Analysis: Humans Are the Real Monsters in Shotgun Boy

*spoilers*

Carnby Kim’s work explores various themes of revenge and redemption; the latter is explored even for those who are da worst of the worst.

Kim’s first work, Pigpen, poses the question of whether or not a murderer (the MC with remarkably few survivor subtly skills) can be redeemed, but the answer is left up to readers to determine. This idea is followed up in Bastard, where Jin is an actual murderer albeit mostly because of his terrible, serial killer father. Ultimately, Jin too is redeemed in the sense of both forgiving his father and going to prison to atone for his own sins. Though this redemption doesn’t come without a little bit of outside help.

Sweet Home deals with redemption more loosely with Hyun going from a bullied, bitter trash-talker to a literal knight in not-so-shining amour who saves everyone, eventually laying down his life for his friends. His monstrous form resembles a knight because Hyun’s greatest desire was to protect those closest to him (and see Maria in The Sky lol).

Shotgun Boy is the perfect follow up to Sweet Home, focusing on the terribly bullied Gyuhwan. Being it’s prequel, it centers around a bunch of kids sent to a woodland retreat who are attacked by tentacle monsters (not that way, you heathen). Monsters that seemed to have escaped a government laboratory.

Gyuhwan is bullied relentlessly by HBIC Seongbin, who has negative zero redeemable traits and is actually unhinged even before his slow descent into a monsterhood. Almost, because Seongbin does show occasional shades of being not utterly awful, such as not sacrificing his ride-or-die. Alas, of all the monsters in Shotgun Boy, he proves to be the most troublesome.

Shotgun Boy is full of literal monsters out to kill the main characters. Why? In part, because humans treated them terribly via experiments and other torture for dubious reasons. In a way, it was the monstrosity of humanity that led to the monster’s current behavior and their desire to instill terror in humanity simply for the sake of it. This monstrosity exists in the form of Seongbin’s violence towards Gyuhwan and everyone who doesn’t do what he says, but also in the indifference of the teachers, and others, who are simply glad they aren’t on the receiving end of Seongbin’s bullying.

This is probably best illustrated in the form of Zero, the HBIC of monsters. Zero is out to eliminate what he sees as a disease of humanity, something that manifests in the story as a blackness over the human heart. Yet, it’s only after observing Gyuhwan, and the complexity of humanity, does he change his tune. Even going so far as to sacrifice himself in order to save the others.

Horror stories never end happily. However, Shotgun Boy does see the majority of our main characters live to see the apocalypse in which monsters slowly take over humans, feeding off their true desires, and turning them into the things they’ve always desired.

Desire can be monstrous, quite literally. However, the achievement of it can lead to a rebirth or metanoia of sorts in which a persons true nature, for better or worst, is revealed. In Shotgun Boy, Gyuhwan becomes the very thing he dreamed of at the start of the story – a kid with a shotgun; the one with all the power.

Initially, he desired to use this weapon to off Seongbin and all those that looked the other way during his bullying. But when he gets the very thing he wanted, he uses it to protect even those who harmed him from the monsters. When given the chance, Gyuhwan doesn’t immediately put a bullet through Seongbin’s skill but opts to fight him one-on-one. It’s this selfless attitude that ultimately helps Zero realize that humans aren’t all bad, all the time. Rather, they’re complex creatures with the potential for both good and bad.

Shotgun Boy Rating: 9.2/10

Rating The Good Boys Of Weak Hero

I can’t Tumblr but AlliefromSEA commented eons ago about wanting ratings of the good guys in Weak Hero and I aim to please, especially because I’m shocked anyone reads my blog.

All opinions are my own and my opinions are garbage, but loosely my criteria for a good character is not sure because I’ve never thought about it but:

  1. Their removal would affect the plot i.e. their role/dialogue/etc. being removed or relegated to another character would change the story
  2. They undergo some change/character development, for better or for worse, as the story progresses
  3. We see different sides of their personality – aka they are presented as complex individuals with some negative and positive traits
  4. They’re not a Mary Sue/Marty Stu or an author self-insert character that exists to either fulfill an author’s weird fantasy, or preach the author’s personal views
  5. They have personal goals of their own unrelated to other characters
  6. They aren’t so OP that the villains aren’t a threat to their goals (unless it’s a central part of the plot i.e. One Punch Man) but not so weak that they aren’t a challenge for the villains

**Spoilers**

Rowan Im (Im Juyang)

  • Hyper elbow
  • talks a big game, can sort of back it up with hands
  • red-hair clan
  • the reason Teddy joins Gray’s harem
  • childhood friends with Eugene
  • class 1 squad
  • low key a one-trick pony
  • KO’s Helmet with above mentioned one-trick

Rowan is mildly sus when first introduced, both in the sense that he appears weak or like a bully. However, he turns out to be a true bro with a level of courage that far surpasses his actual fighting skills. His backing of Teddy when they finally decide to knock Phillip Kim off his sand throne allows them to live a peaceful existence in class and integrate himself into Ben’s bro club.

Rowan is lowkey helpful in fights because his hyper elbow, when it connects, does serious damage.

Rowan Im Rating: 7.2/10

Eugene Gale (Seo Juntae)

  • Glasses Dude No. 1
  • can’t fight like at all and in a story like this, it’s an issue
  • desk buddies with the white mamba
  • nerdy but not super book smart
    • he makes an effort to better himself by going to cram school
  • physically weak but not a coward. Eugene knows he can’t fight and usually doesn’t try, but he does attempt to defend Gray a few times
  • got into delinquents because of Jake Ji
  • cat lover
  • shuttle patch king
  • knows how to make an awkward situation less awkward (by ordering pizza!)
  • good with lights

Eugene is basically us as the reader, enchanted with Gray, unable to fight, and bad at school but good at collecting gossip and finding out the tea. For most of the story, he’s the side-kick to everyone else until he gets a day in the limelight when investigating some shady buying up of real estate.

Eugene’s knowledge of delinquent gangs comes in handy, but it’s ultimately the fact he’s a kind-hearted dude that allows him to hang with the bros at the pool hall. He’s also Grey’s first true friend.

Eugene Rating: 8.5/10

Gerard Jin (Jin Gayool)

  • broccoli head and upset when others point that out
  • tarot card king
  • the mad hound
  • the quiet one
  • extremely tall – several characters point this out, especially if they’re about to fight him
  • talented singer and guitarist
  • has an actual job even though he’s a child (?)
  • use to be in a moderately successful band called Slam
  • dark and tragic past that resulted in his face being scarred
  • only fights with his shoes
  • always sleeping in class or in bushes
  • KO’d the chiller half of the Mokha Duo
  • the reason Ben Park fought Jake Ji seriously

Gerard’s reason for hiding his face is actually because he’s hot for never using his fists in a fight is because he promised his ex-bandmate, Hyeonjin, he wouldn’t after Hyeonjin pulled Gerard out of a fire and consequently, burned his own hands. Gerard stuck to that promise even at the cost of almost being murdered because he’s a real one.

Gerard Jin Rating: 9.8/10

Stephen Ahn (Ahn Suho)

  • SAINT Stephen Ahn
  • king of giant safety pins
  • gamer boy
  • actually a genius when he puts in effort, which is never
  • Gray’s first real friend – like literally his only reason for living and the light of his life (no homo tho)
  • the reason Gray doesn’t like roof tops (or friends for that matter)

I actually wrote an entire blog post on why Stephen is an absolute king.

Stephen Ahn Rating: Myles Joo’s 2 seconds of Screen Time/10

Alex Go (Go Hyeon-tak)

  • Gogo!
  • Ben’s best buddy since childhood
  • king of trash talking
  • hot-headed – he’s always ready to throw hands, even as a child
  • levels up in boxing – he trains to get stronger so that he doesn’t have to rely on Ben sledgehammer fist of might
  • had a moody moment on the beach
  • got beaten up by Jimmy Bae twice
  • sort of won against Jimmy’s bae Jack Kang but not really
  • ran with a bad crowd, ended up almost being murdered by Donald Na as a result of that
  • KO’d Orochimaru of the Mohka Duo

Alex doesn’t have main character energy, which is why he was/is frequently saved by Ben. That’s actually Alex’s issue – he’s a strong dude fighting actual monsters and he’s constantly comparing his strength to Ben, who is God-tier and doesn’t count. This brief insecurity causes him to get tangled up with some bad individuals in the past and he very nearly gets himself and Ben R.I.P.ed by Donald Na because of it (as it stands, Ben had to get physical therapy lmao). Fortunately, this incident teaches him the power of True Friendship and consequently, Alex becomes one of the more openly caring bros.

Alex Go Rating: 8.2/10

Ben Park (Park Humin) aka BIG BEN!

  • Gogo senses – can always sense when Alex is in danger or in a mood
  • easy going personality and generally goofy demeanor causes others to question his strength and status, which is a negative vibe for them
  • sledgehammer fist of might
    • several characters remark how Ben’s fist feels like getting hit by an actual stone wall or brick
    • he’s only 2nd to Donald Na in terms of strength
    • his punches are so loud others can hear them over a brawl
  • KO’d Jimmy Bae x2
  • KO’d Forrest Lee (x2)
  • KO’d Jake Ji
  • KO’d Juwon Lee
  • KO’d by Donald Na but rose from the dead
  • fried-chicken stan
  • a true amigo. When he learns Gray doesn’t like roof tops, he finds a different spot to chill in
  • low key a therapist. He gets Gray to open up about his tragic past and accompanies Gray on a futile trip to search for said tragic past
  • his strength is 85% of the reason why Eunjang hasn’t been swallowed by the Union
  • zombie Ben

Big Ben initially seems like your stereotypical loud-mouthed hot-head, but he’s actually quite chill and not interested in fighting unless his friends get hurt. Much of Ben’s story is is often pictured smiling even when presented with bad news, so it’s never good when he actually looks upset. And when Ben’s actually upset, nothing short of death will get him to stop fighting (see Donald Na/Jake Ji fights which activated zombie mode)

Ben’s stubborn friendliness helps melt Gray’s frosty attitude too and leads to the creation of the Eunjang gang. He’s a great example of positive masculinity showing that men can be stereotypically masculine and kick ass whilst remaining kind, empathetic, and upbeat.

Ben Park Rating: 10/10

Gray Yeon (Yeon Sieun)

  • white mamba
  • doesn’t like rooftops but gets over it
  • smart – solved The Question albeit in a different way than Donald Na, and he’s regularly shown studying and scoring high on tests
  • according to Wolf (whom he KO’d with a potted plant), he’s a pretty boy
    • actually multiple characters agree that Gray is hella fine, male and female alike
  • KO’d Colton Choi
  • KO’d Helmet, gave him pen PTSD
  • KO’d Teddy Jin, gave him coke PTSD
  • KO’d Phillip Kim, just gave him PTSD
  • Beating Wolf Keum earned him a top ten spot in the immovable shuttle patch ranking
  • KO’d Dean Kwon
  • KO’d TRASH Bryce Oh, Oscar Yang and his goon
  • generally fights dirty aka with bricks, pens, literally anything in sight
  • Jake Ji notices Gray is slowly becoming a blood knight but is in denial

Gray kept to his studies until meeting his sun and stars, Stephen Ahn who was bullied into a coma. This was the start of Gray’s villain origin arc. Fortunately the power of True Friendship turned him into a Hero instead of a bad guy.

He is the Weak Hero, or at least he was in season 1. In season 2, he’s actually not weak but I digress. His frigidity and aversion to humans is slowly melted by the power of fried chicken, and his combo of brains and physical strength allows him to analyze situations and figure out foolproof ways to crush his foes. That, or he just picks up a picture frame and bashes someone over the head with it.

Gray Yeon Rating: 10/10

There are probably some other “good” characters like that random glasses dude that regularly appears, but this is getting long lol. Also, apparently Weak Hero has become a drama so that’s exciting.

Rating The Female Characters in Alice in Borderland

The Netflix Show so S1 only. Haven’t read the manga and haven’t blogged in a hot minute… anyways.

All characters start with 10 points that get deducted for reasons based 100% on my personal, garbage opinions.

My criteria:

  • Their removal would affect the plot
  • They undergo some change/character development, good or bad
  • We see different sides of their personality
  • They have a plot of their own that doesn’t revolve entirely around a male character. OR
  • They are well-developed within the confines of the role they are written to play
  • They don’t toss away every traditionally feminine trait in an attempt to be a strong, independent womyn

*Major Spoilers Ahead*

Momoka

  • she’s the one with the long hair, on the left, in the background
  • WITCH
  • bffs with Asahi
  • a dealer

Momoka’s suicide over (I guess) feeling guilty at having caused the deaths of countless others by helping set up the games (or maybe she knew she was the witch and just offed herself??), inadvertently causes like 5487543094 more deaths when she triggers the 10 Hearts Witch Hunt Game at the Beach.

What an absolute queen of chaotic evil.

Momoka Rating: 7.5/10

Asahi

  • she’s the one with the short hair in the front
  • smartly recorded evidence though it was lowkey all for naught
  • game master
  • *red laser of death*
  • bffs with Momoka
  • also a dealer

Asahi wisely recorded evidence of the dealers secret headquarters, which later got moved and all the dealers were killed so… Anyway, to date I’m not sure if she was faking not knowing who the witch was, or if she was in on it with Momoka, or what was up with that situation. Either way, she’s dead having sacrificed herself as a distraction so plot amour could keep Arisu alive for another episode.

Asahi Rating: 7/10

Live Door

  • looks harmless but actually can lead to death
  • responsible for the first on-screen demise
  • general queen behavior

Live Door Rating: 10/10

Mira

  • Queen of Hearts
  • absolutely unhinged speech
  • black outfit is on point
  • actually the game master
  • great hair
  • one of the HBICs of the beach

It was obvious something was up with Mira because during the witch hunt all the other top executives were seen at the start except her.

As of S1, her reasoning for torturing people via games in a bizarre, alternative Tokyo is still unclear but my guess is she’s either actually unhinged, straight-up evil, or doing some weird analysis of human behavior, which I can respect. Real queens don’t care about death, especially when it’s not your own and it’s for science.

Long live the queen.

Mira Rating: 9.1/10

Dealer With the Collar

  • tag, you’re it
  • horse head
  • dies via neck explosion

Horse Head Lady aka Dealer with the Collar haunts Arisu long after she’s dead, and she also illuminates the fact that players are made to participate in the games in more ways than one.

Dealer With the Collar Rating: 10/10

Girl Who Dies In The Water

  • she’s the one in the flower shirt
  • DUMB

Girl Who’s Electrocuted To Death’s Rating: -01/10

Ann

  • sunglasses indoors
  • sunglasses indoors during a water game
  • one of the HBICs of the Beach
  • white queen
  • seemingly the only person actually trying to solve the witch hunt game
  • outfit on point
  • lipstick on point
  • extremely smart and level-headed
  • being a genius herself, she could obviously sense Arisu’s genius as well, hence testing him in the water game (while wearing sunglasses)

Ann was like the only person who seemed to actually be trying to figure out who the witch was and, thanks to her smarts and Arisu’s guessing skills, they were able to confirm it was indeed Momoka who killed herself, making her the witch.

Ann’s Rating: 9.5/10

Saori

  • great hair
  • hair, make-up, outfit, etc. is really on point for having been playing death games for like a week
  • she’s wearing heels!
  • slept her way to the top in the real world, only to end up in the back rooms borderlands
  • really wants to survive
  • wisely tries to pit Chota against his homeboys but fails

Let’s be honest, we all would’ve done what she did during the wolf game. Girly was ROBBED at her chance at life because of Arisu’s bozo friends. Her writing (which apparently differs from the manga) wasn’t that great either, especially that squicky scene with her and disabled, ill, virgin Chota who can barely walk. Like flip the genders and that wouldn’t have even made it to TV in woke Hollywood.

I would normally hate her for running away once she became the wolf, because it’s possible Arisu would’ve thought of a way to save them all, but we all know the plot wouldn’t have let that happen as it was obvious they were all gonna all die as soon as Chota got injured.

Saori’s Rating: 6.5/10

Kuina

  • beat up cringe sword master dude without a weapon and in a bikini whilst mercenaries are running around and the building is on fire
  • amazing hair
  • tragic backstory
  • was taking care of her sick mother before being phased into the borderlands
  • trash father
  • always with what’s-his-face-blonde-hair
  • represents the caterpillar
  • helps steal the playing cards from the safe

The writers really had me thinking that backstory with the martial arts was cringe sword dude. It was actually Kuina, who is a straight thug and learned how to deal a final blow from her garbage dad. Not sure why she’s hanging out with skeevy blonde dude who’s name I can’t remember but I’m gonna be mad if she’s dies in Season 2.

Kuina Rating: 9.5/10

Usagi

  • really good at climbing
  • only reason Arisu is alive x2
  • represents the white rabbit
  • excellent survival skills (can hunt, start a fire, set up a camp)
  • in incredible shape
  • tragic backstory: father committed suicide after being accused of lying about a hike

Usagi was the daughter of a famous mountain climber who often took her along, hence where she got her awesome, climbing abilities from.

Anyway, I will always love the fact that she not only bit Niragi’s tongue, but also ignored Arisu the first time she saw him wallowing on the ground and left him there to die until pity-saving him later. While I lowkey ship her with Arisu, I’m glad she wasn’t just sidelined as his love interest as soon as she was introduced.

Usagi Rating: 9.5/10

Girl Who Died During Doors Game

  • chose the obviously wrong door
  • dies just to show the main characters and audience that these games are dead serious. Literally

GWDDDG Rating: Karube, Chota & Saori’s Collars Exploding/10