To Backstab Sweetly
Review
Writer: Daindelion
Artist: Daindelion
Publisher: Webtoon
Format: Webtoon
To Backstab Sweetly provides you with the romance, drama, and comedy you crave in a fulfilling and captivating story. Combined with its aesthetic art style, this webtoon is an underrated series that’ll have you wishing you discovered it sooner.
To Backstab Sweetly
ReviewWriter: Daindelion
Artist: Daindelion
Publisher: Webtoon
Format: Webtoon
To Backstab Sweetly provides you with the romance, drama, and comedy you crave in a fulfilling and captivating story. Combined with its aesthetic art style, this webtoon is an underrated series that’ll have you wishing you discovered it sooner.
There is nothing that a sentimental reader likes more than kicking it back and enjoying a good old romance story. I, for one, will always love reading romance on a slow Sunday afternoon. Which is why today, I have the title of a lovely new series to go over! To Backstab Sweetly by Daindelion is a romance drama webtoon on CANVAS that caught my attention with its intriguing oxymoronic title and enticing synopsis. While I don’t remember how I came across it exactly, I just know seeing the thumbnail art was enough for me to subscribe before even reading a single episode. But did it live up to its first impression? Well, keep on reading my review below to find out!
Overview
Freelance graphic designer Jiho gets convinced by her friend to work at a café with him. Tempted with the promise of a handsome boss, Jiho applied faster than one could blink. But when she gets the job, Jiho quickly learns that her new handsome boss is a narcissist who barely pays attention to women. With her only motivation for the job out the door, Jiho loses all enthusiasm for work. To add more to her plate, one of her new coworkers may want to be more than just friends. Is dealing with a handsome narcissistic boss and a teasing coworker worth the paycheck? How will she survive in her new workplace with these unexpected developments?
Image: Webtoon
Review
The first thing about To Backstab Sweetly that I’d like to start with is its art. As I’ve expressed before in my reviews, I’m a sucker for pretty art. Although my taste often varies wildly, I can’t get enough of this webtoon’s cute and chic aesthetic. It’s the sketchy line art, the various shading, the sleek character designs, and the muted palette Daindelion uses. Everything is minimalistic with subtle texture and details that don’t take away from a base form of simplicity. To me, the art style of To Backstab Sweetly carries the same alluring vibes as the cover of a Vogue magazine. But this is just scratching the surface of what I like about this webtoon.
Contrary to some romance readers’ dislike for the trope, I quite enjoyed the love triangle angle of this webtoon. I get a thrill out of how the character struggles in choosing a partner. I take pleasure in imagining the uncommon notion of having more than one person fight for your love. And I simply adore the turmoil the heart will experience, both by the protagonist and the reader. A worthy and well-developed love triangle is a delectable treat—and we’ve got that here. While the plot of To Backstab Sweetly sounds like a basic love triangle story on paper, with a girl caught in between two men, it unfolds in ways that continually draw you in. Creator Daindelion is great at framing the panels to be more cinematic and dramatic, making the webtoon’s storytelling very appealing.
Image: WebtoonThe characters of the webtoon are also all very charming. Even with its small cast, everyone from the mains to the side characters holds such engaging personalities with diverse careers from each other. It makes you want to learn more about them. And, without a doubt, Jiho is an exciting female lead to follow. Although female protagonists with dominating auras are popular favorites of many readers, Jiho is simply a fun and personable character which I find perfect for the story at hand.
To Backstab Sweetly gives Love Alarm (a popular 2019 Korean webtoon/Netflix series) romantic vibes with its silly but mature character dynamics and narrative style. It has the charm of a Korean webtoon but incorporates American cultural references, humor, and slang. Sometimes in Korean webtoons, such references/jokes fall flat on American readers due to cultural differences. However, I have yet to come across this issue with the series. The only gripe I have with the webtoon is its flow of events. Some episodes seem a bit fast-paced and choppy. Although it’s still an ongoing series, I felt certain plot points could have been more developed and made “meatier” to weave a bigger story. But overall, the webtoon is so good I can’t get enough of it!
Image: Webtoon
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, To Backstab Sweetly is such a splendid romance webtoon! It’s subtle, emotional, hilarious, and just plain fun to read. So, did the series live up to my first impression of it? It definitely did! I am excited for more episodes to follow and where Jiho’s love life will lead. If you’re a romance lover wanting a cute and funny webtoon with pretty art, To Backstab Sweetly is the CANVAS series I’d recommend reading right now!
Who this is for
- Love Alarm readers.
- Fans of the love triangle trope.
- People who like aesthetic art styles.
Who this is not for
- Readers who prefer bright and bold color palettes.
- People who are unfamiliar with current American slang and memes.
- Readers who dislike slow episode updates.