The Spark in Your Eyes

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If tales of formidable and intriguing female leads captivate you, this narrative is a must-read! This Webtoon, a blend of romance, fantasy, and drama, ranks among the finest I’ve encountered. It boasts exceptional artwork, compelling characters, and masterful storytelling.

The female protagonist, Hildegar, is a character of depth and complexity. She’s an enigma - beautiful, formidable, and burdened with a terrible power and a sorrowful history. Her character left a profound impression on me, and I’m surprised I’ve only discovered this narrative recently. It’s a gem that deserves a wider readership!

The male lead diverges from the typical romantic hero. He’s driven by a strong determination to ... fulfill his goals, yet he is not a fighter. As a doctor and herbalist, he’s always ready to lend a helping hand. He is kind and merciful.

The plot revolves around the love story of two people from different sides in a war. Unbeknownst to the male lead, the female protagonist is the Knight Sun, a potent wizard-knight blessed by the Sun Goddess, that killed many people in the battlefield. Her true identity remains a secret to most, adding another layer of intrigue to the story.

An alternative name for this webtoon, which I prefer is Blinded by the Setting Sun.

I think that specific title reflects the more nuanced and carefully constructed characters and world of the webtoon despite it being mostly unrecognised and unappreciated in the surplus of fantasy romance manga and manwhas.

Once you read the webtoon it's easy to make the connection between the title and the plot. A mysterious and powerful mage, the singular knight who won a brutal war for her kingdom using the holy powers of the sun, known far and wide by both her country Mormeratta and the Nothern Nations; the country she ... brought to ruin as the 'Witch of the Sun" is suffering from a curse assumed to be inflicted by the blessing of the sun. This power allows her to wield fire and single handedly decimate entire troops yet also cursed her with unbearable pain each day when the sun sets after the end of the war.

To ease her pain, a pharmacist from the Northern Nations, orphaned after the war is hired to treat the "master of the castle" whose identity is known to no one except the closest of the master's righthands. He accepts this job in the hopes it will give him the information he needs on the Witch of the Sun so that he can claim vengeance for the death of his parents.

As implied by the title and the synposis, he ends up growing close to both the people of the castle and to the Witch of the Sun.

Not only is the art 10/10, consistently beautiful character designs (the image of the Witch of the Sun standing in her armoured glory leading her battalion into war is both powerful and tragic) and backgrounds-it's really not just a pretty webtoon.

Based on some reviews I've read elsewhere, there's a few complaints about how the romance is sidelined in favour of flashbacks which span for extended chapters and may seem dragged out.

This webtoon is not purely centred on romance like many romance fantasy or popular isekai webtoons are. There is a heavy focus on characters backstories that will reflect their motivations and desires. A lot of side characters have their personalities and goals fleshed out compared to some fantasy webtoons where the fantasy elements and most side characters are only used to progress or enhance the romance without doing much service for the worldbuilding or plot.

If you're looking for a webtoon where the romance is front and centre and doesn't stray from this, this webtoon might not be for you. The romance is great, but that's not why I'd recommend it. It's for everything else. It's all the other characters, their interactions and it's just an engaging read personally, even though a lot of people see it as a slow burn and I can see why. The early 30 or so chapters do focus more on the relationhip between the male and female leads but I feel like the main focus of the webtoon overall is on the war, how it came to happen and the after effects of it. This means there's a lot of time spent looking at the events of the war through various flashbacks from different character, introducing multiple perspectives.

The webtoon is definitely more heavy on the drama and fantasy than the romance tag!

I personally enjoyed the flashbacks a lot as it shows how characters came to act and think the way they do now, how these perceptions they have can be changed and how war can impact each individual, whether it be from the losing or winning side.

It also adds even more context to the various interactions the cast of characters have with each other. Watching them all deal with the fallout of a long war caused by territorial disputes leads to unexpected and complex character motivations. There's a side character who has quite a few chapters of flashbacks dedicated to his past and has raised a few complaints online however, it really added to the lore of the world as well as the female lead and how the ripple effect of war can cause so much devastation.

I do agree that the female lead takes a rather quick liking to the male lead, and I wish they developed their friendship a bit more in the earlier chapters before delving more into each characters pasts.

However I can definitely see the potential for their romance and the angst that will come with it. After all, the male lead is both blinded by his desire for vengence against the 'setting sun', the Witch of the Sun, but is also blinded by his 'like' (I wouldn't say it's love yet) for Kaya, a maid in the castle of the master he must treat.

In a lot of fantasy webtoons I've read, the male leads seem to soley exist for the female lead. They are there to be impressed by the FL's actions, to defend them, to assist them in their plans, to flirt with them and be eye candy. Those webtoons are fun and I love to read them, but I really admire the writing in this webtoon as it feels like writer has planned things out and knows where they want the story to lead and the themes they want to convey. Not everything is done in service of the romance. Which is nice because a lot of webtoons become dry after a lot of the romance has been milked.

I'm not saying it's on the level of Akatsuki no Yona or one of the best webtoons I've ever read but it's definitely underappreciated.

This isn't a webtoon where the female protagonist is always in the right, or a badass villainess who doesn't take shit from anyone. This is a story about an innocent child who is ripped from her people at a young age, thrust with power she never asked for and didn't want and used and manipulated like a weapon her whole life. She is detached, emotionally stunted and suffering. The Witch of the Sun has murdered countless of people and has the blood of many on her hands, indirectly or not. She, like all the other characters in the webtoon are flawed and biased. Their experiences in life have shaped their views and grow into prejudice.

This webtoon is about looking past prejudice, having empathy and the strength for forgiveness.

It uses the cliches of fantasy romance tropes to suck you into a heart-wrenchingly tragic drama and I swear, once you give it a chance, you will also be blinded by the setting sun hehe.