Back in June, Manta released a host of short BL manhwa during, very appropriately, Pride Month. It’s hard to write a good story, let alone in just a few episodes. Some of these short Manta BLs hit the mark and others probably would’ve benefited at least five more episodes.
Here’s our breakdown of which manhwa are worth your time and which manhwa you could probably skip. And most appropriately, I’m rating it with bananas (IYKYK).
Riding Your Wave
Writer/Illustrator: Hocco
Number of Episodes: 5
The death of Dohyun’s father has left him petrified of the water and also unable to leave the island that he and his father lived on. When Jiho Kang comes to visits for a two-week trip, he offers to teach Dohyun how to swim. After a one-night stand, Dohyun is confused as to why Jiho Kang is still sticking around. Surely, it’s not because Jiho has feelings for him…right?
Riding Your Wave was a rush…and not exactly in a good way. It dove headfirst into Dohyun and Jiho making love quite literally after Jiho offered to teach him swimming. I had hoped that Dohyun’s trauma would be addressed. I don’t expect it to be resolved since it’s a five episode series, but I also didn’t think it would be brought up…and then glossed over. It was also trying too hard to fit the title into the narrative, making the dialogue sound awkward and forced. The status of their relationship was left entirely up in the air, and after what I’ve read, I’m not so sure they can stick together.
Rating: 🍌🍌.5 /5
Rapport
Writer/Illustrator: Chahyun
Number of episodes: 3
Rapport is a guideverse BL that follows Esper Eunhyeon who’s disgruntled that he’s being transferred and that his Guide is a restrained and seemingly boring man named Jaewoo. That is, until Eunhyeon accidentally walks in on Jaewoo making out with another Esper. For some reason, he can’t get Jaewoo out of his mind, and what better way to do that than to have some physical intimacy?
This had so much potential and I was so mad when I got to the end. That’s it?! That’s how you’re going to end the story?! This story cuts off abruptly: Rapport ended with Jaewoo leaving a sleeping Eunhyeon in bed and having this very confusing dialogue with Jaewoo worrying about their seven-year age gap. There’s maybe a hint that Jaewoo might have some feelings for Eunhyeon but it’s unclear why he would since this is the first time they met. There were simply too many unresolved questions to make it a satisfactory ending.
Rating: 🍌🍌/5
Old Habits Die Hard
Writer/Illustrator: Nongha
Number of episodes: 3
Warning: This story contains step-family incest
Wonhyuk has been tasked to watch over his younger stepbrother Hanseo for as long as he can remember. Now that they’re older, they’ve naturally drifted apart. Or so Wonhyuk thought. One day, Hanseo turns up at his doorstep in rut and asks Wonhyuk for his help…”just like last time.” This omegaverse BL utilizes a mix of black-and-white illustrations (with splashes of color) and color illustrations with the former used when we learn about Hanseo and Wonhyuk’s past.
If you’re looking to read smut and a toxic relationship, Old Habits Die Hard fits the bill. Hanseo is manipulative–lying, tossing his pills, anything–to get his hyung (older brother in Korean) to himself while Wonhyuk can’t seem to free himself from this twisted relationship. You won’t find any kind of fluff or redemption here, but I think it’s okay for this kind of story. It has a tragic undertone that I was quite taken by because when you reach the end of the story, you know nothing will ever change: Hanseo knows Wonhyuk will never refuse him.
Rating: 🍌🍌.5 to potentially 🍌🍌🍌 /5
Master Baek’s Case Notes
Writer: Jou
Illustrator: Angy
Episodes: 15 episodes + special episode
This is a spin-off of a novel called Dream Maker and takes us into the mundane every day lives of Youngwoo, who has the power to see people’s dreams through touch, and Suhan, a rich vice-president of a company who was hell-bent on revenge in the main story.
I was so excited about Master Baek’s Case Notes because Angy, who illustrated Semantic Error, was also working on this and it had been so long since I’ve seen their art. This was a super cute, fluffy read with some utterly hilarious moments such as Youngwoo working hard (and failing) to buy Suhan a present, and Youngwoo suffering the consequences of seeing into a cat’s dream. Despite this being a spin-off, I felt like I got a really good sense of who the characters were and they’re so silly and loveable (I also loved their expressions when they were acting pouty). As in Semantic Error, the smexy parts are censored but I didn’t mind. The only reason why I’m giving it four bananas is admittedly petty:
Manta, hear my plea: PLEASE LICENSE THE MAIN STORY, I BEG OF YOU.
Rating: 🍌🍌🍌🍌/5
Writer/Illustrator: Hasé
Episodes: 4 episodes
After his older alpha brother suffered a devastating accident, the next in line is Rael. However, as an omega, he has no hope of being the successor, so he commissions a mysterious perfumer who masks his scent with a special perfume that will make others think he’s an alpha. But when Rael is now required to produce an heir, he asks the perfumer to help him out once more…
Talk about intrigue! We jump right into the thick of things and The Essence certainly keeps things tense with the stakes continuously ratcheting up from Rael needing to use a scent to masquerade as an alpha to suddenly figuring out how to produce an heir. I was captivated by the story right from the get-go. The last chapter did rush into the conclusion with the perfumer revealing his true identity and things wrapping up a little too smoothly and conveniently. While we get a bit of a backstory with Rael, we don’t with the perfumer and as a result, he feels one-dimensional. This one had a lot of potential and with a few more chapters–not even a full season–it would’ve been a real winner.
Writer/Illustrator: Charyuk
Episodes: 4 episodes
After secretly pining after Seungjoo, who’s a regular customer at Taeyoung’s café, for a few months, Taeyoung finally gets the courage to talk to him and not long after the two date. But Taeyoung is a shy virgin and he tells Seungjoo this, afraid that this might be the dealbreaker, but to his surprise Seungjoo reassures him. When their first time together finally comes, Taeyoung discovers his gentle boyfriend isn’t actually as gentle as he thinks.
Gentle Mode Off was so sweet and cute. Since the focus of the story wasn’t about the two of them getting together but about Seungjoo and Taeyoung navigating their physical relationship as a couple who only just started dating, it wasn’t necessary for us as readers to see that and that helped a lot with the pacing. I loved that Seungjoo respected Taeyoung’s boundaries, understood his insecurities, and took things at Taeyoung’s pace. And when their first night arrived and Taeyoung saw Seungjoo’s wild side and, contrary to Seungjoo’s fears, embraced it. Charyuk demonstrated that a complete story can be told in less than five episodes. This was the perfect short fluff read.
Rating: 🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌/5
Number of Cases
Writer/Illustrator: Heemaeng
Episodes: 11 episodes + 1 bonus episode
Woojin never thought he’d see his hoobae Kyung again, but the two reunite 12 years later at their friend Inseop’s wedding. The three have had a long history together with Kyung seeing Woojin as his love rival for Inseop’s affections and Kyung suggests that he help Woojin “get over his crush” for Inseop by sleeping together when in reality… Woojin has been in love with Kyung this entire time.
This is the longest BL manhwa on this list that isn’t a spin-off and features a rare but nonetheless popular pairing of alpha and alpha. I really liked that the story touched on how it’s not “natural” for two alphas to be together–pheromones are fighting against each other, alphas are meant to be dominant and not submissive, plus it hurts a lot. Number of Cases had a healthy dose of the classic misunderstanding trope but it didn’t drag and it was angsty enough to be engaging. It did get confusing, though, with the dialogue and the flashbacks not clearly separated from the present. I would’ve loved the ending to be drawn out a little more as the confession did feel a bit rushed after some well-paced build-up, but overall, this was a great omegaverse read.
Rating: 🍌🍌🍌🍌 to 🍌🍌🍌🍌.5/5
