Ennead

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This hidden gem is surprisingly addictive and there’s a lot more to this webtoon than you’d expect.

In case you don’t know (I didn't either), Ennead means group of nine and typically refers to the nine deities of Egyptian mythology. The good news is that if you know nothing about Egyptian mythology, it doesn’t matter because the author gives a neat little rundown of the creation story at the beginning. There’s also a helpful little family tree at the end of each chapter. Also, this is a story that takes Egyptian mythology as its starting point - what happens next is largely original but plays on ... the myths and characters of the pantheon. This part is done so well, it seamlessly blends the author’s story with the mythology so much so it feels authentic.

First off - if you’re choosing to read this now then congratulations because season one has finished and you can happily binge it. It’s the type of webtoon you’ll want to binge because of all the cliff-hangers. I read the whole season in one day and loved it. It would have frustrated me to wait week on week for updates (much like the other reviewer).

It's hard to say too much about the story without spoiling things but basically, the story centres around Horus and his challenge of the current ruler of Egypt, Seth (the god of war and the desert). Seth has done some...unscrupulous things and Horus's mother Isis (goddess of magic) REALLY wants to overthrow him. Horus therefore challenges Seth to three matches of different skills with the victor being recognised as the rightful ruler of Egypt. That's what the story is about on the surface but there's so much more that gets uncovered on the way...

There are three major selling points for this webtoon...and one caveat:

Selling point 1: The Plot

Want to talk about a page-turner, I literally couldn’t put it down till I finished it. It’s the classic cliff-hanger strategy to keep you moving onto the next chapter to see what happens next and it works! There’s a great structure to this story and it doesn’t feel like the author is making it up as they go along. It’s clearly been well planned out. I think the premise of the three challenges helped keep the story structure in place, it would always come back to that. There are some shocking moments, some plot twists, some character revelations. It’s all very entertaining.

Selling point 2: The Characters

One thing I love about this series is that the lines are blurred on the characters - you begin to realise that you don’t know who anyone is. It’s not such a simple tale of good guy, bad guy. It’s more complex than that and it’s also not necessarily what you’d expect. I can’t say too much more without serious spoilers but the character development is excellently done. Those you might love, you come to despise and vice versa...and I really like that, even in this mythology based yaoi webtoon there’s something real about the characters, no-one is ever completely perfect or villainous and it does a good job at keeping you on your toes with how you feel about the characters.

Selling point 3: The Art

Probably the biggest selling point for me, even if you just read one chapter of this - do it for the art, it’s so well done. I love the art style, it’s perfectly in-keeping with the mythological vibe yet has its own style. It cleverly uses colour palettes to signify flashbacks and incorporates changes in its art style to more “traditional-looking” Ancient Egyptian style when explaining certain elements of the actual mythology. The art is consistently good throughout the whole thing and there’s some really stand out dynamic fight sequences.

Caveat: The Yaoi

It goes without saying, if you don’t like yaoi then this is not for you. That said, I will say that the yaoi elements are fairly sparse, I think there’s only like two scenes if you don’t include the extra chapters. But even if you’re reading this FOR the yaoi (I see you) there’s two things you should be aware of:

1. It’s this old chestnut again, if you are uncomfortable seeing abuse or rape then this webtoon is not for you….there are two scenes and they both contain abuse/coercion. One thing to mention that made it bearable for me though is that it wasn’t necessarily romanticised in either situation. They didn’t have the characters fall in love with their abusers, which is often my problem with those types of scenes. I don’t have a problem with depicting a sexually abusive scene as long as it’s not glorified and I personally didn’t think it did glorify those scenes too much.

2. If you’re reading this FOR the yaoi then you’ll likely be disappointed - there’s barely any tbh. I think it goes for like 35 chapters or something without any sex scene. I might be miscalculating but I think there are only two scenes in the whole first season. So the yaoi is not the selling point here. If you’re in it just for that, there’s way better webtoons you could be reading. I’ll admit the guys are kinda hot in this though...

Overall

This webtoon is really great. I picked it up on a total whim and ended up absolutely loving it. So, who would I recommend it to? If you’re into mythology even remotely - definitely read it. If you’re into really great artwork - read it. The only thing I’d warn you about is there’s barely any yaoi scenes and they aren’t exactly consensual - you can decide if that bothers you enough to miss out on this.

I’m excited to see where season two goes, without giving away any spoilers - I feel like it’s going to be dramatically different to season one…

Story:
Ennead is an adaptation of Egyptian myths about the competition between Seth and Horus for the throne of Egypt. The author's take on the story is original enough, but also doesn't stray too far from the historical sources. I really love how the author rewrites it. (For those who don't know, there's a myth in which Horus impregnated Seth)

The story starts as a competition for power, but as the story unfolds, you'll find that there's more behind the characters' motives than it seems. The fights are epic and the mystery is gripping.

The only thing that annoys me is the complexity of the dialogues in ... the middle of the story. Since it's an updating webtoon, it's difficult to understand and remember what's happening if it's too complex. They give you bits and pieces in a difficult way, and in the end, they'll all connect. But what's the use of that if you can't grasp those bits and pieces?

The chapter lengths (or you can say the updating schedule) is also just f up, but that's more general issue with all webtoons. How much chapters do you need to tell one part of a story? How do you expect me to keep my interest if I need 5 weeks, with one-week intervals, to receive a sub-story?? Idk if the author or the publisher can do anything about this, but I have to mention the ch lengths nonetheless bc it impacts the enjoyment of the story.


Art:
The art is stunning. It's simple but stunning. I especially love the character designs: how they keep the character's appearances pleasant to the modern eye while keeping them historically accurate is truly amazing. The characters are also just hot.

The action scenes are designed and drawn beautifully, adding to the action scenes. I also have to mention how the author utilises symbols to display the character's moods (for example, when Seth's mentality worsens, vines often appear).

I also love how the artist sometimes "simplifies" the art when telling a certain story or to show the change of space. The "simplified" version is also amazingly done and ensures refreshing changes.


Characters:
The characters are definitely 3D with each their own characteristics and personalities, but I somehow miss just a tiny bit more insight to fully understand their changes and motivations. I would normally tell that off, but since the characters in this webtoon are all gods, I think that it can be justified. It even adds a touch of alienness and mystery to those immortal beings.

Ennead is a manhwa based on Egyptian mythology, a never ending road of traumatic family issues and drama within the Ennead.

If you like: enemies to lovers, psychological, action, romance, drama, hot guys/girls, and abs, then this manhwa is for you!

Things to note: The main character unfortunately goes through SA (it’s relatively graphic) so please keep that in mind when reading. Please don’t read this manhwa if you easily get triggered by things like this :)

PLOT: 9/10
(No spoilers)
The story starts off with Seth, the god of war and ruler of the desert, being depicted as an evil god who only wants to be the ruler to ... reign over Egypt. But the other gods under the Ennead contradict with his selfishness and greed in fear of what might happen when he, the god of war, takes control over Egypt. To tame Seth’s rage, he is challenged by the rightful heir of Egypt in order to determine which one of the two will take true authority. And only then does the plot start to complicate itself into a vast array of problematic and mind-twisting affairs, while revealing and exposing the true intentions of the enemies.
After reading the first 50 chapters of this manhwa, there were so many conflicts and problems between characters and only until around chapter 130 do we get to see them get resolved. But that’s what made the manhwa so enjoyable. New burdens arising, and being able to see how each one is being dealt with. Each chapter was filled with suspense, sympathy, excitement, a range of emotions that made reading it so addicting. One moment you love this character, and the next you don’t. But then it’s revealed why this character did this, making the reader sympathize with them. And yes, some effed up things happen to the main character which might make it hard to read, but you got to trust the process and keep reading because there is a light at the end of the tunnel and all the plot is worth reading anyway. To summarize, the plot is the opposite of boring and is actually addicting to read because of the complexity that’s not seen in other BL.

CHARACTERS: 10/10
The characters in this manhwa are especially unique. They all differentiate and have relatable personalities. But what makes the characters extra special is the fact that you don’t either hate or love them. All the characters have development in which they do either or to change the feelings they get towards them. The reader gets to sympathize with them after reading what actually happened and why they did it. And the characters’ development in heart makes things even better. They start to understand each other and grow to love which we especially see in Seth and Isis.

ART: 10/10
A moment of realness, it’s hard to read a manga that has crappy art. Thankfully, the art in this manhwa is fricking amazing. The colouring is done so well and even gives off an Egyptian mythology vibe. The art style is one of my by far. Every single character is beautiful, and the cherry on top is the perfect proportions. The author did an amazing job putting sweat and blood into every single panel.

ENJOYABILITY: 9/10
This review is after rereading for the second time. Reading it the second time made it 10x more enjoyable as the plot was easier to understand after carefully reading it for the second time. Skimming over the important plot that the characters talk about will only bore you. (Trust me, I did that before because I was only reading it for the BL core of it and I started to get bored after realizing that the “BL core” in this manhwa occurs rarely) Do not rush this manhwa because only after reading it for the second time but with more attention did the plot become interesting to me.

OVERALL: 9.5/10
Overall, the plot is complex enough for me, the characters are admirable, the art is fricking amazing, (and hot 🥴) and I would 100% bang my head on a counter to forget everything that happened just to re-read this manhwa.