The Strongest Florist: Spoiler-Free Manhwa/Webtoon Review

 

Welcome to The Booklore Fairy's second Webtoon Wednesday! If you haven't seen last week's post then check it out here for top ten webtoon you should be reading. This Wednesday I'll be reviewing a webtoon I've recently been reading: The Strongest Florist by Hyun Hoo Joo (webtoon) and Kumtata (original web novel).

So, before we begin, I would have loved to have added a picture of the webtoon cover, but I'm not sure about how the copyright would work for that. So, instead, I asked a talented artist I know if she could draw something that captures the vibe of this tale, and she has done so, wonderfully. This gorgeous artwork was made by maha_rts on Instagram. So, go follow her.

Art by maha_rts on Instagram

So, now that we've looked at some amazing artwork, let's get down to business (to defeat the...).

Genre: Action                                              Status: Ongoing, 197 chapters

Short Description

Jaeho wants nothing more than to be a florist and run his store surrounded by vibrantly colored petals and soothing scents. However, his appearance isn't what someone looking to buy flowers would expect, he can look a little intimidating, especially, to those who meet him for the first time. If that wasn't enough, his father is stubbornly against him following his dreams and instead has been training him for years to become an MMA fighter. When a new virtual reality game begins taking the world by storm and Jaeho hears that players can do whatever they want in its artificial world he finds his interest piqued. Rather than play the game for riches or adventure like other players, he's going to enter and finally build his flower shop, but with strange magical creatures and epic quests will he be able to do what he's always dreamed of?

(Read the official synopsis on Webtoon)

Review

So, I know you're probably thinking what in the world is a webtoon review? And I guess you'd be right. I was honestly surprised to find that not many people write reviews about Manhwa/webtoons. But, why not? I agree they are different from books, but, to me, reading a webtoon is similar to reading a book and just as gratifying (and I have read some truly heartbreaking webtoon too). So every Wednesday expect to see a webtoon review. If you've never read a webtoon before, my goal is to sway you into checking them out.

The Strongest Florist is perfect for those who love playing cozy games, where you harvest food and build your own city. It's also perfect for people who love gardening or, like the main character in this tale, who are obsessed with flowers. We follow Jaeho, a sweet albeit slightly intimidating-looking and passionate college student whose childhood dream was to open his own flower shop. Unable to follow his dream in real life he decides to do so in the virtual world. 

This is a sweet webtoon about a student who goes around forests, deserts, and cities looking at all the flowers he can find and records his findings in his plant journal leveling up strange stats like 'flower observation' on the way. Or, well, it should be, unbeknownst to Jaeho (Or Althea, as he calls himself in the game) his love for flowers leads him to begin an epic quest that even the developers of the game have little knowledge about as no one has ever triggered it before. I loved Jaeho so much, especially the fact that he had no idea that he gave off an intimidating aura, and although I don't have much of a green thumb even I was interested in every flower he dissected. 

Although Jaeho is the main focus of this tale, the other characters are also very entertaining, whether it be the elegant yet frightening human-hating elves or the other players who are playing the game with their own agendas, some not very pleasant. The way their plans are thwarted by Jaeho's flowery creations is truly a sight to behold.

Filled with elves, mages, demons, dwarfs, spirits, giants, and kingdoms this webtoon is perfect for any fantasy lover or, more specifically, cozy fantasy lover. Now, I need to emphasize, that if you want fast-paced action and dark plots this isn't it. Also, if you want something to skim through, well maybe this wouldn't be a good fit, the in-game story is significant, and so a lot of information does need to be read. 

However, if you feel stressed, anxious, or just a little sad at times, try this webtoon out, it made me feel calm and happy when I was stressed out! But make no mistake there is a lot of action, Jaeho himself has the build and skills of an MMA fighter, but the elves are no joke either. Join Jaeho as he overcomes ridiculous circumstances and tries to run a successful flower shop and I'm sure you'll laugh along the way, the webtoon is hilarious!

Rating: 4.5/5 🌟

Emoji Depiction: 💮👿🌱

Click here to read The Strongest Florist on Webtoon

Thank you for reading! Once again, if you'd like to follow my blog, the follow button is in the sidebar.

See you on Saturday for my second book review for Eva Evergreen Semi-Magical Witch by Julie Abe.