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Mar 22, 2025
[More info about my review style can be found on my profile]
▶Summary and recommendation: -----------------------------------------------------------------
[Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom] is an Otome Isekai focused on romance and parents raising a child together.
⚠️This manhwa contains characters describing sexual assault. It is handled quite well and it is not fetishized.
Splitting its attention between child care, romance, politics, and much more, [Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom] is a manhwa series that bites off a bit more than it can chew, but still does an admirable job keeping it all together.
It is a story filled with interesting and well written characters with a few flaws that I might be focusing on more
...
than it deserves in this review.
I recommend this manhwa to both newcomers and long time fans of the genre. It is well written and on the upper end of what the genre has to offer.
▶Story: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom] is an Otome Isekai losely based on the story of Snow White. The twist is that the evil stepmother queen gets possessed by a woman from modern day South Korea. Who unlike the original wicked queen has nothing but love and adoration for Snow white.
I would love to be able to say in a single sentence what the themes and focus of the story is, but the author is biting off a bit more than they can chew. Taking on a lot more themes and topics than can be reasonably covered in a single story.
It is first and foremost a romance fantasy story with heavy focus on child rearing and family. Much of the story focuses on the traumas and prejudices of the main characters, and on overcoming them by opening up to one another. In addition body dysmorphia, societal expectations of women and the oppressive pressure of the patriarchy in a medieval european inspired setting (and how modern society still has a long way to go) plays a significant role in the story.
Bundle this together with her clothes design hobby, national politics, schemes, a magical themed subplot, and her overcoming her "resting bitch face", the mystery of the magic mirror, and a bit of comedy and the manhwa stops being able to give every theme the pages and attention it deserves, and some of them are forgotten about later into the story.
I will admit that despite this, the author does an admirable job keeping the story cohesive, and it is only one slight against the manhwa overall.
Onto the story itself.
The introduction is fairly standard for the genre, and it takes a few chapters for it to stand out. The exposition is fairly well done, though most of it is done through the protagonist explaining things through text boxes.
Despite all the different subjects it tackles, it is a fairly low tension story focusing on family first and foremost. The growth of the three main stars of the manhwa is given most of the attention. That being the king, the (not-sew) wicked queen, and their daughter. All the characters have their own baggage, and most chapters focus solely on the characters overcoming it.
I think the most egregious story blunder I noticed is how the body dysmophia subplot is handled. I will of course avoid spoilers, but I believe the moment the author chose for the subplot does not fit in with the overall flow of the story.
Other than that I found the pacing of the story on the slower side, but it has some good tense moments.
▶Setting: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This story like most Otome Isekai is set in a medieval European inspired fantasy setting. With a Manhwa with "sew" in the title, I was hoping the author would have spent time researching the garments people wore at the time, and the author did not disappoint! While there are a few inaccuracies in particular with the footwear, the manhwa also features well drawn outfits from several periods of European history, and goes through its own Marie-Antoinette style revolution in fashion.
It is otherwise a fairly generic setting and it does not play an major part in the story, which focuses mostly on family and romance after all.
There are however some events that are eerily similar to our own, and readers with some knowledge of history will tense up once they see the colour of the clothing that is taking the kingdom by storm.
▶Characters: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The protagonist Abigail is very well fleshed out, with a background, well defined morals, motivation and flaws. She wants the best for everyone else but is very harsh on herself.
I personally really like that the character is uncompromising in her morals, and does not allow her being transmigrated into a fantasy world to change the way she views the world and treat other people. She refuses to partake in the petty scheming of nobles, and shies away from drama.
If your first impression of the king Sabrian is that he is acting like a piece of garbage, you'd be right. I have seen some readers who refuse to continue knowing that he is the male lead, but the manhwa will do its best to convince you if you give it a chance.
The princess Blanche is adorable, and will likely be the highlight to a lot of readers. To the protagonist she is the most precious existence and the star in her eye. Being a very reserved person in the beginning, Abigail's goal is to help her open up and live comfortably as a child should.
It is very rewarding to see her and the other characters grow and open up throughout the story.
Outside of the main cast, the characters are bit more bland. Sidekicks who are no more than comic relief, and villains being your average power hungry nobles who stop at nothing to gain power. However the character that surprised me the most is the magic mirror. I never expected the mirror in Snow White to have a compelling character arc of its own, and it is perhaps the one I am the most interested in.
▶Romance: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The romance plot has some pacing issues. It starts out surprisingly fast paced, but with all the other suplots in the story, the romance is sometimes pushed off to the side for a tad bit too long.
I applaud the way the author intertwined the romance with the growth of the characters. They are relying on each other to process and overcome their traumas and flaws, and the child care aspect of the manhwa only adds to it.
I do however feel like it is moving too slow, and falling into many tropes common to the romcom genre that you either love or hate. Tropes such as the protagonists misunderstanding each other, being oblivious to the other person's affections and thinking they hate you; when it is obvious to everyone else that they are madly in love.
As of chapter 120 I am invested in the romance subplot, but I am hoping it keeps a more consistent pace from here on out.
▶Artwork: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The artwork is a mixed bag, and one that changes throughout the series.
At the start, the only thing that stands out as good is the character expressions. The artist did a good job at getting expressions across, especially the utter despair on a character's face when an item precious to them got destroyed. That is however where my praise ends. The character art while detailed, is flat, and I am sad to say the background art is straight up ugly.
The manhwa has an overuse of 3D assets for objects and backgrounds. Using store bought assets for items such as tea pots, cups, food and furniture. I even spotted the portrait of 'Queen Elizabeth the First queen of England and Ireland' on one of the walls. It is my belief that there is nothing wrong with using 3D assets for backgrounds or objects, as long as it is well hidden and matches the character art, but they sadly do not in this manhwa.
This does change though. The character art sees some incredible improvement. By season 3 the outfits are intricate and beautiful, and some of the dresses worn by Blanche are contenders for most beautiful dress worn by a child in Otome Isekai.
The backgrounds are still not amazing, but the artist does a much better job at hiding it, and you rarely notice it.
▶In conclusion: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope readers do not finish this review assuming I disliked this manhwa at all. I had issues with the pacing of the romance, and the story being spread thin, but I enjoyed the package as a whole.
I was a bit disappointed that the manhwa involved a lot less sewing than the title led me to believe, but I was still very positively surprised by the amount of research the author put into the clothing features in the manhwa.
The story made me smile more than once at the heartwarming scenes between the three main characters, and the story has hooked me on several of its many subplots and I am excited to see where it goes from season 4 onwards.
Finally I want to note that some of the translations into English bothered me a tiny bit. I am not talking about legibility or the title of the manhwa, but the tendency to translate terms Asians will be familiar with into terms more familiar to US Americans. Things like translating "crystalized sugar candy" into "cookies".
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 15, 2025
[More info about my review style can be found on my profile]
▶Summary and recommendation: -----------------------------------------------------------------
[Reincarnated as a Sword] is a fantasy story about a paedophile who has his soul reincarnated into a magical sword. He is then picked up by and wielded by a child.
⚠️Contains implications of rape⚠️
⚠️Features heavy sexualization of female characters⚠️
⚠️Features significant sexualization of children.⚠️
It had the potential to be a decent action adventure story, but it is brought down by the author's insistence on stuffing the story full of his disgusting fetishes.
...
I heavily warn against reading this manga.
▶Story: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After dying in our world and being reborn as a sword in a fantasy world, he is picked up by a 12 year old "catgirl" named Fran. A catgirl is a human with cat ears and tail. At the time of their meeting, Fran is a slave, and is freed by the protagonist. Due to her past as a slave, she is determined to become strong and kill all slavers she comes across.
It is a fairly run of the mill adventure story, with the sword gimmick being what is meant to put it apart. With the sword being picked up by Fran within the very first chapter of the manga, this gimmick doesn't actually do much to elevate the story above other isekai. The story quickly devolving into an adventure focusing on Fran as the main character, with the sword relegated to acting as a trump card and helpful exposition tool.
It goes through the motions for most of it. Not veering far from the common structure of isekai stories. It has an adventurer guild the protagonists register at, it has levels, stats and dungeons for them to explore. It even has an evil adventurer team that the protagonist beats up in the first chapters to establish their fame in the starter city. It is not a very strong nor unique isekai story, but it has a few passable moments with actual thought and effort put into them and the flow of the story is very well executed.
Unfortunately that is as much praise as I can levy at this manga.
Much of the story feels tailored to put female characters in situations where the artist of the manga can draw them in clothing (or completely naked) that will turn the reader on. Many female characters in the manga wear sexualized clothing that exposes their thighs, stomach or chest, and highlights their curves. Sometimes going as far as putting female characters in micro bikinis. Fran, the child deuteragonist is also a victim of this, wearing clothing designed to entice paedophiles and satiate the fetishes of the author.
The author attempts to justify this by saying that because it is magical armour, it will protect the user even though their legs and stomach is completely exposed, and by wearing skimpy armour like this, it improves mobility. This weak excuse is undone by the fact that it is only female characters who wear armour like this.
▶Setting: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The world is quite well developed with a lot of systems and lore that ties the world together. The way the dungeons work in this setting is expanded upon quite significantly. Unfortunately it needs a lot of text to explain the world and does so quite clumsily. With characters just standing there explaining the world to the reader for whole chapters.
▶Characters: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The protagonist has little in the ways of character traits and appears mostly to act as a stand in for the reader. The most passionate he gets is when he gets to see the 12 year old Fran or other female characters naked. Where he visibly expresses that he is turned on by their appearance.
The deuteragonist Fran does not have many character traits either, and is mostly defined by her tendency to reply to people in short sentences or grunts. She shows most passion when striking at slavers, but that is not much of a trait.
Oddly enough it is the side characters that have the most characterization. While most of them are simple anime tropes, some of them have actual character development and traits and are given several chapters to showcase depth that go beyond merely being evil or good.
▶Artwork: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The art is very good, bordering gorgeous, with detailed backgrounds and intricate character designs. The artist also does not shy away from showing a significant amount of violence and gore. As is common with Japanese comics, this manga is black and white, with no colours.
▶In conclusion: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While a very basic story, it is very well paced and has a good flow to it. So it is such a shame a story with some potential is burdened by such a disgusting author insistent on stuffing all his fetishes into the story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Mar 2, 2025
[You can find more information about my review style on my profile]
▶Summary and recommendation: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Villains are destined to Die] is a story about a tragic cast of characters twisted into villains by the circumstances of their birth, society and its systems.
⚠️This manhwa features slavery and portrays it in a manner many will find very uncomfortable.
A struggle fantasy. [Villains are Destined to Die] is a story following a Korean woman possessing the body of Penelope. The villainess of a romance dating game. She has to struggle to survive and find a way to escape this world where no one is on her side.
This is
...
one of the more famous Otome Isekai, and one of the few to have gotten a physical release. It is well deserved (and I recommend it).
It does however have some uncomfortable themes, such as putting down maids, and buying and exploiting slaves, so I understand if some readers find that to be too much.
It also takes a long while before the romance gets going, so keep that in mind if you decide to read this manhwa.
▶Story: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The story kinda starts in media res, rather than at the beginning. I think this was a very good idea by the author, as this creates a far more compelling hook than if it had started at the very beginning.
After hooking in the reader, the manhwa spends a few chapters jumping back and forth between present and past to give us exposition to what kind of person our heroine is, as well as what sort of romance videogame world it is she is being transported to. I did feel like it dragged on for a bit too long, but due to the significant role the setting plays in the story, you could argue that it is necessary.
The protagonist is transported into the body of a villainess in a videogame set to hard difficulty with some very rigid game rules. She can only choose between 3 different dialogue choices and can not speak at will, with death being her reward if she makes the wrong choice.
She is placed in some precarious situations, but with her extensive knowledge of the videogame from when she lived in the real world, she manages to navigate them without much danger to herself. This does not last, as she never finished the game in real life, and soon has to proceed without her cheat sheet.
While this system of restricted dialogue choices is a novel idea that creates very tense situations, it wouldn't make for a good Manhwa story if the protagonist had that little agency, so after the introduction the restriction is dropped and it feels like the story starts for real.
Another quirk of the world she finds herself in is that she can see how much someone likes her, on a score from 0% to 100%. Trapped in an Otome Game (A game where you typically control a female protagonist who has to win the hearts of one of several male suitors), she assumes that the way to escape might be to raise the affection score of one of them to 100%. The problem is that she has taken over the body of someone who is disliked by everyone, and any misstep might result in her death.
It is a very tense story with all these systems working against her and she is forced to abandon her morality to survive. The allies she gains, she emotionally manipulates and exploits. She uses blackmail, lies and deceit to carefully craft a narrative to win the hearts of those around her and all this while her own mental health is deteriorating.
The manhwa is really good at keeping the tensions high, and it has some really exciting story arcs. The court case being my personal favourite.
There are some minor things I did not find that well executed in the story. In particular the heroine winning over the servants of the manor she lives in. It was jarring how quickly and easily she did it, and the story does not do a really good job at showing a smooth transition between everyone mistreating her and then everyone showering her with love and respect. In fact the story seem to backtrack a bit later with characters becoming mean to her again. This is not a deal breaker, but it did stand out a bit to me.
▶Setting: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Villains are destined to Die] is set in a fairly generic medieval fantasy inspired setting, with royals, knights, and magic. The nation that the story is set in is humorously named "Eorka". An anagram of "Korea".
The setting is not that noteworthy, but the gameified systems that govern the world play a significant role in the story.
▶Characters: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The protagonist has well defined character traits and she experiences character development throughout the story. Though with the cruel setting she ended up in, that development is not always in the right direction. Her backstory is a tragic one and most readers will feel sympathy with her, or perhaps (but hopefully not) be able to relate in ways. She deserves goodness yet is put in a situation that is nothing but that, and she has to do a lot of bad to survive.
Almost all of the secondary characters, the romantic suitors of the story are nothing but vile and/or tragic. Two faced characters who hide their true nature
Ranging from callous and vying for her death, to emotionally manipulated and unstable. They all go through massive change throughout the story, but not all of it in the right direction.
▶Romance: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The romance is quite fraught with danger. The kind of danger where every romantic interest wants to kill the protagonist. Not the "spicy" kind of danger.
It takes some time for the romance to develop and taking centre stage of the story because she has enough to deal with just trying to not be killed by them, and when the male lead presents himself, the dangers only escalate.
It is not entirely obvious who the main character will be, but you will realise who it is before she does, and that can make it a bit distressing to read the path she is going down, but keep in mind that she is fearing for her life and how that can cause you to make poor choices.
▶Artwork: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The artwork ranges from decent to nice. There is very good use of colours and the artist manages to get feelings across well. The characters are decently drawn with some gorgeous outfits for certain characters, with extra effort seemingly put into the male leads.
The backgrounds are not always nice, and while it fits the character's art style well, the ample use of 3D assets can make certain pages feel a bit cheap. Especially when there are graphical errors such as floating objects.
Unlike most manhwa I have reviewed, I actually read the first few volumes of this manhwa physically, having bought the physical release. It looks marvelous in person. The full colour pages are great to look at and the comic layout is very easy to read.
▶In conclusion: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am writing this review as of chapter 160 and all in all it is a classic otome isekai story. A fairly standard script executed extremely well with some small hints of psychological horror and uncomfortable topics.
It features some of the tropes that haunt the Otome Isekai genre such as mistreatment of employees, and a near fetishization of slavery which bothered me quite a lot. In the context of the story it makes sense even if it can not be justified.
It is a well paced story that has no troubles keeping the tensions high, and as of season 4, the story is building up nicely towards a climax in season 5, even if it will probably take another year or so before the story finishes, I think it is well worth the read right now.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 23, 2025
[You can find more information about my review style on my profile]
▶Summary and recommendation: -----------------------------------------------------------------
[I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time] is a power fantasy with poorly written characters and missed opportunities.
It is not an isekai, but suffers from what most isekai with unusual ideas does. It doesn’t stick to its unusual idea for very long, and cannot help but become a generic fantasy action adventure story.
As fantasy slop you can do worse, and I know that having a female protagonist is enough for a lot of readers, so I am reluctant to say that I
...
do not recommend it, but I certainly did not like it.
▶Story: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time] proves for what I think might be the 3rd time that the concept of a receptionist in a fantasy world, is a really difficult premise to build upon.
While the manga’s premise is made up of two parts. Being a guild receptionist, and fighting bosses, the author has so few ideas about the guild receptionist part that it is more or less dropped within 10 chapters, to instead focus on the “solo any boss” part of the title. The protagonist will however use any opportunity to mention overtime or paid leave and other desk job related buzzwords so we won’t forget the “guild receptionist” part of the title.
Exposition is very poorly done. Most of it is done by having a character stand still and talk directly “to the camera”, or to teammates who as inhabitants of this fantasy world should already know how the world operates. There is an emphasis on tell, instead of showing, poorly leveraging the advantages of being a visual medium.
Asides from these glaring issues, the plot is a quite straight forward and predictable power fantasy, following the same structure that most fantasy isekai stories do (even if it is not an isekai itself.
▶Setting: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With a generic medieval European fantasy setting as its foundation, it builds upon that foundation and offers a bit more than that. The systems that govern the fantasy world while poorly introduced are well defined. There are rigid skill systems and stat and quest windows exist within the universe, and the world is full of dungeons for adventurers to explore.
It also features the precursor trope, which will likely explain many of the rigid magical systems of the setting as the story unravels.
It is my hope that the author can eventually tie it all back to the Guild receptionist part of the premise, and put a larger focus on why it exists and its origins.
▶Characters: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“If you don’t spend time watching real people, you can’t do this, [...] Some people spend their lives interested only in themselves. Almost all Japanese animation is produced with hardly any basis taken from observing real people, you know. It’s produced by humans who can’t stand looking at other humans. And that’s why the industry is full of otaku!”
-Hayao Miyazaki. Japanese filmmaker and founder of Studio Ghibli
Before I describe the protagonist, I want to highlight this quote by Hayao Miyazaki What he is criticising is that many of the creators in the industry spend no time observing real people as basis for their characters. Never knowing real people, only knowing characters from anime and manga. The result is that they create a character that is made up of a checklist of anime tropes, not people.
[I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time] embodies this quote. No character acts like a real human and feel like walking tropes.
The first villain is a good example. The story needs a villain, and throws in a shallow character whose motivations make no sense and whose actions do not match the motivations. He is of the “bully” archetype, and is cartoonishly evil, to the point of laughing maniacally as he destroys the very system that grants him the power he wants.
The protagonist Alina while likeable, is not much better. She features the “Berserk button” trope. Where the character gets enraged at a minor trigger. Usually in anime this is an overweight character going berserk when called “fat”. Alina’s trigger is having to work overtime. A poorly understood concept that the story uses to kick-start the plot.
She sadly does not get much better, with character development being some of the most shallow I have read in a manga. Amounting to “Wait... friends dying makes me sad? :0”
▶Artwork: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The artwork is quite nice. The character art is a bit on the plain side but the artist showcases expressions quite well. and the detailed background art complements the character art. It is all black and white, with no colour as is common with Japanese manga.
▶In conclusion: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While I went hard on the poorly written characters in the story’s abandonment of the “guild receptionist” part of the premise, in the context of fantasy manga you can do a lot worse.
It is a quite generic fantasy action adventure manga featuring a super powerful female protagonist, and I know that is enough for a lot of readers.
I would however like to recommend [Mookhyang: Dark Lady]. A dark fantasy manhwa featuring an overpowered female protagonist in an even more dangerous medieval fantasy setting. It is based on a relatively old novel, so it has quite a different vibe from recent fantasy manga. The protagonist is also a woman who used to be a man, which might influence your desire to read it. Politics and war is also a focus of the manhwa, which might turn away a lot of readers.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Feb 7, 2025
[More info about my review style can be found on my profile]
▶Summary and recommendation: -----------------------------------------------------------------
⚠This Manwha contains a few gruesome and traumatic scenes and actual crimes against nature. Though it does not take up much of the story I thought it prudent to mention.
"I can fix him" or will he drag you down to his level?
[Your Majesty, Please spare me this time] is a Romfan (Romance Fantasy) Otome Isekai story about a girl who has to curry favour with her future murderer to avoid death. In the process she learns that things are not as black and white as she thought they were.
This is
...
not a power fantasy story, but a story of ruthless politics, struggling and introspection. The artwork is gorgeous and might give you the idea that this is a fluffy feel-good story, but it is a bit darker than it seems.
A lot of people drop this Manwha due to not being used to a story with an unreliable narrator, or due to how problematic a lot of the characters are, but I recommend pushing through to the end and to give the characters a chance to redeem themselves; or at least receive their deserved punishments.
I wholeheartedly recommend [Your Majesty, Please spare me this time]. To both newcomers and veterans of the Otome Isekai genre. It is refreshing and well executed, with a gorgeous artstyle to boot.
▶Story: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"My weakness and helplessness, which aren't showing any signs of improvement even after going back in time" -Laliette
[Your Majesty, Please spare me this time] follows Laliette. A noble woman executed alongside her family by a psychopathic tyrant emperor for crimes she did not commit.
Waking up in the past, and armed with the knowledge of the future, most Isekai stories would put the protagonist in a position of power with all the knowledge she now possesses. Laliette however is quite powerless. While she is absolutely not an air headed clutz, she is not the smartest person and she is well aware of this. Her influence in politics and within her own family is quite limited, so she does the one thing she is capable of.
She tries to get in the good graces of her executioner, the future emperor. Hoping that their close relations may save her and her family.
The story starts out very strong, with a smooth introduction of both the premise and the main cast of the story.
She desperately tries to stay in the good graces of the emperor, with the psychopath ready to pull the trigger if she ever becomes a liability. Even something as simple as showing compassion can earn his ire. Making the story both tense and engrossing.
While common sense says they will get together (since this is a romance story after all), the way he treats her and others will make you question if they will, and if you even want them to.
The story is not without flaws. I thought the way it introduces new characters was not always elegant. and towards the ends there are a few slumps where the story struggles to get going again. Some of the big reveals also come a bit too predictably and with little fanfare. The author however still manages to pull through and deliver a satisfying ending to a fairly unique Otome Isekai story.
▶Setting: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The story is set in a generic Otome Isekai setting. That being a world losely inspired by Medieval/Early modern era Europe. There is barely anything that sets it apart from other Otome Isekai.
▶Characters: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The characters are very well written, with distinct personalities and ample room to grow. WIth the most standout characters unsurprisingly being the female lead and the male lead.
The story is full of problematic and deeply flawed characters, and much of the story revolves around introspection and trying to remedy those flaws. It is rare to see characters in fiction, let alone isekai who know they are in the wrong and who try to grow as a person through sheer force of will.
A lot of readers will however find that they are irredeemable and I understand that some people do not want to see a happy ending for them. If you are among those, you will understandably find this story difficult to enjoy.
▶Romance: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite all of this, it is still a romance story.
To call the romance problematic can at times be an understatement, and I witnessed many readers crave for blood, rather than love in the comment sections. If you are able to overlook the problematic aspects, or if you enjoy these kinds of relationships, it is quite satisfying to see the relationships blossom.
Can you look past the problematic nature of the romance and cheer for the characters who try to improve and become worthy of love?
▶Artwork: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First and foremost I must stress how gorgeous the art is.
The artist's ability to portray emotion is sublime. I have rarely seen utter desperation, rage and heartbreak portrayed as well as in this comic.
The background art relies a lot on premade 3D assets but it is well utilized and blends in well with the character art. There are a few nitpicks where a model's transparancy was set incorrectly so you are able to see through something you shouldn't be able to, but that is as I said, nitpicks.
The art is very good.
Now onto a more valid complaint. The artist doesn't quite hit the mark at making characters look their age. 12 year old children being portrayed as 8 years old at most. Which makes it even more jarring when they grow. Going from looking like an 8 year old, to late teens in just a few months within the story.
▶In conclusion: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Your Majesty, Please spare me this time] is one of the best stories that Otome Isekai has to offer. While not without a few flaws in the story, the art and a quite weak setting, it is still one of the best executed stories that I have read in this genre.
And it is complete, not ongoing!
Though I will say there are a few loose ends I would have loved to see tied in an epilogue. I am hoping they are in the side stories that I have yet been able to find and read.
Investing in problematic characters can be difficult, and wishing them happiness can be counterintuitive, but I recommend that you try. This story is worth it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 19, 2025
[More info about my review style can be found on my profile]
▶Summary and recommendation: -----------------------------------------------------------------
⚠ This manga contains Nazi adjacent imagery. The author appears to be what is known as a "Wehraboo". Someone who likes the aesthetic of the Wehrmacht. The German military in WW2. [Saga of Tanya the evil] is set in an alternate universe where Germany is not the aggressor.
[Saga of Tanya the Evil] is a very unusual isekai. Summarizing it is difficult, but my attempt is as follows. 'Saga of Tanya the Evil is the story of an HR manager. A libertarian psychopath with a near religious faith in the Free
...
Market Economy facing god, and as punishment for their hubris they are reborn as a child soldier in Alternate universe magical earth that is at the cusp of World War 2, and they are fighting for Germany.'
⚠ There is a single scene of partial nudity of the protagonist. It is not sexualized, but I think it warrants a small warning.
With a small child as the protagonist, I went into this expecting the worst. Manga does not exactly have a good track record with children!
I do not know if the author wanted to showcase the horrors of war by making the protagonist a child soldier, or if they simply wanted the protagonist to look cute. Regardless of the reason, my worries were unfounded.
It is a manga with some flaws and issues (that I touch upon later in the review), but it makes up for it with plenty of novel ideas that are well executed. It took some time before it fully resonated with me but I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it once it clicked.
I recommend [Saga of Tanya the Evil] if the premise and setting is something that interests you.
▶Story: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The protagonist Tanya is unusually well defined for an Isekai. Not a blank slate, and living up to the name of the manga; not a good person. An HR manager whose job it was to fire underperforming employees.
They hold strong beliefs about how the world should work. Many of those beliefs paint the protagonist as a psychopath. In particular those concerning the value of human life. It is these strongly held beliefs that causes the protagonist to be reborn as a girl in Germany, in a world at the cusp of war.
The story relies a lot on Tanya being misunderstood by those around them. Operating on an entirely different logic than those around her, she will express her distaste for conflict, yet be interpreted as a bloodthirsty warmongerer. The people around her will likewise express distain or disgust at Tanya's "love" of war, which Tanya in turn will misinterpret.
At first the manga did not resonate with me for taking place in a setting I am less interested in, following a character that is hard to like, and having a story that relies on misunderstandings at every turn.
However, once I realised that it is Tanya's messed up world view that is the catalyst for all the misunderstandings, it clicked with me. Tanya is a HR manager who sees humans as expendable resources. Their world view is so twisted that it is incompatible with the people around them. Tanya is so caught up in her world view, that she makes critical and dangerous mistakes that often propel her into further danger.
Perhaps I am giving the author too much credit, but it is almost like they are trying to demonstrate how a modern day libertarian with a world view shaped by the Chicago school of economics can, with a callous mind, create a horrific theatre of war. Worse than a nationalist with waning ideas of honour and chivalry could from the given time period.
In addition to the constant use of misunderstandings to further the story, I found that the story felt a bit rushed in places. There are two main storylines. That of the conflict between the protagonist and the god who sent him to this world, and that of the military campaigns of fantasy Germany vs fantasy The Allies.
The majority of chapters are dedicated to the latter, but sometimes crucial moments in the military campaign are glossed over. It sometimes felt like the author was so eager about the next story arc, that they rushed through the current one.
This manga is an adaptation of a novel, so it could be that this is the result of the adaptation into a manga, rather than a choice by the author.
Despite these shortcomings, the story is extremely gripping, there are a lot of parallels to real world history that I enjoyed spotting, and I even found myself rooting for the protagonist after a couple dozen chapters. Despite their dubious ethics.
▶Setting: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Saga of Tanya the evil] is set in an alternative universe Earth during World War II. Geographically identical to Earth, it features similar nations and political alliances. With one of the biggest difference being the existence of magic.
The author has amazing knowledge of the time period, and showcases it well with time appropriate knowledge, tactics and equipment. Though a lot of the equipment is ripped straight from our world. Such as the tanks used by Fantasy Germany being panzers identical to the ones used by real world Germany during the war.
The most significant difference between this fictional universe and our own, is of course Germany.
Nazi Germany in [Saga of Tanya the evil] is simply called "The Empire", and it does not (so far) commit any of tne atrocities that real world Germany did. While it is militaristic, it is not far right, and is portrayed as a bastion of equality in the manga.
It was probably a wise decision by the author that the protagonist is not fighting for actual nazis.
▶Characters: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the manga is how little character development the protagonist goes through. Despite all the troubles and misunderstandings that befalls the protagonist due to their strongly held beliefs, they never once question their faith. Much of the story is spent on Tanya interacting with other soldiers, yet they never influence her in any way.
As of the latest chapter (chapter 73 as of writing) Tanya has not seen any significant character development or changes in world view.
The protagonist is a soldier and is surrounded by her comrades. Surprisingly, the vast majority of the members of her group are faceless and nameless. Only a few have a name and face, and even fewer are given enough pages for the reader to get to know them. Something I think would have benefitted the manga a great deal.
Other notable figures in the story are fortunately given a lot more pages. Generals, politicians and the adversaries are well fleshed out.
▶Artwork: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The artwork is quite gorgeous. Chapter pages, and epic battles are very detailed, and the action scenes are spectacular, albeit sometimes a bit difficult to track. The artist also sometimes uses clever shortcuts, such as edited real life photographies as backgrounds, which fits very well with the style of the manga.
The characters are well designed, and fit the gritty setting well. The artist does an excellent job communicating emotions through extreme and exaggerated expressions on the character's faces.
It is in black and white, and not coloured. As is the norm with Manga from Japan
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 12, 2024
[More info about my review style can be found on my profile]
▶Summary and recommendation: -----------------------------------------------------------------
The Writer's Barely-Disguised Fetish
⚠This manga is softcore pornography featuring underage characters⚠
⚠Female characters in this manga are usually sexualized⚠
⚠This manga features thinly veiled homophobia⚠
[Maou-sama, Retry!] and the sequel [Maou-sama, Retry! R] is a harem power fantasy isekai focusing predominantly on the protagonist showing off how badass and capable they are, and on showing women and children's underwear to the reader.
...
I absolutely do not recommend this isekai to anyone. This is a manga for paedophiles.
▶Story: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The story is your very average isekai power fantasy story, where the protagonist goes on an adventure while fighting increasingly impressive foes. It is however not trying to go for a very deep story, and other than a slight focus on wackiness, the manga primarily exist to display the author's fetishes.
The protagonist after finding himself in a fantasy world, goes on an adventure, picking up various underaged girls along the way. Girls with self esteem issues, former slaves, victims of curses, and abuse. With his overwhelming power, he easily solves all their problems, and wins over their hearts.
As a harem, everyone of course falls in love with him. Most (maybe all?) of which are children, or look like children. Within the first chapter, he has come upon his first harem member. His 13 year old adoptive daughter/love interest.
Aping Overlord in many of its aspects, this protagonist goes on to create his ideal country, one where one of the indiginous races has to wear skimpy playboy bunny outfits (Another example of where this author's priorities lie).
While the red flags were there from the start, it is not as blatant about its perverseness until the sequel manga.
There are a couple of satisfying plot twists, and spectacular fight scenes, but there is nothing can redeem this manga.
▶Setting: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Much of the setting seem to have been inspired by the hit Isekai [Overlord]. Both turning into their extremely powerful MMO videogame characters, and both of them running a guild filled with loyal NPC characters. NPCs with high expectations of the protagonist, causing the protagonist a lot of pressure and stress.
Where they differ however is the author's knowledge of the subject they are writing about. I suspect the author may not have played an MMO since the late 1990s, or early 2000s, and are receiving most of their knowledge of videogames and the games industry from second hand sources.
▶Characters: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The protagonist is a young adult from our world, a game developer (though the author seems to not know exactly what that entails). He possesses the final boss of the videogame he made, which for some reason is also his player character. Appearance wise, he looks like a middle aged evil mastermind.Hitting all the tropes of the genre, he is immensely powerful, with hidden powers, transformations, and an appearance that terrifies his friends and some of his allies.
Most female characters are fetishized and serves only as eye candy for the viewers. The end game of most of the female characters is to fall in love with the main character (who quite persistently claim to not be a paedophile, despite the manga being firmly targetting that demographic).
The rest of the cast are jokes or common Japanese popular media tropes.
▶Artwork: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The artwork is of decent quality, and the fight scenes flow quite well.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Dec 12, 2024
[More info about my review style can be found on my profile]
▶Summary and recommendation: -----------------------------------------------------------------
The Writer's Barely-Disguised Fetish
⚠This manga is softcore pornography featuring underage characters⚠
⚠Female characters in this manga are usually sexualized⚠
⚠This manga features thinly veiled homophobia⚠
[Maou-sama, Retry!] and the sequel [Maou-sama, Retry! R] is a harem power fantasy isekai focusing predominantly on the protagonist showing off how badass and capable they are, and on showing women and children's underwear to the reader.
...
I absolutely do not recommend this isekai to anyone. This is a manga for paedophiles.
▶Story: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The story is your very average isekai power fantasy story, where the protagonist goes on an adventure while fighting increasingly impressive foes. It is however not trying to go for a very deep story, and other than a slight focus on wackiness, the manga primarily exist to display the author's fetishes.
The protagonist after finding himself in a fantasy world, goes on an adventure, picking up various underaged girls along the way. Girls with self esteem issues, former slaves, victims of curses, and abuse. With his overwhelming power, he easily solves all their problems, and wins over their hearts.
As a harem, everyone of course falls in love with him. Most (maybe all?) of which are children, or look like children. Within the first chapter, he has come upon his first harem member. His 13 year old adoptive daughter/love interest.
Aping Overlord in many of its aspects, this protagonist goes on to create his ideal country, one where one of the indiginous races has to wear skimpy playboy bunny outfits (Another example of where this author's priorities lie).
While the red flags were there from the start, it is not as blatant about its perverseness until the sequel manga.
There are a couple of satisfying plot twists, and spectacular fight scenes, but there is nothing can redeem this manga.
▶Setting: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Much of the setting seem to have been inspired by the hit Isekai [Overlord]. Both turning into their extremely powerful MMO videogame characters, and both of them running a guild filled with loyal NPC characters. NPCs with high expectations of the protagonist, causing the protagonist a lot of pressure and stress.
Where they differ however is the author's knowledge of the subject they are writing about. I suspect the author may not have played an MMO since the late 1990s, or early 2000s, and are receiving most of their knowledge of videogames and the games industry from second hand sources.
▶Characters: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The protagonist is a young adult from our world, a game developer (though the author seems to not know exactly what that entails). He possesses the final boss of the videogame he made, which for some reason is also his player character. Appearance wise, he looks like a middle aged evil mastermind.Hitting all the tropes of the genre, he is immensely powerful, with hidden powers, transformations, and an appearance that terrifies his friends and some of his allies.
Most female characters are fetishized and serves only as eye candy for the viewers. The end game of most of the female characters is to fall in love with the main character (who quite persistently claim to not be a paedophile, despite the manga being firmly targetting that demographic).
The rest of the cast are jokes or common Japanese popular media tropes.
▶Artwork: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The artwork is of decent quality, and the fight scenes flow quite well.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Nov 16, 2024
[More info about my review style can be found on my profile]
▶Summary and recommendation: -----------------------------------------------------------------
[Ginger and the cursed prince] is an Otome isekai story about the most clumsy and airheaded person you can dream up trying to scheme their way through love and politics, to various degrees of success.
Like a trainwreck in slow motion, it is hard to look away. Our protagonist can always find a new way to fall, sometimes in the right direction.
The amount of second hand embarassment this story offers is on a level many will find difficult to manage. You are going to reel back in horror at some of
...
the embarrassing moments of this story. It is of course intentionally done by the author, and for those who enjoy that kind of story, this is a goldmine.
Despite its inability to keep up what made it unique throughout the entire story left me feeling a bit disappointed. I still recommend this to those who take pleasure in second hand embarrassment, and those who want a story with likeable characters who are honest to a fault.
▶Story: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rather than being reincarnated, our protagonist instead learns of the future through a book she happens upon. The story follows Ginger as she tries to use her knowledge of the future to her advantage and win the heart of her dream prince.
The story itself is quite straightforward and serves more as a backdrop to the characters and their antics.
What the author has done is to skillfully craft a story specially tailored to invoke the highest degree of second hand embarassment possible. Ginger will tackle every challenge she faces with more enthusiasm than she has skill and common sense. This will result in some of the most embarrassing moments I have ever experienced in a book. Unfortunately it fails to maintain that barrage of embarrassment throughout the entirety of the story, and is sadly quite indistinguishable from most of its peers by the end.
It is however relatively short for a manhwa at only around 70 chapters, and the cast of characters makes it worth finishing. At 72 chapters + epilogue, it is something you can blast through in only a few days (if you do not need to take breaks to recover from the second hand embarrasent).
▶Setting: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The setting is unremarkeable. It is loosely inspired by european medieval fantasy. Geopolitics do not have a big role in the story, and the author didn't put that much thought into making the world seem full and expansive. Just whatever was needed for the self contained plot of the manhwa. This is neither a negative nor positive.
▶Characters: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The characters are the primary focus of this manwha, with everything else taking a back seat, and it has some stand out characters as a result.
If you are looking for a story with a clever and intelligent protagonist, this is not it. The protagonist Ginger is unabashedly honest, and an airheaded clutz with a tendency to choose the worst option possible when given the opportunity, and even when she is not given an opportunity.
Those not bothered by, or enjoying the second hand embarrassment will find a loveable protagonist who couldn't be cruel even if she tried.
All the side characters exist to create interesting interactions between them and the protagonist. The initial roster is somewhat weak and one dimensional, but the story introduces more likeable characters with more depth as the story progresses. The main male lead, and supporting leads (while visually quite standard for the genre) play well with the personality and antics of the protagonist.
▶Romance: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The romance is the premise, main drive and focus of the entire manhwa. With a loveable protagonist, great supporting character, and a good natured male lead, it makes you root for every single one of them.
Our protagonist comes on extremely strong, which makes for great dynamics with the more reserved and (justifiably) distrustful male lead. While the romance plot is fairly straight forward it is still engaging thanks to Ginger's tendency to mess up.
As previously mentioned it is unable to keep Ginger's antics up for the entirety of the story, and possibly the weakest aspect of this manwha is that it loses some of its identity and is quite indistinguishable from any other Romance Otome Isekai by the end.
▶Artwork: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The artwork is a bit inconsistent, with thick background lineart sometimes clashing with thin character outlines. It is fine enough for the story the manwha wants to tell, but it isn't particularly gorgeous to look at, and does not help the already generic character designs stand out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Oct 26, 2024
[More info about my review style can be found on my profile]
▶Summary and recommendation: -----------------------------------------------------------------
[The Villainess turns the hourglass] was my first Otome Isekai, and I am now writing my review after finishing my second read.
It is a great introduction to the genre, but it does not excel in many areas. It is a power fantasy / revenge story, and if you can find it in you to root for the protagonist (who is most certainly not a saint themselves) you will find both very satisfying.
I usually recommend this to people trying to get into Otome Isekai, but it is far from the best
...
the genre has to offer.
▶Story: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The introduction differs quite a lot compared to most Isekai in that the protagonist is a native of the fantasy world, and not from our world. The isekai aspect comes in the form of the main character dying and waking up many years in the past when she was a child, now armed with knowledge of the future.
The protagonist was a former commoner, who is now living in the rigid world of nobles. The rags to riches* story follows Aria. A sly girl who armed with the intelligence of an adult together with her foreknowledge sets out on a quest of revenge against everyone who wronged her. She of course does this through political and economic schemes rather than through ostentatious action.
The manwha does an excellent job in its power fantasy aspect, and the protagonist rarely meets any challenges she can not overcome with ease. To the point of becoming predictable at times.
Where there is contention is the revenge aspect. The villain of the story is a young child who in the present is only a mean child due to her upbringing, but will in the future become cruel and outright evil due to her being easily manipulated by the malicious adults around her.
While the villain is most definitely cruel, our modern real world sensibilities would say that her as a child is not deserving of what is happening to her, making it difficult for many to root for the main character.
There are also issues with the themes of the manhwa. Where some of its positive themes are subverted later in the story.
▶Setting: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The setting is unremarkeable. It is loosely inspired by european medieval fantasy. Geopolitics do not have a big role in the story, and the author didn't put that much thought into making the world seem full and expansive. Just whatever was needed for the self contained plot of the manhwa.
▶Characters: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The main character is intelligent and sly except for when the story requires her to be oblivious to move the plot forward (In particular the romance subplot). She does not go through a lot of character development, as that is not really the point of the story. Rather she is portrayed as a mastermind who skillfully manipulates the board to fulfill her goals. Satisfying if that is what you are looking for.
The side characters are fleshed out, with the reader learning more about them at a very well portioned out pace throughout the story.
▶Romance: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Romance is a huge focus of the story, and unlike many Otome Isekai, this is where it differs a lot from other romances. It is the one field where there are some nuance, and things do not always go according to plan.
The pairing is quite obvious when you see it, but it takes a while to get there though even though it is quite obvious how it will end. Some commenters have complained about the romance subplot being stretched out too much, and there is some validity to that complaint.
There are some oddities with maturity and characters not looking their age due to certain plot devices, that make some of the romance seem off.
▶Artwork: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The artstyle is acceptable. It does not stand out in any particular way, but serves the plot well. Character expressions are well showcased through the art, but it does not elevate the story in any way.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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