After a very long wait and a few teasers later, Ratana Satis’ upcoming GL webtoon series Soul Drifters finally has a release date. This highly anticipated series will debut on January 19th, Sunday on the premium webtoon platform Lezhin Comics. Ratana Satis posted a new visual of the series of her official Facebook page on New Year’s Day.
It was also announced that releases for the chapters will be from every 2nd, 12th, and 22nd day of each month. After the debut, the next release will be on the 22nd. The artist has been teasing art and revealing small info about the characters since last year.
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Official links to the author's webcomics are also included for the benefit of the readers and to support the creator's works.
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It has been a while since my last review on something related to webcomics (for a very good reason, I will explain later).
This has been long overdue. I honestly wanted to talk about this series for a (very) long time and those who have known for me for years can prove that while this series was ongoing, I couldn’t stop talking about it. So finally, here it is! My review on The Third Party by Enjelicious. Spoilers ahead!
The Basics
The Third Party was released in 2017 (during the hype of Lezhin Comics’ GL Renaissance) in the Lezhin Comics EN website. This was created by popular Filipino artist Enjelicious notable for doing cover arts for the physical release of the Diary ng Panget books as well as other local manga releases in the Philippines. Her ongoing work Age Matters can be read on LINE Webtoon and has earned a massive following to this day.
Going back to TTP, the webtoon won First Place in Lezhin US’ first webtoon competition. When the teaser of the series was released, yuri fans were excited and very much looking forward to it.
The Third Party is centered on the romance of two girls: Gu Jeong Hui and Moon Hae Jin. Gu Jeong Hui is the daughter of the CEO of a TV broadcasting company, GBS. Here’s the thing: Jeong Hui is in an arranged marriage with one of the TV anchors, Kang Sang Hun. She immediately obeyed her father’s wishes of marrying Sang Hun regardless if her life still feels empty. It took a different turn when she met Hae Jin, who is a Producer-Director of the company.
While Jeong Hui’s purpose in GBS was to obey her father and her husband’s wishes, Hae Jin had different agendas to why she was there: to get revenge and answers on the death of her father. She didn’t care if she had to manipulate people to do this. She did everything whatever it takes. However, her plans seemed to have slowed down when she met Jeong Hui. Eventually they fell in love with each other.
The webtoon is roller coaster of intense drama and romance. You are sure to be completely hooked.
Late Reaction to The Hype
Due to I was focused on another webtoon series What Does The Fox Say, I admit I never really got into the hype fully. It was when it reached to Chapter 10 when I finally decided to give The Third Party a read. And oh man, I regretted for not starting too soon.
My Undying Love for PD Moon
I am not ashamed to say that ever since her full appearance in the first chapter, I was completely in love with PD Moon (Moon Hae Jin). Just who wouldn’t? She works in a Media company (which is in my line of career), she’s very beautiful, and just whatever she does makes you wish that she’d noticed you. I always tend to joke that “I want PD Moon to step on me” because of how I greatly admire her from her character design to her constant change as the story progresses.
As The Third Party moves forward, you would probably notice that ever since Gu came into her life, PD Moon was torn of avenging her past or just embrace the present thing she has now. She had Gu, she didn’t need anything else. She was willing to let go of almost everything she worked for because of her. But on the other side of the coin, she was already at that peak where the answers that she always demanded and work FOR YEARS is still conflicting.
The Art, Drama, and Intensity
Reading this webtoon for the first time was really a ride. Almost 90% of the time, each chapter ends with a cliffhanger. But you really can’t ignore the art of this webtoon. This is probably the first webtoon series I’ve read in which 3/4 of each chapter has a background. Most of the time, webcomics are only filled with white background and not many details are added except the character. In The Third Party, however, every panel has a background and the artist really took a lot of effort to add in backgrounds to give the scene a bit more life.
Every Monday night was something to look forward to as the intensity of the story grew as each chapter moves forward.
The Ending
For the benefit of those who haven’t read The Third Party ending (or haven’t even started yet,) I won’t spoil much. When the last chapter was released, I was already expecting a lot of people to comment about the ending. How I wish I can elaborate more–but I have to say that that ending was definitely okay for me. It wasn’t sad or it was a happy ending. It was some that people didn’t expect. While people had a lot to say about it, it honestly gave me hope that there will be a continuation of Gu and PD Moon’s story. I don’t mind how long I will be able to wait for that happen. However, it was a good end for me. Let me know in the comments section what you think of the ending if you’ve read it already. I’m curious!
The Webtoon That Got Me Back to the Yuri Community
Yes, that’s PD Moon in a coffee shop. At the same time, it’s my laptop and me in a coffee shop.
Okay, this part may be a bit personal so incoming feels trip.
The time The Third Party was released, I was at that particular moment of my life when I wanted to leave the Yuri community. The story behind this is very long and I promised my friends to no longer talk about it. I honestly lost the energy and motivation to do the things that I wanted to do. So I made the decision to just quit. However, this webtoon got me back. I read this in one of the darkest periods of my life as a yuri fan. Until now, I am very thankful that this series was made. I think giving a hundred or even thousands of thank you’s to Enjelicious aren’t enough to express how this webtoon got me back to loving yuri and just do stuff for this fandom.
Also, I realized that I have such a connection to PD Moon especially when it comes to the topics of romance and life are concerned. We all make mistakes and we take the wrong risks along the way. However, a certain fragment of your past shouldn’t be a reason not to keep going. We keep going even if we have to keep that someone in our life or let go for the better.
Conclusion
No webtoon series is perfect and The Third Party is one of them. I do not want to go technical or critical on this because my overall conclusion is that this webtoon is a must-read. Some of you may be reading her current work Age Matters, but if you have extra webtoon coins to spare, please do read The Third Party. From art to story, and to the characters. I actually lost count to how many times I’ve read the series. I think you might say this is my go-to yuri webtoon to read, and I do hope it would be the same for you guys too.
Alggumba, one of the creators of the popular GL webcomic series What Does The Fox Say announced on Twitter that the webcomic will be ending its service effective on December 31.
Those who have purchased the chapters on Lezhin Comics and want to reread the series will still be able to do so by going to the ‘My Library’ page in the site. The creator will be providing more info soon to whether the webcomic will make its return in the future.
About What Does The Fox Say
What Does The Fox Say is a story of the intense love triangle of Sung Sumin, Ju Sungji, and Baek Seju. Sung Sumin is a Team Leader of Hello Studio, a company run by Baek Seju, her ex-girlfriend. Everything seemed to turn around for Sumin when the new recruit Ju Sungji came into the picture. You may read the series in Lezhin Comics.
In a tweet posted on Friday, webtoon creator Aji shared that the GL webotoon On A Leash will continue once everything is in clear agreements with webtoon publisher Lezhin Comics on the webtoon ownership right. The creator will be providing updates the soonest.
안녕하세요. 아지입니다. 많은 분이 온어리시 재연재에 대해서 문의해주셔서 뒤늦게나마 추이에 대해 말씀드리려 합니다. 온어리시는 계약기간이 끝나 레진에게 게재권을 되찾게 되더라도 재연재까지는 시간이 걸릴 것 같습니다. 기다려주시는 독자분들에게 꼭 다시 연재할 거라 약속드리겠습니다. pic.twitter.com/Z2Rj5yIDkI
The tweet received a lot of replies from fans holding on to hope that the series will come back the soonest.
The announcement of the series’ indefinite hiatus happened last February, the same month Team Gaji announced the cancellation of their webtoon hit What Does The Fox Say.
On A Leash is set in a chaotic battleground where tension and emotions run high. In the midst of the chaos, the story is also centered on the love-hate relationship of Red and Luce (which respectively morph into a dog and snake). You can read the series in both English and Korean in Lezhin Comics.
One book purchase is priced at USD $21 (including shipping). If you are looking for a case to fit all your Lily Love volumes, a soft box is also available priced at USD $3.
Lily Love is one of Ratana Satis’ first successful GL work before her webtoon hit masterpiece Pulse. The series was first released in Thai and was later available for English. It centers on two different girls Donut and Mew as their closeness slowly begins intimate. Their relationship is encountered with a lot of hurdles and doing their best efforts to be there for each other.
So it has been a year since What Does The Fox Say ended. Sadly, its side-story sequel Paradise is still cancelled and there seem to be no word to when it will be back on the popular webtoon platform Lezhin Comics. Now you may ask why am I mentioning the popular webtoon in this post? Well believe it or not, What Does The Fox Say and its creator Team Gaji (and Alggumba) got me to love the following: Girls Generation (SNSD), Taeyeon (the group’s leader), and K-Pop in general. 2016 was quite something for me because this was the same year that I got in these things all at once.
Alright people you would probably be having question marks on the top of your heads to why this one specific webtoon got me to love K-Pop. Here is the story:
Previously, I was a moderator of a Facebook group dedicated to this webtoon. One of the things that puzzled me was this thing that some yuri fans usually post pictures of the members of Girls’ Generation and compare them to the What Does The Fox Say characters Sumin, Sungji, and Seju. While some seemed to not really super accurate, one stood out and that was the group’s leader, Kim Taeyeon. I admit she does show some similarities with Sumin. Fans have been creating theories that Sumin was based from her and that the creators of the webtoon were SONES.
Years ago, Lezhin Comics also confirmed this fan theory too. (Note that the screenshot was posted before in Lezhin Comics’ Facebook page but was removed later on).
Other theories from fans claim that the whole What Does The Fox Say story is a fanfiction of TaengSic (Taeyeon x Jessica shipping). Before of the hype and success of the webtoon, Team Gaji created art and a small fan comic of Taeyeon and Jessica. Some however claim that WDTFS could be a TaeNy (Taeyeon x Tiffany) fanfiction but I’ll leave it to you guys.
Although all of this isn’t really like super confirmed, all this fan theories dragged me to a fandom that I’m not too familiar with which is K-Pop. My curiously lead me to listen to some songs of Girls’ Generation (as well as Taeyeon’s singles) and my love and appreciation for the Team Leader grew. If it weren’t for WDTFS, I wouldn’t have known this awesome group and wouldn’t go through heaven and hell just to see Taeyeon live. No regrets. Also I want to give credit to my online friends (some of them I have already met personally) because they put into the right path of the fandom. I have witnessed a lot of drama and popcorn moments so I don’t really want to go there.
I can’t wait to see Queen Taeyeon next month. Aside from me, thousands of fans are really looking forward to see her in the flesh and serenade us with her powerful angelic voice. To those who are going, hope to see you there at the New Frontier Theater! I’ll be at VIP standing ;).
About What Does The Fox Say
What Does The Fox Say is a story of the intense love triangle of Sung Sumin, Ju Sungji, and Baek Seju. Sung Sumin is a Team Leader of Hello Studio, a company run by Baek Seju, her ex-girlfriend. Everything seemed to turn around for Sumin when the new recruit Ju Sungji came into the picture. You may read the series in Lezhin Comics.
It was announced on Thursday that Ratana Satis’ popular yuri webcomic series Lily Love 2 (Frosty Jewel) will return on Friday, November 2 on Lezhin Comics. The debut chapter of the series’ new season will be published on the webcomic platform at 10pm (Korean Standard Time). The announcement of the return also came with a teaser photo of the upcoming chapter:
The season 1 finale (Chapter 25) was released on September 28 which was then followed with an Epilogue containing an announcement by the artist confirming the one month hiatus.
The first series of Lily Love was released in 2015 and concluded in May 2017 originally released in Thai then in English. Ratana’s other successful work, Pulsealso ended in the same year. Both series are available in Lezhin Comics.
Physical copies of Lily Love and Pulse are also available for purchase. If you are interested, more info can be found on the artist’s official page.
Webcomic company Lezhin Comics / Lezhin Entertainment recently released an apology to its creators regarding the issues of a so called “blacklist” (where certain series are excluded in the promotions), contract irregularities, and for the uncalled closure of its web novel platform last August 2017.
Changes to be Implemented the Soonest
Some of the creators were emotional after receiving the apology statement from the company’s CEO, Hee Sun Hang.
Lezhin Comics acknowledges the irregularities and will be pushing changes into the creators’ contracts removing everything that is unfair to create an equal system agreeable for both parties. They will also be taking immediate actions in regards to the delays of creators’ payments which is cost around 430 million Korean won. They have also promised a better and fair distribution of promotions of all webtoon series in the website and in other media.
The Cold Protest
Korean webtoon and webnovel authors working for Lezhin organized a protest last January 11 in front of its office building expressing their anger and disappointment towards the company’s unfair payment system wherein 70% of the earnings of each chapter being purchased will be given to their employer leaving only 30% to themselves.
Among those who are affected with Lezhin’s issues are GL artists Team Gaji, creator of What Does The Fox Say and Aji, creator of On A Leash. In their respective Twitter accounts, they have expressed previously that the issues of Lezhin have caused them stress leading them to the decision of discontinuing their works.
This protest was then followed by a few hearings months later and continuous awareness of the issue through the use of social media.
Hoping for the Best
This issue in regards to a large company vs. a large group of content creators is a first of its kind in South Korea. After so many months of sacrifices and voicing out the irregularities, it was all worth it.
With everything seem to be going into the right direction now, we can only hope that this will be a start of a new chapter for Lezhin, its readers, and its previous and current creators.
If you want to know more about this issue, Korean webtoon artists and readers shared and retweeted a website containing information and updates on the issues. You can visit the site here (Korean).
What Does The Fox Say artist gaji0712 (Team Gaji) announced in their Twitter account on Tuesday that their new GL project translated as “Pet’s Aesthetics” is slated to debut on the Korean webtoon platform BOMTOON on May 22. The tweet also mentioned that the releases will be every Tuesday.
What Does The Fox Say characters from left to right: Ju Sungji, Sung Sumin, Baek Seju
Team Gaji rose to popularity due to their GL webtoon hit What Does The Fox Say which can be read in the premium webtoon platform Lezhin Comics. The original series ended in September 2017 which was then proceeded to a side-story series centered on Baek Seju titled Paradise. It also was awarded Best GL series in Lezhin Comics.
What Does The Fox Say centers on the intense love triangle between Sungji, Sumin, and Seju. Paradise is side story chapters which are a flashback between Seju and Sumin’s relationship.
BOMTOON (also known as BOM Comics) is a Korean webtoon service established in 2015 publishing webtoon series and serializing digital Japanese manga under the genres of BL, GL, Comedy, Romance, drama, and more.
They recently announced of a webtoon competition centered on BL and GL stories. We can’t wait for release of this series. Let’s hope the stories will have the same intensity as WDTFS. Finally, something to look forward to every Tuesday!
The Lily Cat is your source for the latest updates and reviews on Yuri, GL, anime, manga, cosplay, and more.
Enjelicious’ GL webtoon series The Third Party ended last April 9 with a total of 63 chapters. The artist is the First Place winner of the 1st Lezhin US Comic Contest.
Regardless of its end, it still made it to the number 1 spot in the last week of April’s GL rankings in Lezhin Comics (US).
During its debut chapters back in 2017, it was at number 1 then remained at the Top 5 for a few consecutive weeks along with the then ongoing webtoon series hits What Does The Fox Say, Pulse, and The Love Doctor.
Her new work Age Matters is currently ongoing and can be read for free here.
