About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series Penthouse XXX.
Trigger Warning: There may be references to murder, death, blood, violence, theft, debt, being outed, dubious consent due to drinking, corruption, gang activity, mentions of rape, slut-shaming, obsession, possessiveness, privacy invasion, drugging, kidnapping, confinement, toxic relationships, coercion, and human experimentation, as it appears in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Siyeon is leading a double life. Due to his ex, who stole every dime Siyeon had before disappearing, Siyeon is in debt and forced to moonlight as an assassin to make ends meet. He doesn't really know who his employer is. All he knows is that once or twice a month, he receives a package with a pill and information on his next target. So why would they choose a pretty boy like Siyeon to be an assassin? As it turns out, Siyeon is an esper who can manifest ice and change the temperature at will. The pill they send helps amplify his powers for a limited time, and with his abilities, he often causes his targets to have heart attacks by freezing their hearts, leaving no trace of any foul play. Otherwise, he's just a regular guy with freezing hands.
With his debt steadily falling by the day, Siyeon can finally better his living arrangements and goes to see a room that is being rented out in a massive penthouse by the owner of the building, who also lives in the penthouse. The man who answers the door is party animal heir Taekyung. Though Siyeon has sworn off men due to his terrible dating history, Taekyung doesn't make bad eye candy. Unfortunately, after a night of drinking, Siyeon's self-control wanes, and they get hot and heavy in the bedroom. While Siyeon regrets it immediately, Taekyung is all the more intrigued. He wants Siyeon, and he's going to do everything he can to claim him.
Review:
The art style in this is very unique. Much more cartoony than others I have read. It can be really attractive and pretty, but those moments are few and far between. It is very inconsistent and looks ugly most of the time, unfortunately. There are very few tops out there that I'm not a fan of, but Taekyung is undoubtedly one of them. His hair looks stiff and like the edge of a circular saw blade, which isn't attractive. Then, his face shape changes constantly, with his jaw and chin being super long and angular in some panels while being much shorter in others. He just isn't all that attractive, which is unfortunate since a significant part of the story is that he is so attractive that Siyeon can't help but give in to him. Siyeon is also supposed to be super pretty and know it, and in comparison to Taekyung, he is, but his design is just as inconsistent, and he doesn't look great all the time. I will say the chibis are absolutely precious, which was a nice break between the rougher sections.
In most cases where the art isn't all that consistent, it's usually very consistent and pretty during the sex scenes, which I was really looking forward to with this. Thankfully, you don't have to wait long, as the first episode opens with a sex scene. Unfortunately, it also reveals that the art during the sex is just as inconsistent, if not worse. First, the poses are so stiff and awkward that it doesn't look natural or enjoyable for either party. Then, this weird motion blur effect is used, making it even harder to look at and distinguish anything. There's lots of sex, enough to call this a smutfest, but it's not the nicest looking, which is disappointing.
I've talked about all of the superficial things, but let's dig into the meat of this: the story. Unfortunately, in terms of meat, this is a relatively lean cut. The story is nonsensical, with little to no plot to speak of. Woojin, the ex-boyfriend, is brought up over and over again and seems to be the reason Siyeon can move forward in hopes of getting revenge. Then, toward the end, it's revealed that he's already dead, and we never get to see him, and Siyeon feels nothing as if we didn't spend the entire series stoking the flames of his hate and revenge. I did love both of their personalities, but without any real end goal and plot points leading to nowhere, it's hard to enjoy much.
I actually discovered this after reading one of my favorite comedy manhwa of all time: The Devil's Temptation. It was a suggested read, and I was all for anything similar, so I dove in. Unfortunately, what I loved about The Devil's Temptation is but a hollow echo in Penthouse XXX. The main characters have a similar dynamic, with the two stuck in a sort of love-hate scenario, though not as successful since Siyeon hates Taekyung just because he hates men in general and is self-absorbed. It's also apparent that this series is meant to be funny, but much of the humor falls flat since the plot is all over the place. Where this does kill it, though, is with the hilarious facial expressions. If you liked the exaggerated expressions in The Devil's Temptation or even in Beware the Villainess!, this does the same thing, which was the funniest part to me.
Results:
This was a miss for me, which is shocking since I've seen a lot of praise for this one. I really wanted to like it, but it just wasn't for me. If the sex had been good, I probably would have liked it. If the humor was stronger, I would have liked it, and if the plot had more direction, I probably would have liked it. But it just wasn't enough on any of those fronts for me. So, I think it's best to save your dollar and pick something else to read, even as an in-between, while waiting on your ongoing series to update.
Have you read Penthouse XXX? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!