I honestly don’t know why I felt compelled to create an account just to write this, but then again, I don’t know why I read through all 81 (ongoing) chapters in one sitting. Appetite is a pretty weird comic in conception, but if you can suspend your disbelief on some of the internal logic (the society of drinkers/eaters/hunters/delicious humans, the fight physics, the seemingly nonexistent civilians when sh*t goes down), it’s an engrossing mix of action, romance, and alot of drama. It has one of the best female characters I've ever seen written, as well as one of the most vivid and believable portrayals of child abuse and PTSD.
The basic premise is a spin on Romeo/Juliet, with Romeo also being the edible mcguffin that the entire story revolves around. Basically Dohoon (Romeo) is a gimp/loser/outcast who also happens to be the ultimate protein shake for all the (secret) monsters around him. Eating him once he ‘ripens’ will confer godlike powers to the individual, and he’s almost ripe despite having lost all will to live. But after being discovered by Aji (an adorable pixie, gap-moe, monster), he begins a journey of self-discovery to find value in life, make new friends, and maybe find love. Unfortunately this conflicts with Aji’s need to consume him in order to fight ‘The Big Bad’, as well as her budding feelings for him. The cognitive dissonance of this arrangement is one of the main themes of the story.
The romance is a little cliché at times, but I guess I now understand why the Twilight books are so popular. I wouldn’t say the story breaks new ground, there were a handful of plot twists and motivations that caught me by surprise. What also caught me by surprise was how well each character’s tragic past weaves into the story and drives their actions. These are f*cked up people with a lot of baggage, and yet I found myself rooting for them by the end (or at least the end of what’s been released thus far). They do make a lot of rash decisions in the heat of the moment that can easily be maddening if written poorly, I found the emotional build ups to be very believable. This isn't Game of Thrones, but it has a rich cast of characters for a manga, especially Aji.
Aji is simply one of the most fleshed out female leads I’ve seen, expressing a full gamut of emotions, traumas, insecurities, vulnerabilities, strengths, and charisma. For someone who isn’t really human, I found her to be the most human character of the bunch. I can also understand why someone would fall for such a girl despite all her issues and flaws (maybe that says too much about my taste in women?). What I can’t appreciate is why anyone would fall for Dohoon. He’s kind of like Kietaro (Love Hina) in that he’s a 90% moron/ 10% savant, and kind of like Shinji (Evangelion) in that he’s often a needy crybaby and whiney little bitch. Although well-intentioned and sometimes suicidally brave (martyr complex?), he doesn’t exude any charisma and his chemistry with Aji feels more like Stockholm syndrome than love. Did I mention he's dumb? Like a mound of bricks. He’s not a bad character persay, just a poor leading man for a romance story. His arc also feels completed halfway through, and he largely feels expendable after that.
Overall, I really enjoyed Appetite and look forward to seeing how it ends. The romance makes it feel a bit like a guilty pleasure, but there are moments that genuinely tug at your heartstrings. It explores themes of abandonment, isolation, revenge, and redemption without getting preachy, contrived, or ham-handed (I'm looking at you Naruto). Despite being on Lezhin, it's also not that graphic and is perfectly fine for teens. Give it a try.
