Funnily enough I feel the opposite way. Since I know this story is tragedy and also relatively short, I'm mostly reading it for the mystery of it all knowing that it's going to be resolved (in any way) pretty quickly, which is relieving. This is imo something that was missing in Hate Mate. Putting aside the love triangle aspect, reading hate mate I felt duped (and not in a good way) by the direction the story went in. The whole "started off comical, ended up tragic" got dull halfway through in my opinion, and while the characters got more realistically depicted, they lost their appeal in the (too) long run for me. The story felt like the author changed their mind in the middle of it basically. Whereas with this one we know where we're going, and I appreciate the faster pacing compared to most dramatic manhwas that have endless filler chapters and unnecessary breaks of pace. It's true that it can help set a clearer atmosphere in the relationships but it's a double-edged sword, and both works struggle with it in opposite ways. But digitalis isn't so much about relationships and introspection, it's full of mystery and I like that this author is focusing on that.. when Hate Mate felt more like vague slice of life josei in it's length. Both manhwas have that effect of keeping you on edge but this one does it slightly better imo. That's just how I personally feel though, it's mostly a matter of tastes. I can totally see your pov !
So basically, correct me if I’m wrong, you prefer this story because you know that MC and Cha will end up together, whereas in Hate mate you didn’t know who was going to end up with who and so you didn’t like it’s ambiguity? Ok, I mean I can get that. It can be a little frustrating. But it’s not like I’m completely against the idea of a fast paced story. I might have a bias towards slow burns but I’ve read some really good stories that have only been like 15ish chapters. I think the main problem is that they’re shoving this tragic backstory down my throat for characters that I just don’t feel have any chemistry together despite being the main leads. For now it just feels... kinda awkward. I mean I’m still going to continue reading it, (thanks to the uploader for uploading mwah you’re beautiful) maybe I’ll end up liking it, but for now, it’s an ehhhhh.
But hate mate had that asshole mc and this one has likable main characters. That makes a difference to me.
Ok....
I don’t really know if they’re going to end up together, it’s more about the literal « tragedy » destiny aspect for me I guess. Like whatever happens is meant to happen, be it tragic or happy in the end. That and the supernatural elements, it gives us mystery AND reassurance, which Hate Mate wasn’t able to provide imo. I wouldn’t have been mad at the whole love triangle thing if the characters were handled better and their dynamics weren’t drowned by too much stillness in the plot. This story has the same kind of pacing as Hate Mate but the latter felt too stretched out with a lots of fillers, so i’m happy digitalis has only 20 chapters bc I think it’ll improve the pacing and it seems to suit the story better. I love slow burns too, but I noticed most manhwas these days tend to really overdo it so I appreciate the short length of this one. I don’t feel like there has been that much tragic backstory but I get why you think the two characters are awkward (the age gap makes me uncomfy but oh well).. Since it’s mystery I think this author wants shit to go down at once and have a big plot twist or sth so I have hope!
hate mate remains superior and thats on period luv!
Hmmm I think part of the reason (well at least for me) why hate mate works and this doesn’t is that it sets up this tragic backstory for characters we barely know and expects me to feel sad about it. Ik I shouldn’t compare the two since it is a different writer, but Hate mate’s very first chapter presented its conflict straight off the bat. Meanwhile for digitalis, 6 chapters later and I still don’t know where this story is going, nor am I excited for the next chapter when I finish the last because the lack of an interesting conflict. So for HM, while the unrequited love thing isn’t a unique concept, it’s easy to relate to. It also helps that Reck kept a relatively light hearted tone in the first few chapters to show off the chemistry between the characters, instead of jumping straight into the sad boi hours. And how could I not compare the two? I’m pretty sure this is in the same universe as HM (Jun was in the first chapter!!!) and reck—who is drawing the story—should have at least a little bit of input of how it goes right? Idk. Maybe it’s too soon for me to judge.
Here’s a quote from a friend that I think sums up my feelings (I think she was ranting about some story she just read) - “I cannot stress enough how important it is to make your audience care about your characters and no I don't mean giving super tragic backstories to try and force sympathy. I mean actually building the character with a personality and flaws and relatable struggles. The audience needs to see the character's development whether you see what they are and learn how they became that way through flashbacks and mentioned aspects of their lore IDK just fucking make it so I give a shit about your character before you decide to tell me their life story!”