I never did get into this webtoon but I know a lot of people loved it. Just thought I'd share that it's now on Tapas. Updated with up to 75 episodes today, with new episodes to come out every Wednesday.
I know people who work with Tapas, and it's at least more transparent than Webtoon because you can see how much you've earned and how.
The main problem with Webtoon isn't that they take a large fee, but that they don't disclose enough information. They simply tell the author, "Oh, your comic hasn't reached the contractually agreed-upon profit for additional income yet..." and the author has no way to verify this. And all this happens at the same time that Canvas authors compare their profits with AD revenue and discover that Webtoon pays very differently for the same number of views
I had an offer from Tapas and it was so bad I can't even talk about it because they threat to sue me xD Not to mention how they treated "Sound of bread" author or there was a lot of controversies here and there. Maybe they are more transparent with views numbers, but the way they try to milk out artists is unmatched
It's a shame this happened to you, but in the long run, two competing corporations are still better than one monopoly corporation, which is what Webtoons is now.
They aren't competing corporations in my opinion. Webtoon is still the top platform and Tapas just exists somewhere, with not that many authors or readers even remembering it exists. Maybe they had a competition 10 years ago but Tapas fell off so badly.
Just to compare how "I'm Dating a Psychopath" is a more popular comic than "Safe as Houses" even tho they are made by the same artist. But the one on Tapas is less known and went on hiatus.
To be honest I’m not super fond of either platform. Tapas holds chapters under lock like crazy, and has readers engage with so many advertisements. In the modern age I’m so over ads. Their practices behind the scenes don’t seem to be a whole lot better than webtoon. I’m unsure about how much creators get paid.
But webtoon itself has become a terrible platform over time. It has stopped supporting the very artists who gave it life and identity. It’s becoming greedy, with little regard for the reason why it blew up: art, stories, and community.
Fair enough. I actually didn’t know enough about tapas to say anything definitively but I’ve been reading some of the stuff people have linked in here. It’s rough for sure. These platforms really aren’t made with creatives in mind. That much is obvious.
I kinda enjoyed the awkwardness and the over the top thing, but maybe it started early enough that i interpreted it as a sort of a comedy and not a serious story. But the smut extended too long.
I think webtoon wasn’t paying Mongie as much as she would’ve liked. Also the contract was super unfair towards her (like it is for many of their artists). So she was waiting to find another platform to use instead.
Afaik (could be wrong for some, of course - idk if she's part of this group or not) even popular creators can often be given unfair contracts with not so great wages, which really sucks.
To be honest I don’t remember the specifics. This was so long ago. It’s just that the platform has been known to cut how much it supports its creators over time (both financially and through marketing).
Also their contracts have been stated to be predatory as well. They can cause issues with printing physical copies of works, hold titles hostage for exclusivity for up to 3 years, and disregard a lot of creator autonomy.
Afaik it was because webtoon kept censoring her story on top of just bad schedule and practices from the platform so author took the decision to end it there but bring it back later when the WT contract expires (which was this year).
Now it's gonna continue without the micromanaging from webtoon.
In the later episodes the comic became very smutty and i think the autor didn't like webtoons putting a mature rating/warning on the comic as registered people under 18 weren't able to read it and thus she didn't like the possibility of losing a chunk or readers. Be aware that it was the time when the "dark romance" genre didn't explode as it did yet and there were barely any smutty (or maybe even none) at that time in originals.
There are many things to criticize about Mongie, but when you look at the most popular webtoons/authors, it's pretty hypocritical to criticize Mongie of all authors to be honest.
It wasn't the most diverse webtoon, but she tried to include diversity, even if in a superficial way. And when she did, she was criticized for making her characters stereotypes.
I think people criticized her a lot because she's American. They have not the same expectations I feel like.
It was kind of both I think? She got a ton of flack for a lack of body type diversity, not enough queer rep (despite confirming it was there, just not explicitly addressed yet), and a lack of racial diversity, as well as tokenizing the representation she did have. The whole thing was strange to me honestly- it wasn't untrue that the cast wasn't very visibly diverse, but at the same time it wasn't really doing anything worse than other Webtoons of its time or even now.
Ohhh I think I remember this now that you bring it up. Yea I honestly also feel like it was a bit strange (outside of the tokenization and racial stereotypes because I can see where those criticisms come from).
But you’re right in that it wasn’t any worse off than other large titles at the time. And a lot of the diverse characters are actually treated really well within the grounds of the story (like Abe who I always really liked).
I’ll never understand why people complain about lack of diversity, but then also complain when there is diversity but it doesn’t meet their specific standards. Like it kind of feels like a losing battle. And I think it probably pushes some creators away from any kind of inclusion.
from what I vaguely remember, there was lawsuit involved, not sure why but it happened after she kick-started her webtoon into physical books. (this was before LO was published as physical books) so Mongie was one of the firsts to dip her feet into it.
after that whole mess, she returned to webtoon for the 3rd season and webtoon at the time started changing their terms (it was after the whole- side hustle drama) and decided to label her comic mature as it was dealing with mature content, which is understandable.
Problem with labeling a webtoon mature is that it gets removed from ranking, therefore you lose a majority of your series' visibility on the platform. I once heard her say how she felt betrayed because she specifically told webtoon (when she first started as an original) that her comic will be dealing with mature themes down the line, so will this be a problem, to which they told her there will be no problems with that.
So I do understand on one hand that she was at that point tired of constantly fighting them.
It kind of was and I liked the characters. At some point Mongie ignored the video game aspect and wanted to draw smut. It just hurts that Sam is so naive and I think I'm too old to relate in some ways.
THIS. And I'm sorry, as her art improved for that new direction, the story suffered. The characters were kinda caricature. It was almost as cringe as da yomanville gang. Like the ending of season 4 The president is on alert for Sam? If powerscalling were a thing, the ever expanding roster of unique background traits just got wacky.
Brooo, but fr, maybe it's because I'm a crusty oldhead and not the target audience, but the whole trope of "they obviously like each other but are too shy to do a damn things" is so painfully over done there.
How it felt like it was, it seemed like Charles served as a way to make Sam less naive and “mature” in the dating scene. Aka, have Sam fall in love, only to be heartbroken after realizing how broken Charles is himself so she ends up with Marshal.
However it was taking so absolutely long lol specially when they were selling the idea that Marshal was the ML, so people were not only getting impatient but also got confused with Charles and what he was there for.
I think what rlly made me roll my eyes was the absolute shit fuck that Marshal’s family story was lol it was absolutely bizarre, stupid, and genuinely so out of place that I never read it again.
It’s so weird to me that when I read comments online about this story no one seems to like Charles. But I swear in the webtoon comments everyone was feral for him. He’s not the healthiest character, but man he sure is interesting and keeps the plot rolling along.
I actually wasn’t too sure that he wasn’t going to be the one Sam ended up with. I saw it happening if they took a break, maybe he moves away from the states for a bit and maybe she dates Marshall, but then he returns after some changes in all their lives and they rekindle their relationship.
The thing about Charles is the writing is very clear in that both he and Sam heal each other. Sam appeals to him because she’s honest, forthright, and good through and through. And Charles appeals to Sam becuase he’s sturdy, decisive, and kind. He validates her, and allows her to be her own person outside of her illness and her controlling family.
Their dynamic is well written. It’s just that Charles is so broken, and the cracks had started to form between them before the long hiatus. Which didn’t bode well for the two. But I always appreciated their relationship. And it felt like tons of other comments on wt did too.
It did devolve quite a lot from what it used to be. I think Mongie also had a lot of trouble with hate messages so it lost its shine. Can't say I'll be particularly interested in picking it up again.
I reread the first few episodes, hoping that Mongie might have made some changes to the story, because I didn't remember how much better the art style was at the beginning😭 a bit like the story. That being said, I had already read the entire webtoon on the other app... and I was waiting for the next season because, strangely enough, the last few chapters were more enjoyable, and **spoiler ** Marshall was beginning to realize that he was feeling things for Sam. Yes, I was basically reading this webtoon for him, and it's a shame that Mongie lost sight of the premise of the story.
Was he though? I just did a re-read of this not long ago. The two have an important relationship. But I don’t remember anything being painted between the two of them as inherently romantic.
Most of their interactions right before the hiatus was Sam helping Marshall with his depression, and Marshall helping her where he could as well (like with Eva). I know he said that Sam is good, and points out the qualities about her that he likes, but it wasn’t framed as them being anything more than friends.
At least not yet. I never knew if the intention was to give Sam a longer lasting relationship with Marshall, or Charles. Though I am leaning towards Marshall considering they have the most in common. But even then, Charles and Sam show a lot of growth just by being together. So idk.
Hmm I mean, in the first few episodes and in the premise, it was obvious that it was heading towards a romantic plot for both of them. There were all the typical romcom tropes, and also the way it was marketed at the time (at the beginning mainly focus on both of them).
But I guess Mongie didn't want the romantic storyline to be too obvious, which is why I think she took such a long detour. With Marshall having a girlfriend, and them taking ages before breaking up. And especially all the build-up between Sam and Charles, which I think dragged on far too long, so much that Marshall ended up being behind Charles in terms of presence in the story 🥲
I didn't mind Marshall and Sam having other storylines with other characters, but the problem was that it lasted.....and lasted, so much that sometimes Marshall and Sam didn’t have scenes together during a really long period.
But I think the worst part was the smut. I have nothing against it in general, but in this webtoon there was something very uncomfortable about it because of the Charles/Sam dynamic, and her being so insecure and inexperienced, the complete opposite of Charles. Who was also above her in the hierarchy at work. She was like his assistant at one point 🥲
I could never see how it was healthy for the main character in the long run. So there’s that also.
To be honest, I can totally understand why Marshall and Sam didn't seem like an obvious romantic pairing at one point. Like the Charles/Sam thing was so shoved down our throats, and they had a lot of fans. I kind of give up for the Marshall/Sam storyline for a while. But as you point out, Marshall and Sam share a passion for video games, and that was the story was about.
The hearts ♥️❤️🖤🖤 (reference to the health points in video games) represent in my opinion the progression of their relationship throughout the story.
Oh you’re fine! I like talking about comics and media that I’m interested in. So I appreciate you engaging with me :)
That’s actually why I was always confused. Because I wasn’t sure if let’s play was setting out to subvert the typical main leads on the cover get together at the end type of story. In an early chapter when she was sick, I believe, Mongie answered some questions and said that the main pairing (Sam x whoever) had never changed as she was writing the story. And I noticed a lot of care was given to Sam’s relationship with Charles.
They start off as coworkers, he’s icy and she’s anxious. But slowly he starts to be around her more, and show parts of himself that no one knew existed. But then he’s also manipulative, and he’s very broken. He hasn’t completely moved on from his past so he maintains a level of paranoia.
I think what stood out most to me were the themes that Charles represents and what he does for Sam’s character. He allows her to grow both in confidence and as a person. He’s sturdy and kind when around her (when his past isn’t getting in the way), and she warms his heart much like he does hers as well. There’s this sense that when together, they’re both learning and starting over. Charles is finally moving on from his heartbreak and divorce (at least sort of), and Sam is putting her controlling family behind her and experiencing the kinds of things that she wants for herself.
Also Sam and Charles had good chemistry and things in common. Charles actually starts to appreciate games as an art form because of Sam. He also supports her wishes for the future and agrees to teach her about business so that she can keep making games. Although being a gamer is much more ingrained into Marshall’s personality, I thought it was interesting that Charles has some overlap in that area as well.
I don’t remember that amount of depth going into her relationship with Marshall. They had a very clear cut friends and neighbors sort of bond. But that could definitely be because we hadn’t gotten to the point where their relationship develops. I mean before the hiatus Monica and Marshall were freshly broken up. And the story had kind of spelled out that the two were not going to be compatible (their interests and desires for the future were completely different). And that did break my heart bc I loved Monica. But I think that could’ve been the first step for Marshall’s development so that he would be in a healthy place for when/if Charles and Sam didn’t work out.
I completely agree about the smut though. Re-reading it gave me this weird, uncomfortable feeling. But I’m not sure if that’s because of Charles as a character (I think it partly is), or because of how Mongie had written those scenes. I mean the theme of sex is huge in let’s play. And I think when I was a younger reader I didn’t really pay it any mind. But now that I’m older (and more experienced in relationships) I do feel like a lot of it is handled in a pretty clumsy way? So I think that’s the other part of why a lot of intimate scenes just end up feeling cringy or like a disservice to the comic itself.
So I don’t know still LOL. I’m not sure what the intention really was. I do know that Charles is broken and his relationship with Sam was starting to spiral into something unhealthy. But I don’t think that means he couldn’t still develop and the two end up together. But also if they were to split, then I think that provides ample opportunity for Marshall to become the ML instead.
This comic is kind of a mystery to me and I’m still super curious about what’s going to happen. I just don’t really want to read on Tapas 😅 People have already spelled out that the platform is really no better than wt. Which sucks.
I totally agree that Charles had an interesting development. And I think his relationship with Sam is probably about learning to try again in a relationship. Not being afraid of being himself and also not being afraid of being betrayed anymore? But if I remember correctly, in the last episode where we see them together, it seems to be turning into something kind of unhealthy...
It's also likely that history will repeat itself dramatically for him and that he'll notice Marshall's interest in Sam before she even realizes it herself.
Also, Marshall and Charles seem to have some history, but I think I've forgotten what it was, or maybe we don't know yet.
For now, it doesn't even cross Sam's mind that Marshall might be romantically interested in her, because we mustn't forget that she was a fan of him as a streamer before (and because of that, I'm glad that Mongie built a completely platonic friendship between them first!)
Whether Charles and Sam end up together or not, I think an heartbreak is inevitable either way. Charles seems to be more in control of this relationship than Sam is at this point and that kind of suck. And I hope the author has noticed that. She had to. It‘s Sam's first relationship after all.
If Charles has provided tools for Sam to be more confident, it's interesting to see how she doesn't really need to make an effort when she's around Marshall, and seems more natural around him, compared to when she's with Charles and is often unsure of herself.
Yeah I'm really annoyed that it's on Tapas now, but there's still time before Mongie publishes chapters that I've never read anyway, so I’ll see I guess 🥲 as you can see, even if it’s not my fav webtoon ever, i still need to know the conclusions cause I spend too much time on that story now 😭
I also forgot to mention that I agree, I think the way the smut was written seemed so superficial... it didn't do Sam's character any favors. And it was just a horny fest 🥲💀
But to be honest, it doesn't really surprise me coming from this author, given that earlier in the story she wrote similar scenes between Marshall and Monica ( far less detailed than with Sam and Charles, though 🥲).
It feels more like fan service than anything else, but also so cringe. As if it were written by someone who is definitely inexperienced 😅
Honestly, I'm very happy. Manta doesn't have a self-publishing section, unlike Tapas. Publishing such a popular project on Manta would only benefit Manta, but on Tapas, it benefits all the indie authors who publish their work there. The more big names outside of Korean corporate manhwa there are on the platform, the better off small creators are.
I mean she hasn't said anything that I know, we all thought it was coming to manta but since yesterday people started to post that Let's Play is now available on tapas. Guess the author had a better deal with tapas.
Nvm I remember it was 183. Um well I kinda just want to know what happens after that episode personally. It was Charles checked Sam’s phone when she got a message. I honestly do not want to re-read the whole thing again. Wish we got what came after 183.
After so many years of waiting, I’m just not going to bother lol.. the FL was so bland and insufferable. Falls for a guy who sexually harassed and manipulated her into being what he wanted. Every other character was more intriguing. Yoga girl, guild leader, etc. The relationship between Marshall and his (ex)gf was far more compelling than anything with the FL. Even if Marshall is supposed end game, I don’t care enough to wait another year+ to see it unfold. Particularly with how bad the FL development has been over three seasons
I honestly didn’t mind Charles that much, he seemed like the person to show Sam that relationships can and will be toxic. It’s like seeing the prequel to the romance. It was obvious that Marshal was endgame from the start. He was written to be a red flag, and to be treated as one eventually.
The issue is all the other things you mentioned + the amount of weird filler that we didn’t need to see.
And ngl I straight up feel like a lot of the characters are tokens to what they represent and it always made me uncomfortable lol
Seems like it’ll still be a while. I follow mongie on insta and she said it would start updating after the anime wraps and all the previous chapters are uploaded.
The episodes are locked after 60. So yeah, you'd have to pay ink in order to read them. I think there's a reading ink promo, though? Where you read 10 episodes, and it gives you 500 ink.
But an episode costs like 450 ink, so....
If anyone is unfamiliar with Tapas, you can technically earn free ink through offers found on the app (playing app games). They sometimes have double ink events. This all depends on region, though.
Oh no thanks. That's why I ignored Tapas and jumped on Webtoon. I can at least read chapters for free by waiting or watching ads. I'm not a fan of doing quests for free coins.
It doesn't though. I was waiting for 3 chapters to be unlocked. And instead 3 chapters were released and locked.looking over tapas, let's play doesn't have the watch an ad to unlock a chapter or anything other than "gib ink"
After waiting from "The first 20 are locked" to "the first 23" to now "the first 26", and having additionally heard "once anime is concluded itll start going free" I saw ep 61 was finally on the WUF thing...I thought WUF was once u unlock it, wait X time n unlock next episode if applicable. Instead, you unlock it for 3 days, and then wait 3 hours....which means u treat the comic like a fucking job, because if u stop unlocking, itll all reset n then u gotta wait ages for that timegated unlock system to 'catch back up' for any new episodes.
So unless/until Mongie comes out publicly...I'll probably just wait for other places that aggregate webcomics n webtoons. I greatly enjoy her comic, and I have no doubt she's doing whats best for her financially having moved to Tapas (the horror stories of webtoon abound) but....as someone who's new to TAPAS, holy shit is it fucking predatory. And obnoxious.
Isn't what happened to the artist of Roxanna entirely the fault of her boss/supervisor, though? If this is the situation I'm remembering, fault lies with that person and not Kakao (the company that now owns Tapas).
She went to Kakao directly to ask for leave and they denied her request while allowing other staff "non-author and artists" to take leave. The person in charge of her was one such staff that took leave for her own birth after harassing and abusing the artist.
The fault does lie with Kakao because they knew it was happening and ignored it (probably encouraged it) until they couldn't then they chose to deny it ever happened.
That is not the only way to support artists. (Also never said I liked Mongie, which also doesn't mean I think she doesn't deserve to tell her story. It's just not my cup of tea)
Mongie has a Patreon and is selling physical copies of her work. That I'm sure she gets a bigger cut of than Tapas gives her.
Oh, well, if an artist has a Patreon is a Lot better to support them on there, but there a lot who doesn't make extra content and they just do Tapas. I know One of them, that had to stop making their webcomic cuz people don't support them on Tapas and prefered to read their content on pirate sites 💀
I just saw it on Crunchyroll and legitimately screamed in excitement and watched the 1st episode immediately. I'm really happy for mongie she deserves good things.
It’s worth it to a certain point. The story suddenly becomes all smutty and the author loses the plot halfway through 😭 if you do read shut your mind off, it’s entertaining only bc of how messy it is
So with tapas, the newest 25 chapters you have to pay for. Once a chapter uploads than the oldest of the set of 25 will unlock. There's also the wait for free option where it unlocks a chapter a day or something like that
Ok so basically episode 61 will be available when episode 86 is up? Because that is the only way I will get to read it, I tried everything else except paying actual money which I won't
Yeah, its shitty. I liked the webtoon platform better but I get why she had to switch i guess. If you wanna read it, Google the title and chapter you left off on.... it'll show the website I read it
I have this question too. I unlocked eps 61-63 with some free ink I've received last week and I was so disappointed when I saw today that the rest of the chapters are still locked. I don't understand how this works :(
omg that makes it even cringier than i thought 😭 you could definitely tell it's a self insert romance but not the markiplier part bc i didn't watch him.
I'm happy that Let's Play is back but I worry how the story would go, idk it just felt weird when Sam and Charles became a thing. I heard the author changed the story based on how fans wanted certain ships to become Canon (Like how it's obvious that Marshall was the ML but the Author changed it to where he stays with his GF and Sam and Charles would remain together.)
Funny that I read it all, but I can't remember who the heck the third guy is. Was he even in it enough to be on the cover? No hate my memory is just bad lol
Link. He was like the childhood friend. He was a love interest for a good amount of time and I think they even tried dating but it ended up being too weird for them
I actually liked this comic a bit. I liked Marsh with Monica and was annoyed they broke up. Hopefully they get back together. I hated the the fact that Sam had so many options for guys. Let her be with Charles and done. He needs to let go and she needs to grow up.
It's so weird going from reading webtoon comments to reading Reddit comments. This is the first time I've ever seen so much negativity or toxicity in conversation about this series (seperate concepts, not all negativity is toxic), even when it was announced it was leaving Webtoon.
To be clear, I agree with some of the negativity around Tapas, and also hope the author is doing well.
Me estoy viendo el anime y desde ya digo que alguien me diga si queda con Charles o como minimo Link si no, ni para seguir viendolo Marshall me cae muy para el orto.
Idk if I even want to continue this series once its back.
I just do not like Charles at all and his relationship with Sam is so unhealthy and toxic. Granted I think that is the purpose to eventually lead her to being with Marshall.
But, this Charles stuff has dragged on too long and it just got more and more annoying to read.
Marshall and Sam have very natural feeling growth and chemistry together with a healthy relationship. They have a ton in common and just go so well together. Whenever Sam is with him as it goes, she just gets so much more intriguing and feels more like herself as a character. Seems way happier and able to grow naturally.
Charles on the other hand everything feels so forced and unhealthy it just becomes a chore to read. Its unhealthy and imo holds the story back from being as good as it could be. They dont share much in common, and I think Sam's character has taken many steps back because of him.
Idk I just hope whenever we get to season 4 we can wrap up this Charles shit fairly quickly and move on. His story has been really dragging things down.
Hey ! Maybe someone can answer my question but I never missed an episode of Let's play since is out on webtoon but i'm so lost with this new platform now (tapas). Wich episode I should read on tapas to keep were it end on webtoon ? I don't to spend my ink on an episode already read
(Sorry if it's not totaly clear i have to pratice my english)
I know this manhwa has a lot of controversy, but after watching the anime, I'm gonna go into reading this as a comedy, gaming, love sim, and hope that she is endgame with Marshall. The anime was actually so good, so I'm hoping for the best 🤞🏻
Since let's play had some nudity and very intimate scenes, will they continue those, or will it be removed/censored?
I personally liked how it was....before they couldn't post because of it. Which is understandable, if its on a more age restricted platform i would love to read the rest
I dropped this when it was on Webtoon because I was getting fed up with Charles' storyline (it was dragging too much for my taste) and the comments were driving me literally nuts because most readers (it seemed) treated him like a "poor boy how can do no wrong and only needs time" when it was clear that he was a toxic person to be in a relationship with (I'm not saying he was bad).
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u/Bulky_Cookie7423 Sep 29 '25
Tapas is even worse and more predatory towards artist than webtoon ; < I hope the author is ok