Member Reviews
another manga review from me. I miss reading manga and I decided to start with this one. Well, it was not the best that I have read but not the worst, believe me, I read the worst mangas.
A strong point for me is the representation of an M-M relationship which is a plus, the debate surrounding what people expect from you and the facade or multiple faces you may end up putting in front of other people.
Negative points I have a few! the pacing is odd slow and fast and dragging i think this misses something that would grab the reader's interest in the story and I believe this is mainly due to the uninteresting characters. The two MCs are just what I consider a prototype of what they could have been and consequently, their relationship and interaction felt flat.
I believe if this had been put in some volumes maybe 2 and flashed a bit more of both of the MCs it would have made the story more compelling.
Sadly this one is not a winner for me.
Actually rating (2.75*)
Three Seconds After Our Eyes Met is a Chinese BL. I liked the cover and I haven't read that many Chinese BL stories, so I wanted to try this. Well, the story was really shallow and the characters were paper thin. Hezhan is a Student Union Event Division President, which means he's in charge of organizing events. He's keeping up appearances and Shunwen knows this and helps the guy to survive basically. Soon these two keep locking eyes and they end up having feelings for each other. So, quite cliched. What bothered me the most was the lack of character development and the poorly written human interaction in every form. Hezhan is so serious about his position that it feels stupid, since the guy is basically organizing events for other students and it's really not that grave, but made so in the story.
The art is OK, quite basic, but works in the bland world of the story. There's hardly anything in the background and everything happens in the school altogether. Yet, we hardly see the school and mostly the story is just talking heads. This wasn't my cup of tea, I want more from my BL after all these years. The only novelty is that it's Chinese.
This is another typical story of a couple of guys at school that fall for each other. Hezhan was a relatable MC, who was always trying to do his best for everyone. And Shunwen is the guy that sees right through him. I liked the story okay, they just needed to interact more and show me why they fell for each other, other then just locking eyes for three seconds.
Also I understand it's a manhua so we weren't going to get much after the confession but I wish we could have seen them happy together and interacting with each other as a couple. Overall it was a pretty good read.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this copy.
Nice art
Too much info on background details
No building up chemistry between characters
Pacing felt inconsistent
I think the author has a lot of potential!!! - wish it was more chemistry and character driven, rather than a procedural about school event organization. So much info about the school events and structure. Not enough story for me personally. But this has potential.
Thanks to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review
I found ‘Three Seconds After Our Eyes Met’ just ok it was fine
Rating 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a cute BL manhua about the president of a university society who is masking his true self, and the boy who sees right through him. A lot of this was quite cute, though quiet same-y in a lot of ways. Some of the translation read a little bit awkwardly, but nothing too difficult to understand. The art was quite good and I found that was probably the biggest highlight.
If you're looking to pick up a cute (and non-spicy) BL, this is a good choice.
<i>I was provided with a complimentary copy of this manhua by Yuzu Comics via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, which I leave voluntarily</i>.
While I liked this in theory it lacked what many one-shot's do, proper backstories and stratifying conclusions. Things just felt kind of rushed and like I was missing something. But otherwise it was a decent story. I thought Hezhan was a relatable MC and had good character development. Shunwen was a good fit for him but lacked proper development as a love interest. You don't ever really get a sense of who he is. Also, with this being a manhua, we don't really get anything after the confession. It just sort of ends. I suppose that is to be expected due to the censorship in China but it's still annoying. Overall a decent read though.
Three Seconds After Our Eyes Met is a story about Hezhan, who believes that he must keep up a perfect amiable facade for people to like him and fellow student Shunwen, who witnesses Hezhan as his true self and tries to get Hezhan to allow himself to be more authentic.
I can relate a lot to the character of Hezhan. I think most people at one point in time have tried to hide pieces of themselves from others, thinking that there are parts of ourselves that make us feel unlovable. Women are told to smile more; men are told to tamp down their emotions. There is something truly magical about finding a person who sees the parts about ourselves that we think are wretched and to love us still. These people, like Shunwen, can give us the courage to speak up for ourselves and to let our guards down when we need to.
That all being said, I did have a few issues with the book. While the character of Hezhan was fleshed out, Shunwen’s was not. I don’t know much about Shunwen other than that he sees Hezhan in a vulnerable moment and decides that he loves him. And, while Hezhan is way more fleshed out than Shunwen, there are parts of his character that are left rather vague. Important parts. For example, there seemed to be an inciting incident that made him decide to keep up this smiling, happy-go-lucky-at-all-times facade of his, but what exactly was it? There are definitely brief flashback panels, but after reading the whole thing, I am still not entirely sure what happened. I feel like more attention should have been given to Shunwen’s character and also into further developing Hezhan’s.
And maybe this is just me, but there seemed to be a whole lot of time devoted to the ins and outs of running his Student Union and not enough time talking about the relationship between the characters. I believe this could have done with a bit of further editing. Maybe have more scenes with the characters actually interacting outside of the Student Union and less of the planning of the various events? I really thought when we got to the Christmas festival that there was going to be the usual stuff we get from festival scenes, but the two characters barely interacted. There was just some argument between two characters that, if I am being honest, I don’t really remember who they were.
The art was gorgeous, though. I really enjoyed the scenes the main characters did have together. The cover is absolutely beautiful as well, I mean just look at that color and lighting.
All in all, while I am a little disappointed because I feel like there was a lot of great potential with these characters and this storyline, I did think it was a cute story. The art was really nice to look at, and I will be reading other stuff by the author. I can see the potential for really great things! Thanks to Netgalley and YUZU comics for allowing me a review copy to read!
In the note at the end of the book the author writes, "the story is a sloppy one" and "the love progression is slow to the point of irritation." I cannot argue with that assessment and would add that it's also wordy and confusing.
Received via NetGalley.
Three Seconds After our Eyes Met was a very cute BL story set in University. I liked the characters, and the university setting. I liked that the characters went through growth during the story, and the main characters are well designed. There were a few times that the wording was a little awkward, but I also realize there are space constraints for text in manga. I also think the pacing of the story was a little off. The beginning was a little slow (in a good way!), but the end came a little to quickly. I think expanding the story, either in extra pages in this volume or by allowing the story to grow over a few volumes, would create a better impact for the readers. It would allow readers to really gain a better understanding of the characters, to see their love story grow, and to really allow the reader-story connection to grow.
All in all, I really enjoyed the story, I think Shunwen and Hezang are very cute. I wish the pacing was a little better. I recommend this story to anyone who wants to enjoy a cute, sweet, quick one-shot story.
It was a pretty cute one-shot: I like reading BL stories featuring student life, rather than highschool, especially when it looks like they are doing things beyond pining in a corner. It's not exactly Here U Are, of course - but if you liked that one, I think you will have a good time reading Three Seconds After Our Eyes Met.
Super cute romance manga that gets you hooked instantly. I really enjoyed reading this, even though I don't think I will continue.
Thank you to NetGalley and Media Do for the e-book copy!
Three Seconds After Our Eyes Met is the story of Hezhan and Shunwen who have a chance encounter that changes their perception of each other. I think this had me in the first half but as the story went on I got less interested in the relationship. The volume focuses on Hezhan and Shunwen at school working on events. It doesn't build up their relationship that much until the very end. I just felt if there were more moments between them I would have enjoyed this more.
Student Union Event Division President, Hezhan is kind and friendly. Or so everyone believes. When fellow student Shunwen witnesses his angry outburst in a meeting room, he becomes the secret keeper of Hezhan’s hidden side. To avoid being exposed, Hezhan approaches Shunwen but every time their eyes lock, it feels like Shunwen sees right through him. So, he “never locks eyes for more than three seconds.” Will Hezhan be able to protect his secret or will Shunwen reshape Hezhan’s life and his own?
Thoughts:
Forgive my bluntness but I wouldn’t recommend reading it.
The premise isn’t unique, but it had potential that was left touched. Themes of identity, isolation, abandonment, and self-acceptance were present, but the BL or the romance was absent. I could tell that the manga wanted to say things but it just kept telling rather than showing which is not something a manga should do.
The panels were too crowded with speech bubbles and little space for the story to breathe. The event planning details were all over the comics. Somehow the protagonists took a backseat. There was too little space for them. The character development of the protagonists like their relationship was non-existent. Other than the in-the-face connection, the subtle relationship gestures were missing. Until the very end, they could have just been to random guys with a shared truth. And abruptly they are in love??? They were around each other only to further the story.
The overall impression of the manga was that it looked like the first draft, with the relationship of the characters yet to be plotted. This graphic novel could have used some more length to spread out the details and probably to give room for the protagonist’s relationship to develop.
I thank NetGalley and Media Do International, Inc. YUZU Comics for the e-ARC copy.
Once I finished the story and saw that it was a debut manga it all made sense. There is definitely room for improvement especially in plot pacing, but overall I am looking forward to falling in love with more of this author’s characters.
I loved how the author used visuals to create the chaos that was the characters thoughts, it really helped me connect to the characters.
I thought this was a cute little friendship turned romance. It felt very realistic, especially with Hezhan wanting to project such a nice personality when he's actually easily angered. It was a tad short though. I would have loved to see more of Hezhan's and Shunwen's first meeting as well as more from Shunwen's point of view. But ultimately, I was a squealing mess by the end.
The authors note of the romance being so slow it’s to the point of irritation had me cackling. I was watching the page count through the whole thing like “will they, won’t they”. Had me kicking my feet.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.
The concept seemed interesting, albeit certainly not all that unique. The art style was nice, but the page set up, translation and special effects were lacklustre, making it hard to follow along with the story. A bit disappointing, but an okay story overall.
Three Seconds After our Eyes Met is part of a new batch of Taiwanese BL (MLM) comics put out by Media Do and Yuzu Comics. This is a story about college student council students running a few major events and sort of learning to be themselves (at least for the MC) and supporting/being supported. It's one of those titles you read as a one-shot book and are like, "...that's it?" A lot happens with planning the festivals and these two kind of getting closer through that, and you know because it's a one-book only story that they'll get together in the end but. It sure was the end! It's Okay. It's cute that the more stoic one laughs at the MC when there's silly clumsy moments. The art is cute.
This title too is plagued by clunky translations and some sort of messy SFX in some places so I really hope MediaDo/Yuzu Comics fixes that in future Taiwanese comics licensing.
short and sweet. I like how the MC grew to be more confident thanks to the love interest.. There we plenty of funny moments to balnce out the tender ones. Wantt to see more of these characters in the future.