Happily Ever Afterwards

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This has been my favorite romance manhwa for awhile now, and it's officially finished! I'm pretty sad I won't be seeing more of it. It's the first comic I actually spent money on to unlock new chapters...that's how much I enjoyed it!

STORY
This is an otome isekai that does follow some of the same formulas, but with it's own unique twists and plot points. You do have your typical over-the-top sweet "best girl" MC along with a stoic, stone cold male lead...but beyond those tropes lies some great character development and romance between the two (also if you love second male lead stories this will scratch ... that itch!). The story contains a lot of politics (but not too much to distract from the MCs), side characters, and even side romances making it feel denser when compared to other similar titles. It's a solid example of the OI genre, and one of the most enjoyable in my opinion.

CHARACTERS
Again, while the tropes are similar to other titles, I did find myself really enjoying the many characters in this story. The author did a good job of illustrating their individual personalities and complexities, each having some sort of depth to them, and not just thrown into the story and forgotten about.

ART
I LOVE the art style in this manhwa. I adore the more "muted" pastel theme and thought it really helped set it above the rest.

I don't have much else to say because you really just need to check it out for yourself. Especially if you love josei/OI/romance/secondlead etc. It was wholesome, sweet, and everything I prefer in a romance story.

Plot summary: Peony de Garten, a young princess, becomes the host body of an isekai'd young girl who has entered the world of a novel post-ending. As the number one fan of her favorite side character, Richt, she assumes the role of his savior; to bring him happiness any way that she can. This includes offering to marry him to ensure she can provide him happiness every day. Nothing can go wrong with this!

Overall score: 8/10; very cute art style and a lovely romance that unfolds. This webtoon does not shy away from angst nor romance, and in fact often combines the two for a ... very serious (yet sometimes silly) love story between Peony and Richt. At first, Richt clearly does not respect Peony or her attempts at gaining his favor. Peony takes this in stride most of the time -- which leads to her detriment more often than not. The definition of a trooper, to a fault. Peony is an extremely sweet girl, but she at times comes off as far too perfectly kind. Many hardships she faces are environmental due to the princess being immunocompromised or due to external factors such as general war-time shenanigans. However, the plot is great with respect to keeping you on your toes in romance-novel-esque drama.

TLDR; sweet-as-a-cinnamon-bun Peony and stone-faced-as-Mount-Rushmore Richt navigate and negotiate a romance with each other. Prepare for a cute and angsty drama that builds a relationship so strong that it permeates off the screen.

For all my fellow otome isekai enjoyers out there, I’m happy to say that this manhwa isn’t a complete waste of time. We’ve been inundated by manhwa and manga that bash the same tropes on our heads over and over expecting to cheaply elicit the same reactions every time. There are countless stories told about the reincarnated villainess trying to escape her misfortune, the isekai’d NPC taming the tyrant prince, and tales of vengeance that often unfortunately fall off in later chapters. However, there are also times when we find a story that tries to take a unique twist on the meta to continue fueling ... our hardcore addiction, and this is why we’ve yet to lose faith in the genre. This is one of them.

The manhwa begins with almost immediately telling us that the author is taking this series on a unique direction, which is not something I’m particularly about since it’s an instant violation of the golden “show don’t tell” principle, but I digress. As the synopsis explains, the plot is centered around the MC, Peony, trying to marry the seemingly cold-hearted, austere second prince who was banished from the Empire as a traitor. I’m not going to spoil how their relationship develops, but I will tell you that Peony’s stubborn commitment to reaching her goal does not go unnoticed. Despite being physically frail and burdened with multiple chronic illnesses, she remains mentally strong and indomitable. She tries to view things in a positive light and, for better or worse, maintains a pretty optimistic outlook during the entire ride. She, along with Richt, the prince, both feel like fairly cliche characters, but don’t let that distract you from the value this manhwa has to offer. The actual romantic development is well-paced and a lot more realistic than most other stories I’ve read. It has its fair share of cute moments and daily triumphs, like when the prince starts eating Peony’s desserts and also when he recalls her fondness for grapes. Even the side romance between Andy and Marie, although inconspicuous at times, is simply adorable.

I have a lot of good things to talk about for this manhwa, but it isn't perfect in my eyes either. The art isn't much to comment on and never really stood out to me, the lack of humor for a "comedy" series can make the reading experience a little dry especially when binging, and a certain incident felt a little bit like a cheap, cliche way of making things more dramatic (thought we got some Richt character development out of it).

However, where this series truly shines in my opinion is the plot. I was pleasantly surprised by how the author managed to be able to thoroughly explain the politics of the series while making sure not to overburden the reader and maintain the romance at the forefront. I find that most manhwa really struggle to do this and end up boring me with long-winded narratives of political intrigue that I have little reason to care for. The author really hammers in the idea that people change over time by defying Peony’s expectations of the characters she meets from the book, clearly demonstrating to both her and us that what she has come to understand about the characters may not be absolute since it’s been a year since the when the ending of the book supposedly took place. Finally, the dynamic between the first prince, the second prince (Richt), and the FL of the book is quite nuanced and carefully crafted with each character having their own complexities and feelings about the events of the book.

Overall, this manhwa is pretty solid. I'd say give it a shot, you might end up really enjoying it.