Discussion - Manhwa/Manhua Strength and Weakness | MangaHelpers



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Discussion Manhwa/Manhua Strength and Weakness

phio_chan

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Most of us here are probably more into reading manga instead of manhwa or manhua, but that doesn't mean that we don't read manhwa or manhua. For those who read those three kinds of comics, what do you guys think are the strengths and weaknesses of manhwa and manhua? It can be compared to manga, or can be compared to either manhwa or manhua.

Please do take it easyas you are discussing this topic; we do not want to bash manga/manhwa/manhua. We simply want to analyze their strong and weak points. Keep it safe and fun, okay? ^^

I'll start with manhwa. I would say the artwork of manhwa is more realistic. That gives a different touch compared to manga, which tends to be drawn with fantasy-style. In case of plot, I think I would give same score for both manga and manhwa.

As for manhua, I think I haven't read that many manhua to actually give a proper answer, but they also have a different artwork style. Not as fantasy-ish as manga, but also not very much like a reality. A good balance, in my opinion.

What do you guys think? :)
 

Jammin

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The biggest strength and weakness for Manwha(I don't know enough about Manhua to say), I think, is actually the same thing. And that is that the stories come across as less editor influenced.

The stories often do things that I think most conventional editors wouldn't try to dissuade an author from doing.

Noblesse to me is a perfect example of this. You have a main character who basically oneshots everybody he fights. Most editors would probably correctly point out to an author that this isn't so much a story as a power fantasy. And that he needs to event he playing field with stronger enemies. But Noblesse went a different direction. That kind of creativity makes stories that are less predictable, and that's good.

This is not without a downside however, because sometimes the authors make mistakes that a stronger editorial hand could have prevented. To return to Noblesse, it's a series that tends to focus on characters who aren't the most interesting now and again. When faced with a writer making a decision like that a good editor would be like "Look this character isn't so popular, why not do something with this character instead?". It makes authors consider things they wouldn't otherwise and reconsider things they assume. That's a safety net that manhwa doesn't seem to have.

The net result is basically higher highs and lower lows.
 

zelllogan

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The biggest strength is the unknown conventions. There is hardly a shounen able to surprise me nowadays, after reading thousands of mangas, I just can predict what will happen. In a manhwa, I feel like anything is possible. I also think that manhwa are targetting a more mature audience. It's often mid-range between shounen and seinen. Characters in shounen are often too manichean and when it's not the case, they are just given an absurd psyche. Simply put, there is more depth in the characters. Plus, when we talk about manwha, we talk also about webtoons and I find the format more confortable than the usual manga (as I'm reading on tablet most of the time).
 
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