Walk on Water
Damn. There’s something that holds me off from rating it five stars (I believe it’s mainly the pacing towards the latter half of the manhwa. Also the relationship feels less…compelling, I guess after a certain point?), but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad at all. I really enjoyed it.
To deny the route
Finished. Rushed ending. Pick up Volume 4, past midway of part 4 to see how the manhwa starts deviating from the novel. —- On Chapter 30. tl;dr Fun series with a potentially interesting overarching plot. But for now: It's cute! Fun game mechanics! Fun character dynamics! --- It's lighthearted and fun! Jerry is frankly an adorable character, and I'm always a sucker for isekai series with a relationship favorability meter. The ML's Ilya, which is not a surprise at this point, but I can't help but prefer Karyan as a character lmao. But I suppose there's already series like Villains are Destined to Die that can fill that void...anyway, I've enjoyed the character dynamics. Jerry's interactions with both Ilya and Karyan are rather sweet, and his dynamic with his mentor's pretty fun, as well. Therems the sense of an overarching plot given his affinity with magic, as well as the intheritance fued that's oriented around the two brothers, but nothing's been set as of now. Overall, I'm having a fun time with this series right now.
Timeless melody
Historical romance retelling, hello angst. — Contemporary romance of early 20th century America, hello angst. Cried like a bitch at the end, if that means anything.
I Fell in Love with My Sister's Boyfriend
I'm just going to...leave this rant here. It had an interesting premise that could’ve been explored, however the path they chose was disappointing. Despite being the antagonist, I ended up liking the sister the most. She was a psychopath, obsessive, but she had a genuinely interesting premise. She was abandoned by her parents in some way, meaning she had to raise Zinan by herself. This, in turn, made her obsessive. She essentially sacrificed her livelihood for him, and it created a sort of 'worshippy' aspect with her brother? Her dilemma was more interesting than the couple, if I were to be honest, however, she was a fool to date the ML if she wanted to have the MC to herself. The ML, the other main player to this confusing mess, is... kind of bland? For some reason, he could look through MC's crossdressing getup for 'plot reasons', and then pine after stealing his first time. And the whole question of, "Why did he pine for the brother for 3 years?" isn't satisfactorily answered. 'He's hard to get!' Is that it? Really. The MC, probably the weakest aspect, could've been more of a character if they simply gave him more time in the spotlight. Unless you pay attention to the flashbacks and make your own inferences, you can easily let him go as the "uwu I won't let you go, b-baka", which is what I got from my first read. While they explored Zi Nan's backstory, they never explored *his*, and that gave me the impression that he was the side character of his own story. After the first few chapters, it was all about his sister, with occasional flashes back to their relationship. It felt it was never about him; it was always his sister. I wanted to see the answers to some of these questions by the end of it: What was it being suffocated by his sister? Was he attached to the ML so strongly because of her? But it wasn't clearly answered, unfortunately. Other aspects that I want to touch on is how the things outside of the three characters were really weak. The plot, for instance, was essentially: MC sees sister dating ML, he gets jealous. Then, ML confesses that he still loves him and then he puts his moves on him, in the bathroom and in the school. Then, ML gets drunk, and then MC takes him to a hotel, where they confess and they have an affair. After that, they have a 'variety show arc??' where it's clear that it's just for plot convenience. 'Woo! MC, ML, and ML's ~past lover~ (and his LI) are all in one house, spicy~' and then the sister barges in. ML eventually confesses how he's gay to the public, and then the sister does whatever, idk. There's also stuff that's just neglected, like how there was essentially a best friend character for MC, except they didn't really talk except during the school part and at the end, as well as a weird portion where MC is moping by himself, and the bartender who normally serves him and his sister, who also never appears outside this one appearance, gives him advice. Then, it's implied that his godson, who looks like a bad Levi with glasses, is 'in love' with his godfather, and MC just leaves. Nothing happens to them? Other notable things I couldn't ignore: ML put *liquid soap* in MC for lubricant... I think that was it. This series was a mess, but it was a mess that ended up in my head rent-free, unfortunately. Season two was better, however I couldn’t help but laugh at the beginning when ML went the Twilight route by going to the MC’s window and supposedly sucking at his neck? Besides that, it was kind of a mediocre BL story. Second ML was just really bad, with no motivations besides MC. Plus, there was this one guy who was only added for drama, and it wasn’t even a good attempt. He was supposedly changing himself to compete against MC, but then gets upset when the ML still prefers the MC. The ending was sweet, but I couldn’t let go of my suspension of disbelief. I’m just disappointed overall in its execution. There was more I could’ve mentioned, like its sudden shift in pacing and how... unnecessary the second season was, but I’ll leave it at that. I don’t have a personal grudge against this series, don’t get me wrong! I was just really let down. If you’re interested, I won’t stop you! This is just my personal thoughts. Feel free to argue about it. — Interesting premise that could’ve been explored, however the path they chose was disappointing. Acceptance is a good theme, just meshed weirdly with sister plot. Despite being the antagonist, I ended up liking the sister the most. She was a psychopath, obsessive, but she was an interesting premise. She sacrificed her livelihood for him, and it created a 'parasitic-like’ aspect with her brother? Wrote more @ ‘Completed’, if interested 29 05,2021
Gourmet Hound
Almooost done with it, just need to read the last arc. Go and read it though if you like stories that focuses on characters. Also, quite cute lol
When The Cicadas Stop Crying Webtoon
Other work by this author! Honestly, pretty fun as well! I think these two had a fun dynamics. A pairing with two teachers is always fun. (It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but I recommend it despite my complaints) The plot twist was kinda like… okay? But there was built up, and I managed to get the pieces at the end, so it was executed pretty well. Also has a problem of a rushed ending (seems to be a common trend with this author), but I didn’t have too much a problem with it
Not for the Faint of Heart
Ah, one of the first BLs I read, thanks to the TL team. (This is from memory) The concept was neat, I liked it! Ending was pretty rushed, though. Everything just happened all at once, but the ending note was sweet. I wouldn’t bout it at a high four star, but I remember liking it enough.
Ookami wo Katte imasu
VERY SOLID. Love both the MC and ML, and even the supporting cast! It’s essentially the trope where someone switches places with an alternate version of themself and has to deal with their new surroundings. In the first world, the ML is besotted with him; in the second, he never really knew him. It’s all tied to this one key scene, and how the author utilized it was really well done. It felt like things were slightly rushed, and I emphasize highly on the “slightly”, but it was good. If there was a thing I didn’t like, it would be the choice guy for alternate!ML. We only met him for a relatively short time and didn’t get the feeling of much chemistry. Besides that, it was great.
Dasadanan
Adorable. Appreciated the femslash pair
The secret life of the demon king