Webtoon Spotlight

Spotlight#114: Bugtopia

Have you ever wanted to see through different eyes? If so, your vision is about to get binocular while reading Bugtopia by Idolomantises.

Summary

Whether you be the tallest of giants or the smallest of bugs, one thing is clear: everyone deserves love. Here Bugtopia, you'll find all different shapes, sizes, and species. Whether you have the legs of a spider or the wings of a butterfly, there are a million different stories. We're just so lucky to see them all, with a dash of sweetness to carry it through.

Characters

Unlike other webtoons, Bugtopia does have a consistent main cast. All of them have stories independent from one another, making this harder. So I'll pretty much go with the starting cast.

Dot: Our main mascot, Dot, is a Ladybug. After losing his birth mother, this little scamp eventually found a new family in Arachne. He's generally a happy, sweet, and innocent kid who means no harm to anyone.

Arachne: Dot's mother, Arachne, is the definition of how you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. She's immensely protective and motherly towards her family. However, she has a complex over showing her face directly. She's a spider.

Scarlet: Arachne's snarky but still sweet wife. Scarlet is a very flirtatious women, but she can get just as easily flustered if put on the receiving end. She's a Ladybird Spider.

Overview

Out of all the more recent webtoons I've read, I thought for sure, The Most Ordinary Girl (get covered later) would've taken all the cute points. Then Bugtopia decided to inject liquid cuteness into my arm while watching me convulsing on the floor in pure fangirl squealing. This series is fucking adorable.

Visually, Bugtopia has strong colors and outlines, making the often lush environments pop. However, I think the art best shines in the character design. Anthropomorphic creatures design-wise can range from super creative to bland. Luckily Bugtopia ranges in the former, creating many very striking designs that make them pop. The way the often multiple legs, eyes, and even abilities of the characters are incorporated is refreshing and fun to see every time. No two characters look alike (except one, but it's more intentional) even when they are the same species.

Most surprising, though, is Bugtopia's LGBT representation from me, at least. Won't say much on it since I'm not exactly the target demographic for it, but I do find any webcomics with it to be a little refreshing. It wasn't a joke when I said people from all different walks of life get love here.

Speaking of love, I think that's arguably the biggest theme here. Whether familial, romantic, fosterly, or friendly, love is a running theme. It's arguably what drives every character within the story in some way. The message is the same whether it's used to set a humorous or more serious tone. And in a time where in many ways, I have to find my friends and family, it hits hard.

Still, if the heartfelt messages aren't enough, bask in the fun characters with their interesting dynamics. All wrapped up in concise chapters. This series took me only an hour to catch up with. Considering all this, Idolomantises has other webcomics on their Instagram makes me want to check out more content from them.

Epilogue

Overall, Bugtopia is a solid slice-of-life webtoon that I like. Sometimes you need to have a story that feeds your soul, you know? But if you want to have a more complex spotlight, don't worry. This cluster still has some bangers left. Until then, I hope you wonder what the spotlight will take us next.