About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series All About Lust.
Trigger Warning: There may be references to violence, bullying, sexual assault, manipulation, and coercion, as it appears in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Wooseung is an art student who has never dated anyone. He never wanted to date anyone until he saw his upperclassman Sunjin's art. Without even meeting the artist, Wooseung feels drawn to Sunjin. Wooseung has never felt this way about anyone before, and he's determined to get closer to Sunjin, no matter what it takes. In his mission to get closer to Sunjin, Wooseung realizes that what he feels may be more than simple admiration but true love.
He doesn't have much hope that his beloved Sunjin could feel the same about him, but that doesn't stop him from trying. He randomly confesses to Sunjin on a bench in front of their college. To Wooseung's surprise, Sunjin admits that he has feelings for Wooseung. However, what Sunjin feels isn't innocent love. Sunjin wants nothing more than to get down and dirty with Wooseung. Can these two stick it out even though their way of loving each other is so different?
Review:
First off, I nearly didn't read this because of the cover art. I really don't like how cartoony the art style is, but that is just my preference. However, one thing I like about the cover art that isn't present in the work is the whites of the character's eyes. On the cover, there are distinct white areas in the eyes. In the work, there are none. It is the pupil on top of the skin tone. I can't lie. It bothers me terribly. I much prefer the eyes with the white coloring inside, but that isn't present in the actual series.
Another thing that bothers me about the art style is how different it is from the story and the sex scenes. For the most part, the characters look very plain, but when the sex occurs, there is this strange shift in style, particularly in the faces. For example, Wooseung suddenly has thick, heavy, feminine eyelashes during sex. Why? It just felt very much out of place, and I wasn't fond of it. Don't get me wrong, I love it when the bigger guy devolves into a weepy bottom during sex, but the eyelashes just seemed so out of place. I also don't find this art style all that sexy, so the sex scenes felt more awkward than sexy.
The art wasn't my favorite, but the story and character development were fun. You wouldn't know it from the description. This is actually two intertwined stories with two different couples. The Sunjin and Wooseung coupling is the first story in the series, and it is the most superficial of the two. I definitely prefer the second couple of Jaehee and Beomchul. The story is better, the art is better, and I find the character designs of those two align better with my preferences. I also like how the second story feeds into the first, and we get to see what all was going on behind the scenes during Wooseung and Sunjin's romance from the first story.
With Sunjin and Wooseung, there is very little drama or tension. They get together relatively quickly, and then it's just watching them grow together as a couple and as artists. On the other hand, Jaehee and Beomchul are the good old enemies-to-lovers storyline, which lends itself to more drama and tension than Sunjin's and Wooseung's story had. That's not to say there is much drama in this series. There really isn't when comparing it to other drama-based series, but the pacing in the second story is much better, in my opinion, because of the added drama. This is definitely more comedy than anything else, and it is funny. I didn't find it as amusing as The Devil's Temptation, but it's still a fun time.
Results:
I'm sad that it took me so long to finally read this just because I wasn't fond of the art. Admittedly, I'm still not all that into the art style, but I am pleased to have gotten into this story. This is more on the light-hearted side of things, and there is lots of smut if that's something you're looking for. It isn't going to be the prettiest thing in the world, and it's not all consistent, but it's fine. I am happy to have finally crossed this one off my list.
Have you read All About Lust? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!