Post — Aaron Ngo

Major Spoilers are included in this Webtoon Review. Please read with caution.

Reading this on May 31, 2020, I thought this arc was pretty frustrating. John’s secret keeping will definitely blow up in his face at some point. However, Seraphina’s secret was exposed first. Since Arlo didn’t allow Cecile to publish the story about Seraphina being powerless, she leaked the story instead, spreading flyers of the story throughout the school. This caused students to attack Seraphina and John throughout the arc.

The arc also followed up—briefly—on Remi, Isen, and Blyke. They were getting ready to hit their next target as vigilantes. Also, Arlo figured out Remi was a vigilante when he and Elaine talked at Woaba Boba. Elaine healed Remi’s wounds from the “Vigilante Arc”, and Arlo put the clues together. Poor Elaine for always getting stuck in the middle, but I’m really into this sub-plot.

Arlo also dealt with Cecile for disobeying him, demoting her and putting Islen in charge of the school newspaper. The social hierarchy was slowly crumbling in this arc. It was interesting to hear Arlo’s inner thoughts about how the only three people who defeated him—Rei, Seraphina, and John—all turned out pathetic or dead. Rei died being a vigilante, Seraphina refused her title and lost her abilities, and John hid like a coward not wanting to accept his role in the hierarchy. In his own valid way, Arlo felt abandoned because he was the only one keeping the social hierarchy intact.

Seraphina also underwent misery adjusting to life as a cripple. Whenever John tried to cheer her up, I wanted to smack his face for lying to her. At least, John was training her in self-defense. This made John reflect during episodes 104 and 105—flashbacks to when he was suspended from New Bostin High School and given the book Unordinary by his father. The flashback was important in order to show the readers why he couldn’t tell Seraphina the truth about his powers. He didn’t want to lose Seraphina or for her to think he was a monster.

But thinking back on Arlo’s truthful words about protecting Seraphina on his own, John decided to retaliate vigilante-style—wearing a used paper bag over his head—as he brutalized two students who had hurt Seraphina during this arc. Zeke and Juni—the two students—didn’t stand a chance. So, there was definitely a lot of change in the “Change Arc”.

Overall, John decided to become a school vigilante—buying a mask at the Kovoro Mall—to protect Seraphina from the students who dared try to hurt her. I liked the creative direction—storytelling-wise—because John had dug a bigger hole for himself. The fallout will be massive once Seraphina eventually learns the truth. At the end of this arc though, Seraphina planned to talk with Remi further. Their character stories might be intersecting soon. Onward to the “Vigilante 2 Arc”!

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