Before I get into reviewing this I want to make it clear that none of the content being reviewed in this post is suitable for children and even for adults is probably going to be confronting. Anyone who has been following the copious posts about Killing Stalking on Twitter probably already know that, but just giving everyone else fair warning.
Review:
There’s not a huge amount I want to say about Chapter 5. The events continue on logically from where we left off though it is unclear whether Yoon Bum’s illness is definitely caused by ingesting rat poison or whether Sangwoo had switched out the bottle contents, just like it is unclear why Sangwoo seemed to suffer no ill-effect from the meal. Though, it hardly seems to matter given what is important in this chapter is the back story we’re finally given on Sangwoo.
It’s not a complete picture or even overly detailed but the short scene we see of his father explains so much.
For all that Killing Stalking is definitely using sensationalised violence and sexual tension as a drawing card, underneath what I’m finding is that this world feels really, tragically real and the two characters are believable in their own messed up ways. While not every child who grows up a victim of domestic abuse becomes an abuser, in Sangwoo’s case his desire for emotional and physical control show clear parallels to the behaviour modelled by his father, only taken to an extreme form.
While I guess the fans who were hoping for these two to become a couple will probably appreciate the interaction toward the end of the chapter it seemed like a really bizarre time for that scene. As Yoon Bum pointed out, he smelled like vomit. And he was covered in sweat. And it wouldn’t have been difficult for Sangwoo to carry him into the bathroom prior. Also, did we hear the cries of another victim in the house during this chapter or was Yoon Bum a little delirious?
What was made clear, other than a motivating factor for Sangwoo, is that Yoon Bum is not over his fascination with Sangwoo despite everything he’s been through and that makes you wonder just what else has happened to him in his life that he is clinging so incredibly desperately to this one, deeply flawed, human being.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
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Karandi James
I feel like Bum has definitely led the kind of life where he’s only been kicked so any kidness, even if it’s mixed with some abuse and etc, it still shakes him and makes him weak.
That scene with the kiss is so interesting, Sangwoo is usually all the tactics of cold and warm psychologically on Bum. In a “I accept all of you, even the gross, so you have to accept all of me too”.
This just keeps getting worse but in an interesting way. I’m shocked to hear that Yoon Bum is still so fixated on his tormentor. Stockholm Syndrome sounds like a likely possibility.
Yep, it keeps getting worse but somehow keeps getting better to read.
I don’t follow the manhwa, but I really do like reading your reviews. Keep it going!
Please have a happy ending…. （*>人<）
This really doesn’t seem like the happy ending kind of story.