Dimensional Mercenary, Ch. 001-114 [Webtoon Review]
If there's a case of a Korean webtoon that is seemingly going downhill then Dimensional Mercenary might just be the perfect example. It started of quite good but I just noticed that it's gradually losing momentum to hold my interest as a reader. Although generic, the first chapters were good. Okay... bearable at least. It had that typical introduction of an overage MC, commonly defined as trash in his setting. A milder version of Rudeus Greyrat from Mushoku Tensei kind of start. At the age of 30, MC still doesn't have a job. Though he was applying in different companies numerous times but all attempts were rejected. Worse, he's indirectly the reason why his family's peaceful environment was destroyed. It is something we've seen so many times and it is expected that the 'redemption card' is coming.
Well, I can't say that it's cliche but it's becoming the norm nowadays. There were many ways that the redemption card is prompted in webtoons but one of the most commonly used is an internet advertisement, a pop-up ad. It's quite similar to those surveys who phished for users information. I just pity this DM's MC Chul Ho Kang and the many other MC's that were submitted to this scenario of getting their ways for redemption. Let's face it, it is something that only stupid people would get baited through. If losing something or maybe everything in their lives meant that they'd also lose sound reasoning, for me it's just brutal not only for future character development but also for the readers mentality.
The MC is hired as a Dimensional Mercenary which is also the title for this webtoon. The aim is to live the life of a variety of individuals (clients) and give their stories a satisfactory ending. It's a very lucrative job and surely gave the MC hope to redeem what was lost to him and his family. Just a little background, his mother was bedridden in the hospital for quite a long time and his father was very depressed which affects the whole family, especially his sister which almost got into prostitution. Although his new job seemed very promising it is not without any catch. Of course, there's more to it. His soul is on the line. If I'm not mistaken he already experienced around 4 lives. First is the tutorial in which he lived as a conscript, second as a knight, third as an assassin and the last one as a soldier. Actually, chapter 114 ended showing him as an art collector who failed in his revenge but let us leave that for some other time.
First 2 lives were interesting. It is not something that would WOW'd you but it's on the level that would pique your interest to continue for the next chapters. There were times that the MC's naivety was displayed which is still okay, it's his first time in this 'job' anyways. Third life as an assassin is not bad but there's already noticeable changes in character. The depiction of emotions are mostly out of line for this part. Living the life of an assassin it seems that he became more emotional compared to the previous jobs/lives he had lived. For me his development as the MC started deteriorating at this point. Overacting and being too emotional for an assassin is not very appealing to me. Of course, what really disappointed me is the lack of growth for the MC given the fact that he did well in the previous lives. His fourth job/life was a bit better. He made some sound judgment as per what the scenario required. The problem here is that the introduction of an overpowered character outside the Dimensional Mercenary System. I think it's quite far-fetched story wise. Establishing unknowns and mysteries in a webtoon can really backfired big time, just what like happened in this part of Dimensional Mercenary. I think this is the part where people will stop reading this. Uncertainties are great if they are in line with the plot or even somehow related but in DM's case I think it was forced too much.
Second thing I have against Dimensional Mercenary is the story progression. It's now on chapter 114 or 115 but he's still a low level character. It would be great if the progress is becoming more engaging or can at least retain the interest from the previous chapters but it's the actual opposite. Last thing which can be considered as a con for DM is the change in artwork somewhere around volume 2. For webtoons it is understandable that art and illustrations may change depending on the artists involve. DM's change was horrible because it seems to me that it was just a downgraded or lazy version of the initial style, which in the first place can be considered already lackluster compared to most of the competition.
Do I recommend DM? Certainly not for everyone. The inconsistency in both plot and artwork already is a red light for me. But if you have alot of spare time I would still suggest reading a few chaps. Not everyone has the same taste buds anyway.
Thank you for reading and have a nice day.
Credits: https://reaperscans.com/comics/58193-dimensional-mercenary