Why Did Men Stop Wearing High Heels? – Manhwa Review

Author: Kim Jimmy

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Status: Ongoing

Introduction

Upon reading the title of this manhwa, one would expect it to be a yaoi/shounen ai (boys love) comic or something along those lines. However, fear not as this manhwa is something that can be enjoyed by everyone and anyone! True to its genre, it is extremely hilarious and I was glad that I somehow stumbled upon this gem while looking for something new to read. Without further ado, let’s proceed to the review!

Storyline Premise

‘Why Did Men Stop Wearing High Heels?’ centres around a man named Kim Manseok, your average, everyday salaryman who just happens to love wearing and collecting high-end high heels. Owning a personal shoes blog that’s popular among women, he is assumed to be a woman as well but one day, his identity is exposed in front of a pushy shoes designer, Chase! Will he be able to continue living a life of an ordinary salaryman?

As someone who does not bother with high heels in her daily life, reading this manhwa has been pretty educational to be honest. It is also fascinating to view fashion or high heels in particular through the eyes of a (straight) man and how he sees it as an art form for both the makers and the wearers, no matter the gender. You can also see how much effort and research the author has put in by looking at how they describe certain high heels. It usually includes the history of how that particular high heels was made and its value at the present day.

The storyline premise is unique in a sense in which it hasn’t been done before (correct me if I’m wrong!), but it is still predictable. When I began reading this manhwa, I wasn’t expecting much other than an enjoyable light-hearted manhwa like Tamen de Gushi just to kill time. However, this manhwa has surpassed my expectations by throwing in heavy and sensitive topics such as LGBT themes, familial ties, and others. It was a really pleasant surprise.

Art

As expected of manhwas, every single page is colored which definitely enhances the reading experience. Art-wise, it is definitely not the best among all the other manhwas out there but it’s still decent. It has the distinct manhwa feel though and is relatively simple in terms of the background and characters. Most panels are quite bare with just minimalistic backgrounds or sometimes just the characters.

The only exception for this would be the intricately designed high heels. The high heels are always drawn and colored in such a way where it stands out really obviously in the entire page and easily captures your focus. I really love how the author makes use of the background to further highlight the beauty of the high heels as shown below. Look how pretty they are! The art may be simple, but that in turn, makes it easy on the eyes and allows for more clarity.

Characterization

The characterization of each character in this series was done pretty well in my opinion. The author not only focuses on the main characters, but also several side characters that have been introduced. The characters’ struggles and backgrounds are showcased realistically and resolved in a mature manner too.

In this series, we have the usual type of characters like the fashionable and unfashionable women, the tortured prodigy, etc. However, despite some clichés, characters are portrayed in a way that makes it easy for the readers to relate to them. As mentioned before, without giving any spoilers, by including LGBT characters, this representation will definitely click well with readers of the particular community and I’m happy to see the diversity of characters that are present. Not only that, the characters work well together and character development is well thought out and done naturally.

Conclusion

I have nothing but high praises for this manhwa. If you’re a fan of romcoms or even if you’re not, you should definitely give this series a try as I promise it will definitely not disappoint. This is one enjoyable piece of work that I’ll recommend to anyone looking for something new to read. On that note, please support the author by reading at the official website where every week, a new chapter will be unlocked for free.

Otherwise, if you’re impatient and wish to read the entire completed manhwa of 62 chapters including the locked ones, feel free to purchase coins and unlock each chapter for 2 coins. Check this manhwa out here: https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/high_heel/