The Korean manhwas have been gaining popularity in recent years and anime studios have been greenlighting some of the most well-known titles such as Solo Leveling, Noblesse, and Tower of God. Lookism was one of the more recently released manhwa-based animes. It was created by Park Taejun (PTJ) and has over 500 chapters in the mahwa. The anime's first season was only eight episodes long and covered just the very beginning of the story.

The Plot

Daniel Park was bullied in school due to his obesity and submissive personality. In order to escape his miserable life, he convinced his mother to allow him to move to Seoul and start anew in a different high school. Little did he knew that what awaited him was a far worse environment.

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But things suddenly took a 180 turn as he found himself mysteriously occupying another body. This new persona was the exact opposite of his original body. It was tall, fit, and handsome. But they were sharing the same consciousness, meaning he could only occupy one body at a time. When one is awake, the other falls asleep.

And through this new body, Daniel saw the world through a new perspective, how society favours the strong and good-looking. But throughout the story, both Daniels gain friends and some of those who previously bullied him became close to him. This was just the surface of the iceberg.

The Darkening Story

As you read through the chapters, you will slowly get an idea of what kind of manhwa Lookism really is. From the get-go, you will see the inhumane treatment of bullies towards their fellow students. And although there was nothing visceral, the author emphasizes violence and brutality, especially with the sometimes overexaggerated reactions to punches and kicks.

One memorable arc for me was Jiho's descent into darkness. He was Daniel Park's closest friend who out of jealousy, became delinquent and eventually ended up in prison. He later reappeared broken and deranged due to what he experienced while being incarcerated. This eventually led to Jiho's untimely demise. And this was just one of the numerous examples of how dark and twisted Lookism's storylines can be.

Character Revelations

One of Lookism's biggest appeals is how it seamlessly backtracks the plot to its initially introduced characters. Some of the seemingly ordinary students that Daniel Park interacted with in the first few chapters were surprisingly harboring dark pasts.

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The author, PTJ, is not afraid to sideline the main storyline in order to meticulously narrate the backstory of some of the side characters like Eli Jang, Zack Lee, and Jake Kim. One of the best progressions for me was with Mary Kim and Vin Jin whose backstories were slowly revealed bit by bit throughout Lookism's 500 chapters. It's not clear whether or not the author predetermined these character revelations since the initial inception of the manhwa but it fits well for me and I don't see any major plotholes.

Even Daniel Park has a past shrouded in mystery. And under the tutelage of one of the series' main antagonists, Daniel underwent a transformation and no longer needs to rely on his other half.

The Lookism Universe

You can say that Lookism is Korea's answer to Marvel Comics. There are many spinoff manhwas that branched from Lookism. The most popular ones are Viral Hit, Questism, and Manager Kim.

Some side characters from Lookism even crossed over to other manhwas like Johan Seong (Questism) and Goo Kim (Manager Kim) Even if most of these stories are standalone, it's nice to see that they all exist in the same universe and they reference each other in some way.

Top-tier Manhwa

As much as I love Solo Leveling, Lookism is probably the best manhwa for me. The depth of storytelling and how it fleshed out its characters are its strong points, in my opinion. And for those who have known Lookism through the anime, I highly suggest you read through the manhwa as the story is way more deeper and complex than the introductory plot.

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