Nov 13, 2024
First of all, this is an Borderline-H dark fantasy. You’ll get exactly what you expect. In other words, if you’re not a fan of the genre, don’t even start reading this manga. In fact, it’s pointless for you to keep reading this review. It’s not for you. Period.
Secondly, if you’re considering using it for academic purposes, forget it. Entire chapters go by without a single explicit scene, and when there are such scenes, they’re usually only a few panels long.
I won’t summarize the story itself, as anyone can read a description. But I’ll add that the first dozens or so chapters are, in my
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opinion, somewhat of an unfortunate choice. They’re slightly misleading. You might expect a revenge story, but it heads in the opposite direction, asking the question, “What would happen if the betrayed hero wasn’t abandoned by their friends?” Surprisingly, this is reasonably well-written. This is mainly due to the fact that the story doesn’t feel rushed. It’s logically structured, and there’s time for things to sink in. In later chapters, there were moments that worked surprisingly well. I even paused for a moment on a few panels to think. You’ll even encounter a few thoughts that are a bit outside the box. Admittedly, these are presented in a pretty on-the-nose way, but it’s still a pleasant surprise for a work like this.
That said, I must mention that there are plenty of examples of the opposite as well, especially in the earlier chapters. This is especially noticeable with the introduction of certain girls [powered by mindbreak tag, just to be sure you know what to expect]. These scenes should have been handled with more nuance instead of being so quickly dealt with. It’s not even about the fetish aspect; I don’t care about that. It’s that these characters are more complex and deserve better than to just be tortured for a few panels and then have their personalities flip 180 degrees without much thought. Unfortunately, this is a typical flaw of the genre, and it’s present here too...
Moving on to the characters. Blum is a more or less interesting protagonist, especially in the later chapters, where his character gets more nuanced. Of course, he’s no knight in shining armor, but I suppose that’s no surprise to anyone. Personally, I think Alcanon is a far better-written character though. Thankfully, he’s not just degraded to a simple sidekick. In fact, he has a more important role than the protagonist. All-in-all, I think the main duo is quite well-written.
Then there are the antagonists. They aren’t portrayed as the typical evil laughing, two-dimensional villains. Sure, some of them are less compelling, but even in their cases, the writer makes sure to emphasize that they have strengths too. I’m not saying these are the most complex characters in literary history, but they still outshine the vast majority of flat evil villains typical of manga. Not just within the erotic genre but more broadly as well.
And finally, the girls... Well, as is custom in this genre, most of them end up in the protagonist's harem, despite the treatment they receive. Not all of them do though, which is a surprise in itself. Not to mention, that it’s not just the protagonist who benefits from the attention, but the sidekick as well, almost unheard of. As for the girls themselves? The girls who are attracted to Alcanon [sidekick] are decently well-written. Their roles aren’t limited to just fangirling. In contrast, Blum’s harem is quite shallow, though one or two of them slightly rise above the typical harem girl standard.
Overall, it’s no masterpiece by any means, so don’t expect anything like that, but still, it is better than what I've expected. All in all, I would say some aspects are surprisingly decent, others not so much.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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