Apr 19, 2019 10:01 AM
Ungentlemanly - Webtoon Review
Time for another non-anime/manga review! I think I might make this a regular thing. I’d really like to make a blog category for these reviews, but stupid MAL blogs are capped at having 10 categories max. Maybe I’ll restructure them so I can make a “Non-Anime/Manga Reviews” category. We’ll see.
Anyway, this time around I am reviewing a web comic (Webtoon) by my good friend and awesome artist Davy Wagnarok. While I do know David personally, I’ll do my best to give as honest of a review as possible. And that shouldn’t be too hard since I do genuinely love this series!
Ungentlemanly follows Sean Den Freude, a handsome billionaire who spends most of his free time pranking women in various ways. The series is essentially a gag-comedy manga at its core, drawing a great deal of inspiration from series like Golden Boy, GTO, and Prison School, with of dash of absolute absurdity and parody-based comedy which could feel at home in Pop Team Epic. But that’s not to say that Ungentlemanly is nothing but a hodgepodge of the styles found in other works; the series truly has an identity and style all its own and it is rather glorious. The series currently only has five chapters (or “episodes”) released so far, but I still wanted to get my feelings out there so I can more easily spread the love.
So without further ado, let’s get into my usual category breakouts:
-----Story - 8 out of 10-----
As I mentioned, the main “gimmick” of Ungentlemanly is that the lead character Sean Den Freude plays various pranks on women as a way to get revenge for his broken heart. These pranks tend to be on an exorbitantly grand scale which should be expected of an eccentric billionaire manga character. While the series only has five episodes released so far and with it largely following an episodic gag-comedy format, it’s hard to justify a score higher than an 8 in the Story category. However, for what it is, the series definitely earns this 8. The comedic timing is impeccable and the story always flows well from panel-to-panel. And the series isn’t always prank-focused. So far the series has been alternating between prank episodes and kind of cool-down backstory/character building episodes. But that’s not to say the “cool-downs” are any less crazy and absurd compared to the pranks. There is always something ridiculous going on to keep you laughing and engaged. And in addition to the core story, each episode closes with a short and absolutely random parody of some kind, with things based off of series such as Attack on Titan, Ghost in the Shell, and Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball.
-----Art - 9 out of 10-----
Now for a little behind-the-scenes tidbit, David told me about the idea for this comic months before it started its release. He had the idea while reading various things online which described how a Gentleman is supposed to act, many of which were really absurd and dated. He told me about his idea to turn them all on their head and make them UN-Gentlemanly things for a character to do. After he told me a few of the comic ideas, he asked for my opinion. While I was generally amused by most of the jokes, I told him: Honestly, these kinds of jokes are going to depend a LOT on the art when it comes to whether they work or not. And man, does the art deliver! This series absolutely would not work without the visuals. The composition is what creates the wonderful comedic timing and the crazy characters and INSANE facial expressions truly bring the series to life, generating deep laughs on their own. If you enjoyed the facial expressions in Golden Boy, GTO, Prison School, or similar series, then you are in for a treat here.
And to get into the style in general terms, there are a few rough edges at times but the series is usually very clean and the character designs are great. As someone who got into manga during the big Tokyopop-driven boom of the early 2000s, I remember when a lot of subpar OEL (Original English-Language) “manga” was getting released. While some of that stuff generally looked alright, nearly all of it felt a little “off”. It felt like they were copying the style of anime/manga without really understanding it or making it their own. It was usually very obvious that it didn’t actually come from Japan based on the art alone. These feelings were compounded by seeing a lot of similar “anime/manga knockoff” amateur art on sites like Deviant Art. However, when it comes to David’s art, I honestly feel that it is some of the best anime-influenced art out there. While it has its clear inspirations, it feels like it came from a place of its own and a true understanding of the artform. I could absolutely see something like Ungentlemanly being released by someone in Japan. You can see more of David’s anime-style artwork in the card game Somnium.
Oh, and one last note on the “art” end of things for people who are used to the traditional comic/manga page setup and might not be familiar with the “Webtoon” format. This series is done in a long continually scrolling set of comic panels. It’s similar to 4-koma comic strips, but just keeps going panel after panel. I hear that it reads best of a smartphone or tablet, but as I don’t own a smartphone I just read it on my laptop; that mostly works just fine.
-----Characters - 9 out of 10-----
The characters in this series are simply a blast to watch. Sean’s melodrama and smugness is strangely endearing and his relationship with his two best buds feels very genuine. The women being pranked are also brimming with personality and they are presented in a way which is somehow both exploitative and respectful. Even though Sean is pranking them, I never feel a strong sense of malice from Sean or the creator. The pranks are typically rather harmless fun in the end and the girls are usually more confused than hurt in any way. All of the characters are created with great care, not only in the art department but also in how they are treated on the page.
-----Enjoyment - 10 out of 10-----
While I typically do not score things on MAL which I have not finished, especially when it has such a low “chapter” count so far, I can honestly say that at the moment I truly am enjoying this series more than every manga which I’ve given a 9-score. This might be a low-tier 10 for me at the moment, but a 10 nonetheless. I’ve found much of Ungentlemanly to be on par with some of the best comedic moments in GTO. Whenever I see that a new episode is released, I read it as quickly as possible. It always brightens my day to see Sean’s latest antics and the latest ridiculous parody segment at the end. It is all just an absolutely wonderful experience.
-----Overall - 9 out of 10 (Conclusion)-----
So in the end, Ungentlemanly is an exceptional series which has a lot for comedy fans to enjoy. Wonderful comedic timing, great art (especially the facial expressions and character designs), and just an overall delight to read. It’d be easiest to get an idea of if you’d like this based on whether or not you have enjoyed the series which I mentioned above, but really you can just check out the first episode of the comic to see if it’s your thing. I’m really looking forward to seeing where Ungentlemanly goes from here and hope many more people will discover and enjoy the series as time goes on!
Anyway, this time around I am reviewing a web comic (Webtoon) by my good friend and awesome artist Davy Wagnarok. While I do know David personally, I’ll do my best to give as honest of a review as possible. And that shouldn’t be too hard since I do genuinely love this series!
Ungentlemanly - Webtoon Review
Ungentlemanly follows Sean Den Freude, a handsome billionaire who spends most of his free time pranking women in various ways. The series is essentially a gag-comedy manga at its core, drawing a great deal of inspiration from series like Golden Boy, GTO, and Prison School, with of dash of absolute absurdity and parody-based comedy which could feel at home in Pop Team Epic. But that’s not to say that Ungentlemanly is nothing but a hodgepodge of the styles found in other works; the series truly has an identity and style all its own and it is rather glorious. The series currently only has five chapters (or “episodes”) released so far, but I still wanted to get my feelings out there so I can more easily spread the love.
So without further ado, let’s get into my usual category breakouts:
-----Story - 8 out of 10-----
As I mentioned, the main “gimmick” of Ungentlemanly is that the lead character Sean Den Freude plays various pranks on women as a way to get revenge for his broken heart. These pranks tend to be on an exorbitantly grand scale which should be expected of an eccentric billionaire manga character. While the series only has five episodes released so far and with it largely following an episodic gag-comedy format, it’s hard to justify a score higher than an 8 in the Story category. However, for what it is, the series definitely earns this 8. The comedic timing is impeccable and the story always flows well from panel-to-panel. And the series isn’t always prank-focused. So far the series has been alternating between prank episodes and kind of cool-down backstory/character building episodes. But that’s not to say the “cool-downs” are any less crazy and absurd compared to the pranks. There is always something ridiculous going on to keep you laughing and engaged. And in addition to the core story, each episode closes with a short and absolutely random parody of some kind, with things based off of series such as Attack on Titan, Ghost in the Shell, and Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball.
-----Art - 9 out of 10-----
Now for a little behind-the-scenes tidbit, David told me about the idea for this comic months before it started its release. He had the idea while reading various things online which described how a Gentleman is supposed to act, many of which were really absurd and dated. He told me about his idea to turn them all on their head and make them UN-Gentlemanly things for a character to do. After he told me a few of the comic ideas, he asked for my opinion. While I was generally amused by most of the jokes, I told him: Honestly, these kinds of jokes are going to depend a LOT on the art when it comes to whether they work or not. And man, does the art deliver! This series absolutely would not work without the visuals. The composition is what creates the wonderful comedic timing and the crazy characters and INSANE facial expressions truly bring the series to life, generating deep laughs on their own. If you enjoyed the facial expressions in Golden Boy, GTO, Prison School, or similar series, then you are in for a treat here.
And to get into the style in general terms, there are a few rough edges at times but the series is usually very clean and the character designs are great. As someone who got into manga during the big Tokyopop-driven boom of the early 2000s, I remember when a lot of subpar OEL (Original English-Language) “manga” was getting released. While some of that stuff generally looked alright, nearly all of it felt a little “off”. It felt like they were copying the style of anime/manga without really understanding it or making it their own. It was usually very obvious that it didn’t actually come from Japan based on the art alone. These feelings were compounded by seeing a lot of similar “anime/manga knockoff” amateur art on sites like Deviant Art. However, when it comes to David’s art, I honestly feel that it is some of the best anime-influenced art out there. While it has its clear inspirations, it feels like it came from a place of its own and a true understanding of the artform. I could absolutely see something like Ungentlemanly being released by someone in Japan. You can see more of David’s anime-style artwork in the card game Somnium.
Oh, and one last note on the “art” end of things for people who are used to the traditional comic/manga page setup and might not be familiar with the “Webtoon” format. This series is done in a long continually scrolling set of comic panels. It’s similar to 4-koma comic strips, but just keeps going panel after panel. I hear that it reads best of a smartphone or tablet, but as I don’t own a smartphone I just read it on my laptop; that mostly works just fine.
-----Characters - 9 out of 10-----
The characters in this series are simply a blast to watch. Sean’s melodrama and smugness is strangely endearing and his relationship with his two best buds feels very genuine. The women being pranked are also brimming with personality and they are presented in a way which is somehow both exploitative and respectful. Even though Sean is pranking them, I never feel a strong sense of malice from Sean or the creator. The pranks are typically rather harmless fun in the end and the girls are usually more confused than hurt in any way. All of the characters are created with great care, not only in the art department but also in how they are treated on the page.
-----Enjoyment - 10 out of 10-----
While I typically do not score things on MAL which I have not finished, especially when it has such a low “chapter” count so far, I can honestly say that at the moment I truly am enjoying this series more than every manga which I’ve given a 9-score. This might be a low-tier 10 for me at the moment, but a 10 nonetheless. I’ve found much of Ungentlemanly to be on par with some of the best comedic moments in GTO. Whenever I see that a new episode is released, I read it as quickly as possible. It always brightens my day to see Sean’s latest antics and the latest ridiculous parody segment at the end. It is all just an absolutely wonderful experience.
-----Overall - 9 out of 10 (Conclusion)-----
So in the end, Ungentlemanly is an exceptional series which has a lot for comedy fans to enjoy. Wonderful comedic timing, great art (especially the facial expressions and character designs), and just an overall delight to read. It’d be easiest to get an idea of if you’d like this based on whether or not you have enjoyed the series which I mentioned above, but really you can just check out the first episode of the comic to see if it’s your thing. I’m really looking forward to seeing where Ungentlemanly goes from here and hope many more people will discover and enjoy the series as time goes on!
Posted by
pluvia33
| Apr 19, 2019 10:01 AM |
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