A review by nmcannon
Walk on Water by Jang Mokdan

emotional hopeful tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Walk on Water is a manhwa finished in 2018 and adapted to a visual novel for Maybe: Interactive Stories in 2021. I’ve read and played both. The narrative’s first half is an utter delight, and the second half trips on a banana peel and hits a wall.

After a horrible accident, Ed Talbot is buried in medical debt. His work as a bodyguard barely pays off the interest, so when a coworker mentions a sex cam side-gig, his ears perk up. Online research leads him to McQueen Entertainment, a producer of gay erotic films. Under the stage name “Tommy,” he quickly rises to prominence, going from solo films to bottoming on camera. Ed tells himself he’s heterosexual, that’s he’s only gay-for-pay, but is that true when the looks from Glenn McQueen, the company’s CEO, keep turning his legs to jelly?

The original manhwa had two seasons on TappyToon, and there’s a sharp divide between the halves. The first half is a very sex- and porn- positive coming of age in one’s 20s. I ate it up. As an erotica starring sex workers, there’s plenty of canoodling, but the pair don’t solely explore each other’s bodies. With all the tenderness they can muster, they explore each other’s nuances and pasts. Ed and Creed (Glenn’s irl name) are so sweet! I believe in their love. The manhwa has a fascinating use of negative space, using the blankness between panels to offer solace and space to contemplate. The visual novel amped up Creed’s angry Ice King possibilities and made Ed less mature and more bratty. I can guess why that was done–those are popular tropes–but it led me to not enjoy the adaptation as much as the original.

The second half walks back on many of the positive themes of the first. The porn industry is condemned as inherently flawed and that it will corrupt everyone, no matter how well-intentioned to start. It’s to the point that I wonder if there was editorial and/or TappyToon interference. Concurrent to this sudden shame is the revelation of Creed’s “sin”–the thing that twisted him up inside and is preventing a happily ever after.
The “sin” is that there was an under-negotiated scene. This lack of negotiation is framed as entirely Creed’s fault, while the other actor (who signed the paperwork saying that this script and scene was okay) is a pure angel whose whole life was ruined. Grow up. Much more interesting and compelling was Creed’s struggle with religious homophobia and coming to terms with faith, even if it means leaving institutional religion behind.


Though the second half lowered my star rating, I adore Creed and Ed’s romance. The line “Your love makes me feel I could walk on water” makes me swoon every time. If you’re looking for a gay sex worker romance, I recommend Walk on Water, but limit your expectations for the ending. 
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