Episode Transcript
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Jennifer (00:05):
Welcome to another
episode of BBE Shorts.
My name is Jennifer and I willbe your host today.
Paige can't come to the phoneright now because she literally
just landed in Iceland, butdon't worry, I am here to keep
serving you the bookish contentyou desire.
If you're new to Big BookEnergy, welcome.
(00:26):
If you are returning, you arealso welcome.
We are two archivists talkingthe thing we love most: books.
We get together every now andagain to chat about books based
around a theme and season four'stheme is guilty pleasures.
In addition to BBE Shorts, wedrop full episodes once a month
for our amazing Patreonsupporters.
(00:47):
If you are not yet a Patreonsupporter, you can always unlock
our full library of content foras little as$5.
All right without further ado,let's get into the episode.
So, let's talk about spicyWebtoons.
(01:08):
Now I like a lot of romanceWebtoons.
I would guess that maybe abouthalf of the many, many Webtoons
I'm subscribed to are romance,but that's not what I mean by
spicy.
Just like you can have tame andsweet romance books versus smut,
(01:28):
you get the same in Webtoons.
Although within reason, Webtoonsis a platform available to
children as young as 13.
So don't go thinking there'sjust full graphic nudity in any
of these stories.
There isn't, though Webtoon canbe rather arbitrary in how it
applies its own standards.
For example, Kruger and Faust,which is one Webtoon I enjoy a
(01:52):
lot that didn't quite make thecut for this episode had a
chapter removed because itshowed the main character in the
shower.
Now, when I say it showed her inthe shower, it showed her head
and shoulders under runningwater, nothing crazy, kind of
just like a shampoo commerciallevel of nudity.
The whole scene wasdemonstrating that the romantic
(02:13):
interest had played a prank onher and dyed her hair pink.
So the focus was really on herhair.
And yet that chapter got removedfor violating Webtoon standards.
Contrast this with the story MyDear Coldblooded King, which has
numerous scenes of thingsgetting hot and heavy in
bathtubs between the protagonistand her romantic interest, which
(02:34):
by the way, if you want a spicyWebtoon, that one should
definitely be on your list tocheck out.
But this video is calledJennifer's Fav Spicy Webtoons
and I really did not like themajor romantic turn the story
took so it's not one of myfavorites, but again, if you are
interested in spicy Webtoons,you should definitely check out
My Dear Cold-blooded King.
(02:56):
Anyway.
Is it a coincidence that Krugerand Faust gets censored as a
small, independent canvas story?
Meaning that it's not sponsoredby Webtoon, while My Dear
Cold-blooded King being aWebtoon Original can post this
content with impunity.
Yeah.
I don't know.
I'll leave that up to you todecide.
I know how I feel about it.
(03:17):
Another note before we getstarted, as I began writing up
my notes for this episode, Irealized that some of my
favorite stories that I wantedto talk about really badly in
this context, weren't actuallyall that spicy.
Like just very tame spice, likemild, maybe some medium, no Thai
hot, you know, but the romanceis so good.
(03:40):
So that was kind of funny and Ihad to adjust my list somewhat.
Regardless there is some greatspice available for your reading
pleasure.
So let's get into my personalfavorites.
All right.
First up we have a Webtoon thatis actually completed.
(04:01):
So there won't be any agony overcatching up and then having to
wait week to week for anotherepisode.
I am talking about FreakingRomance by Snailords.
Snailords is the artist of thisWebtoon.
This story follows protagonistZylith who is vehemently against
love.
After watching her mother beabused by her father for years,
(04:25):
as well as experiencing itherself, she's convinced that
love is a corrupted and painfulthing.
Luckily, she's able to escapefrom her father's clutches and
move into an apartment to pursueher art.
Only problem is this apartmentseems to have an other worldly
and handsome, might I sayhandsome, visitor who appears at
(04:46):
random.
Between her other worldlyvisitor, Zelan, and her best
friend.
I don't know how to pronouncethis, honestly.
Verose?
And her best friend Verose it'sspelled V E rose.
I'm just going to say Verose.
So yes, her best friend Zylith,isn't going to be able to avoid
(05:08):
romance like she thought.
So like most of these Webtoons,the art is absolutely beautiful
in this story.
The story actually takes areally weird turn.
It's either season three orseason two.
I can't quite remember.
It takes a real weird turn thatI wasn't expecting, but despite
that there are some great spicymoments.
(05:29):
And I love Zylith as acharacter, as well as her
romantic interests.
Reader beware, this is a slow,slow burn because Zylith and
Zelan literally can't interactwith each other for a while.
And Zylith and Verose strugglewith Zylith's emotional trauma.
(05:50):
I won't say any more to avoidspoiling anything, but I can say
the spice was well worth thewait for me.
Next, I want to highlight aCanvas story.
Again, these are stories thataren't, you know,"sponsored" by
Webtoon and therefore aren'tWebtoon Originals.
It used to be a lot smaller thanit is now.
(06:11):
Now it has over 300,000subscriptions.
Shockingly that is actuallystill small compared to some of
the Webtoon Originals, but thisstory is called At Arms Length
and it's by Zushi.
Like sushi, but with a Z.
The story centers around twocharacters, Michael and Reina,
who are both recovering.
Michael has taken a year offschool despite his parents'
(06:34):
disappointment to take care ofhis mental health after a
suicide scare.
And Raina has been in theprocess of moving on and healing
from an abusive relationship andself harm.
I swear to God, all of thetraffic is conspiring against
me.
I mean, it is after fiveo'clock.
So I guess I did set myself upfor that one.
Neither is looking for anythingserious right now, just focusing
(06:57):
on school and regaining somesense of normalcy.
The universe, however, or Iguess Zushi, has other ideas and
before they know it, they havecollided, but will they be able
to work on their trust issuestogether?
One note of caution for At ArmsLength, the updates are really a
sporadic on this one.
(07:18):
This isn't a story you can counton for a weekly update.
In fact, many Canvas creatorsare unable to do weekly updates
because they're not receivingthe same kinds of financial
support that Originals do.
But the reason I included thisone on the list is A) we haven't
quite gotten there in the storyyet, but I think this one has
amazing potential for some spicefactor.
(07:39):
The author has definitely beengiving hints that future
chapters will be bringing someheat.
Also, if you'd like tattooedbad-boy-turned-good male leads,
then this will definitely be ofinterest to you.
B) the portrayal of mentalhealth and mental illness is
absolutely great.
I mean like top-notch, there aretrigger or content warnings on
(08:00):
some episodes and the authordoes preface in the prologue for
the entire series that you canexpect a lot of dark moments in
this story, but Michael'srecovery from suicidal ideation
is done really thoughtfully asis Reina's experience with
abusive relationships and selfharm.
So I really can't wait to seewhere this one goes.
By the way, this reminds me.
(08:21):
For many stories on Webtoonsthat are romances, but not the
most spicy- again because ofWebtoon guidelines- many artists
have their own Patreon where youcan unlock 18 plus content.
So you can support an artist anda story you love while getting
some unedited chapters as well.
If that is to your liking.
And I am fairly certainthatZushi has a Patreon with
(08:45):
this content.
All right.
Next, we have Let's Play byMongie.
This is a Webtoon heavy- hitter.
I mean like it's a huge Webtoon,millions of subscribers and it
recently just came back from ahorrifically long hiatus.
Apparently Mongie and Webtoonwere having like some
difficulties coming tocontractual agreements.
(09:09):
In addition to health concernsfor the author.
But it's back.
It's back.
So Let's Play follows video gamedesigner, Sam, as she is all set
to launch her first ever gameand get started in her dream
career.
However, when popular streamerMarshall bashes her game in a
review, her dreams take anosedive.
(09:30):
Worse still turns out her newneighbor is none other than the
jerk Marshall himself.
How will Sam navigate having hermortal enemy move in next door
or her growing feelings for herboss for that matter?
This blurb only captures a verysmall part of Let's Play's
story.
There's also tons of gaming nerdcontent, other romantic
(09:54):
entanglements, so many sexyromantic interests to choose
from, and probably the part thatdrew me into the story the most,
really great depictions ofmental health issues such as
social anxiety.
You can see maybe there's atheme appearing.
I like my stories to handlemental health issues well.
As someone who suffers fromanxiety myself, it can often
(10:17):
feel like an external,overwhelming presence that is
just hanging around me at alltimes.
And I think Mongie does anexcellent job of portraying that
in her art.
As far as spice goes, this onedelivers some great sexy scenes,
probably the most out of all ofthe Webtoons I've chosen and
(10:38):
things really have heated uptowards the end of last season
and the beginning of thiscurrent season.
I'm not a huge fan of thedialogue we've been given in
recent chapters, but I thinkothers will like it.
I think that's just my ownpersonal preference.
Plus if you're into forbiddenoffice romances at all, then
this one is a must.
(10:58):
I think there's going to be avariety of different romantic
relationships that Sam isentangled in.
But yeah, I'm just reallyinterested to see how this one
is going to unfold as well, or,you know, play out if you will,
right.
Get it, play out.
Let's Play right?
Paige isn't here to make fun ofmy puns.
(11:19):
So I'm just gonna give you punsand maybe you will make fun of
me on your own while you'relistening.
So, the fourth Webtoon on mylist is a SubZero by Junepurrr.
This is another huge Webtoon.
I think most of this list wasactually really big Webtoons.
I really only gave you one kindof indie Webtoon spicy romance
(11:42):
pick.
So if you guys want morerecommendations I definitely
have more, so let me know if youwant another, like a part, two
of Jennifer's favorite Webtoonsor whatever.
But SubZero is an Asian inspiredfantasy setting where two clans
are at war one that has beengoing on for generations.
(12:02):
They each serve two differentraces of dragons who are natural
enemies of each other, but onlya handful of dragons remain.
The best way I can describe itis that they have human avatars
who have long been the rulers ofeach clan and by communing with
the spirit of the crimson orazure dragon, the avatars can
(12:24):
transform into dragonsthemselves.
The Azure clan, however, islosing ground to the crimson
dragon.
Only Princess Clove remains asan avatar of the azure dragon
and her country's only hope ofsurvival is forging an alliance
through marriage to her enemy,heir to the crimson throne,
Prince Kyro.
If only that was all Clove hadto worry about.
(12:46):
Add in scheming generals,devious ministers, potentially
poisoned empresses and a shadowygroup of assassins threatening
her life and you have a goodtime.
This is a classic enemies tolovers story, which is probably
one of my favorite romancetropes, and probably why I liked
(13:07):
this one so much.
And I, I love the fantasy dragonshifting premise.
I'll admit Junepurrr is a bit ofa tease when it comes to steam.
There are some hints and smallmoments, a chapter here and
there with greater spice factor.
But because this is enemies tolovers, I think it makes sense
that the build up takes a while.
(13:29):
All right.
I saved my favorite for last andthat is Midnight Poppy Land by
Instant Miso.
This is by far my favoriteWebtoon.
Period.
And I doubt anything is going todethrone it anytime soon.
Midnight Poppy Land followsPoppylan, called Poppy by her
(13:49):
friends, as she begins her newcareer as an editor for a small
publishing company.
She only recently moved to thebig city after living in the
country for most of her life.
However Narin City is home to ashadowy hotbed of illegal
activity dominated by rivalclans.
And it doesn't take long beforePoppy is in the wrong place at
the wrong time and runs rightinto Balthuman enforcer, Tora.
(14:14):
Romance ensues, and intrigue,and sass, and I love them, holy
shit.
Okay.
Tora is 100% my number oneWebtoon boyfriend.
Without a doubt, no one comesanywhere close although
obviously I have a whole list offaves.
If you love big tough guys withhearts of gold that are only
(14:36):
soft for one person, then youare in luck because that is
Tora.
Poppy is also a great maincharacter.
She's just kind of dorky andartsy and innocent, but still
tough.
And I just love them.
They're my favorite Webtooncouple.
This is actually one of theWebtoons on my list that doesn't
have a lot of spice, but I justcouldn't leave this one off.
(14:57):
There are definitely someintimate moments for sure and I
have no doubt that there aremore in store for us as the
story unfolds.
I'm also almost 100% sure thatInstant Miso provides 18 plus
content on her Patreon.
So if you read the story andlove it, but want more steam,
you can head on over there.
If you're a fan of mafia storiesspecifically, or honestly, if
(15:21):
you're just a fan of romance ingeneral, with some spicy
moments, I can't recommendMidnight Poppy Land enough,
please.
Please someone read it so I cantalk to you about it.
I have no one to talk to aboutit.
I need someone to talk to aboutit so I can fan girl constantly
(15:41):
every week, please.
Just as a side note, as I wrapthis episode up, you may have
noticed that most of theseWebtoons have very
heteronormative mainrelationships.
Some have more LGBTQrepresentation with supporting
characters, but the mainrelationships are
heteronormative.
I found when I was putting mylist together, my favorite LGBTQ
(16:03):
romances were mostly.
Not spicy.
Like the romances are very sweetand not too hot and heavy, but I
would be glad to take anysuggestions you have for spicy
LGBTQ Webtoons.
All right thank you forlistening to this episode of BBE
Shorts.
I hope you enjoyed mypreliminary list of favorite
(16:25):
spicy Webtoons.
As I said earlier, if you areinterested in hearing more
reviews of some of my favoriteWebtoons, please do let me know.
As always, you can keep up withthe podcast on social media and
if you'd like to support thepodcast, you can visit our
bookshop store to get awesomebooks and support us and
independent booksellers at thesame time.
Or if you'd like access to ourbonus, full length episodes and
(16:48):
other exclusive content head onover to our Patreon.
All of these things will belinked in the show notes.
Thanks for listening.
And I'll see you here next time.
Bye.