Based on the original Webtoon Love Revolution, a brand-new live-action series is set to air on ABC TV in Japan on January 11, 2025, starring Toa Shimasaki from Lil Kansai, a Japanese boy band produced by Tadayoshi Okura from SUPER EIGHT and Mizuki Yoshida, who played Kyomoto in the animated adaptation of Look Back. This is the second time the webcomic has received a live-action adaptation, with the previous series having been released in South Korea in 2020.
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Love Revolution was initially published on Webtoon in 2013 by the artist and writer 232. The series follows Gong Ju-young, a high schooler who falls head over heels in love with a cool girl named Wang Ja-rim. Even though she seems uninterested in his advances, he’s determined to get her to fall for him through outrageous and boisterous displays of affection. The series also introduces several supporting characters who push the couple toward one another.
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The upcoming adaptation releasing in Japan renames the main characters, with Rei Himenomiya falling for Rin Oji and banding together with their classmates to try and win her over. The brand-new trailer is absolutely adorable, and teases some of Rei’s playful methods to try and get Rin to come around to his advances.
Web Comics Are Taking Over the Entertainment Industry & WEBTOON Proves It
Ever since webcomics began receiving mainstream attention, it was clear that they would have a huge impact on the publishing industry. Not only do webcomics, particularly Webtoon series, allow newer audiences to reach more audiences than print comics can, plus the episodic release style that Webtoon offers its creators gives them a decent amount of flexibility to produce their work – which can be a grueling process, given that most manhwa and other webcomics are fully rendered and colored when new chapters release. That said, the medium has absolutely exploded and has begun branching into other facets of popular media.
Other Webtoon series have reached enough notoriety to get adapted into live-action series, including the horror series Sweet Home, which received a three-season adaptation released on Netflix in 2020. True Beauty received not only a live-action drama but also an animated adaptation that streamed on Crunchyroll earlier in 2024 and was produced by Studio N and Cocktail Media. Other series that aren’t hosted on Webtoon have also become mainstream hits, with Solo Leveling becoming a breakout hit following the release of the anime adaptation’s first season. While there’s nothing wrong with traditional comics and manga, it’s clear that the manhwa boom is here to stay – and that’s a good thing.
H/T Love Revolution Official Site
