Back To Yoo

The wait is over! After nearly a year long hiatus, I Love Yoo returns to to Webtoons.

I have never done an entire article about a single webcomic before (that wasn't receiving an adaptation or the like), but this comic holds a special place in my heart, and deserves the red carpet as it returns to our screens. For fans, this has been a long time coming, but honestly, I would have waited even longer if I had to. Quimchee, the creator of I Love Yoo, took an extended hiatus for personal reasons and not much else has been said beyond that. Frankly, it's none of our business why she took the hiatus to begin with, so I won't speculate or even question it. All I have to say about it is this: I hope things are well, and I wish her all the best. Tonight, I want to honor her by showcasing her work and the impact that it is making.

Comics were created and still exist to be entertainment. But just like books or movies, just because they are entertainment does not mean they can't be profound or challenging. Quimchee has created something that conquers both entertainment as well as reflection and hopefully betterment to ones self. I Love Yoo follows the story of a high school girl named Shin Ae Yoo who is leading a rather difficult life. You journey with her as she tries to navigate through some of life's greatest struggles- crippling debt, broken families, phony people, and so much more. Somewhere a long the way she finds her life becoming more tangled with two estranged brothers who also have messy lives, but happen to be the heirs to a very wealthy company. Though things might have started with good intentions, life becomes more complicated for each of them as you watch the three of their lives break a part around them. But you also get to see each of their own attempts to try and keep going.

This comic portrays a realistic telling of life, rather then the blissful take you usually see for "coming of age" comics. It was originally listed as a Romance when it was launched back in 2017, and remained in the Romance genre until last year when it was switched to Drama. While it was in Romance it was considered one of the 'Big Three', so to speak, along side Siren's Lament, Let's Play, and was later joined by Lore Olympus. But to be honest, despite it's success in Romance, this comic always belonged in Drama. Though there is some moments of romance, it is not the focus. It belonged in Drama and it proved that when it took the #1 spot as soon as it moved there, and held it the entire time it was active. Now that it is active again, it has reclaimed its title of #1 for Drama, and though only a recap episode and one new episode have dropped, it has already clawed its way back to #7 in Popularity. It currently has 4.2 million subscribers, a 9.79 rating, and every single episode to date has broke the 99,999+ cap on likes, with the only exception being the newest episode which hasn't even been out for a week yet and it is only 400 likes away from joining that unbeatable stat.

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Mild Rant Warning:

We have talked about the importance of webcomic stats before, but I will emphasize again why it is so critical. The creators income is completely and wildly influenced by all of these stats. With that being said, if there is a comic you like, you should always be participating in liking episodes, subscribing, and rating the comic. Creators need those numbers in order to keep creating the content you love. This also determines if they will be picked up for another comic when their current one is up. Numbers are important in the webcomic world people, so pay attention. I have seen amazing comics come to abrupt ends because they weren't making their numbers. I Love Yoo is obviously safe from that concern because they are killing it, but keep that in mind for other comics, make sure you are participating in your interactions on these apps. You like free content? Do your part, and make sure they know that.

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This comic is well rounded with trauma, humor, hope, and loss. You will fall in love with the characters, and even find yourself seething with hate at others. I am usually only drawn in to fantasy based fiction so for a realistic fiction piece to pull me in, it has to be good, and this genuinely is. These characters are relatable and the bad guys are ones that I fear in real life. Not some monster under your bed, but ones lurking in plain sight pretending to be your friend. It is always so apparent to me with every episode that Quimchee really is pouring her heart and soul into this. That makes some of the best content, but must be horribly taxing. I have mentioned this a couple times in past articles about Webtoon and/or webcomics that I had the honor of meeting Quimchee a couple years ago at a convention. I saw her at a panel and then at a private signing, and she was so kind and sincere. She reminded me a bit of Shin Ae in that sense.

The recap episode they dropped, threw us right back into the fire, reminding us of how far we have come since season 1. I think it was very well done and was a welcome reminder for those who haven't read in a while. The mid-season premier was wonderful since we got to see where all our leads were and what they were doing. It has me already feeling starving for more. I am eagerly awaiting this Friday's episode and can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for us. I don't usually announce this on here but I Love Yoo is my May Pick of the Month, so you can check that out on our home page, but make sure you make your way over to Webtoon as well, and check out I Love Yoo, I think you'll find that you love it too.

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Real quick before we go have been a couple other Webtoon announcements that I just wanted to say a quick congratulations to. First, when they announced that I Love Yoo would be returning from hiatus, they also announced that Tower of God was also returning from a similar extend hiatus. I have talked about Tower of God on here many, many times, it is one of my favorites and I was very happy to hear this. It has not returned yet but should be very shortly, so: Welcome Back SIU, best of wishes to you as well!

Secondly, Let's Play was announced to be receiving a live action TV adaption. I am very excited about this and will probably review it when the time comes but just wanted to say: Congratulations Mongie! Well earned and well deserved!

And finally, this one is REALLY late, but I did want to say congratulations to Rachel Smythe, the creator of Lore Olympus, on receiving a book and animation deal. This news has been out for a while and the book can now be purchased, but I still wanted to say congrats.

So many big things are happening with Webtoon and their creators so make sure to keep an eye out for even more. Something tells me, they're just getting started.

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Thank you so much for tuning in to this installment of Nerdom. It feels appropriate that post #99 was about a Webtoon. Webcomics are one of my biggest passions, and they have been an integral part of the Nerdom experience since the beginning. I hope you get to enjoy one of your passions today, if not, there is always tomorrow! I hope you have an amazing rest of your week, and maybe you could join us this Sunday for our 100th post special? I hope to see you there! In the meantime, stay safe, stay nerdy, and stay messy otaku.