Alice’s Content Corner: My Wasted Weekend | Alice Lin

Like pretty much all seniors at this time of year, I’ve been feeling simultaneously incredibly stressed and crushingly unmotivated. I'm constantly behind on things yet unable to catch up no matter how much I try to manifest it. Something about the deadlines that seem just far enough away, and the lure of getting through some of my evergrowing manga/manhwa to-read list, makes it impossible to actually spend the weekend productively and catch up on all my work like I promise myself to do every Friday. Is it escapism? Probably. But at least I had a good time before I inevitably have to deal with the consequences of my own actions.

Since I’ve already wasted all that time, I figured I should at least get something productive out of it. So I’ve decided to use my online to rate three of the many manga/manhwa I spent my weekend reading.

Uramichi Onii-san: 9/10

This comedy slice-of-life manga is about Uramichi, a cynical 31-year-old man working as an exercise instructor for a children’s TV show, and his equally entertaining coworkers/side characters. We of course have Uramichi, our terribly relatable and two-faced MC with a twisted personality, but we also have Iketeru, an absent-minded former music actor who’s a bit too fond of lame dirty jokes, and Utano, a washed-up former idol obsessed with getting married, among other things. Their interactions are really the center of this show despite all the gags that come from Uramichi’s interactions with the kids. Sometimes depressingly relatable, but always wickedly entertaining, this manga balances its dark humor well without becoming offensive or plain unfunny. Though some parts are definitely geared towards a more adult audience, us Gen Z teens can definitely still find parts to relate to, or at least laugh concerningly at while fearing for our future. And if anime’s more your cup of tea, an anime adaptation of this manga was recently released by Studio Blanc with a pretty stacked cast of voice actors (Levi Ackerman and Saiki Kusuo’s voice actor Hiroshi Kamiya voices Uramichi, and Dazai Osamu and Matsuoka Rin’s voice actor Mamoru Miyano voices Iketeru) so check it out if you have the time (or make the time by pushing back assignments…).

Kyuujitsu no Warumono-san (Mr. Villain’s Day Off): 12/10

As its title suggests, this is a manga about a villain on his day off. It’s a light-hearted slice-of-life comedy that’s perfect for winding down after a difficult day or recharging your cuteness battery. As part of an evil organization trying to eradicate humanity for the mother star, our MC spends most of his days fighting the ‘Rangers’, who are trying to protect humanity, and looking like a mix between Howl Pendragon’s monster form and Veldora Tempest’s human form. But on his day off, he appears with his black, shaggy hair covering his eyes and a black turtleneck and pants with a tan trench coat, giving him a Dazai Osamu-esque classic yet cool guy vibe. His personality, on the other hand, has nothing cool about it. He’s surprisingly polite, loves eating sweets, and adores fluffy animals, especially pandas. It’s basically pure gap moe, but I am LIVING for it. I mean, he feels bad about eating his panda crepe because it’s too cute — how can you not love him? This is the fluff we all need to heal our hearts in these difficult days. There’s also a growing cast of lovable side characters whose interactions with the MC are heartwarming and fun, and the art is really lovely. If you’re looking for any sort of complex story with action or drama, this is definitely not for you, but if you’re down for some cavity-inducing fluff, this might be just the thing.

Ooh La La: 10/10

This is a manhwa about a crackhead couple and their shenanigans. To give you a taste of their relationship, here’s how they start dating in the first chapter: “can I have your number?” (girl) “uh...can you be my girlfriend?” (boy) “yeah sure!” (girl). Chaos ensues and the rest is history. There’s relatable moments, wholesome moments, funny moments, anything you could want from a comedic slice-of-life romance is in here. I seriously laughed out loud at this couple’s antics from the sheer absurdity. The art isn’t spectacular, but it’s cute and matches the quirkiness of our main couple, plus, like most other digital manhwa, it’s in color, which means it’s perfect for brightening up any day. This manhwa ended at just 41 chapters, making it a quick and satisfying read. For those of you interested in a laid-back, drama-free romance with an idiot couple that shares one brain cell, I highly recommend this.

With school and all its subsequent stresses back in full swing, sometimes us students just need to set aside a little down time to relax and melt into a fictional world where AP classes, GPAs, and college apps don’t exist, and these recs can help you do that. Make sure to take care of your physical and mental health, friends!