Fluidum

by GirlsOnFilm, Valeria M (Illustrator), Nicole Castro (Editor)

Jesse was born like every citizen in the Fluidum universe, spending their first 20 years shifting seamlessly between a male and female body. Now with only one year left until they must choose one body for the rest of their life, Jesse is questioning the unquestionable... why decide at all?

Genres: Comics, Webcomic

Unknown Binding

Published October 20, 2020

Reviews

[Lenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fluidium has a really interesting premise that allows the creators to play a whole lot with the concept of gender. Basically, folks are born with two separate male and a female bodies, and until they are 21 are free to "switch" back and forth between them. (It's unclear to the point I read exactly how this happens.) At 21 they must make "the choice," and stay in one of those bodies forever; the other disintegrates into nothing. The protagonist, who just had their 20th birthday, feels at home in both bodies and dreads making the choice.

The creators slowly build out the world answering interesting questions like pronouns, family dynamics, the societal construction of "a choice," and the process of finding out what body one is most comfortable in. I found the world fascinating, but it was difficult for me to stay engaged with the drama of the teenage characters. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just think this webcomic is made for a younger audience in mind.

That being said, I am so glad this webcomic exists, and I can imagine so many people both feel seen and represented by its message, and it's also an important message for those of us who are cisgender; we never have to think about making a choice, and it begs the question what our relationship to gender would look like if we did.

[Eilidh Sturrock · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this comic since I love the idea it's based around. However it's just very poorly written with flimsy plot points and no likeable character! There's countless grammatical and spelling errors in the text which are so shoddy they really take you out of it. The art can also sometimes do this. Some characters are hard to recognise as they are drawn so off model, paired with changing bodies and wildly changing outfits! Some minor plot points and character interaction are so unnatural and seemingly pointless it's hard to stay interested or sometimes even understand what's going on or why. There's also a plot point with one of the characters that has a LOT of triggering aspects for me with no specific warning of it appearing, or when it will appear throughout. Honestly, the general plot had me reading it as far as I did but at this point I'm cutting my loses.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find the initial idea and the different characters’ perspectives super interesting! The art styles were a bit confusing at first, but I’m intrigued how this continues. Hope they find Alders.

[Lev · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so ready to love it but it all felt really flat and shallow. I know a lot of things are not the authors fault but the series was rushed and left many unanswered question. I really did love some things and some characters but idk it was like the whole story was stuttering and I feel really disappointed.

[Zayn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED the premise, how cool would it be to able to choose your gender??
I loved the representation, as someone not cisgender.

[Lily B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great start but middle and ending.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a very interesting concept of being able to change between a male and female body while maintaining one personality that may identify as one or the other sex/gender... I am curious why it is mandatory in the first place to decide on one or the other once reaching a certain age; but intrigued to see where the storyline goes.

[Taylor Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Actual rating of 3.5/5)
The whole story is an amazing concept but the execution could use some work. The worldbuilding is mostly consistent but still leaves you with several questions. You will despise some characters, love others, and become ambivalent with certain ones as their flaws become more apparent, especially since the motives of the controversial ones are not always made explicitly clear.

[Zian B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really love how diverse this series is. I also really enjoyed seeing the different perspectives from the different characters, and how some issues brought up weren’t told a single way. Something I wasn’t too big of a fan were how during intense moments of the story there managed to be small moments of romance, that rubbed me the wrong way a bit. With the way that this season ended and how big of a cliffhanger it was, the only character I really put my trust in is: Jesse.

[nico · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.6 out of 5 stars

[Laila Tarek · Rating 3 out of 5]

new on Webtoon.
Interested to see where it's going, the concept will shed light on a lot of LGBTQ issues. Hopefully, I will come out of this story a more compassionate human being!

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing concepts and ideas, but less amazing execution of said ideas.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

BOOK 1 CHAPTERS: 1-52

BOOK 2 CHAPTERS: 53-101

[Saralynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5