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REVIEW: True Beauty Manhwa Volume 1-3 Review




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thatoneonfire



Joined: 17 Jan 2018
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Thu Dec 28, 2023 2:12 pm Reply with quote
I completely agree with Caitlin on True Beauty. I remember when it first came out and I was intrigued by the premise and had the same expectations as to what it would touch on in terms of outward/inward beauty. I was sadly disappointed by its utter lack of anything meaningful. I think this is one series that rides on the love triangle that gets introduced; there's a sense that the author didn't anticipate it being this long so kept trying to pad it out (including "spin-off" episodes the webtoon is close to 250 of them!) A real shame this has become a bit of the face of Korean webcomics, although its popularity seems to have waned a little.

If Caitlin ever sees this, one Webtoon I would recommend that actually does play with the idea of beauty in a meaningful way (and is Korean!) is one called "The Makeup Remover". It's way more genuine, and heartfelt, and doesn't pull punches when it comes to the realities of beauty standards and to people who don't conform to them, whether they want to or not. There's no book out for it but it's all available for free on the Webtoon site and it is complete.
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all-tsun-and-no-dere
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 06 Jul 2015
Posts: 660
PostPosted: Thu Dec 28, 2023 2:24 pm Reply with quote
thatoneonfire wrote:

If Caitlin ever sees this, one Webtoon I would recommend that actually does play with the idea of beauty in a meaningful way (and is Korean!) is one called "The Makeup Remover". It's way more genuine, and heartfelt, and doesn't pull punches when it comes to the realities of beauty standards and to people who don't conform to them, whether they want to or not. There's no book out for it but it's all available for free on the Webtoon site and it is complete.


Thanks for the recommendation! I'll be sure to check it out when I have a chance.
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Triltaison



Joined: 03 Jul 2011
Posts: 799
PostPosted: Thu Dec 28, 2023 3:36 pm Reply with quote
I just wanted to share that this review really made me laugh. Thanks for the chuckle.
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MrPuzzles



Joined: 27 Sep 2023
Posts: 152
PostPosted: Thu Dec 28, 2023 3:49 pm Reply with quote
I'll never understand why crap like this is brought overseas almost effortlessly, yet the genuine greats like Blade of the Phantom Master have been all but forgotten.
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PumpkinMouse



Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Posts: 82
PostPosted: Fri Dec 29, 2023 7:20 pm Reply with quote
thatoneonfire wrote:
If Caitlin ever sees this, one Webtoon I would recommend that actually does play with the idea of beauty in a meaningful way (and is Korean!) is one called "The Makeup Remover". It's way more genuine, and heartfelt, and doesn't pull punches when it comes to the realities of beauty standards and to people who don't conform to them, whether they want to or not. There's no book out for it but it's all available for free on the Webtoon site and it is complete.


I was similarly disappointed when I ran across "True Beauty" on Webtoon, but man, I can't thank you enough for recommending "The Makeup Remover"! It's like the Skip Beat/Glass Mask of makeup with a heaping helping of pointed criticism of beauty standards and reminders that pretty people (particularly women) can also suffer under those same standards. I've been binging it all afternoon and it's been great!
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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2696
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Fri Dec 29, 2023 7:55 pm Reply with quote
MrPuzzles wrote:
I'll never understand why crap like this is brought overseas almost effortlessly, yet the genuine greats like Blade of the Phantom Master have been all but forgotten.


In True Beauty's case, this was brought over by Naver, the company that publishes it in Korea.

In Blade of the Phantom Master's case, it's 18 volumes long (including the gaiden book), is over 20 years old, and isn't a webtoon, which is what's popular in Korean manhwa. Also, I'm pretty sure the anime movie adaptation didn't do well when ADV brought it over back in the day, which also didn't help.
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FlowerAiko



Joined: 05 Apr 2017
Posts: 224
PostPosted: Fri Dec 29, 2023 7:57 pm Reply with quote
I enjoyed this review, as someone who’s given True Beauty many chances I cannot seem to like it. It’s easily the top romance webtoon (at least among the Korean ones) and I wish I got why. Too vapid for my tastes. As Caitlin mentioned briefly, True Beauty pulls A LOT from the k-idol scene and related body/beauty standards (which are restrictive). There’s a reason the drama adaptation chose Cha Eunwoo, a popular idol actor, as the lead.

I do hope that if ANN wants to review more manhwa they invest in someone more familiar with Korean culture and the broader manhwa landscape. It’s different than manga in many ways even if manga is a big inspiration there, especially since the webtoon boom.
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MrPuzzles



Joined: 27 Sep 2023
Posts: 152
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2023 3:43 am Reply with quote
Lord Geo wrote:
and isn't a webtoon


Actually, yes it is.

https://comic.naver.com/webtoon/list?titleId=703307&weekday=tue

It even got an official English translation...

https://www.webtoons.com/en/action/blade-of-the-phantom-master/list?title_no=3481

...which was abandoned only eight chapters in and literally one day after it went up.
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Quicknav



Joined: 19 Sep 2014
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2023 6:24 am Reply with quote
MrPuzzles wrote:

It even got an official English translation...

https://www.webtoons.com/en/action/blade-of-the-phantom-master/list?title_no=3481

...which was abandoned only eight chapters in and literally one day after it went up.


It wasn't abandoned, the rest of the series is available only on that licensor's app (it says so on the banner in the link you gave).
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MrPuzzles



Joined: 27 Sep 2023
Posts: 152
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2023 1:11 pm Reply with quote
Quicknav wrote:
MrPuzzles wrote:

It even got an official English translation...

https://www.webtoons.com/en/action/blade-of-the-phantom-master/list?title_no=3481

...which was abandoned only eight chapters in and literally one day after it went up.


It wasn't abandoned, the rest of the series is available only on that licensor's app (it says so on the banner in the link you gave).


You're right. My mistake.

But all the same, it's locked behind daily passes...which is such an unashamedly shit system that most folks will literally tune out as soon as they see that little green icon. So...may as well have abandoned it after 8 episodes.
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ThrowMeOut



Joined: 10 Oct 2018
Posts: 265
PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2023 4:46 pm Reply with quote
Ughhh, True Beauty. I kept reading it waiting for it to do something interesting, but it never did. I gave up when the love interest with the personality of white paste showed back up. If you're going to put no effort into your plot at least make the love interest likable. I think the dude had two moods; boredom and mild annoyance.
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