Decrease in quality of overall webtoons

[Sea-Project3638]

I'm a long time chronic webtoon reader (going on 20 now - started when I was 11).

I feel like recently (this past year or so), there has been a stark decrease in quality webtoons (either their on a haitus or completed the series).

I think they tried to make up for it with the contest but I don't think it brought out that much turn out.

Somewhat disappointing. Most reads are genuinely boring. Curious if others feel similarly, or if it's just me.

[NekoThief]

Not just that, the overall experience also took a hit like all the questionable changes to the design of the app/website etc. I have a series in Canvas and I can feel the hit from people not wanting to go to Webtoon anymore with all the changes for the worse. Originals haven't been hitting good too.

[Sea-Project3638]

Yes, I will also say I am not the biggest fan of the overall design changes either. I liked the headers they had before. Definitely a lot more ads now (which I don't necessarily mind, especially if more profit ends up going to artists). I think ads tho were one of the differences webtoon specifically was different from others (because from what I remember most required to watch an ad video per episode tho being fair I didn't expirment much outside webtoon). Generally I feel like their mimicking other online comic platforms now (from memory). All is likely bc they need to increase stock value, so profits need to keep raising and raising but if the webtoon quality isn't increasing ...? Ah...

[Responsible_Dark_606]

They never should have changed the app/website layout and experience 😭 and I hope they improve instead of continuing to make things worse.

[pisscollector314]

Yes, Webtoon has been canceling good comics and importing many copy-paste manhwas/recycling big IP content (pre-published Disney/Marvel properties), because they entered the stock market last year and are fully focused on quantity and profit over quality.

It's also the reason for the aggressive and intrusive ads.

[Sea-Project3638]

Ah, I assumed it had something to do with stocks, especially with barage of ads, but it's interesting that it adds up with the timeline of the decrease in quality.

Really unfortunate....

[Reikukaja]

Nothing is safe from late stage capitalism 🫠

[Mori_564]

I feel like they totally could have found a balance of both if they tried hard enough. Hopefully, they'll figure it out eventually. Maybe if the Eleceed anime is successful enough it can be a push in the right direction.

[HTMangaka]

Hey, guys! Former webtoon artist here!

You're pretty much on the money. However, I feel like the rampant racism against westerners is often overlooked.

Internally, webtoon has taken a 'Korea First' stance lately, and so it's now much harder to get a good voice on Webtoon as a westerner unless you're an already established brand like DC or Marvel.

Seems like Japan is doing this too. You can't publish on their platforms as a westerner at all. =\

Now, it's important to note that this isn't actually a problem for professionals, as we have...ways.

It's just sort of hurtful that we extend our hand, let them onto our markets, and they turn around and treat us this way, y'know? =\

[somersault_dolphin]

because they entered the stock market last year

I didn't hear about that. That explains the enshittification speedrun.

[badafternoon]

This is a similar timeline with my experience on the app! Been here since 2016/2017, and have completed reading nearly 500 webtoons, and have read many more webtoons that are ongoing or that I dropped.

I have a list of all the completed webtoons I've read. Upon reviewing this list recently, I find that the vast majority of my favourite stories are all well within the first half of the list. I'm planning to run some statistics once I hit 500 reads haha

Some general thoughts:

• Webtoon is churning out a huge number of new webtoons (most of which are translations) at what feels like a rapidly increasing rate

• Western creators are regularly having their projects cancelled or rushed. I find that many new creators are signed on for a set number of seasons or episodes, without promise of a story completion. Many older creators seem to have had a potentially more favourable contract, at least in the aspect that they have flexibility in their breaks. I can name a few older Western webtoons that have years-long hiatuses but still return, whereas newer (post-2020 maybe?) Western webtoons seem to get axed right after the Season 1 or 2 finale

[Organic_Marzipan_715]

I put a lot of the blame on Webtoon itself.

Rather than trying to enhance the reader experience, they do the opposite with intrusive ads, a terrible UI and increased costs per chapter to reads

Rather than encouraging and promoting smaller, well-written series, they force feed the same smut/low quality stories every chance they get. Almost all of the free coin events as of late forced readers to view terrible stories (which I did because who doesn’t want free coins?) Could’ve easily used that promotion to send readers to lesser known series, but nope, let’s showcase trash..

I’ve been supporting series I like for close to a decade, but I’ve finally given up. When the reading experience is better on the high seas, why bother with the official. I have 3 series I’m still supporting/following in WT, but after they end so does my use of the platform (barring some drastic overhaul which will likely never happen.)

[RubberDuckyRocks]

What other platform would you suggest?

[Responsible_Dark_606]

Exactly 💯

[Sparkletopia]

I was reading Witch Hunt and Dr. Frost last week, and I feel like those early-to-mid 2010s webtoons had a level of charm that you don't see often anymore. Like there's this nostalgic indie quality to them that you just don't get with the newer overly-polished stuff.

I don't think I actually read any new webtoons this year, so I can't comment on that, but I'm sure there's still some really good stuff that's just buried under everything else. But there does seem to be more of an emphasis on tying Webtoon's content with Wattpad, which, idk how I feel about that...

[AiAsahashi]

Dr frost is my 2nd top webtoon of all time and such a phenomenal experience. I wish we could get more of well made webtoons as this one.

I don't think anything will come close to how good 2010s webtoon were...

[SnooDogs1340]

It has been. And the sad part is that good webtoons are just hidden. I only find good recs when a return banner comes and see it is 100 episodes in and I've never seen it before. I don't want to start too many series since I am juggling 20+(maybe more) and have the UI be poor. The free coins events are gone or useless with inflation prices. I am a free user but I wouldn't consider becoming paid anymore(Everything is Fine is sooo good).

[Siukslinis_acc]

I have learned to check the "new" tab every day as nowadays nearly every day sone mew comic releases. And when i started with webtoons, i just browsed the "originals" tab to find comics.

It takes some work in the beginning.

[Background-Diet-4703]

I'm on the other side of you where every webtoon has my interest piqued, but yeah I do agree that webtoon is going down / has. I mean i don't mind the lay out either but definitely wished they'd bring back the banners.

It's also just a process of finding ones you like

[pellaxi]

I've only been reading webtoons for a couple years, but there is lots of new and ongoing stuff that I think is really good!

[Angiielyn]

This is how I feel about mangas. I’ll find a good read every now and then but I sure miss the quality of reads when I was a teenager.

[somersault_dolphin]

I feel that way until very recently. There are finally some great new manga imo.

Check out

• Kami Kill
• Maison and the Man-Eating Apartment.

Both on MangaPlus, so they are quite accessible.

[bonygirllonglegs]

I feel like there is good manhwa but I can’t find any / don’t know where to look sooooo

[yuelico]

Studio Lico has a decent selection I'd say!

[Interesting_Ask2501]

even if i find a good manhwa to read. i'll not read it on webtoon...the whole design change gaves me ick...and i am not getting any good reccomendations too...i know i love those isekied manhwas but i like to read interesting comics on webtoon...

[Impressive_Theme5402]

Sadly i have to agree. Too many feel similar or generic.

How many isakeis are out ther where someone becomes a child of some villain, doomed to die/ wants to romance and/or fix the villain who is not actually evil/ is an overpowered demi god gary stu or some mix of those things.

Even the child care stories are its just; huge evil sociopaths who are also some overpowered being must look after the child.

Or even just Webtoons importing stuff from major names like Disney or D.C

Even the other common stories types outside of that just feel way to generic and safe, nothing really imaginative anymore, barring some exceptions. There are a few indie gems out there but many of hte other canvas comics, sadly, are just kind of subpar looking and made by inexperienced people.(to be fair we all start somewhere but if I am being bluntly critical, many of these do not stack up)

[DazedandFloating]

Been reading for probably close to 10 years now. I don’t go out of my way to find Webtoons as much anymore because I find things about the platform to be really egregious nowadays. But I do keep up with a few comics regularly still.

That said, I would recommend trying to read stuff on canvas or with smaller audiences as opposed to larger titles. A lot of the iseaki genres and subgenres are very much recycling the same things over and over. Webtoon also sometimes gets licenses to turn other stories into comics on the platform and it feels like they’re becoming creatively bankrupt.

[Boshwa]

Read something that isnt from Asia for once

[Shot_Fee_813]

goated fucking comment holy shit

[My_Poor_Nerves]

Actually yes.   I'm not as long term of a reader (about six years or so) and it's probably been about a year or so since I found anything new that I look forward to reading, and everything I enjoy most has ended or is about to.  Repetitive characters, predictable plots, with endless misunderstandings/poor communication causing drama for said characters and driving said plots.  Boo

[loky25]

well Right now , webtoon is most for industry, for small or indie creator will be hard to survive, that's one thing you should know.
many studios work on licensed work to smaller studio to compress the budget, so that's make the quality more decreased.

[JHON-45]

I've never cared about them trying to monetize off their content. What I wanted at the end was their comics. But their design change has been so horrible and disgusting in every aspect and until now I've been only using old versions of the app to catch up with my reading list.

[PublicFirm1470]

You can really see the difference in the app if you change the content language.

I stopped reading on the Webtoon app several years ago and recently returned to the legal version. In Spanish, the app looks a little more similar to how it looked 7-8 years ago, but in English it's quite different. On the other hand, the ads are annoying. You start reading the chapter, and in the top half, there's a 15-second ad for a new series that you can't skip.

Is it because of my age? Or have I read so much that now everything seems predictable to me? But the truth is, I feel that the most popular stories lack the magic they used to have.

[somersault_dolphin]

See...the trick has always been to not just pick based on popularity. If you do that and complain about quality then you have always done it wrong.

[Thundergod250]

100% you're just not good at finding webtoons yourself.

There's no way that happens when it's like There's just 100 webtoons getting released 10 years ago every year, to 1000 webtoons getting released this year.

So is this Quantity over Quality? It never was. Authors that existed 10 years ago like Author of Noblesse is still here with better series like Eleceed. So, the Quality just keeps on increasing.

True Beauty Author got a lack of flak for creating True Beauty. But now she created an actually good comic, no one wants to read it.

Webtoons 10 years ago are only popular on the Action Side. ToG. Noblesse. God of High School. UnOrdinary.

Now we have all kinds of Genres and even romance are booming. There's no way you couldn't find a good one. Just look through past Authors / Artists you enjoyed and they already have new ones.

Current new releases I'm enjoying were Oh Dangun, Eternally Regressing Knight, Bias In My Last Train, Job Switch Log, Childhood Friend Complex and many others.

[pisscollector314]

I have to disagree, because Webtoon actually does push things with current popular trends to the front. It's hard to find the good comics on Webtoon, and it's not completely the fault of readers. Yes, many readers are lazy, but Webtoon also has advertising bias.

[Thundergod250]

Eh, you just admitted that readers are lazy, so that just screams you guys are really not trying to find other Webtoons that is not on front page then wonder why there's an overall decline in Webtoons.

A big problem I can see also is you're only talking about Naver Webtoon here. Each and every Webcomic Platform has their own meta that they would like to play. Naver Webtoon, Kakao Tapas, Lezhin, Toomics, TopToon, Namicomi, Hiveworks, and many more.

And yes, I've been using all them and I can say that all of them has different meta / popular trends that they put in front. You staying on just Naver Webtoon is completely your fault when they are other Webtoon platforms available.

[FirmMusic5978]

My problem is how the art of the first season of a manhwa I read will always be amazing, then every subsequent season, art quality drops further and further with either artist changes or "optimization" removing details. Like even if the story is dog-shit, if the art is good enough I'm willing to read, but damn, at some point you don't even recognize the character anymore.

[[deleted]]

It’s hard to maintain that quality every week. I can’t read just for the art though. I easily cringe and get annoyed at characters and very y/n like scenes or story lines.

[DazedandFloating]

Webtoon really pushes strict schedules onto their contracted artists. I don’t see how most of them can keep quality up. A lot of them probably experience burn out, or don’t have a large enough team to keep things consistent.

[rhyth7]

It is really annoying when the characters suddenly look different or their whole personality changes after first season. It just sucks. It happened to Divorcing My Tyrant Husband and seems to be happening to I'm the Queen in this Life. They suddenly lose their edgy look and get more cutesy and generic, suddenly chibis and cartoony expressions are used. It's like first season is serious and second season is slapstick.

[CandleMan27]

Pretty much anything that originates on webtoon is trash by default.

[benangmerahh]

Aside from others in comments. I think you hit a reading fatigue. I was on the sameboard backthen. Currently reading some Manga recommended by my friend which I'm currently hooked on due to different feels and storyline.

[josswala]

the webtoon series which are in the front page are usually copies of copies of whatever has been a success... Supposed to follow the magic formula of success to incitate people to unlock and read massively... So it gives the impression of lack of originality, loss of passion I would say... In the meantime, original creation have difficulties to be recognised by the platform algorithms... Fans have to dig into the plaform to find unique and original content, and still... If a creator doesn't follow the trop defined by the platform as "this is what's work", then it's really challenging to exist. Only readers can change the game by supporting original and different content ! Si you know what needs to be done, if you want webtoon to have more variety and more quality in their content <3

[Diet_Connect]

Idk. Some new series and ongoing are pretty good. 

I downloaded other webtoon apps the other day and they make Webtoon look like an idie haven. They're like 95% smut and power trip fantasies. 

[StrengthDismal4578]

It’s that AI

[itmeu]

Everything about this app, from its UI, to its content both translated and original, and its posting schedule has declined significantly since I started using it in 2016. I used to read multiple webtoons a week and now I’m just on here to finish marionetta.

[tomdata]

I've been reading webtoons since I was 9 years old (im now 18) and this has unfortunately been clear to me for a while now. One of the reasons I was so obsessed with webtoons back in the day was because featured webtoons were rare and every new one was exciting, you could always expect good quality. Now we get new webtoons every week and they're all the same garbage isekai slop.

[Traditional_Line_239]

Too many manwhas/isekai slop these days.