About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series Love Meter 100%.
Trigger Warning: There may be references to stalking, obsession, bullying, and ableism (use of m-slur), as it appears in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Yihan loves video games, but not just any video games. His favorite video game is Love Meter 100%, a BL game where he can romance several hot 2D men. His favorite, though, is Mikaros. His love for the fictional character doesn't stop in the game. Yihan's bedroom is covered in Mikaros merch, he carries around a Mikaros bag, which is full of Mikaros merch, and he wears Mikaros merch wherever he can. Mikaros is a hunk and everything Yihan wants in a man, but the odds of finding someone precisely like his 2D love interest are slim to none until he happens upon a Mikaros lookalike on campus.
Park Há is just as hunky as Mikaros and has the same mint-colored hair. What are the odds? Yihan is ready to risk it all for a chance to meet the man of his dreams, but along the way, he hears Park Há mention that he hates otaku. Unfortunately, Yihan is the ultimate otaku. How can Yihan finally win the heart of real-life Mikaros when Park Há is destined to hate him?
Review:
This probably goes without saying, but the art is everything. I am a huge Sagold fan, so the moment I saw this release, I purchased the entire thing immediately. Let this also serve as a warning because I am incredibly biased toward Sagold. So, if you're hoping for a teardown or anything of the sort, I am sorry to say that this isn't the review you're going to want to read. I love this artist so much, and this piece is no exception. Yihan is super cute, and Park Há is daddy vibes. Love it.
The only major downside is how short this work is. It's only seven episodes, which (excluding My Way with You) is probably the shortest manhwa I've ever read. That doesn't leave much in the way of character development, much less story development. This is extremely superficial, so if you're hoping for some deep story, you're in the wrong place. It does just enough to set up the premise, and the focus is on the sexy time. That's not to say there isn't any development at all. I am actually really impressed with the level of detail we get on Yihan and Park Há's backgrounds that lead them to each other. It's just very surface-level what we do get.
Now the sexy time, as with all Sagold manhwa, is peak. As usual, my only degenerate complaint is that there isn't enough for my preference. What is there, though, is fantastic. I love that we get a scene where Park Há cosplays for Yihan, which was everything. However, I do wish Yihan had done the same. It just would have been nice for Yihan to reciprocate fulfilling that fantasy for his dream guy since his dream guy fell in love with him because he also looks like another character in the same game.
I will say I had one major disappointment. There is the use of the m-slur in this, which is just unacceptable. If you aren't sure what the m-slur is, it is the derogatory term used to refer to a little person. It's used jokingly to poke fun at a friend in this, which is just not a good depiction of that (not that there is a good way to use that word, but especially not in this context). There was no reason for it; it was unfortunate to see it in an otherwise fun and sexy manhwa.
Results:
I love the premise of this story. I wish there were more, but that was a great problem to have. What we do have is very well-drawn. The story is superficial but well-crafted, and the sexy time is great. There's only so much someone can ask from a seven-episode manhwa, and this one delivers plenty to enjoy in a concise package. As with all of Sagold‘s work, I highly recommend it.
Have you read Love Meter 100%? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!