Major warning: this review contains spoilers and discusses NSFW themes.
Only You by de_unown is a hidden gem on both Webtoon Canvas and Tapas. I personally read it on Tapas, since it’s uncensored there due to more relaxed content rules compared to Webtoon. While there are no explicit sex scenes, there are definitely moments that strongly imply them.
At first glance, this comic falls under horror, thriller, and BL. But don’t be misled. This is not a romantic story. It’s disturbing, gruesome, and deeply tragic.
The story follows Silas, an 18 year old emo boy who appears to live alone. From the very beginning, it’s clear that something is wrong with him. He is obsessive and stalks Eli, someone who used to bully him in high school.
Eli, for reasons I won’t spoil, now regrets how he treated Silas and tries to be kind to him. But that shift doesn’t improve the situation. it makes things worse.
Silas is heavily implied to be masochistic and struggles with self-harm. Flashbacks reveal that he seemed to enjoy the bullying he received from Eli. His obsession runs deep, and he crosses serious boundaries in his attempts to get what he wants from Eli.
Meanwhile, Eli, despite willingly interacting with Silas, has no idea how dangerous Silas’s fixation really is.
So what makes this story stand out?
Silas.
I have never read a story where I hated the main character this much. He is abusive, manipulative, calculating, and outright sadistic. His behavior feels disturbingly like someone who is genuinely unwell and disconnected from normal human emotion. Solas 100% uses everyone around him, to their own detriment, to get what he wants.
This is where "Only You" differs from another popular comic with similar themes, "Ghost Eyes." While both are dark, tragic BL stories, Tobias from Ghost Eyes lacks the same volatile, vindictive nature that Silas has. Tobias is easy to sympathize with. Silas is not. He feels completely irredeemable.
The art style only reinforces this. It portrays Silas in a way that makes him feel even more unsettling and grotesque, perfectly matching his behavior.
Despite how vile, disturbing, and upsetting the story can be, I’m genuinely impressed by it. It’s rare to see a story with such a well written antagonist. Especially when that antagonist is also the main character.
The only other antagonist I’ve hated this much is Jeff from "Days of Hana." And later in the story, it is revealed that Jeff's father is the reason Jeff was like that. Silas has no excuse, except for the fact his dad is possibly involved with the cartel. However, silas's dad is very loving, supportive and affectionate to Silas.
If you’re looking for something cute or romantic, this is definitely not it. But if you want a story that’s actually disturbing and sticks with you, I’d really recommend checking it out. It’s one of those comics where you don’t even like it in a traditional way, but you can’t stop reading because of how messed up everything is.
Let me know what all of you think!