Viral Hit, Vol. 1

싸움독학 [Ssaumdoghag] #1

by Pak Taejun (Story), Kim Junghyun (Illustrator)

Scrawny high school student Hobin Yu is probably the last guy you’d expect to star in a video channel that revolves around fighting. Tormented by bullies and working a part-time job to pay for his mother’s medical expenses, Hobin Yu is truly at the bottom of his school’s hierarchy. After he accidentally uploads a video of a fight with his classmate and goes viral, Hobin starts to think there may be another solution to his bullying and money problems.

After following some advice from a mysterious creator, Hobin is soon knocking out guys stronger than him and raking in more money than he ever dreamed. But the pressure starts to build, and one day Hobin might meet his match.

This graphic novel collects episodes 1–8 of the sensational WEBTOON comic Viral Hit.

Genres: Manhwa, Action, Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Thriller

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2020

About the author

박태준

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cover chapters 1-8

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

*received ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Pretty interesting start! I can totally see this being adapted into a drama. It has the usual tenets: a nerdy kid getting bullied by popular kids, tough home life, has a crush on a really hot girl that (seemingly) won't give him the time of day. I was a bit worried the concept was going somewhere I wouldn't be interested in like a fight channel just to get views for fighting. Having the concept revolve around the MC taking on bullies and calling out bullies was a nice twist.

I found the date sequence pretty funny, especially when the MMA fighter showed up. I think his character is pretty interesting and I hope this signals he's going to help train the MC to get better at fighting. The daydream about being married with kids becoming him randomly in the other two's home was funny!

For a first volume, the art is pretty nice and I liked the memes. 90% of this took place in school though, so hopefully there's more of the outside world in the next volume.

[DianaRose · Rating 2 out of 5]

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!!

viral hit has an interesting and relevant plot (young adults vying for a claim to fame through becoming a streamer/influencer) but i was turned off through the inconsistent writing/unexpected scene changes.

also, unfortunately, i was not a fan of the art style

[Knigoqdec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Когато анимето по този уебтуун започна преди известно време, плакатът ми говореше само за "ох, поредната корейска история за проблемите в училище". И досега не знам точно кое беше решаващото да продължа да гледам историята, въпреки че като цяло бях познала с първото си предположение. Това Е история за проблемите в училище и поредната история за малтретирано от съучениците си и заплювано от обществото корейско момче. Просто има и малко... ъъ... надежда. Може би. Че все пак, когато се утрепеш от усилия въпреки всичко, нещата се подреждат. Предполагам. Има някаква интересна подправка тук, но може и да е просто защото цялото това нещо ни е поднесено с любезното съдействие на автора на култовата Lookism (още изписвано като Oemojisangjuui, иди го прочети :D).
Искрено се изненадах, когато открихме това заглавие на хартия, затова и вече е част от библиотеката. Различно е някак от анимираната си версия, може би на места дори е по-красиво (а на други места е по-грозно :D). Майчице, колко текст има само! Личеше си в анимето, но тук направо бълва от всякъде. Не съм много убедена, че щях да се справя, ако го четях онлайн, тъй че в този смисъл книгата е дори още по-добре дошла. Силно се надявам да видя още уебтуун заглавия, издадени по този начин. Бих се радвала да видя култовото таекуондисче, което краси том 2, очевидно...

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this on Webtoons and enjoyed the hell outta it. So obviously I pre-ordered this the moment I could.


I still enjoyed the hell outta this. Though I did notice the curses are edited f*** and etc. Which I'm not sure was done on Webtoons. Or maybe it was and I just simply don't remember. Other than it being annoying to see the edited out curses. It doesn't affect the story or my enjoyment of it.

Looking forward to the next volume.

[✧ Beanie Reads ✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun tale. I'm always a sucker for stories that have any sort of martial arts base. The fighting so far in this isn't that, with a lot of sloppy techniques from bully fighting, but it seems like it's going in the direction of learning how to legit fight, soooo, I'm counting it xD Admittedly, some bits of this had me cringing pretty hard. I think that was because of the art style that it would use for those times. Others may have found it funny. I just found it unpleasant to look at >_< Still, overall a fun webtoon, and I was definitely very grrrr with the ending because it left me on a scene I really wanted to see play out.

[piç · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artstyle itself is amazing but recently I’ve noticed that the author reuses old panels very frequently. There is nothing wrong with that itself since I know drawing everything again is very time consuming but I feel like I’m rereading chapters by how much I see the same panels ever time.
Also why does every woman in this manwha have more tits than personality?

[Enairolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moi qui veut me mettre à jour dans le plus de séries possible cette année, je ne peux pas m’empêcher d’en commencer des nouvelles. En même temps, j’ai pas mal de premier tome qui traîne dans ma PAL alors il faut bien les commencer à un moment ou un autre de toute façon. Celui ci traîne depuis un bon moment, je dois bien l’admettre. J’ai enfin pris le temps de le lire et j’ai tout simplement adoré!! Cette lecture est une très belle surprise, j’ai vraiment adoré ce premier tome et j’ai très envie d’avoir la suite!
Dans ce premier tome, le lycéen tout maigre et fragile Yoo Ho Bin est probablement le dernier gars qu’on s’attendrait de voir sur une chaîne Newtube qui tourne autour des combats. Mais après avoir suivi les conseils d’une mystérieuse chaîne Newtube, Ho Bin assomme des gars plus forts que lui et engrange plus d’argent qu’il n’aurait jamais pu rêver. Ho Bin pourra-t-il continuer comme ça ou finira-t-il par rencontrer son égal ?

Moi les histoires à base de baston j’en suis clairement fan, Tokyo Revengers et Wind Breakers sont clairement mes chouchous. Alors évidemment dès que ça parle de baston, ça titille ma curiosité! J’ai passé un excellent moment pendant ma lecture. L’histoire est plutôt chouette, un brin d’humour et une bonne dose de bagarre. Hobin croule sous les dettes avec sa mère hospitalisé, il doit, en plus de suivre ses cours, travailler pour des clopinettes. Alors quand il voit ce mec de sa classe cartonner sur Newtube et gagner énormément en ne faisant rien, ça le rend dingue. Il va finir par se retrouver, par un concours de circonstance, à lui aussi se retrouver sur Newtube et gagner le jackpot. J’ai adoré son personnage, je le trouve sincèrement courageux au vue de tout ce qu’il a encaissé sans jamais rien dire. Il va faire une chaîne où la bagarre et la justice sont les thèmes principaux. J’ai trop hâte de découvrir la suite, surtout en ce qui concerne cette chaîne mystère qu’il suit. J’ai ma petite idée sur ce qui concerne cette étrange personne caché sous un masque de coq. Je pense même qu’au final c’est évident, surtout en voyant la fin. Très curieuse de voir ça justement, je sens que ça va être très intéressant.

Je suis déjà impatiente de découvrir la suite de cette histoire. Ce premier tome était vraiment génial à lire. L’action est présente, on a une petite dose d’humour parfois qui vient alléger tout ça. Le personnage de Hobin est hyper intéressant à suivre, j’admire son caractère parce qu’il ne lâche rien. Et vu tout ce qu’il a subit, franchement faut le souligner. J’ai hâte de voir la suite de ses aventures!

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fight scenes mix with deeper themes of bullying and collecting social media views to create a read with more heart than first appears.

Hobin Yu is skinny, unimportant, and simply trying to figure out how to hold everything together while his mother is being treated for cancer. That includes paying the bills, and his part-time job doesn't really quite make ends meet. The severe bullying at school doesn't help matters, either. When he agrees to help one of the bullies record a video for the guy's new channel, he ends up in a physical fight with him...which accidentally gets uploaded and immediately achieves tons of views. Not even near to being a fighter, Hobin still finds himself with the possibility of earning the money he needs...if he can figure out how not to get completely destroyed in the process.

There are some obvious triggers in these pages (bullying, fairly violent fight scenes), and the first of these hits with a strong impact to make the tale grab right away. Hobin Yu is easy to sympathize with, while everyone around him comes across as simply terrible. It's a rough school and the bullying is harsh. The tale takes about 25% of the book to get going as readers sink into his situation. Hobin Yu's actions are easy to understand as he tries to use things for his advantage, while not completely losing his moral compass.

While the fight scenes will grab fans, there's more to these pages. Hobin Yu has a lot to learn and struggles to find balance in the entire situation. He also doesn't feel good in his own skin and, I'm assuming, this will offer character growth throughout the next volumes. There's a little, tiny hint at romance and new forming friendships. But everything has a long way to go.

The illustrations are well-styled for the theme and let the fight scenes come across with punch. The text is well written and flows naturally. Some of the scene changes jolt and take a second to figure out where the next moment comes from, but the story, interestingly, grows on the reader as it goes on, and these problems don't bother as much as they could. I'm hoping that the rest of the series will bring more depth to the characters surrounding Hobin Yu, but this is only the beginning. And it is a solid beginning.

[EJ Washington · Rating 3 out of 5]

*very minor spoilers*
first impressions:

Ok, so it’s clear I hate bullying storylines but I love a good revenge plotline so I thought ya know maybe I could stomach this. Well with both my eyes closed its pretty entertaining?

No, but seriously what is this? Well actually if I turn my brain off and read its not bad and the art is fine but it was hard to get invested as all the characters are super unlikable. The actual fight scenes were decent and I enjoyed the kimchi slap.

Why did it grow on me ???

I don’t know how else to describe it other than a hot mess of a webtoon you want to hate but somehow keep reading—and then suddenly realize you’re kind of into it. It’s like the reality TV of webtoons: you watch it because it’s entertaining, but you can’t wrap your head around the fact that real people might actually act like that.

I’ll give this a solid three stars. Honestly, after the first few slides, I thought I was going to hate it, but I ended up being entertained. I especially liked how the MC fully leaned into ‘being a loser.’

This one also ended quite abruptly, which caught me by surprise.

&, the instant regret after buying a ‘luxury’ item like a ‘Kucchi’ tracksuit? So real. I own a single Chanel wallet I never use because, seriously, who actually uses such an expensive item? I’ll happily stick to being a bum, thank you.

TL;DR: Hated all the characters, the story was weird, but I was still entertained. 3/5.


[NetGalley provided an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review~]

[Maxx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Webtoon Unscrolled for the ARC!

The plot seems a bit all over the place in the beginning, most likely to them trying to introduce the characters and their lives in a quick pace to get the story going. I wish we did have a bit more interaction of the MC with his sickly mother, to show just how far and how hard he works to take care of her. We get glimpses of it, but not many heart tender moments between the two. The premise is interesting and a bit absurd, goofy at times, from the things they do to the expressions they make. They do point out some stuff about how Youtube or how "Newstube" as they call it work. Nothing too in detail, but a few basic things are there from the Ad revenue to the censorship.

The fights are a bit silly, but they are still fun to see. And the humanistic aspects of wanting to get money for his sickly mother even if it means getting beaten up in Newstube videos seems realistic.

Overall it was a good read and I'm interested to see how the rest of the series pans out!

[B. Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC from NetGalley

This might be closer to 3.5 stars, however I rounded up because I enjoyed it for the most part.

This is a fun comic, although it does have some issues. I loved how spot on the live streaming was, including the portrayal of the streamers/bullies being fake for their audience. I also enjoyed the little bit of romance that’s being sprinkled in.

Parts of the story are a bit predictable. Although the bullying and violence is harsh and hard to read at times, there were other parts of the comic that made me laugh. Unfortunately I got a little bored during some of the fighting scenes.

Besides a lot of violence, there is an excessive amount of cursing. For most of the volume, the curse words are censored (until near the end). I understand it being censored for WEBTOONS, but when put into a book, why censor them? Also, there are a few typos and syntax issues. I’m guessing WEBTOONS brought the rights to the comic and copied and pasted but didn’t bother to edit or correct errors. It should be edited because, for example, I don’t know if the head bully made “3000,000” won or “300,000” won. And I don’t know if that equates to $250 USD or $35 USD.

I do look forward to future volumes.

[Skull Face · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hobin Yu, a high school underdog, starts recording his fights against bullies, monetizing his videos to pay off his debt and using these encounters to gain internet fame. The protagonist is far from a typical hero—he’s weak, cowardly, and a pushover, which makes his initial struggles feel authentic. His growth throughout the first volume is both realistic and compelling, showing how he learns to build confidence and stand up for himself in a society that places a heavy emphasis on online validation. Interesting premise of school kids calling out their bullies and posting on YouTube with a good dose of action. Strong first volume. I’m hoping future volumes explore the issues of online culture and a society obsessed with the next viral sensation while continuing to provide fight breakdowns.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Webtoon Unscrolled for the advanced reader copy!

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this up. I do like fighting WebToons, but they aren’t my go to. Little did I know this was going to be funny as well as packed with action.

Hobin isn’t one of the popular kids. He isn’t an MMA star. He doesn’t have his life together and can barely afford his mother’s hospital bills. He’s bullied daily and with his poor grades, he isn’t going anywhere in life. But one fight ending up on the internet and going viral after he’s had enough from the “it” crowd would change his life forever.

I love Kim Junghyun’s art style, because the facial expressions of each of the characters really lends to the comedic parts. There is a lot of emotion that’s felt through the art that you don’t get just from the story (which is also really great).

I didn’t expect to enjoy this so much. We love an underdog story though!!!

[Aaron Gertler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always game for another entry in the "student delinquents in a world where guns don't matter" genre. This was really fun in the first half — tons of twists, fun new characters around every corner, great mix of humor and wacky martial arts. Fell off hard in the second half, as the authors gave up on the livestreaming/YouTube theme, the characters stopped learning and growing, and we got 90 chapters of generic slugfests with a cardboard-cutout villain whose toppling was entirely predictable. I didn't see anything worth remembering in the last 50 chapters or so, and I wish I'd stopped halfway through, but I'm still glad I got to spend time with folks like Gaeul, Gyeoul, and pre-training-arc Hobin.

[Sophy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers an intriguing take on what it’s like to be a live streamer—though with a much more violent twist. The main character is bullied at school by a popular streamer who fakes laptop giveaways to boost his audience. But after a heated confrontation between them and the bully’s crew gets streamed live, things take an unexpected turn.

Instead of staying enemies, the two team up and begin calling out bullies live on their stream. Meanwhile, the main character is also learning how to take a punch and fight back, both physically and mentally.

It’s a really interesting concept, and the art style complements the tone of the story perfectly. A well-done and engaging read!

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was weird...

It's basically about streaming and social media and this guy and his "friend" fight on screen one night and people love it, so the kid becomes a viral hit. But then they get into more and more stuff to keep the money flowing, especially for our lead who needs money for his sick mother. It's fast paced, and it is funny at times. BUT the curse words censored, the odd facial expressions, the overall flow of the story is just bonkers. It's a weird one to recommend, least for me personally. I did not like ANY character at all, all of them seem horrible. Overall a weird one, and sadly not for me.

[BookishDB · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this manhwa! ✨️🤭 I discovered it on Webtoon when they were just starting out, and I definitely don't regret following it from the beginning.

Although it may seem a bit cliché at times, the plot manages to completely draw you in. The exciting fight scenes keep you on the edge of your seat, while the characters' personal stories add depth and make you connect with them in a special way. 🥊🤼‍♂️

I absolutely loved it. Also, I want to thank Webtoon for giving me the chance to win this beautiful copy of Volume 1. It's a treasure!

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dropped at chapter 175
idk how to feel about this, season 1 was so so good. The concept of streaming fights onto youtube and then progressing onto harder opponents who use different fighting styles was really unique. The concept of the chat in the livestream adding commentary was so new and a brilliant idea. Eventually, i think the author decided to move the plot into the general direction of Lookism with all the gang fighting and it just got bland.

[Tay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so grateful for the opportunity to ARC read this incredible work. I really enjoyed reading this manwha, and the art style is super interesting! I really enjoyed this story, loser becomes bada**. I am really excited for volume 2 and see how Hobin grows on NewTube. Hobin teams up with another loser after an accidental fight was posted online. I wonder who else Hobin will call out in the future and if Bomi ends up his girlfriend. This was a really fun read and can't wait for volume 2!

[Velvet Fury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another unique story I ever read when I entered into webtoon world. the characters and storyline is superb . they should continue to make anime of this series. first 100 chapters are outstanding no words to describe it. later chapters you will feel down because it has not much fight scene and also main character is still dumb. but overall it is fantastic 🤩. I like to see drama adaption of it. Lee dongwook would be best suit for main villain character.

[Mariam Mirza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel for him and his mom and trying to make money. The way him and his friend called people out was interesting. I didn't like the Livestream aspect but that's the world today. I loved that he found a girl who likes him and when he was honest, it was nice to hear his thoughts. Some of the illustrations were too realistic for me.

I have thoughts on the mystery videos he found! Can't wait for volume 2!

[Sarah Pether-Hamill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this volume.

Unfortunately I struggled with this one - there’s a huge watermark underneath every single page which makes reading it a jumbled mess. Characters are childish and pointless. The whole thing reads like a 13 year old wrote it.

Not for me.

[cc · Rating 3 out of 5]

e-ARC from NetGalley.

If this turned into a K-drama, I think I'd like to watch it, but I probably wouldn't watch an anime version.

This is the story of a pushover who desperately needs money to pay his mom's hospital bills. When a video of him fighting with a classmate goes viral, he decides to capitalize on the views by filming more content.

This felt very introductory but lacking in real substance. I love a good underdog literally fighting the odds story, but this first volume isn't compelling enough to convince me to pick up the next one. If we'd gotten juuuuuuuuuust a little bit more of his MMA classmate, maybe I'd feel differently, but I didn't particularly care for the character or his story thus far.

Decent manhua, just not for me.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great graphic novel. I loved the author's other work, Looking, and this is definitely on par with it. The story was great, though there was a bit of a cliffhanger at the end! The main character and storyline was fun with some unexpected twists. This definitely left me wanting more so I will have to look for other works or go and reread!

[Iván · Rating 5 out of 5]

Estudiante pobre y débil con su madre en el hospital es acosado. se termina defendiendo y haciéndose viral.
El desarrollo del personaje es increíble siendo motivado por el dinero, problemas económicos, su madre y que no tiene nada que perder puesto que ya es un perdedor 🤣

[Chandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This first volume covers chapters 1-8 of the webtoon and introduces a group of school kids who expose local bullies on their YouTube channel to make money and pay off debt. The story focuses on the main character as he learns how to fight, build confidence, and work toward his goals—including pursuing the girl he likes.

While I didn’t find the characters particularly compelling in this volume, the story had enough twists and turns to keep things interesting. The livestreaming and YouTube angle is a unique concept, but it didn’t feel fully explored yet. On the bright side, the art style is clean and enjoyable, adding to the overall reading experience. It’s a solid start, but I’m hoping for more depth and character development in the next volume.

*Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thank you to Net Galley and Webtoon/Wattpad for arc*

This ended up being really fun. Hobin really has a rough life and it's great seeing him fight to get some control of it. This is for fans of underdogs. Hopefully as he grows he doesn't end up corrupted as well.

[Rolaka Pisarka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm in love

[Vaish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing concept yet I always forget to keep reading this😭🤦‍♀️