Back in July 2016 during my summer vaca, I remember discovering this hidden gem amidst a monotonous and seemingly endless pool of lackluster, repetitive shoujo manga. Really, I don't know why I bother with the shoujo genre as I have unrealistically high standards (a fault of mine that makes it too hard to find something I enjoy :/), but my efforts always dig up gold in the end. Of course, when I found CITT, it just happened to be midnight but I really needed to end the day with something good so I delved into it, having long since stopped caring. Long story short: it was awesome, blew my expectations out of the water, and I ended up falling asleep at 6 am, satisfaction satisfied and sleep schedule ruined.

-STORY- Cheese in the Trap is actually a Korean manhwa and it's set accordingly in a Korean university. Unlike a traditional manga, Hong Seol is a college student, not a high school student, although the plot of the manhwa is still pretty much slice-of-life, revolving around her life in school and work, as well as her relationship with her family and friends. The manhwa focuses especially on her relationship with Yoo Jung, the mysteriously pretty and perfect resident Definition-of-Success who just has to complicate Seol’s life with those darn befuddling emotions. Argh, emotions, always ruining everything! However, I don’t think the plot of CITT is especially special; what is, is the way it’s played out. Instead of high school drama (which let’s face it, is frequently too annoying and shallow), we have something even better: college drama, the more sophisticated and interesting version of high school drama. Characters that are more independent and mature, I find, are more engaging. CITT is also more realistic which I find to be a fresh breath of air from mangakas that are writing out the wet dreams of their ideal high school experience. (That was a low blow, sorry). The events and actions in the story are not completely unbelievable and there are no (not many) weird coincidences. One thing that soonkki, the author, does in the manhwa is switch back and forth from the past and the present multiple times, something that I’ve grown to like. It might throw some readers off but it adds insight to character development, gives background, and also is a method that makes it easier for the author to integrate new information, particularly in an on-going series.

-ART- From the first page, the art in CITT is noticeably different. Its darker hues and bold, sharp lines diverge from the traditional soft colors and watercolor-esque style of shoujo manga. It may take a little getting used to, but it matches the more mature tone of the manhwa. In fact, even though the art is relatively simple, the emotions of the characters are conveyed very well. (There’s some scenes where one of the characters does a scary-face and it’s really quite intense). Once you get into the story, the art grows on you and even though it’s nothing exceptional, it becomes weird to imagine Cheese in the Trap with a different style.

-CHARACTER- Hong Seol is the protagonist and the story is largely told from her perspective. An ambitious and savvy young woman living the broke college student life, I found Seol to be extremely relatable and likable. Her no-nonsense attitude and ability to actually get shit done really warmed my heart. Like all good heroes, she has her flaws but instead of asking her “why, why??” and staring numbly at my computer screen because of yet another incomprehensibly dumb protagonist (something that I find myself doing disturbingly often), I found myself rooting for her. Her reactions to the ups and downs of the plot are again, realistically portrayed, andI gotta say one of my favorite things about her is her common sense. The other characters of CITT, namely the two male leads, are well-developed in their own right as well. Jung may seem to conform to the handsome-rich-boy stereotype initially, but let me tell you, our hombre here has some problemas. The other lead who shall not be named brings a solid different third personality to balance out the trio. Without going into more details, the two leads as well as the rest of the characters are all distinctive and have their own strengths and flaws; you can even sympathize with the dislikable characters (though I find it takes great effort).

In Conclusion: I'm honestly surprised at how the most recent review for CITT was written two years ago. Two years ago? People are missing out. The realistic approach to a slice-of-life plot, engaging and (mostly) likable cast of characters, as well as the story’s humor and drama makes Cheese in the Trap one of my favorite mangas of all time. Highly recommended! Go read it! (Disclaimer: rating does not apply to the K-drama of the same name... you have been warned.)

EDIT: I found CITT under the shoujo tag on the site I was using so I referred to it as such even though it's actually josei.