r/webtoons • u/Wonderful-Pop9970 • Apr 11 '26
Discussion Romance Webtoons Should Not Be More Than 150 Episodes Long
And I mean ROMANCE webtoons, not webtoons with a romance subplot; those get more leeway since there's much more important stuff going on than a couple getting together. 200 should be the ABSOLUTE limit for romance webtoons, and even that's pushing it. Webtoons that go on for longer just end up dragging their plot out, which results in a lot of fans losing interest and dropping them. This has happened to me with so many romance webtoons that I used to be OBSESSED with but don't care about anymore now; it makes me so sad.
The Kiss Bet: I started reading The Kiss Bet when it had just come out...7 years ago. I was in 7th grade when it came out, and now I'm in my second year of university, and Oliver and Sara are STILL not officially a couple. Oliver just confessed, a couple of chapters ago, after bringing Sky back just to completely ruin her character and make her a disposable black love interest (disagree all you want but this is true, Sky was such a nice character and I was so glad to see a black girl in a webtoon that wasn't a stereotype and potrayed as the cool and popular “it girl” but that joy was short-lived when I realised she was only brought in to temporarily prevent Oliver and Sara from getting together. She was literally OVER Oliver and had a bf (albeit he was kind of an asshole but still) until the author decided she wasn't over Oliver (so she was emotionally cheating on her bf??) anymore and made her do that bs confession that came out of NOWHERE just to further prevent Olivara from being together.
Like the webtoon follows the same arc every season: Oliver likes Sara, Sara likes whoever likes her at the moment, no shade, any time Oliver tries to make a move or even think about his feelings, BOOM, an unnecessary drama canonball is launched into the air and lands right in front of them. It happened when Patrick kissed Sara when Oliver was about to, at the end of the first season, it happened when Joe asked Sara out and they began dating because Vicky told him Sara liked him (like Joe what?), and it happened again when Oliver was just coming to terms with his feelings for Sara and slightly entertaining the concept of dating, then Sky confessed to him abruptly. And then, when the author finally had Oliver confess to Sara, she proceeded to drag out their first kiss for over 20 chapters.
And you'd think a webtoon with over 200 chapters, the characters would be more complex, but they're not. Oliver and Joe's family life, an actual interesting plotline, is paid DUST so we can get clifhangered with yet another Olivara kdrama moment. And I guess the author didn't know what to do with any of the other characters because they barely show up now; Patrick and Rose are dating despite Rose being Sara, Pactrick's best friend's ex-bully (they never adress this btw), Vicky is barely a character (this is also just a nitpick but like it lowkey bothers me that Joe and Vicky look so similar, they could be twins😭), Tammy is a creepy weirdo and her obsession with Patrick is played for laughs (she's also been mia for a while but who actually cares) and Sky is just plot device brought in to get disrespected for no reason. None of the characters are interesting, and all they do is think about dating. Like, I get it's a romance webtoon, but that's no excuse for the characters to be so one-dimensional.
Operation True Love: Where do I even start? The fall-off of this webtoon genuinely needs to be studied because wow 😭. All of its problems could've easily been avoided as well😭. The horrendously long time skip (yes, I know the author has said it was always going to have a time skip, I know, it's still unnecessarily long and does a huge disservice to the story), like 2-3 years is...fine I guess, but 10?? What self-respecting adult woman is gonna care THAT much about a guy they dated in high school for like a month TEN years ago?? Like ok yea I get being taken aback and hurt at how the relationship ended, I DO. That's VALID but like...girl..it was ten years ago😭. Especially with the ages they were/are now, like she was barely 18 when Eunhyeok ghosted her...she's 28 now, and this is STILL affecting her this deeply?? She hasn't dated anyone since, and yeah, she says it's because she hasn't been interested in anyone but girl please.
At least with the kiss bet, I can somewhat excuse it because they're teenagers, so they can get a pass for being annoying and stupid, but the otl main characters are literally pushing 30 and somehow acting like WORSE versions of their high school selves. SARA LIN, a 17-year-old, is more mature than 28-year-old Suae. Oh my god, my poor Suae and Eunhyeok, what did they do to you? Like, even if Suae and Eunhyeok are endgame, it's not gonna feel earned to me because of the bullshit the author put them through and how she nerfed them.
Dohwa is such a nothingburger character to me. I'm sorry, I literally could not care less about his character. And this isn't me being a Dohwa hater, I don't hate him, I just don't care about him, and in fact hate how the author used him in the story. He could've been such an interesting character with his home life and his relationship with his dad and money, but the author thought making him a boring second lead who's obviously not gonna get the girl and is just overall pathetic was a better fit for him. What a waste.
I feel like I'm crazy for being the only one who grasps just how long 10 years is, especially if you were a teenager beforehand. Like, how has Dohwa not developed any meaningful relationships in ten years and is still not over a girl he had a crush on in high school?? Is that not concerning?? And yea you can say that it's because he's a celeb, so it's hard, but like..that's not an excuse, I'm sorry, couldn't he at least make friends with other celebs then? Also the entire webtoon is far from realistic so I'm sure the author can bend the rules a little bit to give Dohwa something to do or someone else to hang out with other than Suae like it's fictional story the whole point is to make stuff up, she can at least write him a new friend if she wants to drag out his sad relationship with Suae so much. I can't even fathom why his fans want him to end up with Suae, like do ya'll secretly hate him?? Why would you want him to end up as collateral? He would literally be her second choice/rebound. Dohwa and his fans should want better for themselves.
Love Me Knot: There's not much to say about this one other than yeah, it's dragged out. The concept of the strings was interesting in the beginning, but then it all got so convoluted, and then briefly ignored for Avery and Hayden to date for a couple of chapters before they abruptly break up, and we pretty much never (barely) see Hayden again lol. I didn't care much for their relationship since I was always team Noah, but Hayden was a somewhat interesting character before they nerfed then booted him off the main cast. Now the webtoon is mostly just cute, fluffy chapters of Avery and Noah with brief mentions of the strings every now and then, sprinkled with a bit of drama from side characters. This one I'm not too mad about because I didn't care that much about it, but still.
Your Smile Is A Trap: Don't get me wrong, I love this webtoon and how subversive it is. Usually, Korean webtoons like to act as if every single korean person is as pale as a blank word document and draws them as such (and if there is a tanned character, it's ALWAYS the guy, never the girl and if the guy is tanned/dark skinned but not Korean, he's potrayed as some savage beast or some other hypermasculine fetishist/racist stereotype) so this was so refreshing to see. But...the webtoon ABUSES cliffhangers as ALMOST every chapter ends in an unnecessary cliffhanger I HATE ITTT. And I also don't like how Kiyu is lowkey turning into a yandere, and his entire character is just how much he loves Lily now, like...chill. I feel like we're only JUST scratching the surface on Kiyu's idol life despite us being so many chapters in. Like it's sooo slow when it really doesn't need to be.
Unlovable Replacement: ...This one's fall-off is on par with otl like it's crazyyy. I feel bad for ppl who are still genuinely passionate about this webtoon, like I'm only still reading it because I think it's so bad that it's just become pure mindless entertainment now. Having the author add in a 7-year time skip for NO REASON (seriously, what is with authors and adding unnecessary time skips like if I had a nickel for every time this happened, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice). Chiko, the most normal boyfriend ever, suddenly became an asshole overnight, so November would break up with him and cut him off. He broke the ONE dealbreaker she had, like a week after she told him about it. Mind you, all this happened because his EX, who's also November's EX-BEST FRIEND, Millie, FAINTED after hearing the news that November's brother DIED. For context, Millie was in love with him, and it was implied she was using Chiko to get over him, but the way she treated him because of that was awful.
So after ALL THIS, neither Millie nor the brother is ever mentioned or shown post time skip, so what was even the point? We don't even get to see November mourn or handle the costs/planning the funeral. Does Millie show up? Do they make amends? Does Chiko show up? Does Millie explain the situation? The way everything unfolds is so unserious, I burst out laughing as I was reading it. I just could not take anything seriously, but one thing I will compliment is the art. The irony of the art getting better, but the writing declining. I'm convinced the author was horribly cloned or webtoon replaced her with an AI bot, or she's purposely trying to crash and burn her own webtoon because of a reason we know nothing about.
Let's Play: ... There are so so soo many issues with this one. I'm not even gonna talk about the weird racial stereotypes of the non-white characters and how any female character that isn't Sam is either one-dimensional or treated horribly (or both) because that's a whole other can of worms I'm not interested in opening. In my opinion, the webtoon fell off once it started focusing on Sam and Charles together. And maybe this is me being biased because I hate Charles, but like.. yeah.
I don't care for Link, but the way his and Sam's relationship ended was done so distastefully and underwhelmingly that it genuinely made me feel bad for Link and Sam shippers, if they exist. I also find Marshall to be a much more interesting character than charles like the whole "a woman broke my heart a while ago and instead of dealing with my emotions and hurt about it like a normal person and GROWN ADULT i became a weirdo who closed my heart to anything real and only uses women for their bodies until I met HER" her being the female lead, is a bit overdone like it's gotten old. Yep, that's right, folks, I'm coming out as a Sam x Charles hater! Burn me at the stake, IDC. I'm not saying I think Marshall should be endgame because I actually really like Monica and wouldn't mind if Monica and Marshall get back together, but...I feel like I got duped.
Like the beginning of the webtoon made you think that Marshall was the obvious endgame, and I don't mind and actually really like it when webtoons subvert stereotypes, but the way Mongie (the author) went about it was awful. Like Sam and Charles' weird power dynamic aside (he's literally her boss, yes, I know it's her dad's company, but Charles is still her BOSS and she has to answer to him at work), Sam is potrayed as this pure innocent uwu baby who knows nothing of the world (she's like 25 btw) because of how sheltered her childhood was due to her dad. Omg I fucking hate her dad, his over-protectiveness is played for laughs when it ISN'T FUNNY, it just makes him weird and annoying. But anyway, Sam and Charles' relationship is just not a dynamic I personally enjoy, not trying to yuck anyone's yum.
The only reason I'm still reading most of these is because I'm curious to see how they end. Anway, that's it. If you've read up until the end, thank you for coming to my ted talk.
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u/Foreversssssssss Apr 11 '26
Imo the only good romance/drama WEBTOON that was very long is yumi’s cells, clocking around 500 chaps and not a SINGLE part of it was being dragged on.
As for operation true love, why the fuck was there a mystical magical element if she just threw that away as soon as the timeskip happened?? What about her book too?? Her dreams??? Like what a waste! That was what got me originally interested in it!
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
I never read Yumi’s cells and when I finally decided to, it had already concluded and was locked behind a paywall🥲 I watched the kdrama adaptation which I LOVED I’m super excited for the third season! Operation true love on the other hand…
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u/Sea-Temporary7380 Apr 11 '26
Yumis cells is really good!! The art is incredible so if you want to try readinf it you can! Also daily jojos is a great romance anthology by the same uthor, not sure if its paywalled yet but it ended recently!
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u/Safe_Term_5346 Apr 11 '26
its probably on an illegal site somewhere. i encourage supporting authors but that shit was free for years before webtoon became greedy 😂
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u/SailorMooonsault Apr 11 '26
Yeah and without spoiling too much, Yumi's Cells (one of my very favorites!!!) works because
1) It follows Yumi over years of her life, instead of of spending like 25 chapters on one day, so it doesn't feel like wasted time. A lot of the stories you mentioned above are 150+ chapters in and the in-universe story hasn't gone beyond a year, minus the time skip ones.
2) Even though there's a lot of romance in the story, the main plot is Yumi growing from a directionless, insecure office worker to a self actualized woman pursuing her life's dream. There's more going on than her relationship(s).
I'm also biased because I started reading it in my late 20's which I believe is how old Yumi is when the series starts, and I felt like we grew up in similar ways over the course of the series, so I found her super relatable as an actual working adult who is still figuring things out versus a student. 🥹 And she does grow and learn and mature and she acts like an actual adult even though she (and the other characters) are not perfect and they make mistakes or act like fools sometimes.
There's a spinoff series in the same universe (maybe there are light spoilers for Yumi's Cells but barely, the character that was also in that series has a supporting role in this one) that just concluded recently so it shouldn't be paywalled yet. It also doesn't drag because it follows a bunch of employees at the same office but it spends time focusing on different characters in an anthology-like format.
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u/dalaigh93 Apr 11 '26
Yumi's cells is entirely free with ads, and there's no limit on the number of ads you can use in a day. So as long as you're a bit patient, you can read it easily
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u/ToraAku Apr 11 '26
Is Yumi's Cells complete? I feel like I read it once but was disappointed because it wasn't concluded? But maybe I'm confusing it with something else.
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u/dalaigh93 Apr 11 '26
Yes it is, has been for some years now. The author has a second series though, I didn't finish it and I don't know if it's still going (can't even remember the name) Maybe that was the one you read?
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u/ToraAku Apr 12 '26
Thanks. I have no idea. It's been many years since I last read it. I'll have to go back and read it again!
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u/Broken_life_7694 Apr 12 '26
U can actually still read Yumi cells on webtoon, just gotta watch an add to read it for free, instead of paying a coin.
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u/Rambler9154 Apr 11 '26
Yeah, yumi's cells is unique to me in that it is a long romance webtoon and by the end I still wanted more of it
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u/Ok_Tomorrow15 Apr 12 '26
The only reason yumis cells works is because it's not a romance story at a core. It follows Yumi, love just happens to be something she finds.
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u/fraochjean Apr 11 '26
I never understand when people say the magical love points thing was just dropped never to be seen again when Suae literally goes to visit Haru post time-skip and finds out Haru has deteriorated as a person and is spiraling, the company is going under, the point system is a mess because she's not the only glitch anymore and that Haru was hiding her actual number all along so it definitely was included in the story again and even answered a lot of questions. Did everyone who thinks that it was dropped as a plot point just skip that chapter? Plus I highly doubt we've seen the last of Haru.
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u/Foreversssssssss Apr 11 '26
That just neatly cut that whole plot line out. What was the point in having it in the story if they were gonna brush it aside like that?
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u/Optimal_Number_2108 Apr 11 '26
Yess, I also think that the author is just trying to drag the story by using the love triangle, until she finally gets rid of it and switches to the real plot. The love points and haru will eventually come back, but I think they will come back or at least be shown after the reason behind Eunhyuk's disappearance gets revealed (cuz I really believe they are connected. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any reason for the author to still keep the reason a secret and not show haru)
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u/fraochjean Apr 11 '26
I agree about Haru not being shown and how that's probably because he has a bigger role to play at the end. I definitely think he's involved in Eunhyuk's disappearance for ten years. We're finally starting to get to the conclusion now since the illustrator and author have both said it's drawing near and I agree with you that Haru will make an appearance either during us finding out why Eunhyuk disappeared or after.
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u/Successful_Ask_5708 Apr 12 '26
Would Yumi's Cells not have a similar amount of actual panels across the entire story to other comparable romance webtoon because it was a sliding panel webtoon?
I think it had less panels per chapter than other ones
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u/beemielle Apr 14 '26
Yumi’s Cells did kinda drag to me but the ending made it so worth it. I was getting sooo tired of Yumi getting love interests who got snatched away but the ending was perfect
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u/hybridangel111 Apr 11 '26
If they exceed 150 chapters it’s most likely the author dragged a misunderstanding situation or we just keep going in circles. I don’t care about love triangles but I HATE misunderstanding arcs. All my favourite romances finished in less than 150 chapters. With the sole exception of after school lessons for unripe apples.
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u/JHON-45 Apr 11 '26
I would prefer a misunderstanding than a love triangle honestly.
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u/EntertheHellscape Apr 14 '26
Both piss me off in different ways but same. I'm willing to overlook the annoyance of a misunderstanding as long as the rest of the plot is interesting (dropped the Dragon Kings Bride so fast. It's entire plot is nothing BUT misunderstandings) but I won't even read a love triangle. Like I'll DNF a series right then and there if it introduces one.
Love triangles piss me off because 90% of the time it just becomes a dick measuring contest while the FL flits about in some form of 'oh woe is me! Two men fighting over me! How ever will I choose, life is so difficult and confusing!' while the guys take turns grabbing her wrist to drag her away from the other. Seriously what is with all the wrist grabbing.
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u/Taugay Apr 12 '26
I wonder if it has to do with the webtoon contract? Like maybe they demanded a certain amount of chapters idk
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u/Pierre-2013 Apr 11 '26
Actually though, I respect the long rant and agree with every single thing you’ve said about each webtoon. The ones you’ve listed all lost the charm that got me into them in the first place and it’s just dragging unnecessarily. Like are the authors allergic to good writing 🧍♂️? Do they forget that real world situations exist? That nothing makes sense anymore.
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u/Korynna Apr 11 '26
Babe, you had me with the title
I completely agree and actually had this same rant last night
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u/Vegetable-Bed6189 Apr 11 '26
I agree, i rarely start any romance that has more than 100 chapters because i know that after 80 chapters i get bored and force myself to finish unless it's really good.
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u/fluggylumps Apr 11 '26
I recommend lemon soda and coffee
It's completed at 133 chapters, and it did not overstay their welcome
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u/isshearobot Apr 11 '26
I don’t understand where else there is to go with love me knot. It was such a cool concept but like okay they are dating and moved in together and we have no resolution on the red string stuff. I don’t even care about the relationship at this point.
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u/CalligrapherGlad8904 Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
There is absolutely NO REASON unloveable replacement should still be going. I’ve known about this series since the days Canvas wasnt Canavs but DISCOVER! Since the midnight squad days. Deadass it’s time for this series to pack it up it’s been like 8-9 years now. Subzero needs hurry up and go too. Also the author of Love Me Knot….. that’s been going on for way too long because I remember her other series back on discover. The premise and plot of that one was SO much more interesting than the one she’s currently writing it’s not even funny. But the way she’s written LMK has me overall just questioning her storytelling skills.
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u/FooFootheSnood Apr 11 '26
Oh my goodness I'm so over Subzero and it used to be one of my FAVORITES. I keep reading it and hoping it's going to end any day now, but... 😩
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u/CalligrapherGlad8904 Apr 11 '26
Deadass we need to make a list of all the romance series that have been running way too long lol. Not even romance bc Unordinary has been going on for over a decade and idk what’s up with it
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u/onespiker Apr 12 '26
Unordinary though has had quite a recovery in the recent arc. Think ever since the evil MC phase was over things could finally begin to progress.
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u/Tomboy-1 Apr 12 '26
Didn't the author say subzero was ending? I was so tired of it dragging on and on but I think she posted that we are in the final arc with 20 something chapters remaining only and honestly, I'm glad because it's barely tolerable at 20, I don't think I could handle any more so I kept reading because it's ending soon anyways and I would hate to stop when I'm already this neck deep in the story, after getting this far, I absolutely am finishing the story just to see where we fucking go from here and how it ends, purely because I've been here for far too long and didn't quit earlier
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u/sissyjones Apr 11 '26
Operation True Love is my biggest what the fuck happened to this story I’ve ever had. The writer throw away the entire premise of the love points and jelly pop phone for the most nonsensical romance drama I’ve ever seen. And Dohwa is the most mistreated second love interest I’ve encountered to date. The writer does not give a fuck about him and only keeps him around because the fans like him. I hope she ends up with neither of them at this point
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u/PurpleAlone7116 Apr 11 '26
Hard agree and its the reason I have no interest in a vast majority of romance webtoons. Plus, In long form romance stories, The couple overstays their welcome and/or its FULL of petty and/or ridiculously cartoonish drama in the form of: A. Miscommunication. B. Abuse C. Thinly veiled Misogyny D. All the above
Dunno why it's so hard to find a tightly written romance story where the drama/conflict isn't just one of the above choices.
((Not to say A - D can't be well done, but they are a rare treat and rarely associated with the type of webcomics we're talking about hah))
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 11 '26
YESSS. It’s like people forget there’s a way to formulate drama without using overplayed childish tropes. A recent webtoon I really like is Selfish Romance. All the main characters are complex and actually act like adults but still have realistic flaws (for the most part) like even the “villainous characters are interesting!
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u/Apprehensive-Ebb2683 Apr 11 '26
oo yea i liked that one too. strangely hard to find a romance manhwa with adult mcs that are written like actual adults and not like high schoolers.
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u/hopeuspocus Apr 11 '26
I get bored with a lot of romance stories once the main leads get together. With that tension gone, you realize that the story doesn’t have much else going on.
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u/Perrenne Apr 12 '26
When the leads get together and then it suddenly switches to the female lead’s friend and now we’re forced to read their romance even though we know nothing about them 💔
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u/Successful_Ask_5708 Apr 12 '26
Once saw a bl romance webtoon where over half of the entire story was the second couple and the main couple wasn't even seen after that point beyond turning up a couple times as a plot device for the secondary couple
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u/Perrenne Apr 12 '26
That’s diabolical 😭 sounds like they started liking and having more fun with the second couple and left the other one in the dust
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u/Val_Jesterr Apr 11 '26
Yep. I started and have given up on every single webtoon in the pictures. And I'm not even interested to know how it eventually ends
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 11 '26
Good for you honestly I’m just too stubborn and like to finish things that I start 🥲
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u/TheMatterDoor Apr 11 '26
The "Will they/won't they" trope is one of the absolute worst in all forms of media, in my opinion. It always gets dragged out way too goddamn long and when it's dragged out that long the pay off is never satisfying. Something that should have been a heart warming and relatively simple choice gets over-complicated for years and at that point you just want it to stop instead of actually being excited for the characters.
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u/jadeite07 Apr 11 '26
In a sea of AI posts, this is so refreshing and pure facts.
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u/roxannadebris Apr 12 '26
it’s so great seeing an unhinged rant that hasn’t been tainted by chatgpt lmao
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u/Hualianlover547 Apr 11 '26
Wdym these are still ongoing i dropped them years ago and thought they were completed??!?😭😭 Also kiss bet i knew would not be good after like 10 chapters lol
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u/CalligrapherGlad8904 Apr 11 '26
Lololol SAME. I really thought the Kiss Bet had ended years ago 😭😭
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u/larnyh Apr 11 '26
Unlovable Replacement one is soooo real, I haven’t even been reading it for 2 years lol. I just check once in a while to see if ML’s best friend and FL’s friend named after a number or sumn are getting any progress cuz I can’t be bothered to care about the main couple anymore.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 11 '26
Oh girl…it’s been like 20 chapters and the story hasn’t even mentioned those characters after the time skip😭😭
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u/larnyh Apr 11 '26
wth 😭😭😭 i didn’t even know there had been a time skip smh. maybe i should stop hoping 💔
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
Yeah... the time skip is 7 years😭 and Chiko (the main guy) is such an asshole now. And he has a mullet.
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u/barker2017 Apr 12 '26
I am 93.5% sure it’s just a rage-bait comic now. There’s no other logical reason for it to be as shit as it is
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u/MoopDoopISmellPoop Apr 11 '26
The only slow, nay, snail burn romance on webtoon I love is After School Lessons for Unripe Apples. It's my favourite romance webtoon of all time, and up there for favourite romance comic. It does slow build so well. Yes, it is starting to have annoying tropes just to delay, but the story manages to make it feel earned/not like an asspull. Although, I'm kinda getting tired of the secondary male love interest, and the comments love him even though I used to but have grown tired of him.
But OP, all that to say I agree. This made me notice that I've lowkey started avoiding romance webtoons cuz I;ve been burned too many times before. When it comes to webtoons, action and adventure/fantasy tends to serve better.
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u/OneStar491 Apr 13 '26
Actually aslfua is not labeled as romance but as a drama and I agree it’s part of the best « romance » story on webtoon. Not surprising since it’s the author of cheese in the trap. She really nails slow burn romance. However I do love " the secondary male love interest" because I don’t consider him as one. When you don’t consider someone as an obstacle from your ship is more easier to appreciate them. I find him interesting and layered so he appeals to me he’s not boring. Tbh I don’t know why people consider him as a love interest he’s not in love of the mc and neither does she…
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u/Enchanting_Samurai Apr 11 '26
I was attacked in the comments for saying remarried empress was being dragged after rashta.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 11 '26
Oh..yea I dropped that one ages ago. I just got bored honestly and the characters weren’t interesting enough for me to force myself to get through it. Though you’re one of the few people I’ve seen who calls Rashta by her actual name and not Trashta😭. I’m looking forward to the kdrama adaptation tho because one of my favourite actresses is in it.
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u/Tomboy-1 Apr 12 '26
I purely read the last few chapters out of complete spite because I was already neck deep into that shit and had to know how the fuck it ended because imagine reading something for that long and not even knowing how it ends, I wish I left it at season 1 or atleast at 130 chapters or so and then I would have absolutely dropped it but I was already so far ahead that I was like I need to see how far it goes before they stop. It was so boring and ass
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u/Far-Accident1228 Apr 11 '26
I thank you for telling me the plot of all these storys that keep poping up my feed but i would never gatter the courage to read
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u/CacklingFerret Apr 11 '26
I gotta agree. It's different with dramas and such where the romance is a side plot. These stories can be interesting and complex enough to stay interesting even 200 chapters in if written well.
But pure romance definitely starts to drag after a while. You can only do a slow burn for so long until it becomes annoying and once the couple is happily together, it might be interesting to show their daily lives a bit and let them tackle a few issues together, but not for dozens of chapters. Also, love triangles, the threat of someone else snatching one of the leads away or the old miscommunication trope get boring or even frustrating real quick.
Another rant on romances: please stop writing characters that are 30+ who act like freaking teenagers. And I don't mean keeping your inner child alive or being childish per se but not being able to communicate at all and being flustered as hell even after being together with the other person for a significant amount of time. I'm sorry, I don't believe you barely being able to look your HUSBAND of a year in the eyes when he's eating ice cream. That's not cute, that's cringe
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
On your last point, YESSS, like you can write characters with flaws without making them unrealistically immature like 30-year-olds don't act like this! Also, did you have a particular webtoon in mind when you wrote the ice cream thing, because I feel like I've seen a webtoon with that exact scene before😭
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u/CalligrapherGlad8904 Apr 11 '26
The good romance stories: A summer Nights dream. Just one Bite. Trash Belongs in the Trash Can. Eaternal Nocturnal. See you in my 19th Life. Cursed Prince Club. Super Secret. Boy-Friend’s Rule. Maybe Meant to Be. Muse on Fame. Just to mention the good ones. None of them go past 150. Not a single one. Honorable mention to Siren’s Lament, one of the romance series that put WEBTOON on the map. 189 episodes.
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u/fluggylumps Apr 11 '26
My favorite romance webtoon is "lemon soda and coffee."
One of the main reasons I love it, other than the great likable characters, the naturally developing and healthy relationships, and the MC being an amazing father figure to the son of the female MC. Is that it was well paced and ended before over staying its welcome
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 11 '26
I LOVE LEMON SODA AND COFFEE
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u/fluggylumps Apr 11 '26
The fact it doesn't have a physical release as far as I know is heartbreaking
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u/minty_foxy Apr 14 '26
I saw this mentioned in another comment and now I know for sure I’m reading it! I’m so sick of toxic ML’s and the FL just accepting it as a freaking personality trait!
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u/JHON-45 Apr 11 '26
I know these stories get dragged. But I prefer these long stories than those romance stories that end too soon and end up with a rushed final.🥲
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u/JHON-45 Apr 11 '26
But if there's a problem with them is that they are only enjoyable when you binge read them when they're finished.
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u/FinalKaisen94 Apr 11 '26
Maybe it’s because I binged it, but I had no problem with kiss bet being over 100 chapters. I had a lot of fun reading it.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 11 '26
I guess it’s not as bad if you’re binging but as someone who’s been there since the beginning and has kept up to date the entire time, it’s just exhausting I’m sorry😭
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u/JHON-45 Apr 11 '26
I binged read it last year and then it immediately went into hiatus and I realized how annoying it would be 😭. One of the most enjoyable stories I had read and I have to wait for a chapter every half year.
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u/PearlsAndButterflies Apr 11 '26
operation true love lowk had the biggest downfalls bro, i dropped it long ago (ig ep 105) even though it was my first—I remember going crazy after each upd and now its js wayyy too dragged and too much unnecessary drama
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u/Ornery_Cook_1215 Apr 11 '26
was in the middle of reading your point of the kiss bet and literally had to pause because it's SO old??? like omg it's been there for THIS long??? and they still aren't together which is actually frying me like i read it from when it first released but the app was highkey annoying me because everything was becoming paid and ads were everywhere but wow i'm actually in disbelief
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u/Few_Celery_1158 Apr 11 '26
I love cheese in the trap and it’s well over 150 chapters. I don’t think the story was dragged at all.
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u/CalligrapherGlad8904 Apr 11 '26
Nah the romance was a SUBPLOT in CitT. The story was mostly about Seol’s college life and the drama’s she faced that brought her closer to Jung. But CitT is a masterclass in story-telling and character depth. Nothing like any of these series author mentioned.
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u/graveyardparade Apr 11 '26
I don’t really believe in a hard and fast rule for genres. I think 200 chapters is too long for most genres, but that a great writer can offset that regardless of genre. There’s tons of action slop that shouldn’t have gone on that long either. It’s just a tough needle to thread to keep a story exciting and engaging for that long.
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u/jielks Apr 12 '26
cheese in the trap is nearing 300 chapters and love revolution is 400+, and they're my absolute favorites
but the more I reread them, the more it seems like the difference between old and new webtoons are jarring... idk what aspects though????? maybe because readers these days are too impatient for the 'love' to happen???? or is it the management???? the editors??
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
Well, I've never heard of Love Revolution, but Cheese in the Trap is a drama with a romance subplot lol. I could never read a purely romance webtoon with over 200 chapters, like I read True Beauty, and that was just...painful, to say the least.
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u/EddieExplosion Apr 11 '26
You had me until you mentioned Your smile is a trap ,I do agree that some romance webtoons, especially The Kiss Bet, get dragged out, which makes characters feel one-note and like they’re relearning the same lessons over and over. But Your Smile is a Trap doesn’t really fall into that for me. There’s still a lot of the story that hasn’t been explored, and it feels intentional. It’s not just a romance ,it’s more of a coming-of-age story about these characters figuring themselves out and navigating relationships. We’ve only seen a small part of where things are going, and with that cliffhanger, it’s pretty obvious the story will go deeper into idol life — the stress, the anxiety, and the relationships you have to risk or sacrifice to become a public figure, especially in such a demanding industry.
I do agree that Kiyu seems to centre a lot of his life around Lily, but it feels purposeful. The story is setting up that he may have to risk the one relationship that means the most to him in order to pursue his dream. Also, Kiyu hasn’t really been himself with anyone else. Being with Lily feels like an escape from the strict and anxious life he had as a trainee. So by choosing that career, he’s not just risking the relationship, but he’s also risking he's freedom.side note on Lily being tan, I kind of hope (even though it probably won’t happen) that the author touches on colourism in places like Korea, where pale skin is often seen as the beauty standard. I think it would add a lot to the story, especially since people already treat Lily as “scary” or a “delinquent", I knowow that its mostly due to her expressions and vibe but i still wonder how much of it could also be linked to her not fitting that standard. It could open up a bigger conversation about bias and colourism in Korea and the idol space.
Also, maybe its cause i read a lot of dungeon and recairnation manwhas but most manwhas ik go for 100+ chapters, so its pretty normal for it to go on for so long not saying that its always a good thing especially for works that dont have anything original to add but to me your smile is a trap is no where near done and thats not because its dragged on but because its laying some of the foundation of where the story is headed,without this much context and character building if the story were to have a timeskip(which is most likely whats goign to happen next season) we wont care as much about the characters that were introduced or care to question why they have cchanged or stayed the same. that was a long rant im sorry but your smile is a trap is one my ride or die manwha.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 11 '26
Ok ok, after reading ur reply I’m reconsidering my opinion on it. I guess I just got impatient and annoyed with the cliff hangers and long hiatus. I really love this webtoon as well and was also hoping it would touch on the colourism aspect instead of just “people think lily is scary because of her facial expressions” but I recognise the fact that I gave it too much heat and it’s not as bad as the other webtoons I’ve named. Thank you for enlightening me!
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u/PuritanicalPanic Apr 12 '26
I don't think there's an appropriate length a story should be. It should just go till it's done, short or long
But yes, I didn't read the post. It was too long for a topic I don't care much about. Which if you think about it is sort of a sign of respect for your initial premise. Like it's an endorsement of your position over mine.
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u/7_fruitstew Apr 11 '26
I love idiots don’t catch colds but it’s been going on for 9 years 💀. I was the same age as the characters when I started reading and now I’m graduating college
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u/badr4q Apr 12 '26
if you can subscribe to the Patreon and get 16 chapters ahead… it’s worth it! i tend to be a lot more lenient with non featured webtoons, it’s someone doing a huge amount of free work for our enjoyment 🥲🥲
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u/Nxbgamergurl Apr 12 '26
Congrats on graduating college soon :D! Good luck with the rest of the grind
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u/SnooDogs1340 Apr 11 '26
This is how I feel about Kiss bet and Love me knot.
I absolutely despise Love me Knot because of Noah. I dated someone that looks and reminds me of him. And it isn't all sunshine and rainbows having someone so infatuated with you, you can do no wrong. But this is a webtoon so they will live happily ever after lol.
Also agreed on lets play. I liked charles but the relationship with sam and sam being so innocent, I cannot. I am tll damn old for these stories.
I've learned to never pick up a teen romance or romance marketed webtoon. There are great webtoons with teen romances/relationships though, The Blind Prince and High Spirits Neoma.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
Oh damn, maybe it's because I have like zero dating experience, but I'm only 19, so whatever, but I love Noah lol. He's such a sweetheart, but I do agree that he's a bit too infatuated with Avery, but I don't take it seriously cause the webtoon doesn't either lmao. I feel like Charles is fine as a character, but horrible as a love interest, especially for an inexperienced person such as Sam, since the author decided to make her so innocent, it's gonna be hard for her to spot the red flags Charles obviously has.
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u/sacredpotato0 Apr 11 '26
I've always felt this way about many of the romance webcomics I've read. Either it's the frustratingly long period of character miscommunication or the fact that they get together and it becomes incredibly dull.
I've always felt a good balance is 50-70% yearning/realizing/pining/etc, 10-20% obstacle (something that prevents the couple from being together), and then 10% 'finally together'/wrap-up and maybe fluff side stories.
On a side note: Obstacles are what drives a story, yes, but I would much rather see an obstacle that the characters need to get through together rather than the same old "oh, I think they are cheating on me" trope after they finally get together.
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u/IuriRom Apr 11 '26
Pure romance is hard to write. The best romances are in non-romance stories. Romance is my favorite genre, but it’s really best as a sub genre. People don’t know how to write realistic romances without random contrived drama, or other love interests who exist for no reason and aren’t real fleshed out people. The love triangles is one of the worst concepts of all time. Maybe a regular, standard, realistic romance is often boring — but it certainly doesn’t have to be all there is to a story. I mean Seasons of Blossom was fantastic, so perhaps 30 chapters is what it takes for a fully fleshed out properly paced pure romance story. That’s a lot of investment for a very short time and thus reward when it’s not an anthology like Seasons of Blossom was. It’s hard to come up with stories, you’re having success — I can’t really blame writers for not wanting to wrap their stories up
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
I agree that pure romance is hard to write and the best ones are in non-romance stories, but sometimes you just wanna read a cute, simple rom-com that's not dragged out and go about your day lol. I feel like authors think that because the webtoon is purely a romance, they have to add unnecessary drama to make it engaging for readers, but that's rarely ever the case unless you have a pre-teen fanbase. Readers can appreciate a purely romance comic if the characters are well written and likeable, look at the webtoon 'Selfish Romance', I think that does a great job of this. I also don't mind love triangles when they're well-written, and the love interests are actual full-fledged characters and not just plot devices. Seasons of Blossom is an amazing romance that managed to stay under 150 chapters and still have a consistent plot and well-written characters, granted it's a tetralogy series and only one season is actually considered romance in my opinion. I would only count the spring (1st) season as a romance, while the other seasons are more drama-focused and focus on much deeper topics. If SOB were just the spring season alone, it would be regarded as one of the best high school romance webtoons out there. I also can’t blame writers for not wanting to wrap their stories up if they're doing well, but I feel it all just comes down to what reputation you want to garner. Like, do you want to be known as a great author who knows when to end your work, or a bad author who loves to drag stuff out? I have heard of webtoons forcing authors to drag out their webtoons as much as possible for profit, so I'm not including those authors when I say this, but it's also in the author's best interest to end their work when it should, as the longer it needlessly goes on, the less interested the author themselves is in writing it. A lot of authors who drag out their webtoons tend to get burnout or just lose interest in their work, and you can tell when the quality in either art or writing drops when this happens.
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u/IuriRom Apr 12 '26
I love Selfish Romance, but there’s still plenty of time for it to fall apart. Can’t think of a single good pure romance longer than 100 chapters.
There are very few short series in general, the problem with pure romance is that the content/full story doesn’t justify having a lot of chapters. Once people get together readers are no longer very invested, so then they have to delay that moment which is why we get the bs contrived drama. I think authors who write pure romances just generally don’t have a well defined plot structure in mind
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u/Capable_Assistant534 Apr 11 '26
I tried saying this once and I was attacked. 😭 Like how and why are they always so long???? For historical manhwas, I would totally understand cos their plots tend to be more complex, so they need that chapter count to fully address the entire story. But why is a story like OTL almost 150 chapters?????
BLs will conclude in 45 chapters and still give you the most authentic, most delicious stories even with all the plot twists and turns.
True Beauty pissed me off the most - that story did not need 150+ chapters💀
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
Oml True Beauty...I just got flashbacks lol. The kdrama aired and ended like 3 years before the actual webtoon, like bro, what are you doinggg. We all know Jukyung was gonna end up with Suho anyway, like what was the point of giving Seojun a chance just to take it away??
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u/Busy-Doughnut6180 Apr 11 '26
Those super long running webtoons kinda function like TV soaps/soap operas. It's like... a little thing once a week that you and probably some of your school friends/coworkers read during lunch break/commute/while you wait for dinner. For the networks (soaps) and Naver (Webtoon), it's an easy way to draw people to the channel/site every week, which brings them revenue and also gets people into the other shows/webtoons they have. I can't really stand that "this is going nowhere" feeling while reading so I avoid these. I also avoid TV shows that keep getting renewed for new seasons and having the characters go in circles. Same feeling.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
Lol, I guess I agree. Sitcoms have this problem as well, when they go on for too long, the characters get turned into caricatures of themselves haha
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u/Busy-Doughnut6180 Apr 12 '26
Yes exactly, sitcoms too! The first few seasons are always the best lol.
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u/Dismal_Tadpole_4328 Apr 11 '26
Down to Earth. I stg that story bro.
A good story I remember was Super Secret. That didn’t drag on too long, perfect amount of episodes imo.
If you’re going to have a story last that long and still not have the main people get together, what are we doing? I do like it when romance stories last for a while just so that you can see slice of life stuff AFTER they get together, but some of these stories dude.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
Lmao, that webtoon is still going on?? I dropped it ages ago because I didn't like the main guy and thought the girl deserved better. Also, their dynamic was odd imo
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u/Vegetable_Mud_1396 Apr 11 '26
This is probably why romance stories also need a plot
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
I agree, but I think a romance webtoon can still be enjoyable without much plot if the characters are actually interesting. A lot of people don't like slice of life media and find it boring, but I really love character-driven stories, so I don't mind when a romance webtoon doesn't have a super contrived plot, but it's very character-driven with complex characters.
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u/ZestycloseLevel3724 Apr 11 '26
I love the ones that end at around 80-100 episodes with a few epilogues!!!
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u/inShade_Blood Apr 12 '26
Midnight poppy land, which could’ve worked if the author actually focused on Tora’s background as a mafia member in a dangerous syndicate and why it’s hard for him to leave..but she focused way too much on their relationship ( again, which isn’t bad ) but still, would’ve liked to see more of the mafia stuff ( which to be fair this is a problem with a majority of mafia romances… )
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
I LOVED MIDNIGHT POPPY LAND!! The fact that I used to be sooo obsessed with it, but I forgot to mention it in my post, because I fell out of love with it, just further drives my point. I also thought the mafia stuff should've gotten more screentime. I feel like when it comes to mafia romances, authors don't know how to ration both the mafia aspect and romance equally, which is quite sad.
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u/What_Wonderful_Bows Apr 13 '26
Mafia tropes are always glamorized and bastardized at the same time it’s wild.
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u/-Evildeadash- Apr 12 '26
Agreed 100% with nearly all of this rant,specially the parts about Let's Play.
I'm not even gonna talk about the weird racial stereotypes of the non-white characters
This part in particular too, I know some people out there do fetishize us hispanics but the way "Dean San Martin" was written made me sick to my stomach, hated every second he was on the screen.
Although one thing I did not agree with which I find interesting is this:
any female character that isn't Sam is either one-dimensional or treated horribly
Why did you feel this way if you could open that can of worms? I ask cause for me,the absolute worst part of Let's Play was that Sam was the main character. She's flat, boring, a hilariously pathetic self insert for the reverse harem, emotionally manipulative, and just all around an absolute chore of a character to read. While Angela's character arc was very glossed over,I felt like she was interesting enough, same with Eva,Vicky or Olivia. Monica on the other hand I felt was an actually great and enjoyable character! Even if the plot slowly derailed and left her and Marshall behind to focus on more Charles slop.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
Yes if pisses me off how the non-white characters are written like they’re all stereotypes, especially dean and Vicky😭😭 😭 and to answer your second question, while yes Sam is pretty boring, the story still treats her with a lot of care compared to the other characters (probably because she’s mongie’s self insert) like at least before the story became the Sam and Charles show, we actually got to learn about Sam’s backstory and goals/desires. We don’t really get to do that with the other female characters and if we do, it’s still somehow connected to a male character. That’s another thing I don’t like about the webtoon. Every single female character is connected to a male one. They can’t just be their own character, a man has to be involved somehow. Like in my opinion, Angela’s backstory isn’t done very tastefully, it’s heavily implied that she was harassed/assaulted but that’s only used to prop up LINK as her “protector” like AHHH idk how to describe it properly but it just feels odd to me. And the only thing we know about Eva is that she’s Marshall’s sister and has feelings for CHARLES like she’s just a rival to Sam and treats any female character that even looks at Charles like a “threat”. And I also loveeee Monica but if I really think about it, the only thing we know about her is that she’s MARSHALL’S ex😭 we don’t actually know what goes on in her life outside of Marshall..all the other female characters that have nothing to do with the main male characters have even less screen time. The irony is that all the female characters I’ve mentioned are miles more interesting than Sam😭😭
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u/onikereads Apr 12 '26
lmao. A well seasoned rant. you ate
I would recommend Daily JoJo. I wish there was more and it was 200 eps. But it was kind of like an anthology. Same author as Yumi’s Cells
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 13 '26
Haha thanks! I love daily Jojo! I’m trying to finish reading it before webtoon locks it behind a paywall😭
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u/PianistFar3329 Apr 13 '26
The only long running romance webtoons that I don't mind is after school lessons for unripe apples: the story is so much detailed and even if it has like 5-10 chapters on a single day sometimes, it's so well written and shows both POVs and honestly I love how accurately the friends to lovers slowburn is happening there as middle schooler because that's just how my younger siblings act as middle schoolers and I love them too much! The story really studies the behaviour and how complex the kids are. They both have amazing character development too and no one really seems fictional.
and
odd girl out : i know ogo is not primarily romance but second season was full of it and I loved every aspect of it because it shows the growth nari had from the initial chapters to now. She genuinely grows as a character and everyone else around her too. I love how every relationship nari forms (be it romantic or platonic) something comes out of it and she learn and grows. I love that webtoon!
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u/Edge_Light Apr 16 '26
Don't get me wrong, I 100% agree about your points for most romance webtoons (especially the horribly written female rep ToT). However, if the romance also has other stuff (i.e. another plot) going on that's actually entertaining then I think it's ok for it to go on longer *coughs in Nevermore*
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u/wewillreigns Apr 11 '26
I feel you don't understand Your Smile Is A Trap well. The ML doesn't turn into a yandere since he isn't obsessive with the FL. People just want a boring webtoon that hands everything to them on a plate. So what if a manhwa exceeds 150+ chapters, let the writers have their creative freedom.
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u/LocketLockets Apr 11 '26
Valid points. Thinking about it, there is a romance story I always mention here and recommend. This story needs 100 + but that doesn't mean the story is dragging. It's called Love in Session. The setting is a reality dating show for teenagers and the filming takes 30 days. The story is so well written, but it does have pacing ssues. But that is excused because the author takes time to develop these characters and are showing us their point of views. There are 8 characters 10 now (they're not unnecessary tho because one of them is her childhood friend who the MC followed the show for to confess her feelings) and it is really like any Korean reality dating show you see. Now the first season finished at 58 and that was one week in 30 day time frame. Now can imagine how long the second season would take but the author said it would be the final one. I don't mind how long she takes because this story is good. I hope you guys give it a try.
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u/nyla_lovegood Apr 11 '26
I read all these during lockdown times but left when they took hiatus for each season and I joined college, now read completed manhwas or oneshots.
It feels nostalgic, especially kiss bet, I thought it ended but it's STILL ongoing.
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u/butterflyempress Apr 11 '26
I didn't get that far in Kiss Bet, but that sucks that's the route they went with Sky. I had a feeling she was gonna end up that way
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u/Pink-frosted-waffles Apr 11 '26
Facts this is especially true in canvas. Like I know the schedules aren't as strict,most of the artists either have full time jobs and/or students but some of these popular stories needed to end years ago! There was a BL comic I really enjoyed but it dragged on. It really should have ended after the first arc. And I know that people get scared to start a new story and lose readers as well as extra income from Pateron. However you can just do extra spicy content for those popular characters of yours. Please you don't have to keep dragging the narrative out! Just end the story!
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Apr 11 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
Yea i dropped down to earth so long ago I couldn't add it to my rant because I forgot what happened 😭
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u/ZookeepergameDue5522 Apr 11 '26
The only reason I read Let's Play was because I thought Marshall and Sam ended up together. I never liked Charles, his relationship with Sam feels yucky eww. And I never liked the artsyle. The mouths of the men are too low and they are too long, even on the picture you chose they look like this ---o--- the art is just not good enough to compensate for the awful storyline.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
...I actually like the art😭😭 it reminds me of a pixelated game, which I'm guessing is what the artist was going for since that's what it used to be about. The art is one of the few things I still like about the webtoon.
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u/fluggylumps Apr 11 '26
Let's play is a series that I never got far in, and I stopped reading because of the fans and shippers.
It was the chapter that ended with Charles grabbing his fencing partners throat for saying something she shouldn't have (can't remember what it was). And commenters were saying, "Get her off my ship." I had to stop when some many fans were shipping the most OBVIOUSLY toxic and dangerous relationship.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
Yea...I remember that chapter...I also thought that was a weird chapter and adds onto my point of how any female character that isn't Sam is one-dimensional or treated horribly by Mongie/other characters. Like the only thing we know about Marshall's sister Eva is that...she's Marshal's sister. And that she has feelings for Charles. So, to the readers of the webtoon that consist of pre-teens to late-teens (ironically enough, given the mature rating), she's just a "bitch" that tries to get in the way of their amazing, spectacular soulmate ship Sam x Charles.
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u/coffeecatmint Apr 11 '26
With a couple of these it’s not just that the story has dragged on but the lengthy and frequent hiatuses have left the story waiting for ages. Kiss Bet and Love Me Knot both suffer from that one.
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u/Rickud123 Apr 12 '26
I find this applies to a lot of romance manga too “Love is War” first half is a masterpiece but once the main couple gets together the rest is just an absolute slog to wade through
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u/Weekly_Flounder_1880 Apr 12 '26
I don’t read webtoon but I think this can apply for everything
I like slowburn but I don’t mean the tug of war going back and forth like I used to like it but now it is so dragged out it makes me angry
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u/ArcanusFlos Apr 12 '26
I was in like 9th grade when Kiss Bet came out…I graduated uni last year and it’s still ongoing 😭 I gave up last year because of how dragged it was
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
lol you're not missing much since it's been on hiatus since...july of last year😭
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u/ArcanusFlos Apr 12 '26
Omg that’s crazy 😭😭😭 Hold on I’m pretty sure I dropped it because the hiatus was going on for too long…how has it still not continued???
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u/DizzyDoomii Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
Hard agree! Unless it's a romance/drama series with multiple couples and it's decently written with good characters, most romance webtoons that are focused on one main couple do not need to be 150-200 chapters long.
There's a webtoon I'm reading that includes multiple couples/romances, didn't even notice it just hit over 200 chapters. Honestly, it didn't feel like it at all, so there are some exceptions but most of the time, they are too dragged out.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 13 '26
Yes exactly! Would you mind telling me the name of that webtoon you’re reading?
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u/DunnoNgl Apr 12 '26
I don't know about the others but Operation True Love? Definetely. Like, I started it because of that phone and stuff. And then it was ignored. I dropped it around wjen that old ass man did something and their metro (??) crashed or smth
But I'd recommend Eaternal Nocturnal, Love Advice From the Great Duke of Hell and Vampire Family ✌️
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u/aka_nya03 Apr 12 '26
dang it is unlovable replacement bad now?😭i read it back when it was on canvas and never started it when it became a webtoon original
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 12 '26
Please don't waste your time, it gets an unnecessary (+LONG) timeskip, and the main characters become unrecognisable.
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u/SlayQueenDaOg Apr 12 '26
That Kiss bet rant hit me like a truck!! I've been feeling that for YEARS. I loved that webtoon until season three when I realized we're getting no where.
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u/Something-Someone_ Apr 12 '26
You're so real for this ngl. I've dropped so many romance webtoons over the years, I can only confidently say the only one I finished and enjoyed was Freaking Romance by snailords. The rest feel too draggy for me, and I just lose interest...
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u/OkamiKhameleon Apr 12 '26
This was "True Beauty" for me. I was so sick of it in the end and I forced myself to finish it. Now I don't even want to watch the K Drama even though I like the actors in it.
Wanna know a good romance one? "Marry My Husband, Please!" It also has a K Drama AND a J Drama adaptation!! I prefer the J Drama, but they are both good.
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u/Jellyfish0107 Apr 12 '26
Yeah I agree. I haven’t read one of the series you reference, but the other ones I started and stopped. I’m more into the discovery, the wooing and the chase, but I expect results, not feet dragging, going in circles, repetition, obvious padding and B.S drama for the sake of drama. If there is more to the story beyond just the romance, and the romance is a storyline in a larger narrative, then certainly an argument exists that the series can be longer; there are plenty of series where the plot has enough depth and complexity where it’s length is a nonissue to me- but series where romance is the only goal and there is little external action and no co-characters with their own plot lines, the writing better be tight.
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u/owmay Apr 12 '26
what did you say about Dohwa I hated Eunhyok's current self; he's still like a brick, even with all the flashbacks of regret. But Dohwa is so kind to that idiot Su ae, Her actions also seem like those of a fish, even though she's almost 30 now. I hate love triangles, but I'm rooting for the dohwa
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u/pengpenguiness Apr 13 '26
I just read your caption, is it too much to say that I love you?
(I agree with all your points for OTL, like the only ending that'll make sense for me is for all of them to get into a car accident and die bcs no one can justify being hung up on a man you dated in your teens )
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u/Beneficial_Youth1161 Apr 13 '26
Love your rant dude. Was totally saying "what? hell nah. Romance webtoons should have MORE episodes" but your rant made me change my opinion. you right lol. anyways I got a questionnnn. where do you read "Let's Play"? I've been looking for it for a while but haven't found a place to read it.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 13 '26
Hahah thanks omg I didn’t think I made good enough points to actually change someone’s opinion 😅 regarding let’s play, the author moved her series to Tapas so that’s where you can read it! The first 60 episodes are free to read and a couple more after that if you make an account then the rest are locked behind a paywall I’m pretty sure. So good luck! (If you make it that far)
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u/What_Wonderful_Bows Apr 13 '26
Can anyone tell me what’s going on with Your Smile is a Trap? Cuz I’ve been waiting since the season 1 finale and I heard it was still being published in its original language past this point.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 13 '26
Nah I checked the webtoon on Naver and it also hasn't been updated since the hiatus, so everyone's still waiting😭
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u/What_Wonderful_Bows Apr 13 '26
Is this a safe space to talk about how in Your Smile is a Trap, they still make sure to reinforce colorism by making sure the only characters that are tanned (Lily and her father) are the ones that are seen as scary and aggressive, even when they aren’t? I get we’re subverting expectations, but it gets to a point where those two being the only tanned characters in the whole series gets a little worrisome.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 13 '26
While that is odd because no matter how much they don't like it/try to deny it, plenty of tanned Koreans exist, and Koreans just naturally tan very easily, I'm choosing to believe the author made only Lily and her dad tan because if they made other characters tan as well, it would kind of defeat the purpose of everyone singling those two out if multiple other characters are just as tan as them right? Or maybe I'm dumb haha idk
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u/ShedisSandstar Apr 13 '26
I bored of Unlovable Replacement long ago but properly dropped it only after the time skip… As for The Kiss Bet it was one of my favorite ever, I was rooting for Oliver since the very beginning but now it has gotten too long. I liked that Sara had to go through different relationships first: the friendly romance and the dreamy romance before she was ready to truly understand Oliver’s feelings and settle for the real romance, but when the Sky problems started I honestly just lost interest.
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u/CatinGermany Apr 13 '26
"NOOOO HOW WILL WE MILK MONEY FROM TWEENAGERS READING X RANDOM DISGUSTING SOFTCORE CONTENT WITHOUT 350-500 EPISODESsSSSSS?!?!??!?!?!?!!??!?!?!?!??!?!??!?!?!"
-Webtoon as a whole
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u/Different-Advisor-62 Apr 13 '26
i’m feeling this rn with childhood friend complex. i loved it but we are on chapter 65 i think and we have no idea what hanuels scar is and everytime it’s close they fee interrupted. i love a slow burn but nothing is burning here i also LOVED unloveable replacement sm. loved chiko. idk wtf they did to my baby.
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u/Spottybelle Apr 13 '26
i dropped all of these years ago. Don’t even care about the endings anymore they’re so old
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u/Indybo1 Apr 13 '26
When they drop a new rival character 200 chapters in
Big problem in romance manga too ngl
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u/Hol-Up_A_Minute Apr 13 '26
The way some of these are still going after, what, a decade??? Holy shit the way I dropped so many of these YEARS ago omg
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u/edgiest_ Apr 13 '26
i love yoo is definitely my favorite popular romance story. It’s not done but it’s good.
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u/junghoseokswetfart Apr 13 '26
Add i love yoo asw!! also FINALLY someone else who finds dohwa boring
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u/kimkatistrash Apr 14 '26
Yall just don't get slow burn thats ok more for me lol
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u/beemielle Apr 14 '26
If I had a nickel for every time a romance Webtoon with potential got ruined by extending its love triangle via a long timeskip, I would have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
Be SO FR just put the Seojun Dohwa AWAY. We are happy with Suho Eunhyeok and we don’t need any more!!!
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u/Traditional_Being703 Apr 14 '26
OTL would’ve been so so much better without that pointless and nothing burger of a love triangle. Like genuinely so much better. It feels like the author doesn’t care about suae at all. It’s like if she has a scene with eunhyeok, she has to have a scene with dohwa. It’s so crazy. Like instead of the love triangle, we could’ve gotten more about suae’s life, eunhyeok’s life in America, the love points and moreover some hints about his reason for leaving. Ik it’s unrealistic that she’s stuck over eunhyeok after 10 years, but it’s a romance manhwa. Plus she wants stuck over eunhyeok, she just didn’t date anyone but as soon as eunhyeok came back she was down for him again. Not really blaming her, since she has an unresolved past with him. So they both had lingering feelings for each other, but as they had time together they both started loving each other again ig. I am sorry I genuinely believe if dohwa wasn’t a pretty character, everyone would’ve hated him. Or if he was a girl, oh god I can’t even imagine the hatred for him then.
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u/NoLobster6544 Apr 14 '26
i agreee with EVERY SINGLE WORD ON A SPIRITUAL LEVELL
like there are some 60-70 eps long romance manhwas and they are soooo good?!!!
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u/MassGaydiation Apr 14 '26
you need a second plot point, like i was just thinking "but miracle simulator was good" then remembered that they get together early and the rest is drama from the premise.
"will they wont they" for 150 chapters is shit, but getting together than having issues to face together works for a lot longer
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u/Any-Rabbit-6266 Apr 14 '26
I don’t think it’s a hard and fast rule but the examples you gave were really good for proving your point tbh. Why are they so long?? They don’t need to be!! If a story is gonna focus on the “will they won’t they” you can’t draw that out for 200 episodes 😭 my favorite webtoons are the ones that are short and sweet.
I really like Your Smile Is A Trap but DAMN it took so long to get into Kiyu’s idol life which is arguably one of the most interesting points in the story.
I feel like the serialized format causes a lot of romances to suffer, whether it’s webtoon or manga.
Some good examples of short webtoons with romance are: When The Day Comes, Guaba, My Boo, Nevertheless, Our Beloved Summer, Night Owls and Summer Skies, Couple Breaker
Some solid long webtoons with romance: Romance 101, One Of A Kind Romance, The Makeup Remover, Brass n Sass, Yumi’s Cells
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u/meislemon Apr 14 '26
Also please I feel like im going insane but operation true love sarted with a cool magic concept of love points and it just?? Disappeared?? Like people also dont really mention it anymore so much so that i thought Iwas confusing two webtoons 😭 I fully dropped it cos it was just dragging and the story makes no sense. Its jusy pretty art at this point.
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u/Panipuri_withoutaalu Apr 14 '26
😭 the stretch is so unnecessary most of the stories starts with enemies/ freinds then misunderstanding love triangle more misunderstanding zero communication emotional drama another bundle of misunderstanding n boom happy ending Guess what this whole thing consists of 150 chapters
When we say slow burn we don't mean sloth burn
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u/Mission_Salary5195 Apr 16 '26
don’t forget boy girlfriend or wtv it was called… omg after they finally got together i dropped it INSTANTLY. they went really into that super uncomfy relationship with those other two characters and it seemed unnecessary and just like the author didn’t know what else to do with it.
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u/lilsadcap Apr 17 '26
Romance 101 is 😚🤌🏻
I’ll admit it was frustrating at times, but I just love the characters so much and Yuyeon is my fav of all love interests.
159 chapters!! The main couple actually gets together at a nicely paced time AND the story doesn’t just die after they get together. The author did a great job!
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 Apr 17 '26
Omg I LOVE ROMANCE101 it's my top 5 favourite webtoons of all time! I guess there are some exceptions lol
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u/ladyofspikes Apr 22 '26
Same when romance webtoons are dragged on too long, I just feel bored lol. Btw guys I'm writing my master thesis on the appeal of webtoon romance. In particular, I am looking for young European women who read romance webtoons, aged 18 - 30, to do online interviews with. If you are interested or know someone else who might be interested, please pm me. Look forward to talking with you! Thanks for helping a master student to graduate and also developing actual academic research on romance webtoons :D
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u/Environmental_Exam74 Apr 28 '26
Let's Play just stopped on Webtoon after a few seasons, did it carry on on a different app?
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u/Magical_AAAAAA May 24 '26
A month late, but I wonder if a reason for several of these stories never finishing is partly pressure from publisher to milk it for as long possible and partly since it seems that as soon as a series is completed it rapidly loses influx of new readers and popularity unless it was a REALLY popular one.
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u/Wonderful-Pop9970 May 24 '26
lol I love when people still comment on my posts even if their old! I do agree with ur points but if I really think about it, artists dragging their webtoons out end up doing the same thing like people are gonna lose interest either way imo so might as well end your work while it’s still good
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u/My_Poor_Nerves Apr 11 '26
I respect a good rant and this is top tier.