This week I’m stepping away from the world of cinema for a bit and diving into some webtoons!
Pyramid Game is a drama/thriller south korean manhwa available on Webtoon. It follows the main character Suji, as she moves to a new school and enters the “happy class”. Things seem fine on the surface, however, as the week progresses Suji learns the truth about the sinister underbelly of the schools most prized classroom.
I’d suggest going into it blind because it’s an incredible story, but keep in mind it does deal with sensitive topics like bullying, abuse, power, corruption, and the psychological aspect of it all.
I will try to be as spoiler free as possible, but consider this a warning to read at your own risk!
The main premise is that every month the girls in the class vote on who’s the most popular or who they like the most, and the person with the least votes is always treated as less than and bullied.
The build up of tension is so well done, every episode I read I could feel the dread of a scheme gone wrong or the anticipation of a breakthrough. It’s an absolute ride.
It had me hooked immediately and I’d often not read it for weeks, so I could save up chapters to binge.
What I love about Pyramid Game is the way the characters are written. No character is a background character, almost every single one (which is alot considering the main focus is a class of teenage girls) has a role or purpose that moves the story forward.
They have their own motives and depth that make their action’s reasonable, but still unpredictable enough to feel real. The effort the author put into fleshing out each character pays off and makes the story incredibly special.
Suji herself isn’t one of those morally righteous protagonists either. She’s flawed, she’s manipulative, distrustful, and sometimes a little cunning and cruel, but not all knowing.
This contrasts with our other protagonist (protagonist used loosely, because at some point everybody gets involved and you can’t really tell) Jaeun who is sweet, timid, and at times lets people walk over her.
The exact opposite of Suji. Jaeun is too trustful while Suji isn’t, making them a dynamic pair to see dismantle the games, because they each disagree with how the other approaches situations regarding others.
On the flipside, Haerin and her group are at the top almost every game. They have the most votes and Haerin is seen by the others as the game runner.
They’re all rich and partly famous, making them influential people in and out of the classroom.
I love Suji’s character, as well as her relationship with Jaeun. Suji is observant and socially intelligent, she knows who to be nice to and who to avoid in order to get by.
She always stands up for herself and thats part of the reason why shes the only person who can go toe to toe with the calculating Haerin.
Her distrustful nature makes it easy for her to see through false promises and come up with detailed plans to break the system from the inside.
Suji’s frustration at being the only person determined enough to bring down the game is also well portrayed. Many of the girls don’t want to participate, but their fear of what will happen to them if they reject it is a big component of the way the story plays out.
Suji, for most of the time, is the only one willing to suffer the consequences to dismantle the system in the class, and her desperation mixed with her distrustfulness leads to unwanted consequences that sometimes throw a wrench in her plans.
The game creates a hierarchy system within the class. One that most of the girls don’t pay attention to unless it stops serving them.
Which is what I think makes this story a page turner. Everybody is complicit.
You’re left wondering the whole time: Why was this set up? Who does it benefit? You would think nobody would willingly to agree to this, but as the story goes on you realize the hierarchy within the class extends outside as well.
Haerin and her group are rich and partly famous, the luxuries they can offer are endless in exchange for some silly game right? This makes almost every person in that class an accomplice and a victim at the same time.
The story covers all it’s basis to provide a fulfilling ending. It explores how the class came to be, why the teachers have turned a blind eye, and why the class continues despite many of the girls suffering because of it.
If I’m not mistaken, it also has a k-drama version airing as well! Although I haven’t seen it myself, so I can’t vouch for it’s similarity to the webtoon.
Please consider checking this amazing Webtoon out!