Now that I’ve read through the entire webcomic up until the latest one, I can finally give my full opinions about it. Yep, this is merely a follow-up to my first post, so welcome back Bittersweet Candy Bowl! Please note once again that there WILL be spoilers. If you don’t want to be spoiled, leave immediately!

Link to the webcomic: http://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/

The gang’s!… not complete here…

From where I stopped (which I have sadly forgotten, but I think it was Chapter 28 or even earlier), the drama was kicking in. The direction of the comic was taking a turn from a very light-hearted and quite plotless comedy to an often thought-provoking and heart-tugging drama (I should stop with the hyphenated words). Happily though, the comedy was still intact when the drama rolled in and at often times balanced the theme,  which in turn didn’t evolve into a whole bawling-your-eyes-out webcomic wherein it’s just asking you to take it really seriously. This is what’s so great about Bittersweet Candy Bowl, it doesn’t go all out with the drama, it just kinda knows when to stop and give you a breather or something.

Smooth move Paulo.

New characters have joined the fray, both main and sub characters. One main character introduced to us is Abbey, a gentle and loving bunny (who is weirdly considered a cat). However, this “pansy” (as Paulo would put it) of a character can become very cross and help out those who are in need whatever means necessary. He has a troubled past which makes him quite an unstable character. Another character is Tess, a senior (was a junior when the gang met her) who acts as the gang’s “school guide” for their freshman year. She is a protective and encouraging (albeit persuasive) female. She too has a dark and rather troubled past regarding her past years in the school and in the long run haunts her present. Despite this, the gang still accepts her as a friend and is often protected when unsolicited violence comes knocking up her door.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that the chapters are divided up into several arcs in the archive section. These chapters focus on a specific event in their lives. For example, the Old Flame Arc heavily focuses on Mike’s infatuation with Sandy.

As said earlier, the plot has thickened a lot. Character development is now one of the main focuses of the webcomic and a common method of developing a character in this webcomic is through flashbacks. I can’t count how many flashbacks have happened. It’s not one of those quick flashbacks either where only one scene is shown. Sometimes, a whole chapter is dedicated to one’s flashback. It works really well in narrating the past of the characters.

A scene from a memory…

The story has increasingly become deeper, focusing on Lucy’s troubled state with Mike. The following chapters have focused on developing both characters very intricately in a way that you somehow get attached to them (mostly with Lucy). These string of events don’t leave the other characters ignored and at bay though as they too have their time of shining with their own development.

The art has improved by a mile, even the text is now readable most of the time. Chapter 47 is where the style truly changes from traditional black and white media inking to fully digital with color and shading, even. The result is amazing and makes the comic much more attractive. The characters look much more refined and it even mimics the style of the old comics with a pop-art theme. Despite these major changes, the cutesy is still there front and center.

New art style, still immensely adorable.

Overall, I still think it’s a well-written and amusing webcomic. By reading through the whole thing however, it isn’t just well-written and amusing, but a very thorough and incredibly enjoyable webcomic. A deep and compelling storyline coupled up with interesting and captivating characters make this webcomic an absolute gem among others. Only a few from my list of recommended webcomics have captured my emotions (Better Days and a little bit of Jack if you’re wondering) and this is one of them. Undeniably, this is one of the best I’ve ever read.

Thanks for reading and good day!