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Considerations
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● This is a spoiler-free review.
● 80+ in my rating means very good media.
● Whenever I say manga, I mean manga/manhwa/manhua.
● I'm considering the 6 side-stories in this review.
● I've got to read this work on a friend's recommendation. As I already heard about it, I didn't look too much into the synopsis and just went into reading.
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The Story
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The story is centered on Soobin, a high schooler who, when her father gets into an accident, borrows 100 million won from Yejun, her rich friend, and has 10 years to pay it back. Time moves on, she starts working at a restaurant receiving a low wage. One night, a stranger talks to her; it's Yejun. Now, he asks for something from her: marriage.
The story of "A Bittersweet Couple" is absurdly good. At first, it was difficult for me to understand what was happening, but with time, everything clears up and the main drama settles. I really enjoyed every aspect of the story. The couple who initially despise each other, viewing each other as enemies, but eventually grow fond of each other. The romance development can be considered slow, but I find it perfect as it gives time for each character to develop and start changing. The whole story is about gradual change.
A big chunk of story-time is dedicated to character development, which I will talk more about in the character section, but I personally enjoy it a lot when you have a story that is so focused on creating characters with personalities, traumas, vulnerabilities, and, therefore, humans.
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The Art Style
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I really enjoyed the art style of this manga. There's no major negative on any point, and the entry panels are amazing. Whenever you need an impactful shot, you get it. They also use rainbows hexagon's in their light scenes, which is super nice.
(Just look at the translator's note)
Another thing that I would like to add and that may pass through people's eyes is the palette. They do a really amazing job of harmonizing scenes by using character clothes and the background, and there are many parts in which I was impressed by that.
(An example of that color harmonization)
Backgrounds, light, and shadows are well made. The same thing goes for characters; each one has a different style that makes it easier to recognize who's who.
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The Characters
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There are a fair number of characters in this manga; the main character and her family, Yejun and his numerous family, friends, coworkers, and such.
I absolutely loved how they designed characters and how they handled personalities and such. First, we have a really interesting main character who's far from the "kawaii" style, being impulsive and cursing. I enjoyed the beginning of Soobin. As the story progresses and you see her background, you start to understand why she behaves like that.
Then we also have everything else. The manga doesn't move just around her. There's Yejun background (which is amazing), his mom's and father's background. This manga just serves you a cold plate at the beginning and keeps warming up as the story progresses. It's amazing to read.
Even with a fair number of characters, they manage to evolve each character in accordance with their respective backgrounds. The shy ones take a bit more, the extroverted ones are easier to develop, and so on. That is, for me, the biggest point of this story.
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Conclusion
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If you're like me, you skip everything and read only the conclusion because you don't want to get spoiled with other themes. So I will try to be brief on this point:
Read it. A Bittersweet Couple has everything a romantic manga needs. Beautiful art style, amazing character development both as the story progresses and in showing their past and how they got to where they are. There's really nothing to complain about.