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I write reviews for Manhwa, Manga and Manhua
I noticed that most reviews on this site are written by anime fans for anime fans. I think that makes it difficult for "casuals" and newcomers to judge the quality of the media. It is hard for a newcomer to pick the right series when everything is a 10/10.
When I read a manga/manhwa/manhua I think, "Okay, how does this compare to Lord of the rings". When I do that I find it hard to give most comics a really high score. That is why most of my scores may seem low.
But that means that when I read something truly fantastic, I can give out those 9+ scores and they will actually mean something.
I mainly focus on Korean Otome Isekai (medieval fantasy romance isekai written by and for women), but I will review other genres as well.
I will utilize the entire review scale from 1 to 10, and I score relative to all literature, not just Asian pop literature.
1/10s are the author's wish fulfilments and fetishes on display. Often sexualizing and objectifying women and children. For the viewing 'pleasure' of the reader and author; not for the sake of the story. While those 10/10s I would proudly show any professor in literature.
All that said, do not put too much thought into the number score. Priorities, expectations and being a seasoned reader of the genre all influences what what the right score is to you. I hope you instead read the entire review and judge it based on that instead of a number.
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Here are the criteria by which I write my reviews.
▶Story:
Is the story unique, or has it been done before? A story doesn't necessarily have to be new, but if it sticks with comfortable tropes and traditions, it can't ride on its premise alone.
Does the story flow well, and is it captivating? There are manhwa/manga/manhua and web comics where everything else is decent or great, but the story flow is slow and it is hard to stay captivated.
▶Author capabilities:
Does the author know what they are writing about?
If the subject of their story is city planning, does the author actually know anything about city planning, are they supplimenting their lack of knowledge on the subject by consulting experts/professionals or are they just making it up as they go along?
If they are writing a character who is supposed to be clever, are they actually capable of making the character clever, or do they have to dumb down the entire world around the character just to elevate the one that is meant to be clever?
▶Tropes and stereotypes:
Does the story do anything new and unique to stand out? If it does not; are the tropes it leans into done well? If the characters are stereotypes, does the author do something new and exciting, putting these stereotypes in situations not seen before? Do characters evolve, and develop. Do the events of the world affect them like it should?
▶Target audience:
What is the target audience of this story, and is it a healthy audience to target?
Should this demographic have wish fulfilment fantasies catering to them? (As an example, regardless of it being art or not, I could not in good consciousness judge a story aimed at p*doph**es in a positive manner).
▶Romance:
Is the romance that is portrayed healthy, or if it is not; does the author do a good job in portraying the unhealthy nature of it rather than fetishizing it?
▶Artwork:
Does the art convey the emotions and body language of the characters to a degree that serves or elevates the story.
If there are action scenes, is it easy to follow?
Does the artwork aid with the worldbuilding; are the backgrounds well thought out and detailed.
Lastly; bonus points if it goes above and beyond with art, and the art itself becomes a unique selling point of the manga/manhwa/manhua/web comic.
▶Censorship:
Is the story suffering from obvious censorship from the publisher? It is sadly not uncommon that the author wants to write a lesbian or gay romance, but the publisher demands a straight romance, or they won't publish the story.
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If you have criticisms or feedback, feel free to leave a comment. I am also on BlueSky if you want to chat with me directly about Isekais ps-a.bsky.social
Last completed manga
Statistics
All Manga Stats Manga Stats
- Total Entries287
- Reread53
- Chapters13,433
- Volumes1,069
Manga History Last Manga Updates
All Comments (9) Comments
Score 2/10
[Due to the Manhua pending approval on MyAnimeList, I have posted it as a comment to my profile instead]
▶Summary and recommendation: -----------------------------------------------------------------
A subgenre within the Otome Isekai genre. [Survival methods of the Cannon Fodder daughter] is one of those stories where the protagonist reincarnates into the body of a powerless child. They use their isekai knowledge and skills to melt the frozen heart of a powerful man, gaining their favour and saving them from the dangers they face.
This Manhua is best skipped. Not due to egregious portrayals or problematic themes (though it has those too), but because the story is simply quite bad.
I recommend [I Shall Master This Family] if you want a good story about a reincarnated child manipulating adults to their advantage.
▶Story: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The story starts with the protagonist, a middle school student from our world fainting and then waking up in the body of a small child from a novel the protagonist has read.
In the story, the child is abused by their father, the emperor. The protagonist uses knowledge of the story to their advantage to gain the favour of their previously cold and uncaring father. A power fantasy through other avenues.
The story is littered with tropes, plot holes and contrivances. It forgets plot points as quickly as it conjures them. In one scene the protagonist is in urgent danger because they are hiding, but they must go to the toilet. In the next scene they somehow fell asleep and their urges are whisked away as it is no longer needed for the plot.
You have to turn a blind eye to a lot of bad writing to find enjoyment out of this manhua.
▶Setting: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unlike most Otome Isekai, this is set in a Medieval imperial Chinese inspired setting. Other than that, it is not a very well developed setting, and the setting tropes are similar to Otome Isekai inspired by Medieval Europe. Court drama, succession fights, and more servants than you can count.
▶Characters: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The protagonist was originally a child of ages 12-13 before reincarnating into the body of an even younger child, so their behaviour is not a jarring as most stories where the protagonist becomes a child.
The father figure is an abusive father with no redeeming qualities. The way this sub-subgenre works however is that as long as the authorative figure is kind towards the protagonist, it does not matter how abusive they are towards other children and people.
▶Artwork: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The art is decent, even pretty at times, but has some issues with body proportions, with hands in particular sometimes reaching ridiculous sizes.
[Due to there not being a MyAnimeList page for this comic, I have posted it as a comment to my profile instead]
Review as of chapter 109. Score 7.5/10
▶Summary and recommendation: -----------------------------------------------------------------
❗❗Be aware that the central focus of this isekai is classism, racism, imperialism, colourism, homophobia, child abuse, workplace abuse, domestic abuse, and other sensitive topics. The author has done a fair job addressing these topics.❗❗
As class struggle is in the very title of the comic, you have to go into this expecting social commentary.
[This Isekai maid is forming a union] is a commentary on some of the more problematic tropes of the Otome Isekai genre while also being a competent story by itself.
Genre tropes such as the reincarnated protagonist always punching down by slapping/threatening maids. The protagonist forgiving murderous Male Leads (male romantic interest) just because they are nice towards the protagonist. The protagonist partaking in slave trade or enslaving humans themselves and more.
This comic shows these tropes from the perspective of the victims and justly critique them. I am glad there is a story like this and recommend it to advanced otome isekai readers, as it will nitpick a lot of the things an advanced reader probably also finds irritating.
I do not recommend this as your first comic in the genre. Nor the second, or even tenth. This will be enjoyed more by those with dozens of Otome Isekai stories under their belt.
▶Story: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[This Isekai maid is forming a union] follows Bridgette, a maid who is aware that she is in an Otome Isekai novel world. She knows that people from our world reincarnates into her novel world, and she has reincarnated several times herself, though she did not come from our world.
This comic has a plot deeper than most of the stories it is parodying, and the stakes are a lot higher than is the norm. The path the protagonist and her allies tread is a path that challenges the ruling class and you never feel like anyone is safe.
The author is an African American living in the United States. Their own experiences with racism and class struggle gives them a different perspective than most Otome Isekai stories. A genre dominated by South Korean and Japanese authors.
The author shows an excellent understanding of the genre it is criticising, and the amount of time that that the author spent getting to understand the relevant tropes and themes is showing.
The amount of sensitive themes touched upon by this story is too many to list in this review, but one of the most prominent theme is that of power balances in the workplace. A maid is beholden to her employer, creating a power dynamic that is often exploited by those in power.
With the threat of being fired and blacklisted by all nobility, there is little a maid can do when the lord or lady they are serving are making unreasonable demands or handing out cruel punishment.
Another theme that is given a big focus is the racism, xenophobia and prejudices faced by people of different ethnicities. It is not uncommon for Otome Isekai stories to have 'Barbarians' in it. Barbarians who just happens to have dark skin. Much of the story is shown from the perspective of those 'Barbarians' and their treatment at the hand of their subjugators.
There is a lot of different moving gears in this comic, and one of my only really big complaints is that the very premise of the comic, that of forming a union; is pushed to the side due to all the other moving parts of the story.
▶Setting: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is like most Otome Isekai set in a bastardized version of Medieval fantasy Europe. An extreme amount of care and love however has been put into crafting the setting of the story. There is an amount of world building that might encourage readers to take notes, especially if you do not plan on reading it all at once.
As the main premise of the story is class struggle, a world where classes are at odds (much like our own) is of course expected, and the author did a good job of it.
There are many obvious parallels to our real world in the story. Both to medieval europe, and current day conflicts on Earth. Unlike most stories where this is just window dressing, or just used as a a stage for the main character to show how virtuous and morally superiour they are to the 'medieval peasants', [This Isekai maid is forming a union] uses it as the basis for the entire story.
Like actual real world medieval europe, this settings features a wide array of ethnicities, cultures and the conflicts that come with it. The author has stated that many of their inspirations for cultures and ethnicities other than Medieval Europe that appear in the story come from Northern Africa, Middle East and Central Asia, and they utilize the setting very well. Making it one of the primary conflicts of the story.
A minor complaint is that when it is trying to introduce a new concept (such as magic) it can be a bit clumsy in how it does it.
▶Characters: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The character designs are very refreshing. They do not follow the controversial beauty norms of South Korea that are often reflected in Otome Isekai. So dark skin or freckles are not treated by the author as blemishes on someone's beauty (though they may be treated as such by some characters in the story).
Not only are the characters visually diverse, they also have distinct personalities and backstories beyond being just tropes. The story probably has the best autistic representation I have seen in this genre yet. I really appreciate how well it was done, in particular the character's sensory issues (and perhaps even misophonia).
Different sexualities and gender identity is also well represented in the story, and many of the prominent characters are bisexual or homosexual.
▶Romance: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can not write a commentary on the Otome Isekai genre without featuring romance, so of course it is full of it. It is however not the focus of the story. It is the catalyst of much of the drama that troubles the cast of characters, but this is not a story (at least not yet) about the main characters falling in love.
That said, there are a lot of romantic relationships in the comic, they are just not the primary focus.
▶Artwork: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The artwork is very different from most Otome Isekai. Having a western touch that to me makes it both charming and distinct. Not everyone will find it to their liking however, and I have seen people describe it as "sloppy". In addition to that, the face shapes can be inconsistent, and even I have to admit that there were several times when I felt that the art could not properly express the emotions of a scene.
The genre is known for its re-use of store bought assets and quick and dirty background art. The author of [This Isekai maid is forming a union] has put a lot of care and effort into making the backgrounds and character art consistent. It is refreshing to see so much care and effort put into making a cohesive art style.
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