The art is superb but the story itself is wishy-washy. I came to read this solely because I admire the artist and of people’s comments, but there’s really nothing else.
What sets this story extremely back is the pacing, and the scenes that were supposed to be impactful should have been given more chapters. I see so much potential, given the overall power system and sort of cliche tropes—thing is, this can all be doable and impressive, if someone within the writing team took a step back and reaaaaally processed the plot points slowly.
Like there were so many interesting scenes to flesh out the characters’ motivations and their dynamics, but all we get is this “So anyways, fuck this and fuck that, here’s a new sudden plot-progression and let’s move on!”
Given Maru’s (supposed) ADHD and panic disorder, I had thought that maybe that’s why his personality feels so awkward, including the characters and storyline. This is probably a nit-pick, but I’d love it if the author would purposefully-or-not stop mentioning every time Maru’s having a panic attack. Yeah, I clearly see what’s happening in front of the screen. Not to mention the “Omg, MC is such a buffoon but he’s OP!” I can see what they’re trying to do here but it comes off as too overdone and bland. I love you Maru, but if more care and attention had been given into fleshing you out more with the rest of the characters, perhaps I’d forgive these awful cliches running around. :(
Anyway, the main team’s designs are awesome and while the story’s vision looks undoubtedly great, the execution is mediocre.
Also, Eden is hot. LOL
Cute and simple. I don’t have much to say because I didn’t enjoy it a lot judging by how I left this BL on the back burner for some time. Honestly, I consider this to be pretty boring—conflict and characters-wise it’s nothing new, but I can definitely see this story as one where you take a break to read something more laidback :)
A great read tied with nuance and an unexpected theme despite the genre. There's an unspoken vibe between Ed and Mcqueen and it's electrifying. I enjoyed every second of it but wish the effects of the porn industry had been dug deeper. Ryan was a symbol for this but he wasn't used much. The theme was only scratching the surface, and perhaps this is the reason why this makes the story a step away from what it could've been. I felt like during some scenes there was barely any time to let wounds fester after the characters hit rock bottom, which resulted in the resolution giving me an "eh" reaction, but I get the vision... just the execution was a little wonky. Also, the relationship between Ed and Chang was really interesting to me too, their conflict was angsty.
And I don't know if it's because of a few mistranslations, but I believe Ed's reason for falling for Mcqueen is up to interpretation. So to me, human warmth was missing from Ed's life after the granny's passing. After meeting Mcqueen where sex eventually became the bridge to that warmth, he was handled carefully and not treated like dirt.
Overall nice.
So yeah that's everything, my thoughts are a mess so sorry if what I said didn't make sense. :,)
Thought this had already ended but it's still has a few more chapters to go... so I won't be able to write a review, but so far here are my thoughts:
Myeong's inner monologues, character development and interactions with other characters are very interesting to read. While the narration is pretty tell-y instead of show-y, I still enjoy the story regardless. Although I believe right towards the end, it feels a bit rushed. I can't exactly say much since this hasn't ended yet but Yuhan's death and the epic reveal of the company's ultimate collapse didn't bring much impact. Either I had read way too fast to really process everything, there wasn't much reason to really care for some of the characters, or too much info-dumping to feel like a genuine reveal.
Anyway, looking forward to the ending :>
There is nuance behind the characters’ struggles.
I don’t even know where to begin with how much I loved the cinematic paneling of the story, given how it revolved around Myeong’s career as an actress. Not only that, the display of the acting industry and its effects. Genuinely, I immersed myself in the filming procedure and the backstory of some characters.
Myeong as a character has gone through a lot of development and her maturity throughout the course of the story’s arcs had developed in a way that I can appreciate the author’s intentions of grasping the characters’ emotional turmoil, turning it into a delicate flower that can be marvelous to look upon, but also crush.
My personal favourite arc was Jin Cheon’s. I enjoyed the broken expectations and unexpected reactions of the characters. Not only did the scenes/backstories offer some kind of attachment and meaning, there was depth that I could relate to, even without experiencing. This also relates to other arcs too.
Without becoming too sentimental, I also have to praise that Yena Ban wasn’t used as some sort of stepping stool for Myeong. What I want to say is, she didn’t have a boring sole purpose to stay in the plot line. I was given the opportunity to sympathize with Yena despite her selfish actions, and revealing vulnerable sides to herself without being too forgiving or forceful, her end was splendid. I believe most writers struggle to achieve that demise, and that’s what makes Muse on Fame deep without being too complex. The scenes have their own purpose, not overstaying for long and setting sail.
The story may have imperfections here and there, but the mentioned aspects are its convincing anchor.
I believe the weakest and least impactful part for me was the plot twist of why Myeong was selected to become an actress in the first place. I could brush this off as the theme introducing more multifaceted storylines, but it was quite anticlimatic. </3
As I’ve said before, Yuhan’s departure was also a bittersweet yet brave decision. I could go on and on but I don’t want to fill the comment section LOL.
Reading the author’s notes definitely had helped in brushing off a few aspects I was critical/skeptical of, and filling as much important points as I hopefully wanted to make, overall this was a worthwhile read.
Thanks to those who actually read till the end. :P