*Disclaimer- I was originally going to write this post about a new comic, “The Devil is a Handsome Man”, but I just haven’t developed a relationship with the story. Regardless, if you wanna see some sick art, check that one out!*

Yumi’s Cells is another Korean webcomic, but make no mistake, it is not “another” Korean webcomic. By that, I mean that Yumi’s Cells is something worth checking out for its undeniably unique approach to writing, even if you’re not an avid fan of webtoons like I am. It’s easy to read, easy to like, and not something you need to have any prior interests for.

Oh, and it’s hecka creative.

Yumi’s cells caught my eye about a year or two ago, and I still look forward to every single new chapter to this day. When I first started reading, the first thing that garnered my interest was how weird the perspective of the comic was: It’s written from the point of view of a person’s “cells”. This is definitely NOT a scientific venture, however, which is why I put cells in quotations. The cells are actually just… a person’s characteristics, but personified.

It’s hard to explain, so here come the visual aids:

That is, as you can see, Yumi’s “Fashion cell”. Her cells are a community of little people, all dressed in this sort of “futuristic” blue outfit, with some sort of distinguishing article of clothing so that you can tell who is who as the story progresses (fashion cell is the only one with sunglasses). Like the fashion cell, which is behind Yumi’s desire for clothes and shopping, there’s a cleanliness cell, a love cell, a hunger cell, a shower cell, a naughty cell, a detective cell, dozens and dozens of tiny characters all inside one big character… Yumi!

All the characters in the story have these cells, so as the plot moves forward, you learn about the personalities of the other characters through their cells. Some cells are also stronger, or bigger than others in different people, which signifies what traits are most defining of that person. Yumi’s strongest, biggest cell is her Hunger Cell. She’s very into food.

I feel like this is such an interesting way to show emotions and thoughts in a work of art. When Yumi has to make a hard decision, the scene flips to the chaos or discussion going on between all her cells. When Yumi is in a fight, some cells become stronger than others and in the end, they determine what path the whole comic goes down. As her life changes, her cells become the easiest, most entertaining way to show how Yumi adjusts personally.

 

It goes without saying, I’ve never seen an approach to story telling quite like Donggeon Lee’s, and I’m not sure that there is one out there.

Beyond the interesting use of perspective and creativity in writing, Donggeon Lee’s work also introduced me to something else new: (somewhat) traditional Korean style art. Every nation in general, and especially East Asian ones, have a distinct style of preferred drawing. The United States in particular relishes super-hero comic style art, with exaggerated but “matured” body types and faces, and focus on muscles. Japan, so famously, feeds off of exaggerated but more youthful body types and faces, with a focus on eyes. China tends to produce comics that are more pointed in style, drawn off of Japanese art and vis-versa, but which much less flamboyant eyes. But Korea? Korean art, from all that I’ve seen, is overwhelmingly about the simplicity. If you can recall my first post on this blog, about Smile Brush, you’ll remember that Korean art champions simple, smooth, art that makes almost everyone appear like a child.

Donggeon Lee is surely comparable:

Stubs for feet, a dot for the nose, essentially no shading, solid colors, simple strokes, clean lines. Nothing in any panel of Yumi’s Cells is over complicated or unnecessary. Truly Korean. The dozens of people living inside her…truly one of a kind.

Here’s where to start reading if you like what you see:

http://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/yumi-cell/list?title_no=478&page=1

Images used:

https://mangakakalot.fun/chapter/yumi-s-cells_101/chapter-253

https://mangapark.com/manga/yumi-s-cells/s1/c175

https://mangahere.fun/chapter/yumi-s-cells_103/chapter-255