Fantasy High Webtoon - Pros, Cons, Personal Thoughts
Get ready for an absurd amount of text.
I went ahead and paid for all of the episodes of the Webtoon currently available, so please proceed with caution if you've just read the free episodes. (If you've seen FHFY, though, there's really no new content for you to worry about being spoiled on.) As always, it's my opinion, you are feel to disagree with me because I am but a human with a much-too strong attachment to the characters of this actual play.
You'll notice there's a lot more cons than pros: This doesn't mean I dislike the comic, I just find it easier to verbalize criticisms than compliments when it comes to adaptations of things I love. I want the things I love to do well, and that comes with me sort of being a bit of a pedantic nerd, so of course, feel free to call me out and/or disagree in the comments.
TL;DR: It's a fine Webtoon, for me. It doesn't quite do what the original does for me, and that's fine. I disagree with pacing, characterization, and some design choices, but ultimately, it's a good Webtoon and I would recommend it to most anyone.
- It's a funny webcomic. The jokes land (for the most part), the original jokes feel right at home in the world of Spyre (for the most part), and none of it feels too forced at any point.
- The dialogue is good! As in, it doesn't feel like I'm reading robots talking to each other. It's natural, it flows, I like it.
- Character designs I like wholeheartedly: Riz, Adaine, Fig, Aguefort, HELIO.
- I love the little details, like Hargis in the background of the theater kids. It's fun, I like it.
- Aguefort's writing as a whole. He's fantastic, it feels like bits you'd see Brennan do in the show, I love it. Fantastic job with Aguefort.
- The world feels natural. It doesn't turn and wink at the camera and go "isn't this crazy???" It trusts it's absurdity and it trusts the audience to roll with it.
- A lot of the art is adorable! I am a sucker for just adorable, lovely art of the characters I love and I'm very glad this Webtoon is chock-full of it.
- I adore Bill Seacaster's characterization. He's perfect and I love him and he can do no wrong, I don't see a way to ever ruin this character and I'm glad he's as energetic on the page as on the screen.
Cons (some will be nitpicky, I will own that):
- I dislike the characterization and dialogue choices, primarily with Riz. He feels like a different character, and there's a lot of little stuff that makes him feel off. Acknowledging he's an introvert, actively spying on Penelope and Sam rather than being intuitive and not just HAPPENING to have the right gadget, it's little stuff that makes him feel real rather than just 'the detective of the season."
- I don't like the Live, Laugh, Loot mug. I don't like the "Are you my dad?" joke, it loses it's humor not knowing who Gorgug is and having him explain why he said what he said makes it less funny.
- I won't say it's too Riz-centric because they've branched out starting on the very last episode, but I will say the Corn Cuties fight lost a lot of what it was due to the audience not knowing who the characters are. I cannot imagine the deaths of Gorgug and Kristen being as shocking and stomach-dropping when you barely know who they are. With this, the decision to push episode 1 activities to AFTER the Corn Cuties actively hinders the battle, and it's just an unnecessary change. You don't need to race to the action, you need you let your characters breathe.
- The pacing is very fast. I understand adaptations need to trim some fat, it happens, but what the Webtoon cuts is important to the characters. Cutting the character's moments with their families already makes it feel like we're losing a bit of heart in this adaptation, but I also won't say it doesn't have heart at all, because we're only eight episodes in.
- I dislike the character designs for Dayne Blade, Ragh Barkrock, and Gorgug Thistlespring. I don't really like the artstyle but I won't hold that as a con of the Webtoon. I will hold Dayne's design as a con of it, though.
- Local Webtoon artist doesn't know how an active fencer would use a rapier.
- I dislike the change to make Penny the latest girl kidnapped. It's small, yes, but I think it's important to Riz's character that he only really cares about the missing girls because it was someone he cared about, that's why he's so focused on this mystery, and they make it clear he's been deep in the mystery long before she went missing. I don't like that---again, it's the little things with characterization.
- They cell phone-ified the crystals. It's annoying to me.
- Nobody jumps on tables on the Corn Cuties fight, and this leads to a big problem I have with the fight in general---there's not personality to it. Fabian is good at fighting, that makes him more insufferable. Riz single-handedly solves the problem and connects all the dots, it makes the other Bad Kids seem useless. And Riz not running to find help is, again, another punch to characterization. Adaine not killing Doreen, but keeping Doreen's speech to her, lessens the impact. Fig not connecting with Doreen but still taking her fishnet BOTH is a punch to her characterization and lessens the impact.
- And, lastly, on that Fabian point: he is, so far, unlikable. Saving the first serving of him being punched down til episode 8 was, in my opinion, a bad call. In the first two episodes alone, Fabian doesn't make it onto the Owlbears, he's shot down by Goldenhoard twice, he makes a fool of himself through the entire Corn Cuties battle, and he's got Lou Wilson's natural charisma to back him up. None of this happens to Webtoons Fabian. I won't hold not having Lou's charisma against it, of course, but everything else I will. Saving the Corn Cuties battle for a few episodes down the road might've been the better option here.
All in all, it's fine. Its good so far, I'll keep reading, I just fear it won't be able to really flesh out the Bad Kids, continue characterization them, and sort of suck a bit of personality out of Fantasy High. But, I don't expect that to happen, and I certainly don't want it to happen. Just a fear.
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