University students Jaeyoung and Sangwoo have kissed and now Sangwoo can’t think of anything else but his ‘semantic error’. Even when Jaeyoung advises Sangwoo that he should just regard this as a purely physical relationship, Sangwoo is confused. They’re still supposed to be working on creating a game together but Sangwoo has exams and, being the neurodivergent he is, tells Jaeyoung that they can’t go further than kissing because he has to take a fortnight off to sit the exams. And then proceeds to hang out with Jihye, the kind-natured young woman he’s got to know, to Jaeyoung’s utter confusion and frustration. It’s a mystery, Jaeyoung thinks. Sangwoo has nothing in common with the people I’ve been attracted to so far. So many fish in the sea, yet here I am chasing the one who’s been constantly rejecting me. 

Sangwoo is also trying to understand what it means to enter into a physical relationship with Jaeyoung and at first, he’s horrified by what he finds on the internet about sexual relations between men, refusing point blank to proceed any further. But then deadlines for the game that they’re developing (Veggie Venturer) mean that they have to cooperate, even if the third member of the team, Yuna, is tearing her hair out at the studio over their capricious behaviour. And Sangwoo somehow can’t stop thinking of Jaeyoung even though he wants to…

Well, here it is: the uncensored (as promised) third volume of Semantic Error from Ize Press which means a Mature rating. The whole contentious censored vs. uncensored issue is one I won’t venture into here except to say that as a manga/manhwa reader, I’m much more interested in how convincingly the character interactions are portrayed rather than being annoyed by the occasional light sabre or other censored genitalia. Semantic Error still stands out from many other Korean BL for the way it depicts the relationship at the heart of the story. This is of course thanks to the original creator J. Soori but especially manhwaga Angy who has adapted and illustrated it so sympathetically yet without losing that mischievous touch of comedy that makes this story stand out. Angy uses many different graphic techniques to bring the characters to life: there are telling nuances of facial expression from panel to panel, enhanced by differing intensities of purples, reds and orange to convey feelings intensifying. And Sangwoo’s fevered imaginings of Jaeyoung as a swashbuckling pirate (complete with parrot!) are both apt and touchingly funny.

It’s fascinating to watch the development of this unlikely relationship between outgoing, goodlooking Jaeyoung and Sangwoo who is almost certainly on the autistic spectrum and approaches interactions with other humans much in the way he’d deal with solving a programming issue. This volume delves much more deeply into their feelings – and why they’re attracted to each other. It’s not as simple as ‘enemies to lovers’; both young men seem equally confounded by the fact that they want to be together – yet when they’re together, they still clash. Little by little, Jaeyoung is wearing down Sangwoo’s resistance.

And what of Jihye? She still thinks of Sangwoo as a potential boyfriend, even if he is sometimes a little strange. But they are still friends and maybe more, or so she hopes. However, Jaeyoung decides to intervene and arranges to meet her. This meeting shows us a completely different side to Jaeyoung’s character. It’s probably a good thing, in the long run, to make things clear and for him to tell Jihye to back down because Sangwoo is his boyfriend – but it seems harsh. Nevertheless, it demonstrates that he can be utterly ruthless when there’s something he wants. But will Jihye agree to go along with his wishes?

Am I convinced by Jaeyoung’s feelings for Sangwoo? Well, not entirely; even he’s not sure why he feels so attracted to Sangwoo. If it’s just the thrill of the chase and he’s the kind of man to lose interest once he’s achieved everything he wanted, then Sangwoo is quite possibly going to be devastated. After all, when Sangwoo tells him not to look at the files on his PC, the first thing he does is to go searching, telling himself, It’s human nature to want to do things we’re told not to.

Volume 3 of Semantic Error is again translated by Manta for Ize Press with lettering by Chiho Christie. These are really attractive editions with good quality paper for the full-colour illustrations. Extras include an illustrated greeting from Angy, a two-page guide to the bags used by the characters, three translation notes, the original webcomic Season 2 cover and a two-page preview of Volume 4 (due out in December). It’s worth noting that Ize Press will also be bringing us the original novel in February 2026.

Consistently engaging, Semantic Error continues to develop its unlikely romance between the charismatic Jaeyoung and uptight IT genius Sangwoo, and stands out in a somewhat overcrowded BL field.

Our review copy was supplied by Ize Press.