In your opinion, what's missing in the realm of webcomics / webtoons?

[childofbooks]

I find something missing too. When I read manga, I get more information per chapter or reading time. As for webtoons, the drawback may be too long scenes and less detailed drawings, also too much space between panels.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

To be honest, I've often felt that myself...based on what I've seen, the major differences are

-Aesthetic: This is a forgivable one, since most of the manga/anime people have heard of are professionally made, while most of the webtoons people have heard of are not. But yeah...usually the overall visual appeal of webtoons is a little lower. Whether the art is simple or intricate, it tends not to look quite as good as it could.

-Interesting Character Design: I have seen VERY few webtoon characters that actually drew me in at first glance (something that happens to me all the time when browsing anime/manga...). I think the vast majority of webtoon characters have fairly pedestrian designs, even when you take fantasy series into account, unfortunately.

I think this is because of the trend of patterning webtoon stories after live-action TV dramas, so artists tend to style their characters after real people, and dress them in things that real people wear...which tends to limit creativity.

-Humor: ...Most of the webtoons I've read just aren't very funny. =/ Like, either the humor is so basic that I can't really enjoy it, or it tries and fails so hard that the cringeworthy execution lives in my memory forever (true story...).
I could blame this on the 'pros vs. amateurs' thing again, but there are plenty of great comedy-focused webtoons out there...I guess more of the drama-focused webtoon writers just lack that talent.

[FafasMcMelt]

Don't be sorry, I myself had a laugh at it.

I appreciate the sentiment though

[childofbooks]

or it tries and fails so hard that the cringeworthy execution lives in my memory forever (true story...)

I can relate :') Sometimes, I find myself remembering those and want to hit my head to the walls in most inconvenient situations (like in public transport or family dinners)

[T4pasBelongsToKaka0]

I think the vast majority of webtoon characters have fairly pedestrian designs, even when you take fantasy series into account, unfortunately.

I think this is because of the trend of patterning webtoon stories after live-action TV dramas, so artists tend to style their characters after real people, and dress them in things that real people wear...which tends to limit creativity.

Maybe they're aiming for k-drama adaptations? it makes sense specially for romance webtoons.

[VibrantFox]

i'm a firm believer it's a matter of taste and being able to find what it is that suits your taste.

obviously the format between the two mediums is different but that's not to say that there aren't quality webtoons/webcomics out there. if anything there's more issue in being able to seek out those stories that you're looking for but that's another discussion. i think it's also worth considering what form of media a person is most adapted to consuming.

personally i've managed to find a fair amount of comics whose, art, writing, world building and overall story caught my eye and held my interest (even if i fell behind on reading them). at the end of the day tho it's simply coz i managed to find works that i felt were fitted to my taste or they managed to grow on me. granted the time that i picked them up the market and what was being advertised was different but with enough hunting and browsing what other folks suggested i managed to find those "hidden gems". patience produces results

[T4pasBelongsToKaka0]

granted the time that i picked them up the market and what was being advertised was different

I guess that's my problem with webtoons, the stuff advertised is unappealing to me, thanks for the insight.

[Kaydreamer]

It's quite funny, I agree with you on all points, but also, every WEBTOON I'm subbed to has all of these in spades. Which is probably why I'm subbed to them. I'm a picky reader with little free time, so I only sub to stuff I truly fall in love with. Which means pretty art, fun characters, and well-written humour. (And romance, if relevant.)

---

My biggest gripe with WEBTOONS, and this doesn't apply to all, but certainly to some, is pacing. Because each episode needs to feel satisfying to the reader, which is often taken to mean having its own self-contained plot beats with a cliffhanger at the end, many stories on WEBTOON don't often have time to open up and just breathe. It should be okay to just have a tonal episode now and then. Not everything needs to be plot!

I try to resist this as much as I can... The episode I'm working on now is literally just three characters walking through a ship, as I establish it's aesthetic, and lean into one character's emotions. Readers won't be getting much plot from that episode, but they'll be feeling the tone, and they'll have eye-candy galore. (It's a very pretty ship.)

[bakasama25]

I'd say the rather intrusive editorial mandates that comes with every creator made manga (excepting adaption of LNs)

[starless]

Webtoon creators are relatively younger than manga artists who are mostly middle aged or older. The budget and years of investment can be the reason.

Webcomics are created fast and consumed fast whereas printed mangas are planned and published for years and decades. Give Webtoon creators some time to hone their skill.

[T4pasBelongsToKaka0]

My biggest gripe with WEBTOONS, and this doesn't apply to all, but certainly to some, is pacing. Because each episode needs to feel satisfying to the reader, which is often taken to mean having its own self-contained plot beats with a cliffhanger at the end, many stories on WEBTOON don't often have time to open up and just breathe. It should be okay to just have a tonal episode now and then. Not everything needs to be plot!

You mean "inbetween" chapters that develop character ? or just filler chapters that nothing happens? I don't know what you mean by plot, but in Solo Leveling I crave for plot, because every other chapter is just battle...

[allenT]

I agree-- webcomics are generally a bit too fast paced. A slower pace on the places/scenes can be more immersive & believable to the readers!

[Kaydreamer]

Not really filler, no. And it doesn't have to develop anything, either. Not everything in a story has to make the story progress. Sometimes, stories need a moment to just rest.

You know how a Miyazaki film will have a long sequence of just... doing the laundry in a beautiful landscape (Howl's Moving Castle), or sitting on a train as it rolls past several stations (Spirited Away), or flying on a broomstick with the radio blaring (Kiki's Delivery Service), or wandering quietly through a great blue forest collecting spores (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind)? Miyazaki calls this 'Ma'. It slows down the pacing of the story, and draws the audience into the magic and beauty of the world. It's tonal. It's atmospheric. And it's my favourite thing about his movies.

This is something a lot of WEBTOONS seem to lack. Again, not all of them. Mine has a sequence like this coming up, which I'm doing the lineart for today, and there are other comics I follow which do this as well. But it's rare.

[Scarlet_Cryptid]

I enjoy pacing scenes, actually, both drawing them and watching/reading them. I feel like it's a less-understood, less-appreciated, perhaps higher-level storytelling skill that most folks don't learn until later on, and some never learn at all. I have a few (upcoming) pages in my comic that are just there to set a mood and show off the natural landscape, and while it's a LOT of background work, they're some of my favorite pages.

[Kaydreamer]

Same here, I'm absolutely loving working on the episode I'm currently on. It's slow, it's ambient, and the vertical format of WEBTOON is perfect for drawing the readers through the scenery. It surprises me this kind of thing isn't done more in WEBTOONS, since the scrolling format suits it so well.

I feel like it's a less-understood, less-appreciated, perhaps higher-level storytelling skill that most folks don't learn until later on, and some never learn at all.

I agree, especially with it being a writing skill which is more nuanced and usually developed later. The fact that so much modern TV is so 'snappy' and tightly paced isn't helping, either. People tend to absorb the conventions of what they're surrounded by.

[DarkChibiShadow]

something missing in webtoons, that can be found in manga / anime

For me, it's anime that's missing what webcomics, webtoons, and manga all do better. Anime is a mess, it should be learning from us, not the other way around. (Aside from maybe like, merchandising?)

I also think comparing anime/manga to webcomics/webtoons is a bit complex, as many manga/anime are made by a team of at least 2 or 3, and webcomics/webtoons it's usually one person unless that person is being paid in some way.

[Lady_T_Musings]

I remember you were wondering about whether your comic would fly there or not in an earlier post. Sounds like they took issue with it. Sorry to hear

[Darth_Biomech]

Design most likely. Like, if you take a scifi webcomic, their spaceship is most likely going to be a version of "a rectangle with wings and windows". But in manga, I've yet to find a work that has bad design. A lot of them are repetitive or unoriginal, but none are sloppy or simplistic to the point of being a caricature of a concept.

[arxianfall]

Endings.
No end in sight anywhere.
Like the stories are made to be stretched out as long as possible, until the fan-base dies out and the creator rushes to end it fast so they can start the milking process all over.

Quality endings.

I'm wrong... this is a problem everywhere.

[T4pasBelongsToKaka0]

Endings. No end in sight anywhere.Like the stories are made to be stretched out as long as possible, until the fan-base dies out and the creator rushes to end it fast so they can start the milking process all over.

This is so true, I only read 2 professional webtoons that weren't stretched out for milking purposes, everything else is trying to beat one piece in number of chapters, or it's cancelled because of low popularity.