Cry or Better Yet Beg: Is abuse a... good thing?

     

Hey guys! I’m back again with another negative review, this time on a webtoon (digital graphic novel). This webtoon is called Cry or Better Yet, Beg, with a plot as concerning as its title, although the art style is GORGEOUS, which is why I read it in the first place. Even though the webtoon is unfinished, here are my thoughts on it so far(as I likely will not continue reading it):

This webtoon is extremely problematic, and should be taken off the platform. The whole thing is basically romanticizing abuse, which is EXTREMELY not okay. The plot goes like this: A young girl whose mom left her goes and lives with her uncle, who works as the gardener at the Duke’s estate. She grows up to the ripe age of 18(when a six year age gap becomes legal) and becomes really pretty, of course. We meet her friend Kyle, who is a really nice sweet kid from an aristocratic family who wants to be a doctor and who genuinely treasures Layla, begging her to marry him several times over the chapters. Perfect choice for a partner, right? Nope. Because then the duke, a TWENTY FOUR year old GROWN MAN pulls up and acts really creepy around her. He shoots birds as a hobby, while Layla adores birds and would never lay a hand on them. The duke cultivates a strange obsession with Layla and making her cry, going as far as sexually assaulting her to obtain his.. goal, I guess, of making her miserable. The author tries to make excuses for his actions, saying that “since he couldn’t make her smile, he would make her cry.” I’ve never heard more stupid bullshit in my life. That’s currently where the plot is at, scenes of the Duke traumatizing Layla over and over again. The worst part? It’s obvious that Layla will end up with the abusive Duke. 

I don’t understand how anyone could enjoy this kind of story other than for the amazing artwork. The duke should not be the love interest. I hated him from the moment he pointed a gun at Layla. And while I feel bad for Layla, she really needs to stand up for herself instead of just taking the abuse. But it’s definitely not her fault. I despise the way the author twisted the plot into some disgusting depiction of glorified abuse instead of taking full advantage of the beautiful art style to come up with a half-decent plot. We’re not even going to talk about how the duke is literally cheating on his fiancé(honestly I don't care too much about that part since his fiancé also abuses Layla). 

(The boy with the blonde hair is Kyle, by the way. Not the disgusting duke. That guy has black hair. Eugh.) 

Romanticizing abuse like done in this webtoon can be very harmful, especially when considering the ages reading webtoons, usually kids/teens around 10-18. These kinds of stories can leave bad impressions on them on how relationships are supposed to be and whether abuse is ok. (IT'S NOT!) 

If you really want to torture yourself, read it for yourself and formulate your own opinions. For now, I’ll leave you with my review of this atrocity. Bye!

• Sarah Bijoy