- Before reading any further into the review, I recommend that if you can't stand (disgusting) rape, (cruel) torture, (disturbing) suicide, and some gay romance, then this manhwa is not the right story for you. This manhwa is not for children, or pure-minded people. (^o^ makes me wonder why I read it) -

This manhwa is certainly a "different" romance story, in the way that it's not a cute, funny and honest romance, but rather a dark, toxic, and violent romance. It’s a series that doesn't make love seem like the beautiful happiness that people often dream it is (Like I dream about how romantic, pure and happy love will be for me in the future, but...); love is capable of giving you hope and filling you with the warmth of happiness, but simultaneously capable of bringing you to your knees in the greatest despair you've ever felt. The harshness of reality is tragic and painful. Let Dai is a tragic tale of forbidden love and unforgivable betrayal between two tragic boys.

Set in a neo-Seoul, an area ruled by young punks and pleasure seekers, a psycho-pathic teenager named Dai lives in the embodiment of the city's beauty and cruelty. As the leader of the vicious "Furies" gang, Dai seduces everyone who lays eyes on him, only to use them to his own barbaric nature (torture). When an honest schoolboy named Jaehee rescues a beautiful girl from being mugged by the Furies, his encounter with the furies plunges him into a downward spiral of unbridled passion and unfathomable pain. From his brutal gang initiation, Jaehee wavers uncomfortably between revulsion and fascination. And eventually in Dai he sees a tender, caring friend one moment and a heartless sociopath the next, leading Jaehee to start having a strange and unhealthy desire (gay love) in Jaehee that he could never before have imagined. But that love story isn't the entire story. The theme of "harshness of reality" is symbolized throughout the manhwa through the portrayal of what the affect of a person's environment or society on a person's behavior (bad behavior). Even if a person doesn't want to act a certain way, sometimes it's inevitable; the situation/environment calls for it: inescapable evils of reality. Is there truly a right/wrong way to live? To wrap it all up, the ending of the manhwa is just... (insert cliff-hanger + super sad word here).

So if you're wondering how that kind of gay love story could possibly be any good, I'll say that the story is tragic and rather attention-grasping with all it's plot-twists. I'm sure lots of guys are turned off by the gay-love, but to any girls out there, it's truly a romantic, touching and surprisingly innocent love between two very "troubled" boys that just melts your heart and makes you tear up from time to time. The story was sad to the point where I had to stop reading, and relax my mind in order to prevent my emotions from overwhelming me. Dai and Jaehee's romance opens up the path of debate for what the concept of "love" is, and the path of right/wrong. It's honestly also a coming of age story where the two main characters, Dai and Jaehee realize the harshness of reality, and what they must do in order to achieve their dreams. Exactly how predictable is life? Throughout the manhwa, there are moments where completely unexpected turns cause the entire plot to just... take a 360 flip. Truly a piece of poetic art; the plot is surprisingly amazing.

The story seems to primarily focus on the 2 main characters, Dai and Jaehee, but that's not fully the case. The point of view is cycled among like 5 - 6 characters: the teenage boy (Jaehee) who pursues a gay relationship with Dai, the girlfriend who rejects her femininity after she’s been gang-raped by the Furies gang (Eunhyung Song), the best friend who bandages his enemies even after he’s been beaten senseless because he refuses to release his idealism (Dai), Eunhung's sister who has feelings for Jaehee but is never able to show her true emotions (Yooneun Song), and a close friend of Jaehee who falls in love with Eunhyung, but tragically fate tears them apart (Naru Hagi). Perfection in developing the character's character and emotions.

The art is pretty neat. I loved the portrayal of the characters, especially Dai. The art provides all sorts of realistic descriptions, and that sort of realism really drives the darkness of this comic home and makes the entire story seem more disturbing, dark, and tragic. Keep in mind that this manhwa was written from 1995-2005 so don't expect the super beautiful, bright art.

This is one of the most intense, dark character dramas you’ll ever read. If you’re mature enough (why did I even read this...?) and you want something emotional and quite disturbing, this manhwa is certainly one that does things that most pieces of writing wouldn't dare to even attempt. But, for those of you that proceeded to read this review after reading the warning at the beginning of the review, I'm going to assume that you guys are all okay with the disturbing things in the manhwa, and I'm going to full-heartedly recommend you to read this truly dark and touching manhwa.