Webtoon Spotlight

Spotlight#118: Daily Jojo

Have you ever wanted me to say a motherfucking Jojo's reference? Well, if you said YES! YES! YES! YES! Then you're in good luck because to end, this cluster of spotlights will be covering Donglee's latest creation, Daily Jojo. Let's end this current spotlight with the creator who started it all.

Summary

Your day-to-day life often leads you to meet some rather strange people. Take Eunjo, for example, an aloof, clumsy, and rather lazy officer worker that looks up to her fellow employer Wan Jo. Yet despite his perceived perfection and fancy clothes, his attitude is less than squeaky clean. Their opposite personalities should've driven them away by day one by all accounts. Instead, though, it seems they're only getting closer together.

Characters

Eunjo: The woman who puts the jo in JOJO, Eunjo is often portrayed as kind, friendly, casual, but utterly lazy when it comes to her appearance. Her self-awareness of this has made her count exclusively on Wan Jo, her idol, for help. She may not be subject to change, but she's always the one who's making the most effort.

Wan Jo: The man who puts the JO in JOJO Wan Jo is, on the surface, a perfect man. Well dressed, easy on the eyes, and friendly, he's like Prince Charming but hotter. This is exactly what he wants you to think. Wan Jo is always trying to make his outside image better with an obsession over his self-image, an ego bigger than both Korea's, and forked tongue. Only when interacting with Eunjo he starts to get far looser.

Overview

In hindsight, covering this series was never going to be a surprise. The author said so himself that he hoped to return with a new series, so it was only time. However, the form it would take is something I wasn't expecting. Nevertheless, since this is a sequel series, I'll try my best not to let my inner Yumi cell Stan takeover.

Art-wise, Daily Jojo features a rounded and cartoonish style for its characters. More serious moments can lead to some rather heart-wrenching moments when the situation calls for it. The visuals also carry into the series' biggest strength. Jojo expertly humanizes mundane aspects of everyday life in inventive ways like its predecessor.

From their social media, getting seen as kingdoms that the characters transverse, lucky events as fateful use of currency, and most of their choices get decided by their past or future selves. Yet despite the various gimmicks there used in service of the characters and how they interact with each other. Eunjo's casually social nature meshes with Wan Jo's pride in creating persistently entertaining dynamics. Strong moments that carry for other characters as well.

It only has forty chapters so far, but the effect those two have each other is already starting to show visually. Given Lee's other works, though, plus the existence of other Jo's," we'll have to see whether our two leads will develop from more than just friends. And while this series has done rather well in staying original, a part of me does want to genuinely see the other references and fates of various Yumi Cells.

Epilogue

Like School Bus Graveyard in the last cluster, this webtoon has massive potential despite the shorter length. Though I shouldn't be surprised, given this is a sequel to my favorite romance. So this will probably be a spotlight I'll return to in the future, which wraps up this cluster.

This one was harder to put together, but I think it's a strong lineup. Still, fourteen spotlights in a month are for me, so hopefully, we'll show something a bit more refreshing when the light shines on us again. Till then, thank you for the reads and attention. And have a nice day.