somnia's manga / #drama(121)

Basically: Game of Thrones, manga addition. Although you get to see a lot of perspectives, it's mostly concentrated on our homie Richard, and I honestly love his character. All heil out gender diverse queen... king. It's the type of story that never gives you a breather, and shit consistently goes down. Literally none of these kings was able to catch a break lmao. There's this sense of realism in the story and at the same time it also feels a bit theatrical... It's very Romeo and Julietesque, especially because Richard keeps on taking the L when it comes to his love life, but that's part of the appeal for me. I like to cry over tragic lovers while seeing political shenanigans go down.

So far it's a cute time waster, the plot is waiting in line patiently. Ngl, it took me a few chapters to get over how bothered I am with the whole mature child spiel, but that's more of a me-thing after reading too many isekai manwha where the story starts off with a toddler MC. I do appreciate that MC and the duke have serious bonding moments and also banter with each other, their relationship feels more tight knit than it would have otherwise imo. Also nice that the duke isn't overly obsessive of his kid- I like his personality as a whole- Well, he obviously does have a huge weak spot for MC, but instead of monopolizing her, he wants her to make friends, be confident, experience a peaceful childhood and just accepts whatever weird traits she has.. like an actual parent.

It's only been 2 chapters, but I'm hooked man. The only thing that stretches my suspension of disbelief is her being shunned for being too good at her job. It's very very dumb for all these nobles and royals to believe she is doing a bad thing by saving them from wasting their own time, resources and money. The whole "you are stealing jobs, bad MC for being too good"-thing just sounds like a vague and bad excuse for her to be bullied by others. It makes you question how the Empire they all live in still stands with an average IQ that low... who the hell kicks out their national wonder weapon to a neighboring Kingdom without any second thought? If I don't get a better explanation for this baffoonery idk how into this I can get tbh, so I'll hope there'll be one soon. Anywho, the sister seems to like MC - like for real - and isn't some shady snake, for which I am more grateful than I expected. Though I do find it strange that her sister is so ignorant towards all the hatred MC is facing, but ig that's another thing to come. Looking forward to it.

Read the novel, so I might be biased- but I think the story's pretty good for the most part. One of the better revenge reincarnation stories in the shoujo genre, though there's puddles of cliche content here and there. Everything's kinda super easy for FL to master and overcome, though in most cases you have the hourglass to make you feel comfortable about it if you aren't into those power fantasy vibes like me. The only thing I don't understand is why they had to add this whole bit about FL and ML meeting when they were little kids on the street. Literally doesn't add anything to the story or their relationship - they're already a tight-knit couple, so it feels like someone just yeeted it in because they thought it was cute and not aware of how nonsensical and outdone gags like that are.

Absolutely beautifully illustrated story centering around Shuli, who gets sent back in time after she is killed in her carriage by uknown attackers. Once known as the witch of Neuschwanstein, this time around she is able to take the reigns and avoid the mistakes she made in the past. There's a lot of variety in tone and atmosphere in the story, but it never fails to take itself seriously. Very well paced and overall wonderful writing paired with, again, super gorgeous art, 12/10. I could gush about the different lil hints about future or past events, relationships and situations taking place within the story for hours, not to mention the S-grade character development and this sense that everyone is their own person, and their own story, on one giant chess board.

So basically, FL is a famous prisoner who managed to escape a few times. When she's captured again, ML (also a war hero and the opposite of FL's anti-hero sort of reputation) ends up "escorting" her to a high security prison island. Of course, she's trying to get an advantage by lying and what not, but ML never falls for any of it. But there's more to their relationship than that and that's where the story really hits good. Ngl, all characters so far felt like they matter and are a part of the whole thing, and also have interesting relationships and backstories. They all tie into questions and different perspectives regarding death, life and justice in a post-war setting. We're still not that far into it all, but it's super promising.