label something as "Killing Stalking 2.0" or some other such nonsense, which I've been seeing increasingly nowadays. What gives you the right to call something the next (and implied to be, better) version of something? Only the authors can make a 2.0 of their own work, it cannot just be decided by the readers willy-nilly what the successor of a work they haven't put any effort into is. That's insulting to both the author of the original work, and the author of the new one. So please, stop. It's okay to draw comparisons and parallels, but it's absolutely not acceptable to call things a new version of something older, just because they're similar.

With all that out of the way, "The Pawn's Revenge" is clearly a wannabe "Killing Stalking". It's very obvious from the character designs and the way the art style tries to imitate its predecessor. Even the color palette used to fill the tones for the characters and the backgrounds are similar, although the former favors a greyer and more drab coloring for the walls and floors of the house, while the latter opts for a warmer shade of brown and yellow. The art is quite good overall, and succeeds in creating a suffocating environment appropriate for this genre. It's leaps and bounds above "Behind the Desks," which is the author's debut work, so it's great to see them developing and flexing their artistic muscles here. The smut scenes are still no good though, and I'd rather they not be included, at least at this point in the story at eight chapters in.

While the characters in "The Pawn's Revenge" may look like the protagonists of "Killing Stalking" from which they were copied from (or at least, heavily inspired by), their personalities are completely different, and sadly, not for the better. The main character Je-oh is a male prostitute who follows all the trite stereotypes of the typical prostitute character -- he's always either horny, selfish, depressed, or acting melodramatic. He has no actual brains outside of constantly trying to get into his kidnapper's pants, which is beyond disgusting in the manner it is portrayed. Some people have called him smart, but he is anything but that. Sure, he's manipulative, but it helps that everyone else is willing to be manipulated by him because they're idiots, or they turn the other cheek. He acts weak, but not a single person believes he is. That's when you know you've failed to be "intelligent," when other characters don't buy your lame scaredy-cat act. It comes off as unlikeable and repulsive, especially when he does a 180° to climb on top of the guy he wants to have sex with, and goad him on. So far, he has zero redeeming qualities, and that's not all that's wrong with his conceptualization.

The entire "I like to watch my goldfish die from neglect" segment was so over-the-top, and unnecessary. I honestly didn't know what the author was aiming for when they decided to bring out his personality in this manner. It's not exactly morbid enough, so I don't see him as a disturbed individual. I say this because if he were to have psychopathic tendencies, he'd want to actively kill the goldfish. But no, it seems the metaphor is supposed to be a heavy-handed reference to his own life, as he thinks to himself later, saying he'd rather be broken out of the filthy tank and gasp a few breaths of fresh air before succumbing to his death. He must not know any biology, since fish breathe with their gills and can't gasp anything from air, because their gills will soon collapse once out of water. As his goldfish is already near death at that point, I'm sure it will die from shock rather than be able to enjoy any sort of freedom from being let out of its death trap.

Other than that ridiculous goldfish analogy, there isn't much in ways of Je-oh's character. Are we supposed to feel sympathy for him? Or hate him? Who knows? We're told that he became a prostitute to earn money to pay off his dead father's debts, and to provide himself with a roof over his head. It's not like he dislikes being a prostitute, either. He seems rather apathetic about the whole thing. One of the key things to get right is to have the reader understand why the main character acts the way he does, so we can see how he changes as he goes from Point A to Point B. We need to get inside his mind a little bit, to understand his motivation and goals. After several chapters, I have no clue what Je-oh wants. The only time he's visibly happy is when things don't go according to the plan laid out by his brothel managers, like when his escort is killed, or when he is abducted along with the guy who was having sex with him. Does he crave freedom? It doesn't look like it. He's living an aimless life, chained by his boredom while desiring for something different, but not actively seeking it out for himself. He just waits for someone else to come along to break him out of his self-constricted monotonous lifestyle, but even then, he doesn't develop any other plan for what to do next. He has no strong emotions towards anything in particular, besides lust, and that's just not enough for his character to work, which is why the first couple of chapters don't grip the reader in any way.

The kidnapper, Seong-rok, who is supposed to be the sadistic killer in this story is just as weakly written, he plays along with Je-oh's whims almost 90% of the time, just stopping short of having penetrative sex with him, because he is in love with a third character, a shady woman who also used to be a prostitute. Even though he's annoyed with Je-oh coming onto him with all his prostitute charms (or lack thereof), he doesn't really push him away, and indulges him, even. Isn't it far too early on for this to happen? He didn't even intend to kidnap Je-oh in the first place, so why would he keep him there? He should have either killed him or gotten rid of him in some other manner to prevent his crime from being discovered, not let him sleep with him on the same freaking bed. That's utterly nonsensical and ridiculous. Actually, why is his real target, the blond man who was having sex with Je-oh, even still alive right now? He should be dead too, given how easily Seong-rok killed Je-oh's escort.

So it's plain to see the similarities between "The Pawn's Revenge" and "Killing Stalking," because these two use the same set-up of the characters' situations to force a relationship to develop between the main characters. I haven't read any other psychological BL which emulates "Killing Stalking" to this degree, but who knows if it was intentional or coincidental? You can be the judge. However, either way, "The Pawn's Revenge" just does everything worse. We have the sad, misfit, weak-looking protagonist who's strongly attracted to the handsome killer, who keeps them confined in their house, to prevent them from escaping and revealing their terrible secret. In both cases, the two protagonists are mostly content with their unexpectedly being taken hostage, but in "Killing Stalking," it's because the main character has been in love with the killer for a very long time, while in here, Je-oh just wants some sexy times, which is overall a weaker motive, and not all that sympathetic. He's not exactly mistreated, but it is bound to happen, since this seems to be gearing up for a typical Stockholm Syndrome romance that's overused in dark BL. And in both stories, the killer character is arguably straight, while the protagonist is undeniably gay, and the story will strive to force the two together so that the straight-type man will turn gay for the protagonist in due time. Whether that is done masterfully or not will depend on the skill of the author.

The BL elements aside, the most creative thread of plot in this webtoon would be the third major character, the former prostitute lady Hee-seong, who controls Seong-rok, although it's not exactly clear what the nature of their relationship is at the moment. She calls herself a pawn, but in reality, I would say she's a chess master using Seong-rok as a pawn to capture the opponent's pieces, no? She seems to be the most intelligent out of the three main characters so far, easily avoiding the police investigator's interrogation, and turning the questioning back onto him. It's unlikely she'll be anything other than a villain however, since I feel like she will end up discarding her pawns once she no longer has any use for them, which is unfortunate. As this is a BL after all, the female characters can't take the spotlight. Which is why the BL genre is a double-edged sword. Your best (and the star) characters will only be the guys, and never the girls, and it's limiting its potential by that alone. I don't forsee this to be a new sort trendsetting webtoon which breaks the barriers of BL, because there's no sign of any proper story development other than the typical making-two-guys-do-sexual-things-with-each-other AKA yaoi fanservice, and the two male main characters are unbearably dull and uninspired.

The overall presentation of "The Pawn's Revenge" had potential but it just didn't deliver. The rushed introduction of all these characters are a mess, with many of them looking quite similar to each other, and they're all abhorrent people without a speck of humanity, so I don't care if they just all dropped dead, much less develop feelings for one another, which it is bound to lead to, since it's a BL. But hey, what can you expect from the creator of "Behind the Desks", which was equally shitty, but in the complete opposite direction? Yes, here we have an edgy pretend-psychological piece, while the former work was a fluffy puppy-love with zero conflict that made my brains melt trying to finish it. Well, let's see if the author has any new tricks this time around. I won't hold my breath, though.

Overall Breakdown:
Characters: 1/10
Story: 1/10
Art: 7/10
Lore/Worldbuilding: 0/10
Enjoyment: 1/10
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Levente
50/100
The Pawn's Whole Bunch of Nothingness
No spoilers ver
I remember the first time I read the first chapter of this series. Our main character, Je-Oh, being absolutely fed up with his life, waits to be liberated from his current situation. When Seong-Rok, the male lead, killed one of the man who made Je-Oh miserable, Je-Oh said, "It's a God." That was one of the memorable moments in this series, yes that happened in the first chapter and that's one of the most memorable moment in this series. Just to show how uneventful this series is.

One of the reason I read this series is the "It's a God" line by Je-Oh referring to Seong-Rok. Like, wow he's going to be absolutely devoted to this murderer and reveres him as a God, but what happens? He just treats Seong-Rok like another person. Where's the devotion? Where's the obsession? Seems like as soon as he meets him, he doesn't consider him a god anymore. So, if you're intrigued by how Je-Oh and Seong-Rok's relationship will blossom because of this line, then stop reading because the dialouge is absolutely wasted and doesn't add anything to the series.

Spoilers ver
So what happens after that is that Seong-Rok kidnapped Je-Oh because he wants to get back at the woman he's in love with. And Je-Oh seduces Seong-Rok to fuck him for whatever reason. Sorry it's so short because really, that's what happened.

Je-Oh
Gosh. This guy. This guy just watches stuff happens. He doesn't work towards his revenge. Does he even want revenge? No? Then what does he want? What will he do? Nothing, absolutely nothing.
He kills his goldfish because he can't be bothered to take care of them, and he imagines killing people to cope. Then he says he wants to break free from his tankfish and have a breath of fresh air before immediately dying, and that is exactly what he is doing: having a breath of fresh air and absolutely nothing else, it's like he's just awaiting death so he can fulfill his goldfish fantasy.
Now you may ask, "but he imagines killing people. surely, that must means something." No. He's not killing anyone (not yet anyways considering it's only at S1, giving the benefit of the doubt here, but damn it sure is taking him forever to even IMAGINE killing people after he was '''saved'''). It's almost like he already forgot about the people who made his life miserable, which is good for him but do something please. Anyways, it seems like he's pretty content with his life as a kidnapped man, as long as Seong-Rok have sex with him, ah but when it turns out Seong-Rok has a woman, he gets jealous lol sure. All in all, this guy is literally worse than Cinderella. At least Cinderella wishes to escape her situation and actively works towards it.

Seong-Rok
Je-Oh's kidnapper. He's not even supposed to kidnap Je-Oh but did it anyways which I at first thought is out of pity, because we learn that Seong-Rok is in love with Hui-Seong who was in a similar situation as Je-Oh. It seems here that he's killing people for Hui-Seong but he's starting to doubt her, but is it really enough for him to fuck another person? Well, I guess it is seeing that he just accepts Je-Oh in his bed. And he started thinking of Je-Oh when Hui-Seong came over to give him a little treat god its so funny. This guy doesn't really leave a big impression on me like he's really just there.
Later, Je-Oh said Seong-Rok keeps him as some sort of insurance in case Hui-Seong threw him away after using him. Not exactly sure how Je-Oh can help him but yeah let's go with that (no matter how I look at it, Je-Oh is just a liability really). Kidnapping Je-Oh isn't even a calculated move, I mean, unless it is? It's not like he reveals anything to us so maybe he is doing something behind the scene. He did look into Je-Oh so maybe he knows Je-Oh knows some secret top information stuff. God what if the series is about his revenge afterall? I'd look like a fucking idiot.

Hui-Seong
Hui-Seong! Our fan-favourite (just kidding I dont know)! She's also a prostitute from the same brothel as Jeo-Oh and the woman who's playing Seong-Rok like a flute, taking advantage of his love for her. She's the one who is actually doing something in this damn series, exacting revenge on the people who made her a prostitute. I think it would be more interesting if she's the main character (and the title would actually fits).

Conclusion
The Pawn in "The Pawn's Revenge" refer to Hui-Seong because she's a pawn in the grand scale of things, but Seong-Rok is a pawn in her revenge, and Je-Oh is a speck of dust he dragged along the board. I have a feeling with the way this series is going, it seems like Je-Oh is going to exact revenge not on the brothel, but on something else (new chara? Seong-Rok? Hui-Seong?). I give this series a 5/10 which means 'boring' in my rating system. There's honestly nothing to hate because nothing actually make a huge impression on me. To be fair though, the series is only in its first season, who knows how it will develop. Maybe Je-Oh will stop being a goldfish, we'll see (not me though I'm dropping this series).
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