Webtoon Review: Snailogy

Status: completed.

Is it strange that I started to read Snailogy before I read Nightmare Factory? Well, technically I read the first two chapters of NF, didn’t care for it (gasp! I was just confused about the first two chapters though) but liked the art, so I checked out Snailogy. And oh my gosh, it was an amazing slice of life. I will be judging this in only four of the five categories: writing, characters, art, and world-building. Why? This is a slice-of-life, so not much of a story there, but that isn’t a bad thing.

Summary: If laughter is medicine, here are your pills. Strip off your stress with Snailogy daily dose of insaniTea.

Characters: 4.5/5: Snailords personifies so many abstract things, and really well. The most famous is, of course, Life, which can be either scary or hot, rather like actual life. Death appears too, as does Bad Luck/Misfortune. And Fear…definitely represents fear. But I also like Artist’s Block; I may be a writer, but Aidyn’s version of Artist’s Block is definitely similar to my Writer’s Block. And the Anglers are the perfect representation of fans. But of course, our main character is Aidyn/Snailords. It is so interesting to see how different he is in the first few episodes to the last episodes, and to someone who exists change and develop. It truly proves character devlopment exists in real life.  

Writing: 4/5. Snailords’ writing truly shines in this. He can go from a comedic episode to a moving episode to an inspiring episode super fast. While his writing in NF has certainly improved, he first impressed me in Snailogy by proving how versatile he is. Most people gush about the art (myself  included) but his writing doesn’t get enough credit, and that saddens me. It takes someone truly creative to create something that can make you cry from laughter to cry from happy (or sad/moved)  feels. 

Art: 5/5: As many of you know, Snailogy was my number one choice in my second Most Beautiful Webtoons list, and for good reason; the art is so interesting. It truly is ‘fantasies inspired by reality”, but the thing that makes it so different I’d that you see it change and evolve; it was always good, but it becomes even more breathtaking as it goes along. When you reread it, you can’t help but be stunned by the development. It’s almost a documentary, not just of an artist’s real life character devlopment, but the evolution of the art. 

World-Building: 4/5: This series lives up to its summary. Fantasy and reality perfectly mesh, and in a way, I feel as though it captures the way human minds work; I’ve found myself imagining things like in the comic a plethora of times, and it rings true. 

Pros:

• Development: This comic basically chronicles the main character (Aidyn/Snailords) through life, and we see how he changes, and in some ways, remains the same. There’s a reason why he’s such a beloved artist; he truly walks his talk, rather than simply saying things. You get the feeling he’s sincere. He talks about how much the Anglers mean to him, and yet he proves it by responding to comments (especially in the hour after a chapter has been published). And of course, the art development is unique and interesting to watch.
• Creativity: The symbolism and personification is amazing and creative…and eerily accurate.
• Self Aware: This comic is very, very self-aware. It’s hard to describe…but it adds a layer of fun. Aidyn is very honest in this comic; he doesn’t sugar-coat much, but he’s sincere. 

Cons:

• A little heavy on social issues: sometimes, Snailogy hits on social issues. This isn’t bad, but sometimes it became a bit much for me, especially on a binge read. However, this is a mild complaint, but it really depends on the reader’s tastes.
• An incomplete story arc: there’s a short story called “The Talking Dog.” It was interesting…and never finished. (Of course, this was mentioned a few times, and I have accepted that it’ll never be completed, lol) 
• Can be confusing: Often enough, Aidyn draws himself in three different ways. It took me a while to truly get it, but I think I got it faster than some others. This ties into my first complaint; I think since I understood the gender swaps faster than some, I found the episodes where Aidyn explains it a lot rather tiresome. It’s not the comic’s fault, it’s mine.

Rating: 4/5. This was a fun, beautiful slice of life that was truly unique and innovative. Link: Snailogy