Lauvil's manga / #Reverse Harem(12)

FL got summoned from Earth to Elysium. Elysium is a magical place where men are born from stars and women are not born naturally and are thus summoned from other worlds. Here sex is called "mana negotiation" as it's purpose is not reproduction, but exchanging magical energy. It is also normal for women to have sex with multiple partners, as well as multiple husbands. The premise is very contradictory. One one hand, women are revered for their rarity, magical powers and unique role in society, thus giving them more higher status than men. On the other hand, women actually have less freedom than on Earth and society seems very misogynistic. Women have to attend special courses where they are tasked with sleeping with men - whether they want to or not. At the same time, society condemns rape, which becomes a very contradictory situation. Women are also not offered jobs, but stay with "sponsors" who protect them and tend to their needs. However, the situation reminds me more of "stay at home wives" or worse: Like a master x pet situation. So, while the story seems to want to liberate women sexually and present the reader with the reverse harem fantasy, where a woman has multiple handsome men, the premise is misogynistic. Women are very much objectified and they don't seem to have much free will or choice in this setting. The main character is also very wishy-washy imo. She just accepts the situation of being basically kidnapped from her home, to live in a strange world as a pet and sex-object for the men there. She also has no spine to refuse sex with guys she essentially don't like, while also knowing that her actions hurt the guy she DOES like.

Kyla is the eldest child of the noble Vesta family. However, in actuality she was an ordinary Korean woman, reincarnated into a BL novel she once read. Her brother is the protagonist of the story, who throughout it is pursued and abused by several men. Thanks to the obsessive love interests, his family is killed and his house brought to ruins. So, to prevent that, Kyla's first objective is to bring him home from the knight academy, get his sword-power transferred to her, and then take his place as the family's knight and successor. She's much more suited for it anyway, and her brother would rather become a scholar than a knight. So, this way she can protect both him and her family. ———————————— It looks promising so far. The FL is a actually a strong and independent woman, not just someone who poses as one. Strong mentality, strong physicality, knows swordsmanship, takes the reigns of her own life, protects her brother. I also like the added layer of guilt she holds towards her younger brother from a previous life, which we've only just glimpsed in one of the characters. It holds the promise of character and relationship development. Reincarnation novels have become abundant, and many of the plots have been seen before, but I hold the hope that this one will be different. Even if just slightly. The genre of the novel she was reincarnated into, is different at least. The strong character of the FL, also promises a different kind of story, than those about noble ladies who have to rely on a fiancée to survive and thrive.

Restart with official TS. I don't know who the ML is, yet, or if there even is one or if it's going to stay a reverse harem. Though I prefer monogamous relationships, I'm fine with this. I like the MC. She's strong willed, smart and compassionate. However, she does rely on her newfound money quite a lot. It's understandable, but I hope she learns to deal with things in other ways too. The trope that the FL of the novel our MC reincarnated into, is actually an egocentric bitch, that's purposefully stringing several guys along has been seen before. Several times. That part, irks me. Not only does it make all the ML's seem like substanceless dolls with no intelligence or personality, that their romantic feelings can be swayed by something so small as the MC acting like a decent human being. But it's also such a cheap and lazy way, to make the MC stand out and highlight her good points. Like, the concept a story with an MC and the antagonist villainess that stands in the way of her love, had gotten old. Then came the concept of the MC reincarnating into the body of a story's villainess, but it really didn't change anything. All it did was giving the illusion that the roles had reversed, when really it was the same old concept, repackaged. I guess it's easily digestible because it's a familiar format, but it bugs me that these types of stories insists on pitting women against each other...