I was simply going through the reincarnation tag looking for a decent read, when I stumbled upon this masterpiece....but why are the ratings so low!? All the other recs had 9.5+ ratings, despite not coming anywhere near the suspense, drama and court fantasy of this manga..
Ikr !!! That was my reaction too when i first read this
Honestly, Karma's a bitch. I do sympathize with lili for having to resort to hidden rules, but just cuz she suffered it doesn't mean she has a free pass to cause another to suffer. One doesn't cancel the other, not how it works hun.
I'll admit, this manga captures self-loathing and shame to a T. Niimi being so over critical of himself and constantly feeling less worthy........but putting on such a bold/ not affected/ doesn't matter front.....this author's probably writing from experience. I go through this phase on and off, and it aint fun.
I used to hate myself, like a lot lot. Now just a lot. HAHAHA. I love and hate myself at the same time so yes the doesn't matter front is indeed from experience. I know i'm super critical about myself hence i hate me. But yeah sometimes i just don't care, maybe a form of defense mechanism to cope up with the stress or i wanna change and like myself even just a bit, maybe Niimi is trying to project this too.
And him not being able to accept sawamura's feelings (when he ask him to date him) at first is also a sign of him not liking himself. But Niimi our brave lil chick.
-Danzo liked Fumi.
-Since Fumi was frail, he eased his lust with his identical twin.
-Fumi did sleep with Danzo once. Immediately after, he fell ill and died.
-When his twin wasn't with Fumi, Danzo oversaw Fumi's last moments and funeral.
-However, did Fumi love Danzo? Idk....Even the twin questions it. Since he didn't notice Danzo's feelings for Fumi, he may've never noticed Fumi's true feelings either.
Final Verdit: Danzo still a scum though. He loved another and chose to make life a living hell for the identical replacement. Perhaps his karma is that he indirectly caused Fumi to become weak and eventually die - he'll have to live with that knowledge.
Augh, thank you so much for the explanation! I was so confused
This is GOLD! In 7 chapters (which includes the prologue) we covered: The continuous cycle of pain, anguish and hatred. The uncertainty of one's future + it's consequences on our dearest ones. The subtle politics and the true nature of war (sans honor, victory and glory). The conflict between the perceived good and evil, where both races are shown to be capable of compassion and torture, capable of love, and capable of being hurt.The journey to redemption...bravo! I legit have tears..
this is such a good review!! omo
Unpopular opinion: I really want it to follow the novel, if I read the spoilers right. The novel is realistic in its approach and this manga follows that. One of the biggest charms of this manga is the realistic portrayal and court politics. So far, neither has been compromised to ensure a HE for our characters and I want that to continue. I like the approach where despite the hardships a HE can occur. It'll be a rollercoaster ride, but I love a series where the ML is vulnerable to his country and court and Miss Paul will have to make a name for herself on her own terms.
where to read the novel?
You can read it at wuxiaworld and the title is: The emperor and the knightness
I don't know if the novel is completely translated in english, but i've read the spoiler threads on here. I feel like the novel had darker content (I only read the 1st couple chapters) than the manga, but the core politics and sexism of that time period was maintained.
They haven't finished translating the novel. But yeah, the tone is quite heavy and shook me a lot, still reading and at least Poli situation improved when compared with how she started.
I recommend reading the novel instead of just staying with the spoilers people are throwing for shock value. You understand better and get frustrated with the things she experiences.
That's what I'm saying. I love that this story attempts stay as grounded in realism as it can. the problem of pauliana's gender is recurrently brought up again and again because of the type of world setting the story takes place in, the political and social pressures about it dont just go away after she finds someone who understands her. the emperor has to do things even engage in political marriages for his countries sake even if he may not want to, he cant just do whatever he wants. and most often times the person you marry is NOT going to be the first person you fell in love with. people expect paualina and the emperor to just get together and ignore everything else because of love, but thats not how things work in real life.
Thank you for your translations!! I bookmarked your work so I could come back once its all been translated (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
Compared to the manga, Paulina's perspective in the novel is very raw and humbling. I think I stopped around the chapter where Paulina remarked her sister was really pretty w/o feeling sorry for herself/ any jealousy. It was said as merely a fact and it was simply refreshing to read it. + our ML!!! He is so very respective of miss Paul and never domineering. He could very easily marry her or force her to be his partner, but doesnt. He's really s/o who treasures and loves her.
Seeing older and younger melissa supporting each other w/o tearing eachother down for their differences, I teared up! Bravo author!!
Hwa and Seolhyun were what attracted me to give this manhwa a shot. Seolhyun was just too handsome and his physique was top-tier. I was salivating at the prospects of seeing such a coupling where both partners looked so sharp and built. However, when it actually got to their love-making, I couldn't get used to Seolhyun's physique. I know I was being narrow-minded though giving this manga a shot due to Seolhyun's unique physique, but i was hoping for the author to soften seolhyun for hwa. While there are mangas out there with manly/taller ukes, over time, authors tend to make them lose some of their sharpness, making them appear more seductive, more 'feminine'. However, this author persisted and now, I am just in LOVE! I am glad the author never toned down his muscle tone or definition, or make him smaller to Hwa. And now, he's my adorable smexy baby, who people would be afraid of picking a fight with or jumping him.
The emperor is a fucking scum, but what did the slave do? Why hasn't his karma been washed off? (づ￣ ³￣)づ
From the flashbacks, Fumi's only wish is to be together with Ichi, this doesn't change even in adulthood. So long as they're together, he's happy. In chapter 1, despite the negative stigma around being identical twins, Fumi says that he loves his face because it reminds him of Ichi.
So for Fumi who loved his brother so much, could he also love their rapist?
The day Ichi doesn't go to Danzo, we are told that since his abuse started he'd never slept on his own. Ichi was a kid when the abuse started and Fumi was there the 1st time it happened. He waited for Ichi to come back and held him close as Ichi stifled his cries and shaking body. Since then, Fumi has noticed the various bruises on Ichi and how he visits danzo every night. He sees Ichi constantly in pain and working twice as hard for Fumi. When Fumi finally visits Danzo, I got the sense that the two werent really close. He bows in apology/ respect before entering the tent with Danzo.
On the other hand, Danzo's doesn't miss an opportunity to constantly hurt/ harass Ichi. He gets off of hurting him. He pokes at Ichi's kindness, both after Fumi's death and when beating up Bena. He continues to paint Ichi as anything but conceited and arrogant, turning quite cynical with anything in regards to Ichi. He also speaks of being jealous of Ichi, the night Fumi visits him. That Fumi would go so far for Ichi....that leads me to believe Danzo's love for Fumi was unrequited. His anger at Ichi stems from Fumi's open affection for Ichi. There is the possibility that Fumi, in the moments Ichi was being beaten up or working, came in contact with Danzo. Perhaps, Fumi felt touched by Danzo's care and concern. He might've loved him as well, but never confessed. Danzo probably thought Fumi only had eyes for Ichi and Fumi might've either thought Danzo proably loved Ichi or he shouldn't pursue his love out of guilt for loving Ichi's rapist.
....Sigh, watever, it's still fucked up that Ichi suffered through all that for their lack of a love affair.
Better yet, Fumi could've been in love with Ichi. I mean, if we're logically comparing Ichi's sacrifice with Danzo's care/ concern, Ichi would surely come on top.
Tbh I felt twincest vibes at that flashback when Fumi came home after visiting Danzo. When Fumi embraced Ichii and Ichii blushed because he realized Fumi was disheveled + sweating and then he smelled Danzo’s scent, I thought he was feeling something for Fumi. But I was wrong of course. But that scene really screamed twincest to me.
and it didn’t help when there is a parallel between Bena and Fumi. Ichii even said Bena reminded him of Fumi because they had similarities.
“ He also speaks of being jealous of Ichi, the night Fumi visits him. That Fumi would go so far for Ichi....that leads me to believe Danzo's love for Fumi was unrequited. His anger at Ichi stems from Fumi's open affection for Ichi.“
That also explains why he told Ichii that the mark means that he’s above Ichii. He’s just really an insecure ahole who’s pissed off at Ichi because Ichii protects Fumi to the best of his abilities even tho he is powerless while he can’t even do anything to protect the one he loves from people who tries to bully him. Or he might also be angry because Ichi’s behavior didn’t allow him to be the one to protect Fumi and he’s bitter about that. Added to that, Fumi only had eyes for Ichii and the way Danzo ranted abt this makes me believe that he really was pissed off about this. I agree with you abt the cause of his anger. And I would even go as far as saying that everything that he’s done to Ichi stemmed from the fact that he knows deep inside that Fumi will never care for him as much as he cares for Ichi. Because he is a coward that couldn’t accept this, rather than do something that will make Fumi like him even a little bit, he torments the twin brother instead. What else could a loser do to feel good abt himself, or to convince himself that he’s better than someone he is jealous of? Harass that person. Even then Ichii only proved that he’s in every way better than Danzo as a brother, as a companion and as a lover.
Danzo should just go insane because of Fumi’s ghost that’s really just a product of his imagination because the real Fumi doesn’t care abt him.
Ooooh, you really got to the core of Danzo's hate for Ichi. I simply thought it was due to his jealousy/ unrequited feelings....but, it's more than that. Danzo hates himself for not being able to hold a candle to Ichi. But rather than reflect and repent, he simply lashes out like a coward. It's why he could let go of Bena and Ichi later on.
"He’s just really an insecure ahole who’s pissed off at Ichi because Ichii protects Fumi to the best of his abilities even tho he is powerless while he can’t even do anything to protect the one he loves from people who tries to bully him." - chef's kiss.
The whole idea of twins being a reincarnation of a couple's double suicide does allude to twincest. But the author seems intent on turning it into a Danzo x Fumi. Their karma for watching as ichi suffers seems to be their eventual unfulfilled love.
I mean ik you say karma but it could've been easily avoided if piece of shit Danzo didn't rape Ichi and acted like a decent human being to the both of them
Ok so I tried painstakingly hard to read a certain portion of one of their interactions, this is from the last chapter, and found out that Fumi complained to Danzo abt teaching Ichii bad stuff. They were young then, prolly teens maybe a few years after (or less) Danzo started abusing Ichii. He was slamming his fists against Danzo’s chest and saying that everything was Danzou’s fault while crying.
There is also a scene where Fumi was with Danzo (looking scared/troubled). Danzo was teaching him to write. They had a civil relationship I think and there was no sign of Fumi having feelings for him based on those pics. But they sorta had a relationship that is not mere love/hate. This was Danzo’s time to reminisce stuff abt Fumi. It was really pathetic that he kept Fumi’s kimono with him and never threw it away. He was going to give it to Ichii when they met again (I think he quit bena) but Ichii told him to keep it instead... Ichii was entrusting it to him. Ok so I just wanted you to know this info hahhaha XD I bought the raws exp the last chap...
If anything, the unfulfilled love as well as Fumi’s death was really Danzou’s karma for being an ahole.
Thank you!! But, seriously fuck danzo! What was he thinking!? He is capable of being restrained around Fumi, so why not with ichi? That abusive manipulative a-hole has a special place in hell. Also, Ichi is way too kind, but I understand why he cuts off all ties to his past, forgives Danzo, and forgives himself.....you can see how much he wants things to work out between him and Bena. He wants to seek happiness and honestly, he truly deserves it.
That’s the problem. Danzou is extremely restrained around Fumi. He is still prolly a jerk to him as his personality dictates, but I have a feeling that his jerk behavior toward him is also restrained especially since Fumi’s condition worsened when he got older.
And in the first volume flashbacks, did you see that small panel with Danzou stealing a glance at Fumi? I was like, Danzou why? And we go back to his anger and jealousy towards Ichii because Fumi cares for his brother very much.
The whole conflict of volume one is built up on Danzou’s fixation on Fumi. Actually his feelings for him were healthy but the frustration that comes with it is too much for him that he ends up settling on abusing someone else to vent his frustration, anger, and lust.
At least truly Ichii found company that cares for him. And a place where he and Bena could belong to. He truly deserves happiness and not be burdened with the memory of a terrible past. The only thing that was trapping him in the an abusive and unhealthy cycle was his guilt over his brother’s death and his frustrated desire to protect and give his brother a better life. Danzou is an a-hole, he knows this too but because he is self-centered and too fixated on Fumi he further manipulates this thinking into Ichii. He says he feels disgusted when he sees Ichii because it feels like Fumi was still there. It’s not that he is disgusted with that thought, the truth is, he is disgusted with himself for feeling such a thing.
When the truth is finally revealed, Ichii is then freed from his manipulation. I really admire Ichii’s strength of mind. He may be insecure and thinks the only good part of him is his ahole, but he is strong in a way that he knows his worth. He knows that when an opportunity is given, he will cut all ties to Danzou because in the first place he was just forced to be in that hell with him.
This got long hahha. Thanks for hearing me out I’ve been so obsessed with this manga lately. XD
hahaha, I appreciate your insight :)
I'm quite invested in this as well, quite curious how vol.2 is gonna be like.
it’s going to have vol 2? i hope they could explain a little more about fumis relationship with danzo. i couldn’t understand what ichi meant in the last cp. when he said to danzo that he was sleeping with fumi, not him. the storyline is a little messed in the flashbacks. i thought that fumi just slept one time with danzo and after this ichi make him passed out. after this who passed out was fumi by danzo when he was telling ichi what fumi told him and when ichi woke up fumi was already gone? is this storyline that i’m thinking correct? so if this is correct, ichi was referring this time when he was unconscious? this was the moment that fumi and danzo was sleeping together?
and what was fumi trying to say in cp. 3 after showing the mark? ichi started freaking out and we couldn’t understand what fumi was saying and before ichi knocked fumi, fumi said: I...
what was that? he was trying to say I love danzo? i’m lost and i wold love if this vol.2 could take me out of this limbo
Danzo loves Fumi, he used ichi as fumi's replacement. Fumi only slept with Danzo once, after which he became weaker and passed on. When fumi shows his mark to ichi, I felt that he wanted to show that he could bear this mark (burden) as well. He wanted to show ichi that he also could help, even if a little. Whether or not fumi loves danzo, idk. But Fumi does love his brother as a family and wants to share the pain and hurt together. He only hopes to be with his brother.