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A review by anindistinctaccountant
Guiding Hazard, Season 1 by Sunsun, Chungnyun
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'd been concerned about consent issues at several points, but the story managed to surprise me each time they came about. In fact, one might say that Taegun, rather than Eunsung, commits the more egregious crossing of boundaries, but if there are unfairnesses dealt, it is to both sides, by one another. Even though there is a committed top and bottom in this series, it never feels like the bottom is ceding power to the top, and in fact, when sex occurs, the bottom is both a vocal and active participant, which felt like a nice change from the traditional manhwa. The bottom looks properly masculine and the top is capable of genuine emotion, like blushing, getting embarrassed or surprised, or finding things funny, rather than quietly amusing.
There is the concern of Eunsung's feelings towards Taegun, which holds the potential to dip into the possessive/obsessive genre of characters I don't like and almost had me rating this 4.75, but even at the end, which would traditionally put me off and set warning bells off in my head, it felt moreso like internal musings, like personal pettiness and not something sinister. A "I spent so long obsessing over you, the least you can do is have me in your life" sort of thing rather than a "I want to chain you down until all you can think of is me" sort of thing, which relieved me. I suppose we'll see if it progresses that way in the next season. Overall, this manhwa delved far more into matters of mental health than I expected it to, and it was gratifying to see characters open up about their struggles and react accordingly to triggers, but work their way around it to a congenial work relationship. It made it feel more like a character story than simply a romance, which I am grateful for.
There is the concern of Eunsung's feelings towards Taegun, which holds the potential to dip into the possessive/obsessive genre of characters I don't like and almost had me rating this 4.75, but even at the end, which would traditionally put me off and set warning bells off in my head, it felt moreso like internal musings, like personal pettiness and not something sinister. A "I spent so long obsessing over you, the least you can do is have me in your life" sort of thing rather than a "I want to chain you down until all you can think of is me" sort of thing, which relieved me. I suppose we'll see if it progresses that way in the next season. Overall, this manhwa delved far more into matters of mental health than I expected it to, and it was gratifying to see characters open up about their struggles and react accordingly to triggers, but work their way around it to a congenial work relationship. It made it feel more like a character story than simply a romance, which I am grateful for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment