In Magic From The Margins, Latonya “Penn” Pennington explores sci-fi fantasy webtoons and Tapas comics by marginalized creators. For the eighth entry, they’re checking out GLiTCH.
GLiTCH
Creator: devaun.beats
Writer: devaun.beats
Artist: devaun.beats
Genre: Action, Supernatural
Platform: WEBTOON
Rating: Young Adult
Although my experience with shonen anime is limited to series such as Bleach and Fairy Tail, I appreciate seeing its influence on other anime subgenres, comic books and webcomics. Dynamic action and intricate animated sequences are seen in the medium of comics through the skillful use of panels, lettering and visually striking artwork. One such webcomic that has a strong shonen anime influence is devaun.beats‘ GLiTCH.
GLiTCH tells the story of a world filled with Venators, humans who have unlocked powerful abilities by harnessing their positive energy. By using these abilities, Venators defeat “Negavii”, monsters formed from negative energy. After an incident one night with a Negavii, Jett unlocks a powerful ability called “GliTCH” and is recruited by a Venator named Mikayla to protect his city from an encroaching threat.
One of the best aspects of this comic is its adept use of Webtoon’s vertical view to create engaging action sequences. In the prologue chapter, we see Mikayla swing a giant sunflower and blast a Negavii with a fireball. Seeing this image by image, starting with Mikayla swinging the giant sunflower, makes you want to keep scrolling and reading.
Accenting the action are bright colors and eye-catching lettering that gives the reader a sense of awe. In particular, the lettering stood out to me most because it reminded me of the lettering you see in manga. One image that demonstrates this is when Kaya, Jett’s best friend, slaps this turd character David for messing with Jett. The “SMACK” of Kaya’s hand can almost be heard aloud due to its bright red brick-like lettering.
As for the colors, they make not only the action pop, but they also enhance the character designs. Out of all the characters seen so far, Jett, the main protagonist, stands out most to me due to how he has a cool red mohawk and orange and white jacket. It felt like the creator took the “big hair” and quirky clothes of a shonen protagonist and gave it his own style for Jett.
Speaking of the characters, everyone that I’ve seen so far seems cool or interesting. As the main protagonist, Jett is likeable, reminiscent of Lan Hikari from the anime Mega Man Battle Network due to how he is good at speed running in video games. He gets a special ability that is somewhat related to that. Kaya is a spunky and sweet best friend, and I’m hoping she might get in on the shonen action at some point. Mikayla is badass and mysterious, with the former being the driving force for the reader to want to know more about her.
Finally, the ongoing plot with the Negavii is intriguing so far. Given that we are seeing things through Jett and Mikayla’s eyes and the story is still in its early arcs, it will be promising to see how Jett’s world opens up as he keeps fighting monsters and his powers grow stronger.
All in all, GLiTCH is a punchy comic in more ways than one. Filled with explosive action (and giant fireballs), a fun cast of characters and a gripping premise, it is perfect for shonen anime fans who want a contemporary spin on the subgenre.
GLiTCH is currently available to read on WEBTOON.
