Smile Brush

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There is a chapter when Waroo explains why he doesn't cut his hair. Why he stopped caring how his hair looks. And that made me tear up, at that point I realised... how emotionally invested I was in this manga.

This is a beautiful piece of work. The art, monologues, story....everything is simple & minimal. But as we all know, the heaviest impact isn't done with overcrowded art. I wonder if that caricatured & childish self-representation of Waroo in those panels gave the author some form of relief and refuge while painting his own memories and experiences.

We all have nostalgia about our childhood, the lost ... sense of wonder. Too often we adults realise the implications of each action and words we have now. Or how often we keep reminiscing the happy memories, or memories that left us with a sense of incompleteness. How much would you change if you could go back in time? Don't you often have the urge to share something unremarkably amazing? These days, you don't even have to put a simple thought in documenting you experiences, your smartphone's camera, the social media apps do take care of almost everything. All your creativity zipped and simplified within 140 characters.

And that's when I envy the author of this manga. I'd give anything to be able to put out my own experiences & memories in such way.

Heartfelt. Sincere. Funny. All of these are perfect words to describe Smile Brush. What seems like another slice of life manhwa will tear your heart out and leave you processing the ten panels you just read.

Being episodic there's no overarching plot to Smile Brush. Each chapter is self contained and are the perfect length for what Waroo was trying to accomplish. From babies crying on the subway to the story of a boy and his dog, Smile Brush will express the humanity of each situation. Tragic moments are handled with grace and elegance one wouldn't normally expect from this genre. Some chapters hit even ... harder knowing that it's based off of Waroo's life experiences. The shorter comedic chapters are a bright spot in the series as well and really juxtapose the heavier topics though you can get emotional whiplash if you binge the chapters too fast.

The only recurring character was Waroo himself and he portrays himself like a child. Small, cheery, supportive, and naive (to an extent), Waroo is a fun character to follow. There are some others but they're present only for a single chapter. Despite this, impactful stories are told with Waroo usually being a side character in their narrative. Despite not being the focus, the characters are effective for the stories being told.

The art is rather simple. The simplistic style only portrays Waroo with any defining features while everyone else is a white human blob. Light and shadow are both used to add effect to the heavier chapters. Detail is generally reserved for one off jokes like Waroo scheming to buy a lottery ticket. Regardless, the style is cute and I enjoy Waroo's character design.

I had a good time with this series. It was funny and had darker moments I wasn't expecting. Smile Brush is infinitely rereadable and I look forward to reading the second season soon. I strongly recommend this to anybody, especially those who like Blue Chair, 10th Dimension Boys, and everything else in that genre.

Plot: 8.5
Characters: 8
Art: 7
Enjoyment: 9
Overall: 8.3