axelmania's manga / #isekai(162)

beyond the "haha look hes smart not trash" moe, the heart at the center of this manhwa seems to be the protagonists compassion for others hiding behind his self-centeredness. its just not enough meat for me, because the relationships are shallow and operating at level 1 reverse harem shoujo capacity. the protags weakness so far doesnt make it very action-packed either! im probably gonna keep reading this but its only okay.

a story obsessed with stories, with the central premise that we really do need them to survive-- even if creating them means the continuation of tragedy. you wouldnt know it from the beginning but this turns out to have a ton of gay subtext. the reader and the original protagonist get treated like soulmates on a long path of mutual pining, so look forward to it. im not really a fan of hopeless apocalypse settings where humanity unanimously chooses to kill rather than to cooperate. however, the writing in this is superb, and the art in this manhua adaptation really brings it to life. the careful machinations of the protagonist are exciting, and so is the way he tries to supplement his weaknesses with the strengths of the other characters. its maddening and yet all too natural how quickly trust and friendship between characters can be cut down in an instant. luckily it can sometimes be rebuilt, but too many mistakes can only lead to death. i can tell now that dungeon reset is amusingly almost a parody of this series. it is also cool how women are just as powerful as men, with plenty of scary heroes and villains alike.

years of experience teach a traumatized girl how to more effectively lash out at the people attacking her. it takes several more for her to notice the world around her isnt entirely hostile and to start to love as well as hate. i like the way arias design changes as she ages, and how her sister "the saint" has the big doe eyes that usually signal a sweetly passive shoujo protagonist. its just.. not that original or exciting of a story, but ive had some fun. i wish that the relationship development between aria and the crown prince wasnt so quick.

its such a refreshing art style and character for the female lead, but... the plot is kinda boring and so far shes succeeded very easily... idk

so its like.. the pacing is bad. the characters are bland. however, theres a central mystery theyre careful not to reveal quickly so i still want to read the next season. and the romance isnt that annoying either!