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BABMAN MEOGGO LEVEL UP

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
Not Available
RELEASE
August 24, 2024
CHAPTERS
200

DESCRIPTION

Kang Min-Hyuk suffers from a rare disorder that makes it impossible for him to stop eating. Despite strict diet and exercise, Min-Hyuk's weight is now life-threatening. As a last resort, his doctor recommends a unique treatment—Athenae, a VR game where one can eat as much as they want without consequence. Crispy fried chicken! Scrumptious samgyetang! Inside Athenae, all food tastes real, but earning it is no cakewalk. In order to live, Min-Hyuk must go on the ultimate fantasy gourmet adventure!

(Source: Tapas, edited)

CAST

Min-Hyuk Kang
Min-Hu Kang
Chang-Wook Oh
Jin-Hwan Lee
Park

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

Oterino
70/100
An interesting take on binge eating deficiency.
I feel like writing this review after seeing some criticism about it and also how I ended up liking it quite a bit compared to other OP MCs stereotyped manwha out there thats obviously extremely prevalent in this industry. This work however is unique in the sense it tackles a somewhat "touchy" subject, which for some people can hit differently in either a positive or a negative way. Of course, do note that I'm very serious when it comes to these kind of sensitive topics and while I don't suffer from all those problems like some people do, I still did my own research to be as understanding as possible on the matter. If something is amiss in my review, please do tell me in private messages. That being said, if you are somewhat triggered in any way by eating disorders, I suggest that you don't read this.

By the way, this is a work of fiction. You're going to tell me "So? I already knew that." but I have to highlight this because people think this work is going to depict 1:1 its main subject and look somewhat realistic. No, this work isn't intended to be that realistic, its still a fantasy and they have tools and perceptions on things that are very different from the harsh reality that we know of (for example, a virtual game that allows you to taste food in it as if it was real doesn’t exist).

The MC started as a model student when he was still in school, he had a handsome figure and had many friends, he was loved by pretty much everyone that surrounded him. He is a dotted kid, coming from quite a rich family background with loving parents who care about him despite their busy schedule. Basically, the ideal life. And then, it has come to the realization that he was becoming obese and started having real issues with food, a binge eating deficiency, which is an uncontrollable compulsion to overeat. This however, did not turn out well as the more his disease pursues, the less chances of living he gets, then later to his surprise, he founds out that he doesn't have much to live. Despite trying to opt for a different diet (of mainly cherry tomatoes), doing liposuctions and exercising, this did not make the situation any better. As a last resort, the doctor tells our MC that he might know of something that he could use in perhaps saving his life, which is to keep on eating, but through an online game called "Athens" or "Athenae" (our MC is an ex-player of another online game called "Versailles" which his friends from school are familiar of as well) which allows the player to eat food and be able to even taste it, almost like real food. The MC, realizing that he has no choice since everything is already going downhill, decides to accept the offer even though he's not sure it will work out. Now some might say, "but he's gonna get addicted to the game, that's not a wise solution", but the problem is, its either getting addicted to the game or keep on being addicted to food IRL and die. There is really not much the MC can do in this type of situation.

Regarding the MC's social life, his parents are aware of his disease and support him in getting better despite the difficulties. They are willing to pay for anything that would help him (I mean, they are rich too) and he is surrounded by many doctors and nurses who monitor his condition, as it is very dangerous for him to be alone since he might have another shock at any moment. Not only that, but most of the people who support him, including his friend, all view him in a great light. He literally has the perfect surrounding of people to support him. This is way too idealistic of course, there are people out there who do not have this kind of chance and can't get such high quality treatments or even the money to afford it despite their disease or disability (and they also may not have people who support them or act nice towards them). This is one of the aspect that bothers me, but still, so beat it! We're in a work of fiction so let's go for the rich kid trope anyway. As for his friends that he had from school, he cut all contacts with them. Not because they were "mean", cuz they weren't, but because he didn't want them to see his current condition, perhaps out of shame but also because he doesn't want them to worry about him. As we observe this a bit more, our MC is pretty much stuck in his household, it doesn't seem like he's going outside, especially now that he's stuck playing this video game. He seemingly hasn't opened his Line for ages and he doesn't really include himself into society, which is something that many people who have similar issues go through as well.

Concerning this disease the MC is suffering from, I have to highlight the author didn't call it bulimia. He apparently calls it 폭식 결여증 (Binge eating deficiency disorder) instead of 과식증 (Bulimia). It signifies a disorder in which the patient binge eats without being satisfied, likely making then feel deficient, but in this case the MC doesn't have the well known symptoms that bulimia has (like vomiting) aside from maybe "over-exercising" which we are able to see in some panels (though I can't really tell if hes actually exercising too much, it was apparently a recent activity he started doing so its most likely not over-exercising). As such, I'm not sure that this is about bulimia, it looks like it's more about a binge eating deficiency that the MC has. Is the author making light/joke about this disease? No, I don't really think so because if it was the case, then the MC wouldn't even be depicted as obese in the first place. As far as I've seen in the 50 chapters I've read, the MC isn't happy about his disease, has difficulties living through it despite his efforts like with exercising and eating cherry tomatoes/salads even though he doesn't like it. He is also struck with insecurity and complex, not just because of his appearance but because he sees himself as a "failure", a son that his parents can't even be proud of. There are parts of his dialogue that do sound depressing when its tackling his "real life" problems, he is only truly happy when he is eating food he loves in the game.

Overall, the manhwa is pretty chill with the cooking, it’s comfy and comedic, the characters are all pretty likeable along with the MC and there’s clearly a well drawn storyline that leaves a lot of things we’re curious to know about. Not only that, but it also presents several Korean stylized dishes, traditional and modern, that gives us perhaps a bit more knowledge in Korean cuisine and culture. There are times in the story where the MC will meet other people in the game who suffer from health problems or who have something going on with eating. One woman is forcefully undergoing a diet for beauty purposes in order to please others and gain fame, the other is a little girl who lost interest in eating and was slowly destroying her health, which made her father worry so much that he was getting depressed. I think this manhwa has great moments and the way it tackles these health problems through gaming is, idk, kind of unique in some way? Some people might think it’s off putting but if we put aside the triggers, it’s pretty well done and there is a lot of potential in this. I didn’t read the novel it’s based on so perhaps it’s different from this work as well, but this is definitely worth the read if it doesn’t trigger you. It is quite similar to other works that focuses on cooking with monster ingredients etc like Dungeon Meshi or Henkyou no Roukishi: Bard Loen.
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