pluckaduck's manga / #Mystery(46)

multiple times i contemplated dropping this story; it's unnecessarily pretentious, dramatic, and lyrical. some dialogue felt awkward and cringe bc they talk as if they're in some dramatic play. some plot points, like Augusta being the villain, and women cain loved: meridiana and emmiline, are undeveloped and poorly written. several characters, like ida and celeste, end up unimportant despite their interesting designs and their character info are shortened to brief info dumps in dialogue. and are we not going to talk about how oscar keeps flirting with a 10-yr with whom he shares at least a 7 yr difference? and they even got married??? the pacing is weird and the build-up is horrible; in general, it feels messy and crammed and needs to be longer. however, i do like how developed cain and riff's relationship is; they definitely feel like soulmates. and the biblical and other classics's references is interesting.

couldn't believe ellery died... he was set up like the main character, but then he also died.... sigh. i have to admit, the trick was brilliant, and the mangaka utilized the advantage of manga format, readers's dismissive attention to details, and a bunch of red herrings to pull the wool over our eyes. the storytelling/panelling is pretty simplistic but the art is really gorgeous. the motive ended up kinda cliche, but the reveal that it was all for nothing made it even more bitter and sad. it'll probably torment him forever.

holy shit that plot twist on ch 37 rendered me breathless. did not need to feel sadder than i already did for those two. it also finally gives a rough timeline of both settings.

tension was palpable. great enemies to lovers with unrequited pining. last 50 chapters or so was messy cuz of pacing issues

the flow and directions of the story feels natural, the writing/prose is great. the characterization of each character are vital to the story and its themes and their dynamics with each other and especially with their heir/guardian are all well-written and engaging. the mystery, despite being so slowburn, remains interesting bc unraveling all of the families and different characters' stories is very integral to solving this mystery, and it is done in a way without feeling like a info dump. the plot is rather simple and plot points and twists not unique, but the author manaing to weave them into such an engaging story demonstrates a skill in storytelling.