Hand Jumper - Blog Posts

How Hand Jumper Treats Gender

Most of the manga/manhwa I read default to the male gaze. I don't even mean that the female characters are needlessly sexualized, which they often are, but that they're only allowed to fill certain roles. Holy figures and healers are (young, impossibly beautiful) women, the tragic, innocent character who gets assaulted is a woman, the skimpily dressed ninja is a woman, the pure, younger sibling that needs protection is a woman, the seductive villain is a woman, the extremely powerful fighter that will nonetheless always be second in strength to the male lead is a woman. Upskirt shots and carefully framed ass/boobs panels abound. Their characterization can be shallow: especially in action and thriller series, the motivations of female characters are rarely given the same consideration that male characters receive.

Hand Jumper is different. First, female characters are taken just as seriously as male ones, in every way possible. Second, a character's gender does not influence their power level. While it's true that cis men are physically stronger than cis women in the real world, "men are always stronger than women" does not make sense in fantasy action contexts. Why are all the most powerful heroes in My Hero Academia men? Why must all the notable healers in Naruto be female ninja? In worlds where people possess honest to God magical superpowers, power is totally divorced from the density of your muscles. This is true of Hand Jumper's world as well, so it treats its characters appropriately: Male and female Aberrants fight on equal ground. As a result, some of the most prestigious Aberrant positions are held by women: Samin is the leader of the Crimson Society, Cell 4's instructor and mentor are both women, and Sayeon's mother Sara is so mysterious and so powerful that she seems close to godly. Sara's treatment is especially interesting, given that she's filling a role usually reserved for men: the mysterious, legendary parent of the protagonist who left their life when they were still a child. Think Gon's father in HxH, Baki's father in Grappler Baki, Naruto's father, the Joestars in JoJo, or Luffy's father in One Piece. In Hj, it's not the mother, but the father who is drowned out in the shadow cast by his spouse.

Personalities, fantasy power levels, and interests are not inherently gendered! So Hand Jumper doesn't treat them as gendered either. The bubbly, cheerful member of the main group is usually a girl, but this time it's Iseul Kim. The pretty, androgynous Min is both a deadly weapon and a baker of cute pastries- he picks up Sayeon in a bridal carry after a fight, and incredibly, it's not framed as a romantic gesture. Lastly, the aggressive, jaded rival to the protagonist is usually male, but this time it's Ryujin Kang. This position being filled by a female character is so unusual that I remember the comments section being filled with people mistaking Ryujin for a boy, even though she was clearly presented as a woman from the start. Part of this confusion is probably fueled by how Ryujin has a lot of… tension with Sayeon, tension usually found in heterosexual enemy-to-lover relationships. And Sayeon herself? She's on a crusade to avenge her childhood friend, a damsel in distress who died in Episode 2. Somehow, in Hand Jumper, the tragic dead lover that needs avenging is a man.

im going to name a few examples of webtoons off the top of my head

im going to get flamed but its true

unordinary: Farrah

Divorcing my Tyrant Husband - the 'aggressive' tyrant king

king is on right, mc in middle, lov einterest on right

i mean COME ON

unfortunately, hand jumper by sleepacross, my favorite webtoon:

^ the only character i could find that was slightly darker skinned (all of hte main cast are east asian or white -- and even then theyre all pale)

this dudes name is literally "the butcher"

ok now this isnt off the top of my head now im actively looking through my webtoons list

this one is the Princess's Jewels by Hong-Cha -- basically the two characters with emalnin are either hyper aggressive and jealous or super stiff and basically has zero character except having basic human decency

also it uses the excuse of "the Black people that can turn into wolves/giant shadow wolves have dark palms because of the paw pads of days" and like okay why doesnt eh dude who can turn into an eagle have sharp nails or feather pattersn on his arms or a white outline on his mouth for a beak or SOMETHING like PLEASE be consistent or at least be committed to your POC characters

highly recommend to NOT read this webtoon if you are the type who likes plot mor ethan art because this was just I Don't Know How To Write A Female Character TM galore

and then last but not least, Muted by Miranda Mundt. im going to be honest i loved this webtoon, i just wish Nyra had develope[d her character faster because in the first few episodes she had like five stereotypes written into her but they slowly got developed out so honestly im not mad about it. i also wish her hair had texture :[

now for good webtoons to read

Daybreak - cute, feel-good, slice of life, wholesome friendship things and is very lgbtq+. main two characters are both Black, both trans, and are so freaking sweet. this comic updates twice a week too!

Suitor Armor - im sure most people have heard of this but if you havent you should read it beacuse oh my gosh what a story - fantasy drama with some comedy in it with dark themes, slightly mature content (gore, etc.), adorable and yummy art style, interesting characters that are POC and!!! they have character!!! not just empty shells of people!!! they also give all hair their textures!

Lovebot - now this oen is also by Miranda Mundt, and i gotta say, wow is the improvement TANGIBLE! poc main character, several poc supporting characters, hair with TEXTURE, with INTEREST, gender is a SOCIAL CONSTRUCT, imaginative and creative science-fiction futuristic setting where we solve climate change and now its the future. very dark, mature themes, not reccommended for younger audience. great read, just finished too so go read it while you still can for free with no daily pass shenanigans!

god i spent too long writing this

It's everywhere