Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press/Ize Press for the e-book copy!

Semantic Error is one of my favorite BL series and I am so happy to see this get a physical/digital release. If you haven't checked this series out, I highly recommend it. Semantic Error follows Sangwoo and Jaeyoung whose relationship starts rocky when Sangwoo causes Jaeyoung to repeat a year delaying his future plans to study abroad. To get revenge, Jaeyoung decides to do any and everything to piss off Sangwoo during the new semester. As time passes, both realize that they may have more in common than they think. If you like enemies to lovers and slow burn then you will love this series.

Before I start the review I should acknowledge that I have read the fan translation of the original novel and have watched the live action, so I may be missing or oblivious to any concerns regarding plotting or plot holes other readers may have. Personally I thought the comic did a good job at laying out all the information and story beats.

This story has a neurodivergent character, Chu Sang Woo, who relies heavily upon routine and strict scheduling, dealing with an obnoxious and aggressively annoying Jang Jae Young who wants desperately to get under Sang Woo’s skin. Sang Woo, who has a bit of face blindness, never seems to recognize the other young man, even as he costs him his college graduation by not letting Jae Young get credit for a group assignment he didn’t participate in.

All Jae Young wants, at first, is some acknowledgement. To that end he harasses Sang Woo by taking his favorite chair in class, in the cafeteria, in the library; he buys out Sang Woo’s favorite drink, fills up Sang Woo’s preferred garbage can, all to get the other boy to notice him. Sang Woo, needless to say, hates all of this.

The text is somewhat spare, so it’s up to the art to do some of the heavy lifting to show the scenes in the comedic manner they’re meant to be taken — this is a love story, after all — and they do it very well. The color choices, the character expressions do so much to get the mood of the story across. I appreciate that, in the back, there’s a page of translation notes, explaining some of the differences between Korean schools and western colleges, such as the school starting in March, and how military leave affects many college students.

This is well done and does the story credit. I can’t wait for the next volume to come out! Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me have an ARC to review.

I'm not a fan of romance manga but the book's description was intriguing.
It's beautifully drawn and quite the long and elaborate setup.
Sadly, after 300+ pages I don't think I'll be pick up the next book.
I would still suggest it as a promising series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I’m not too sure how to feel about this one. It’s so obvious that Sangwoo is autistic or at least on the neurodivergent spectrum but everyone just treats him like he’s a weirdo. Has nobody ever encountered someone like this before? He’s blunt, follows a routine, has assigned seats, and has to do the same things by the same time daily. I didn’t really get the scene where they were mad at him not drinking at the party. Is that not normal? A lot of people don’t like drinking. I don’t see how Sangwoo was at fault for anything that happened with the project. He did all the work. If everyone was mad because of it, that is their problem. He’s not a pushover so he gets points for that.

There were a good bit of funny moments between Jaeyoung and Sangwoo but I don’t see how this is going to turn into an enemies to lovers romance. It really just seems like Jaeyoung is bullying and bothering Sangwoo in a weird attempt at revenge and to get his attention. And I don’t like the “pulling pigtails” plot devices. Jaeyoung is going to have to treat Sangwoo like a human being and shape up from being a jerk if the romance is going to be believable. I think at the end they were trying to convey he was trying to help and be nicer, but why would you take his hat off without asking him and keep it away from him when it’s obviously a source of comfort and security for him? Like bro. Again, Jaeyoung is going to have to shape up big time in the coming up volumes.