(AfroGamers.com) When reading any manga or manhwa familiarising ourselves with the characters is a near involuntary action because we either want to find a character to relate to, a character or group of characters to root for or, simply, to understand the characters just so we can understand the plot.
A recent pattern seen among manhwa readers – specifically, romance manhwa readers – is the adoption of this act of character information gathering just to see whether they fit the ideal image of a ‘swoon worthy’ man. The criteria to fit this ideal image is often not dependent on whether or not the male character is a good or bad person but on what the majority of readers agree to be the latest in fashion man. With that, we can explore this idea of the ideal male image by looking at the current trend of the ‘toxic boyfriend/husband’ trope as seen in some male leads like the following two well-known characters.
Bjorn Dniester from The Problematic Prince
To start off, a toxic man, or toxic masculinity, is typically linked to a man having harmful beliefs and tendencies that more often than not damage their inter- and intrapersonal relationships.
After reading The Problematic Prince, a historical, romance manhwa, we find the male lead Bjorn who can easily be described as toxic from his conceited, condescending and manipulative nature; but let’s not forget how rich and handsome he is too. He is not only a prince but an archduke who owns and runs the biggest bank in the country even with a scandal of being a divorced man looming over his head.
Bjorn is a relatively complicated character due to his otherwise ‘less than likeable’ personality traits being so easily pushed aside by The Problematic Prince audience. Readers don’t necessarily avoid pointing these out, but it is more of Solche, the author of the web novel the manhwa is based on, being particularly good at manipulating and obscuring the narrative surrounding Bjorn – so much so that we, as the readers, don’t see what is so wrong with him until another character points it out for us or we find out ourselves a little later into the story. It is with that that the toxic image becomes a lot more apparent and a sort of love-hate relationship between Bjorn and the readers ignites.
From reader reception alone (as seen on social media and comment sections), it is obvious that the only reason Bjorn can be seen as likeable is because of the ‘perfect’, detailed character background which supposedly suits some standards female audience members of the manhwa have for their ideal boyfriend/husband. Well, either that, or readers found it attractive how depressed and haggard he became after his second wife up and left him after serving him with divorce papers because he was too emotionally constipated for her liking.
Joo Jaekyung from Jinx
Secondly, to commemorate the end of Jinx (the main story) – written and illustrated by Mingwa – we have Joo Jaekyung who is also added onto the list of adored toxic male leads in romance manhwa. The thing about Mingwa is that she is known for writing toxic male characters with her most popular series before Jinx being BJ Alex – which exploded in readership during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. So, after Mingwa announced in 2022 how she was releasing another BL (Boy’s Love) manhwa about an MMA fighter nicknamed the ‘Emperor of MMA’, readers knew to expect something dark and heartbreaking – more so for the love interest.
Jaekyung is particularly off putting because of his violent tendencies. Not that him being an MMA fighter meant he would automatically be seen as abusive; except his aggressive speech, dismissive attitude toward certain people and behaviour bordering towards being emotionless made him a character susceptible to audience criticism. Unlike Bjorn, he was purposely written to appear as horrible a man as he can be. Which worked, because the Jinx fandom did not hold him to as high a light as some toxic male characters out there, and even went as far as calling him a ‘horse’ to make fun of his facial features and likening him to a breeding horse.
At least that is until … the Redemption arc!
When it was revealed that Jaekyung was the way he was because of the type of childhood he had – absent mother, abusive, neglectful father, living like a street kid – readers’ attitudes slowly began to turn around. Even after everything that Kim Dan, Jaekyung’s love interest, went through at his hand, some readers had gone on and excused his harmful behaviour and assault citing, “He will learn to be better” and “Kim Dan can change him”.
Although the toxic masculine archetype is not every romance manhwa readers’ cup of tea, but as of late, a good amount of the readers – especially female readers – find themselves leaning more towards favouring these types of male characters. From Joo Jaekyung’s redeemable qualities to Bjorn’s less than recognised appeal, romance manhwa of the modern-day are actively making an effort to have their men not always be the chivalrous type. If you look carefully, these types of stories that almost make it a mission to focus on these types of men carry an undertone of romanticisation. Whether these refer to an effort to feed reader obsessions or just to desensitise and normalise it in societies that have slowly gained consciousness on how harmful and damaging these attitudes and behaviours can be is still uncertain.
All that can be said is other romance manhwas like Tears of a Withered Flower, Cry, Even Better If You Beg and My Beloved Oppressor continue being churned out and read by massive audiences that may critic the themes shown, however, still demand more be written and published. So, next time you find yourself reading a manhwa, romance or otherwise, and feel like you are falling for the surface-level act of a character, think twice about how they’re really like because you might find that you are accepting and resonating a little too much with their toxic actions and behaviours – especially you ladies out there!
Staff Writer; Fadzai Nyamande
A South African who brings her love for fiction, manga, and storytelling into every piece she creates. Her writing is shaped by imagination, curiosity, and a true appreciation for the worlds stories can build.
Feel free to drop a note at; FadzaiN@AfroGamers.com.