It’s still an enjoyable read though.

*spoilers ahoy! *

Odd Girl Out by Morangji is a Korean webtoon that centers around Nari, an awkward high school student bumbling her way through life. She has a rich hot best friend named Yuna, who is put on a boat, and two other bffls: Seonji and Mirae.

The story follows Nari as she attempts to find a place in society, having always been the odd girl out stuck in the shadow of Yuna. While there are elements of romance throughout the story, mostly in the form of Seungha and Chanyang thirsting after Nari, those elements are generally kept to a minimum. The majority of the webtoon is devoted to Nari, Yuna, Seonji, and Mirae’s friendship and Nari learning to embrace the things that make her “odd.”

Until the current arc where the story became a romance.

Look, I like both Chanyang and Seungha, but Odd Girl Out isn’t about them, their woes, or even their love for Nari. It’s about Nari and the power of female friendship. Why the author shipped Yuna off to America indefinitely is beyond me. Initially, it made sense to allow Nari to come into her own and stop relying on Yuna to bail her out of every situation with her hotness, bluntness, or money. Now it’s like where she at? Additionally, the story has devolved into a somewhat cliche lopsided, love-triangle.

That said, Seungha and Nari’s short-lived romance did feel natural. Having built up throughout the webtoon, them finally getting together felt like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. Granted, it turned into a Cat 5 Hurricane because of Seungha’s trauma. Toxic masculinity, and his own sincere albeit flawed desire to protect Nari, prevent him from opening up to her about what he’s going through. Consequently, he pushes her away despite the fact Nari truly loved him. Nari ends up bitter and angry she gave her heart to someone who (in the words of keshi) changed their mind.

However, Seungha didn’t change his mind but by the time he was done dealing with his issues, Nari had already peaced out, which is valid. While it felt like a disappointing conclusion to their relationship, it made sense considering Odd Girl Out was never really a romance.

Then, along comes an alligator Chanyang. Whereas Seungha’s inability to communicate his feelings nuked his love life, Chanyang is blunt, direct, and honest about his feelings and intentions. He likes Nari romantically. While he’s cool being her friend, he wants more but only at a pace she’s comfortable with. It’s a refreshing contrast to Seungha, who I wanted to throttle.

However, Nari and Chanyang make zero sense as a couple. Chanyang is quite boring. He lacks drive and ambition. Personality wise, he’s the polar opposite of Nari. He’s wildly obsessive and single-minded. Like homie is rude, unhelpful, and unkind to everyone around him – in what world would anyone like Nari be into someone like him? He stops doing things that he enjoys (such as art) simply because… reasons? Chanyang only tries to improve for the sake of Nari, which is actually a terrible reason to change. If you’re only changing because a person wants you to, as soon as that person leaves, so will your desire to change.

That’s not to say Chanyang is a bad person, or character (and his mom is genuinely crazy and insufferable at first), but their romance feels shoehorned in. Like in order for Nari’s story to have a happy ending, she has to have a romantic partner. Female friendship simply isn’t enough.

Odd Girl Out has seemingly veered far from its original premise: a story about girls being girls. However, with page after page dedicated to Seungha/Chanyang’s pasts, Seonji, Mirae, Yuna, and even Nari have become side characters in their own story.

Odd Girl Out Rating: 7.2/10