Webtoon Spotlight

Spotlight#106: Teenage Mercenary

Have you ever wanted an extra shot of adrenaline? Let's not waste our time and dive the light into Teenage Mercenary by YC and Rakeyon.

Summary

After ten agonizing years, Ijin Yu has finally returned to his family in Korea. The young man hopes to live his last year in high school worry-free from it. To the ordinary, the Ijin seems like a handsome, ordinary student. However, in the world of battle and warzones, Ijin wears a different face, one of a killer. Though he has long since moved on from such a path, ghosts from his past won't stay quiet. With his new home as his battlefield, Ijin will happen to reopen old wounds to protect what he has.

Characters

Ijin: Our main character, Ijin, despite his young age, seems to be a mercenary and one of the best in the biz at that. Thus, Ijin is calm, observant, professional, and socially inept to normal social constructs in most situations. His harsh training makes Ijin has left him scarred both mentally and physically, making his desire for family all the stronger. However, beneath his cold exterior leaves an incredibly compassionate man who is immensely thankful and honorable.

Dahyeon: Ijin's younger sister, sweet, has now adopted a whole new meaning with her around. She is always willing to help with an extra helping hand. She is freidnly, caring, empathic, and timid.

Yeona: As an heiress to the powerful SW corporation, Yeona might as well be corporate royalty. Despite this, Yeona is incredibly down-to-earth, nice, and altruistic. She often puts her life above others around her. After being saved by Ijin, she develops an intense crush on him, leading him to be more associated with the corporation.

Overview

Not going to lie. This story went in a different direction than I expected. The title alone made me think I was dealing with being over the top story with a completely insane Jason Bourne-level madmen, barely contained within reality. But what I got was one of the most heartwarming webtoons I've seen in a while. Ijin's genuine willingness and desire for a "normal" life make many mundane moments feel as impactful as the high-flying fights.

Adding on to this, surprisingly, Teenage Mercenary has an actual well-balanced cast. Ijin's classmates, brothers in arms, and even former enemies share enough screen time to develop or shine in supportive roles without getting in the mc's way. Whenever I think anyone's been forgotten, they get brought back with a cool entrance or funny line. Though with foreshadowing, I hope this cast shines brighter later and plays more active roles, given Ijin's domineering presence.

Which I think is a perfect segway to talk about the webtoon's bread and butter: the fight scenes. The art looks its best, Rakeyon knows how to make everything look cool. The characters have an immensely polished look, with expert shading to make every character look polished for good or bad. This is most evident in battles where the backgrounds and character will often glow conflicting auras to reflect the complex movements better.

While I think there will always be a piece of me that can't accept a high schooler being John Wick on steroids (despite suspension of disbelief), Ijin still tries his best. His fighting style isn't as flashy as other main characters in his tier. It does reflect his personality. Every move has a purpose, ending the fight fast with optimal effort, creating rather thrilling beatdowns on all opponents.

Speaking of said opponents, most of the series gets dedicated to isolated skirmishes made to fill out Ijin's circle and interpersonal situations. Yet underneath these small-scale adventures lies foreshadowing bigger threats and arcs coming soon. Even now, Ijin's past remains largely unknown, only getting scraps or flashes of the hell he's been through.

It creates many interesting thoughts to ponder weekly while also leading to some surprising twists. I genuinely hope this other shoe drops soon, though, as introducing more threats that provide danger to Ijin or his cast would be much appreciated. He's not invincible, but the consistent achievements, adjulations, and time between arcs make him feel like he is. Either way, I expect to see much more from Teenage Mercenary, whatever direction they decide.

Side note, though: I recommend reading this on Mangabuddy for my fellow bingers. Webtoon keeping 25 episodes at any given time on FastPass is lowkey disgusting and kind of kills binge reading.

Epilogue

Overall Teenage Mercenary was an interesting webtoon to cover. It's certainly different than what I expected but still has a lot of things going for it. I don't see how it won't gain more followers in the future. So until we talk about it again, let's shine the spotlight on something else.