Greetings everyone! The other day on Twitter, I asked for recommendations to read or watch in 2022. Some joked whether there was anything I haven’t read at that point but the titles they mentioned were all books or manga that I didn’t know! And Mr. Snail was one of those recommendations. Since it was available in English and free to read on Bilibili’s website, I started with that. I’m here to talk about it and maybe try to convince you to start reading with me.
Title: Mr. Snail (Tianluo Xiansheng)
Author & Artist: Ye You & Yi Gen Tui Mao
Status: Ongoing, 51 chapters.
Where to read: On Bilibili Comics!
If you haven’t received a rose carved out of a carrot by some newbie chef after an impromptu showdown on the campus, can you really say you’ve lived a good life? Song Yue can, because that’s exactly what happened to him. He’s the school doctor of a high school and lives in the dorms with his best friend Tang. That is, until this newbie chef appears, thanks Song Yue for saving his life that one time, and persuades Tang to switch rooms with him so Xu can live with Song Yue instead.
Although Tang is reluctant at first because he knows Song is tormented by nightmares from his past and has trouble sleeping, Xu convinces Tang he’ll take good care of Song. Creepily good. This almost-complete-stranger knows Song’s favorite dishes, his favorite songs, little mannerisms, habits, and even the person who’s causing Song to have nightmares and what happened to him.
I was kind of worried when I was reading the first couple of chapters. Xu’s behavior’s excessiveness considering they have just met aside, I’m particular when it comes to faking illness. So I trod carefully. While I’m still unsure how Xu’s fake condition will play out, thankfully it was just his “body being weak” and nothing terminal because boy, I’ve encountered this a couple of times and they are nowhere near fun to read.
While I was initially careful going into it, Mr. Snail has proved to be a totally binge-worthy and really sweet read. With its intricately drawn backgrounds, warm colors, and beautiful character designs it’s also very pleasing to the eyes! I’m 30 chapters in as of now, and Mr. Snail proves to be a casual title to read when you’re looking for something cute to warm you up with no over-the-top dramatic twists and turns or convoluted rivalry just to prolong the story. At least, up until now.
If the points I’ve highlighted above works for you, you’re interested in seeing characters more diverse in terms of their sexual identity (the nurse is an interesting character that I’d like to see being further explored), and you’re looking for a free-to-read BL title that won’t require you to commit to a platform, Mr. Snail sounds like it’s tailored for you. Even if I couldn’t do a good job of convincing you, I’m sure the screenshots will do that for me just fine.
One more point I have to mention before I wrap up my post is that, there are some extra chapters thrown into the main story and if you don’t pay attention to them being extra (like me) you’ll be confused as hell because most of the time these extras are from a further point in the timeline. It’s like one chapter, the main characters are shopping for plants as friends and in the next, they are having an intimate moment at the beach, and we’re back to plant shopping the next kind of thing. I think the only other manhua that had the same structure was Here U Are, where we’d get chapters where the main couple were living together even though they weren’t even dating in the main arc.
Let me know in the comments whether you’d be interested in committing to Mr.Snaill, or your thoughts about it if you’re already reading it! I know some people prefer manga format where a story starts and finishes in one volume (or several) instead of a webtoon where there’s no end in sight for a long time but I heartily recommend this title! Until next time, take care of yourself and stay healthy!
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