The Shape of Your Love

PostMangaDepression May 28, 2020

10

For Your Love is a story that I think everyone who likes Shounen-Ai needs to read. The story/characters/events that happen in this story are so unique in my opinion as they are so true to life and offer such a rich depth and reality to the relationships both in the story as well as the world. I'm an American but I have seen other people say that this is incredibly acurate to east asia (specifically Korea) in terms of how something like this would be percieved by the characters.  Alright, the biggest thing to understand about this story is that it is a SLOW BURN. It is... very slow, but that is also what makes it so good! If you need smut and fast yaoi type beats, then this won't be for you, but if you are reading because of a love for romance, then read this immediatley. What's amazing is that you get to follow and see how the characters come to terms with their feelings and interactions in both selfless and selfish manners. I think that the character of Park Moongyeong is the guy that manny of us were in school (maybe I'm projecting). The way he describes his feelings and how he thinks about the situations he's in feels very similar to someone who knows that their feelings aren't really on the table and the looming fear of coming out. There's also a great deal of satisfaction watching Jung Yohan transition from a cynic to a helpless love-obsessed puppy (but remember, slow burn).  Overall this is the kind of story that should be looked at by future authors for how to create realistic, compelling, and relatable characters. If you have the patience you also get a massive reward for your time. Though when I'm writing this For Our Love is still needing the last 6 chapters translated, watching those two after they're together is the ultimate reward.

n0bbin Mar 6, 2023

5

The review contains minor spoilers. Read ahead at your own discretion. The art is good. The characters were likeable at the start. It's fun to see characters being self-centered but once it's stretched to 80+ chapters, it starts getting a little dull. I was waiting and craving just for a little sprinkle of friendship, something of substance that tells us these characters have a life out of romance. Maybe the author added some of that in the second volume but I didn't stick around to finish it and I shouldn't have to. Disappointment means I had expectations and I have to give the author credit for that. I enjoyed the MC's cynical personality, and wish it had stayed till the end. It was a good contrast to his relationship with his brother, which was very wholesome. I also liked the dynamic between the redhead himbo and the MC when he was trying to extort information out of him. Personally, I enjoyed The Shape of Your Love more than the Form of Sympathy but I like the idea of two mangas with overlapping timelines, and characters. The author shows a lot of skills in navigating comeplex storytelling. I just hope they direct some of that focus to the character's backgrounds as well. Not everything has to be about their epic love. Maybe the love rivals are about to comepete in a game and they're fighting about who the MC will side with but the MC cheers for his friend instead. Maybe at a time when the MC is facing a crisis, they decide to lean on their plutonic friend instead of the ML, causing conflict in their relationship. Maybe there's a whole chapter where the MC and their friend hangout without mentioning all the drama. Maybe the ML decides to actually get to know the MC's friends better without ulterior motives. And maybe, and stay with me here, there can be a chapter where it's not about the main couple and instead they spend the whole time helping their friend out behind the scenes. Develop your side characters, people!

Tussledust Feb 24, 2023

8

This story is so interesting. The plot is definitely a trope, MC helps another person get that persons love interest blah blah blah. However, the MCs characters motivations are different and interesting. The MC really shows growth and makes the story is so endearing. I really enjoyed my time with this story.