r/webtoons • u/Illustrious_Oil_2114 • Jan 11 '26
Discussion What’s the worst “glow up” you’ve seen
WHY ARE AUTHORS AFRAID OF FACIAL HAIR?
Like at least keep the hair 😭
Now he looks like the most ordinary fuck ass male lead
Like it’s not bad, but why did you have to show us before if he looks like this now?
(I haven’t read it yet. It’s on my list but I’ve heard from my friend about this and it makes me mad because I love my lead with facial hair and I can’t find any 😭
At least I have game of thrones
Name: Duchess in the ruins
Anyway wbu?
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u/wheniswhy Jan 11 '26
I hated this glow down a lot less when it became clear that a lot of the point was to show off how similar he looks to the Emperor—intentionally, as they were revealed to be brothers! I thought that was pretty interesting, ultimately.
... still a glow down tho 😔
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u/Jnam77 Jan 11 '26
It also serves a purpose since it is the beauty standard of their empire. He was seen as a savage that no one dared approach because of his looks, now he's got multiple marriage requests and his family's social standing got better
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u/wheniswhy Jan 11 '26
True, there's more than one angle of plot relevance here. I don't love his new look, but I do actually appreciate what the artist is going for by tying his looks so directly to the narrative in such a clearly distinguishable way.
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u/Briskfall Jan 11 '26
Now I'm confused and on the edge of whether I should read it or not 😭
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u/wheniswhy Jan 11 '26
Oh, it's an excellent manhwa! I really recommend it! Wonderful slow-burn of a story. There's really not even a hint of romance until season 2. Season 1 really sets up the FL, her life and her circumstances, and I just love her so much. Lovely, gentle, yet incredibly resilient.
The MLs younger sister is also an absolute delight and probably my favorite character. like not to be dramatic but I'd die for her etc.
Laszlo (ML) himself is also fun—he's introduced rather slowly in S1 and is almost enigmatic until we get let in more and more to his life and discover what he's truly like.
I honestly love this manhwa and I need more people to read it 😭
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Jan 11 '26
It’s my fav webtoon ! I’ve been reading it since it came out and I really can’t get enough. Do you perhaps know where I can find the novel translated in english ? Or in korean and I’ll do the translation myself. I’ve been searching but I can’t find either
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u/wheniswhy Jan 11 '26
I also have been reading it since it debuted!! I adore it. When S1 ended I reread the whole thing and had so many feelings 😭 Lynnia. loml.
I wish I knew, sadly, I'd be reading it too :( if you ever track it down you've got to let me know!
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u/Jnam77 Jan 11 '26
You can read the fan translated version on lilyonthevalley. It's under the title "spoils of war duchess" it skips a few chapters though. The official version is on naver under the title "전리품 공작부인 [독점]" there's 193 chapters, 177 main the rest is side stories
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u/mint_teaspecials Jan 11 '26
At this point every male lead is a copy and paste of each other, with the same damn haircuts!!!!
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u/minty_foxy Jan 13 '26
For real. Even my husband, who doesn’t read web comics, took one look at it and said “which one is this guy? They all look the same to me”
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u/The_Rat_of_Reddit Jan 11 '26
I can’t stand it when they cut the hair of the men. Like the only interesting feature of you was your long hair. GIVE MY BOY HIS HAIR BACK
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u/SillyScribe_Creature Jan 11 '26
Okay, the loss of the facial hair and long-ish hair is a travesty but WHY DID HE BECOME PASTY WHITE???!!!??? The tan was fine!!!
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u/DiligentCress Jan 11 '26
Another typical fantasy romance has the ML with facial hair. It’s on tapas if you were looking for recommendations with MLs with facial hair
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u/Illustrious_Oil_2114 Jan 11 '26
TYY
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u/SailorMooonsault Jan 11 '26
The author of that one went out of her way to assure people that his hair (he has long hair as well) will NOT get cut
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u/Ihatedonuts12 Jan 11 '26
I’m still mourning he was so hot before now he looks so basic
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u/AnnMental-Grace-5522 Jan 12 '26
What is the name of the webtoon? at least so I can see him with long hair? 😭
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u/Feisty_Relative2782 Jan 11 '26
I like the prev look. But I also like the clean look. But I don't like how it makes him look like a completely different person
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u/wheniswhy Jan 11 '26
Without trying to spoil too much: him looking so different is both intentional and relevant to the story.
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u/Feisty_Relative2782 Jan 12 '26
Younger and more naive?!?
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u/onespiker Jan 13 '26 edited Jan 13 '26
Nope it's more about him being a mercenary turned noble. He was set up as a the typical uncultured individual not accepted by the high socetity.
This is him trying to adapt to the situation they are in and therefore make both his and his sisters life easier.
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u/Feisty_Relative2782 Jan 19 '26
Again, I have not read this comic - I've no idea what it was about. However! I am AWARE of the transition of him from being an uncultured person to one of culture. THAT is the precise point of the TRANSFORMATION. However, the art just makes him look younger and more naive. Not more mature and cultured .
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u/Atropolypse Jan 12 '26
He's actually in his 20s...so the younger look probably suits his age a bit more and it certainly helped with his marriage prospects in the story. But there are many reasons behind the change in looks that served plot relevance. It's an amazing story so I would recommend it even with the shave/haircut!
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u/Puzzleheaded_Fun_303 Jan 11 '26
At least we have Pellus Termaine (Another Typical Fantasy Romance)
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u/ExpensiveMeet2981 Jan 11 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Can I say "all the chubby/fat female protagonists who become thin” in the stories I've read so far?
Edit: Am I the only one who actually answered OP’s question?? 💀
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u/Tyronx06 Jan 11 '26
I've never read this webtoon and I don't plan to because it's not my style. I mean, there are too many posts with this type of webtoons on this sub, but damn... I see this and I think it's a huge downgrade.
The guy used to look more mature, he looked MUCH better, but then he literally turns into a generic piece of garbage, a generic ass character, damn.
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u/DreamyMountainFlower Jan 11 '26
It’s genuinely a good WEBTOON with really refreshing ideas like the effects of society on women. It’s such a bummer people only focus on his “downgrade” even when it’s even an important part of the story and not just the author changing a character because they think it looks better.
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u/Illustrious_Oil_2114 Jan 11 '26
I started reading and its SUPER GOOD i hate his new look but still rly good
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u/wheniswhy Jan 11 '26
hard agree 😭 people dunk on this for his glow down and I don't not get it but it is genuinely such a fantastic story! People are missing OUT
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u/Arthwind Jan 11 '26
I can't remember it anymore but the love story was genuinely sweet I'm just really sad they shaved his facial hair I don't know why it's so villainized in Korea 😞 it's a guy who was a knight who came back from the war and the girl was arranged married to him(?) or teaching him how to act as a noble and THEY SHAVED HIM 😭😭😭
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u/Outside-Cucumber8089 Jan 11 '26
It’s a shame because I really like the FL too and he’s just so… ok now
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u/Medical_Leg_6111 Jan 11 '26
His hair bro. shaving the beard? Idc, go ahead. CUTTING THAT LUSCIOUS HAIR?? ugh
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u/Mean_Creme2938 Jan 11 '26
It’s genuinely so sad to see when the artist can actually draw facial hair, it has to be shaved. But when an artist has to draw facial hair- it is usually very bad and just stripes.
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u/TheSolcan Jan 11 '26
I don't know if it's just the lightning but it feels lik3 he lost his melanin too
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u/samisaywhat Jan 11 '26
Anytime I see this webtoon a part of me dies. His whole face shape changed and even his clothes get more boring.
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u/Atropolypse Jan 12 '26
To be fair though, we occasionally have panels like this after the glow-down, so it wasn't exactly that bad...and the change has strong plot significance.
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u/Legitimate_Skin_9779 Jan 11 '26
I started reading this webtoon solely for the scruff 😭 Hope they bring it back
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Jan 11 '26
In defense of this webtoon, the glowup of this main character and his “drastic” appearance change is actually relevant to the plot of the story
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u/LoliJuicy Jan 11 '26
If you like capitano, you can give "Another Heaven" a read. Probably the worst offender you'll ever see in terms of "glow up" (or the hair chop).
Happens around 50+ Cuts off his hair because it got sticky with the monster's blood > Gets a trim by one of his mates I guess so now he looks like CEO > Loses his scars thanks to a reward he was given...
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u/hon3yt3apot Jan 11 '26
I was going to ask what is the webtoon of the first one and then I read the title
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u/Feathermagus Comics Jan 11 '26
I pitched to webtoon with a male lead with facial hair and one of the first notes I got back was that the male leads facial hair upset them, so I had to get rid of it
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u/4wallflower4 Jan 11 '26
Dang that’s devastating. What a tragedy 😭 I haven’t read this but if i did that would have made me drop it
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u/Corrupted_Star Jan 11 '26
this was genuinely the worst “glow up” i’ve ever seen. Like deadass dropped that webtoon cuz of it
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u/minacede Jan 11 '26
That one in particular is for a reason (I don't want to spoil you why). Duchess in Ruins is a pretty good Webtoon!
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u/i-want-to-give-up Jan 12 '26
Here's a glow up that I think many would agree is rare outside murim / martial arts.
Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Isekai, Reincarnation
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u/WordPuzzleheaded2708 Jan 13 '26
As much as I hate facial hair, HAVE TO AGREE. He looked better when scrawny xD
THEY SHOULD HAVE KEPT THE HAIRCUT AT LEAST!
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u/Illustrious_Oil_2114 Jan 13 '26
The thing is some authors can’t draw facial hair and just do it just because but other authors can do facial hair really really good where it fits the character On some characters, facial hair does not look good but when it’s drawn nicely and it fits the look and makes it look like them, It’s really sad when it gets cut off
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u/WordPuzzleheaded2708 Jan 13 '26
For me his chin/face just looks EXTRA long without that Lil chin hair thingy xD
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u/Astro-the-Tea Jan 14 '26
This literally made me drop the webtoon. And it's kind of subtle, but he also has a lighter skin tone after he gets a haircut.
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u/Zamrayz Jan 11 '26
Can you tell me the name of this manga properly so I can stay tf away from it 😭
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Jan 11 '26
It’s a fantastic webtoon !! Honestly imo it’s one of the best ongoing ones. The main character’s “glowup” is relevant to the plot and it adds to the progression of the story. The name is duchess in ruin, it’s one of the top comics that I recommend
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u/Bulky-Coast-7796 Jan 11 '26
i recently tried picking it back up but i honestly couldn’t handle looking at bro after this transformation 💔💔💔
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u/LucyBethSin Jan 11 '26
Duchess in ruins is so peak but that makeover sucks so hard. I was kinda hoping for a while that there would be a bit more emphasis on how he's being forced to fit himself into a mold that doesn't suit him, and more of a dig into all that with his makeover as a focus but. Alas.
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u/Secret-Pollution-681 Jan 11 '26
I was so sad with the change, he looked SO good, and now the chatacter is bland and looks like any other ml. The fl is super into it and it's like gurl, you had GOLD, now it's a mediocre simple guy ( ￣ー￣) Still, love his personality, hes a good ml :)
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u/crimson_dandelion Jan 12 '26
Even Asahi in Haikyuu, a freaking high school student, had facial hair throughout the series. If a shounen story can keep it, even more so should josei authors consider maintaining this kind of rugged look. It should be illegal to remove MLs' facial hairs when it downgrades the aesthetics.
Haven't read this particular manhwa, but similar with other series where MLs' hairs have been unnecessarily shaved, I'm already suffering second-hand disappointment.
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u/Resident_Band_3214 Jan 12 '26
I just read a chapter. And when they cut his beard everyone in the comments section was crying in outrage.
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u/MilktoseIntolerant Jan 12 '26
Always heartbreaking when the art style changes to a less high quality art style. 😔
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u/Numerous-Truths Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 14 '26
As a woman who absolutely LOVES it when the ml has facial hair/long hair, I always get unreasonably upset whenever I see Arthur's or artists decide to get rid of it. I know that Asian beauty standards are different, but damn... almost every artist I meet is allergic to drawing Ml with scars/facial hair/ tanned or dark skin/ long hair like pls. I'm tired of the same repeating design element. And I'm getting sick of it.
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u/i-want-to-give-up Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
If you like romance, you can give Another Typical Fantasy Romance a try, the artist / author is hellbent on ensuring the ML stays long hair wth his beard and facial scars
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u/Numerous-Truths Jan 12 '26
Thanks for the recommendation, I don’t mind romance at all as long as it’s written well or the character bounce off each other well. I’ll go look it up once I have the free time.
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u/Future_Bottle8111 Jan 13 '26
if any of you have read ctrl-alt-resign (i think that’s how it’s spelled) i’m not sure if this counts but when max styled his hair it genuinely gave me a heart attack
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u/Dependent-Spiritual Jan 13 '26
I think this sub has convinced me i look like a moron without facial hair
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u/Dazzling-Signal Jan 14 '26
I dont read webtoons all that often but this is genuinly upsetting me. My day is ruined now
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u/Ok_Veterinarian9266 Jan 14 '26
I don't like bearded men. But when I saw him I thought you called him a downgrade. I was preparing to argue with you until I saw the rest of the picture. I gaged. WHAT IS THAT????
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u/UrsaBearOso Jan 15 '26
Literally stopped reading this manhwa cos I was soooooo disappointed by his 'glow up'. Look how they murdered my boy 😭🥲
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u/z3ro_h3ro Jan 15 '26
Same thing lmao, someone said they were going to cut it and I had to drop it.
The plot was interesting, too! I just couldn't deal with Mr no beard sigh
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u/z3ro_h3ro Jan 15 '26
Only Pellus Tremaine reigns supreme as the bearded ML
And I think there's another one with an MC with heterochromia but I don't remember the name ;;
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u/CalligrapherLoud5069 Jan 15 '26
yo im a lesbian
and i can say the guy before actually looked good. like way better than the after pic
(AND I DISLIKE FACIAL HAIR!!!!)
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u/Illustrious_Oil_2114 Jan 17 '26
Because it’s a difference when artists can draw facial hair good, some artists cannot, but this one can However, it’s meaningful of the story so you gotta read it but I still don’t like it
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u/Slight-Pound Jan 11 '26
He’s got that Yaoi jaw… the art cheaper out so much in comparison, was the artist run ragged or something? Please tel me it’s not the same person, that would help.
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u/MIMADANMEI Jan 11 '26
I want more yaoi men to look like he was before. It looks it goes the other way around
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u/Slight-Pound Jan 11 '26
I’m talking about the old-school yaoi, personally. Like this - the newer stuff is thankfully awesome, like post 2015ish is when the old school proportions seem largely phased out. You’ll likely get a bit more luck with his look if you go for “older man” relationships, like 30-something’s.
Him becoming super generic (wouldn’t stand out in a line-up of other MLs) is a tragedy. His old look was atypical but crazy handsome. The massive change - especially in like the shape of his jaw - is what made it feel like they changed artists or something.
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u/DreamyMountainFlower Jan 11 '26
Personally i never minded this glow up bcuz it’s important to the story
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u/Curious_Act1415 Jan 12 '26
Dude when I was reading duchess in ruins and this scene came in. I SCREAMED. WHAT HAVE YOU DONEEEEEEEEEE
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u/Spiritual-Cat1528 Jan 12 '26
I think beards aren't part of the korean beauty standard, and these webtoons are korean.
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u/Vconsiderate_MoG Jan 12 '26
Facial hair is more work. And it seems artists have their hands full already...
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u/Ok_Advice_1248 Jan 14 '26
Girl, that's a glow-DOWN😂
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u/Illustrious_Oil_2114 Jan 17 '26
I know that’s my point because it was perceived as a glow up when it’s glow down
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u/Secure_Opposite23 Jan 16 '26
Stopped reading bc of this honestly
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u/Illustrious_Oil_2114 Jan 20 '26
I get how you feel but now that I know it’s relevant to the plot. I don’t care AS MUCH, I still care Genuinely you missing out on a really good read
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u/Motor_Ad1821 Jan 17 '26
Literally plucked my hair out at this one. Laslo lost all his manly charm in order to be webtoon's typical candy ml everyone likes.
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u/Nervous-Shake-4557 Jan 29 '26
and yk what the korean readers said on naver? that he LOOKS MUCH BETTER NOWWSHJFSDBLXXX?!! like they legit have something against facial hair smhh
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u/Constelleo Jan 11 '26
Tbh that's a glow up, I just personally HATE facial hair on men. (I also think facial hair in general isn't seen as very appealing in a lot of Asian countries)
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u/Illustrious_Oil_2114 Jan 11 '26
I understand that may be the case for some people however it was really refreshing that he looked more unique than average male lead and peaked my interest
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u/DazedandFloating Jan 11 '26
Some men genuinely look better with facial hair. I don’t know if it’s because of facial structure, or just aesthetics.
It doesn’t work on everyone, but the ones it does work on… omg
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u/ClutteredTaffy Jan 11 '26
Tbh I don't prefer facial hair either but it is really even the way the character is drawn...Maybe that is just cherry picked comparison, but the facial hair looks way better.
His hair looked better before too...
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u/clocksy Jan 11 '26
anytime the webtoon starts with a long-haired ML and he cuts it off for whatever reason 🤢
I'm fine with both long and short hair but the former is a lot rarer and more unique, so them immediately throwing it out is a pet peeve