LogFAQs > #929581321

Bastard
Manhwa

"The days my father went on business trips...they're also the days...that someone went missing in this neighborhood."

A thriller that takes its interesting plot hook and runs with it. Bastard is a story about a teenager named Jin Seon, currently living with his single dad who just so happens to be a serial killer. Of all the rotten luck, eh? The son is incapable of doing anything to change his situation, as the father is abusing him both physically and emotionally so that he keeps the secret, as well as involving him in the crimes to make him complicit. One of my favorite little details in the story is that Jin Seon is banned from physically exercising to ensure that he'll never be able to overpower his father in a fight - the extent that his life is controlled is oppressive and makes you really root for him to escape the prison he's been in all his life.

It's an exciting tale of a broken kid fighting tooth and nail to escape his situation and re-learn how to be a person. It's held back because one twist at the ending is really dumb and makes no sense, but that's a sadly common occurrence in stories that try to do something different. I can't discuss it at length because, well, spoilers (which is another phrase you'll be seeing a lot, this is a topic about stories), suffice to say it's one I can recommend to anyone who likes thrillers and even if you don't really care for them.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.