By: Krow Smith | @coffeewithkrow

I always love a story with character growth. Whether that means the main character goes from being a petulant brat to a more mature person taking on responsibility, or having them grow into their own in the face of strife and hardship. When it comes to the latter, I recommend reading the webtoon Jumping Over by Jonijo and Suh Saya.

Jumping Over is about a girl named Yeonhui, who has been socially outcasted and is the target of extreme bullying. One day, an alien boy falls from the sky, named I-an. He is after a stone that Yeonhui’s late mother gave to her when she was little. Though he is unable to touch the stone because spoilers! (read to find out), he decides to stay on Earth for a while to figure things out and to keep an eye on Yeonhui.

It’s a comic with some romance, a love triangle, and slow but noticeable character growth. Moreover, the supernatural, sci-fi elements don’t overpower the story. In fact, it’s more of an accent rather than an instant cure or the source of a long-winded exposition. It’s simple and to the point!

If you are like me and you were never bullied, you might look upon this comic and think that it is exaggerated. You may ask, “How could it be this bad without anything being done about it?” However, I have heard worse stories from my friends over the years and how the teachers simply did not care or worse, punished the victim and rewarded the bully because the bully had more friends on their side to create a different story of the events. This aspect of the story may be triggering for those who have experienced bullying before, as it is a major and ongoing plot point for the narrative.

The series is available on Webtoons. I will mention here, however, that most of the chapters need to be unlocked. This can be done once a day for free, or you can unlock them with coins that have been earned or purchased. Waiting every day to read one chapter made the story that much more vexing, as I couldn’t simply binge my way through the bad stuff and I was stuck stewing in the stressful story beats for days at a time. However, it also made the character growth and the good moments that much more cherished and relieving.

–

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying us a coffee, leaving a comment, and/or subscribing to us below!