Review: The Horizon (Complete)
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1 | Chapter 1 - The Horizon - MangaDex
The Horizon: (Completed)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Psychological, Tragedy
Oh… My… God… I don’t usually say this, but… This story was a “True Masterpiece”. It was Ideological. Philosophical. With several points of Theology sprinkled throughout. Another thing I really love about this story is that it has a sense of “Self-Control”. When reading dark stories, many authors–The Vast Majority of Authors, have the tendency of going too far, with the majority of fans then trying to defend it–their favorite quote being “It’s realistic.” And yet, no matter how dark this story became, the Author never crossed a line. In fact, as I’ve said before there’s even sprinkles of Christian Theology written within these pages almost as if the Author wanted to create a bleak, dark-story that even Christains could enjoy. Also, it annoyed me how Webtoon had a bit of beautiful Dialogue, but in turn disrespected the story by removing various panels despite the Author himself going to great length to give you such a brutal story without ever crossing any unnecessarily graphic lines. Almost as if they weren’t mature enough to handle such a delicate story, which is hilarious considering the fact that there are Webtoons rate M for Mature.
Personal Enjoyment: 10
Protagonist: 10
I won’t lie, while I did very much enjoy “The Boy” I had - for a good while - fully believed he was going to end the series with an 8 (I love you). That was until he reached the “End of the Road” & I found his rating rapidly increasing to an almost stupid degree. When crafting a character, there are many avenues one can take - note, that a character does not always needs to be likable to be functional, however we’ll talk about that at a later review - one such avenue is taking simple easy formulas and adding depth, nuance, & complexity. Which is exactly what the author did. Think about it. A small innocent boy loses his mother. Said boy has big round eyes. Bad things happen to the big-eyed boy. The boy may even be drawn somewhat cutely. These are simple things that elicit easy–almost immediate sympathy towards the audiences, which will entice them to latch onto your character all the more quickly. Once done, the author fills the Boy with beautiful writing that only adds both weight and flavor to the already easy to digest recipe. Many people have the false notion that complexity equals higher quality. Or that things have to be dark; gritty; & mature or nobody will take you seriously. Heavy action in place of powerful themes. Violence in place of subtlety. Complexity in place of depth. The “Art of Simplicity” is an art worth knowing.
Deuteragonist: 8.5
I ‘Really’ love her! Similar to the protagonist, the author uses a lot of simple methods to get you attached, not to mention she’s drawn to appear even cuter and more innocent looking. And for the majority of the story, she found herself moving along at a steady 8. However, while it is true that I found myself mostly aligning with the “Boy” & the “Man’s” mentality - though not entirely with The Man, I found her compassion truly essential. Perhaps not the most ideal in regards to survival, but in the grand scheme, was still essential for retaining one’s humanity. & that’s what I truly found amazing about her. The author wrote her with such respect and depth that by the time her backstory ended I found myself liking her far more than The Boy. Not to mention while The Man was affecting the Boy’s mentality, he had no effect on the girl’s; instead it creating this ideological battle between the two. & while she couldn’t truly defend her ideals due to her lack of life experience, her ideals were none-the-less re-enforced through her actions & the actions of the couple. 8.5 = “I really love you”
Antagonist: 10
“Man vs Circumstance,”
“Man vs Self,”
- Crazy Man
While I barely even register the Crazy Man as an Antagonist worth mentioning, I will allow him to participate all the same due to meeting the requirements. Regardless however, it is the Circumstance / Environment of The Boy that is being given the 10 due to the constant, relentless & unforgiving nature of the story–I.E. his “Circumstances” as well as the battle of Psychology / Philosophy within not just his own mind, but also against the Girl herself, due to the fact that she represents the themes of Kindness, Idealism, & Hope.
Also, while not entirely common in most entertainment nowadays, it is possible to create conflict without the need of an antagonist I.E. “Person vs Person”. Examples are – “Person vs Technology,” “Person vs Society,” “Person vs Nature,” & “Person vs Destiny”
Side characters: 7.5
While I can’t say I loved the “man-in-the-suit”, I can say that I found him absolutely fascinating, including all the Ideological & Philosophical discussions he brought with him. & while the “Group Bus” weren’t that great, deep, or complex, the amount of time I spent with them and the things they went through was enough to make me ‘Feel’ things!
Plot: 9.5 The Strange Man (Ch.1-5): 8.5 The Man in a Suit (Ch.6-9): 10 The Girl and the Boy, The Girl, Ending (Ch.10-21): 10
Pacing: 10
Each chapter was long, which allowed the story to go at a slower pace. But because each chapter was filled to the brim with content, you always had a sense of progression. And since the story was very Ideological & Philosophical, you the reader were actively being called upon to participate. Allowing you to get lost time and again.
World-building: 5
It’s set in a post-apocalyptic world. If you’re unfamiliar with such a genre, then this is a perfect starting off point.
Consistency: 10
Dialogue: 6.5
Themes: 10 The Value of Life: 10 The Inevitability of Death: 10 Trauma: 10 Existentialism: 10 Survival: 10 Kindness / Idealism vs Pessimism / Realist: 10 The Effects of War: 10
Overall score: 87 (B+)
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This was an incredible read that I absolutely loved. Not only that, I can actually see myself re-reading this story which is not something I usually do. In fact, I even plan on going to the book store tomorrow to buy the physical copies, something I’ve only ever done for one other Manhwa. All in all, it was such an amazing read.
For my next Post, I plan on doing a “Power Ranking” between the highest rated shared Webtoons between both America & Korean. To then compare & contrast the two. In fact, it’s already in the works but will definitely take me a bit more time to complete.
Anyways, thank you for reading & enjoy the rest of your week!👍🏼😁👍🏼