Back to kapu02's Profile kapu02's Profile

My god, this is trash.
But if you have an okay tolerance to edgy tropes, Roxana is also an easy and entertaining read with amazing art.

I can't say too much yet as I haven't read the novel that far ahead and the manhwa is only 30ish chapters in but from my judgement, if you want an engrossing story and memorable characters/interactions you should just look elsewhere. Roxana can only offer very sexy strong independent characters whose only personality trait is that they are psychotic. Imagine it as porn but you get off to gore, edginess, degeneracy etc etc (hopefully smut and gl in the future ... pls kek) instead of intercourse.

The pros, it's hot. The character designs are beautifully sharp, the gothic aesthetic and black/red color palettes are gorgeous. The little character writing (fl, family) are all the very attractive kind of toxic, aka mentally ill, dangerous and obsessed, but not creepy or pathetic. Another of its notable positives for me is that the author not self-conscious, so edgy stuff will happen but there's no blatant normie exposition character / monologue there only to react "I can't believe this is happening, this is so crazy" which makes the universe if not believable at least not cringe.

Ngl, I enjoyed Roxana, or if you prefer the novel title "The Way to Protect the Female Lead’s Older Brother" a lot, and I think most people who like otome isekai also will. I feel it's an especially good recommendation if you need a cheap fast palate cleanser from nice guys and gals, cute and funny, dense mcs, boring ethics. But then, if you're not into having trigger warnings before each chapter or if you don't enjoy trashyness and porn I suggest skipping out on this one. For a rough edge measure, I think Roxana is tamer than a lot of stuff on HBO but she's very much up there.

"Should you have thorns, I shall be pricked, should you addict me, I shall succumb, I take the poison just to have you."

Guys, gals, non-binary pals, The Taming of the Tyrant is very good and I enjoyed myself a lot. I definitely would recommend if you're looking for a well executed bad girl dominates bottom bad boy trope with badass leads, narrow relationship focus, and a compelling story.

The romance in TotT is well, hot and is probably the main intended selling point of the manhwa. Not to spoil too much, but fl goes through some torture porn prior to isekaism, and ml is raised ... sick in the head so both leads start off as really cool unfeeling sociopaths. It is wholesome to see their relationship develop over 6 toxic but not really years, and them softening up. In a typical tsun fashion, both will often prefer to speak of big words like empireship, loyalty, coups, control etc etc but we know how cute they actually are.

Moving on to why TotT is special, to begin with I liked how respectful the romance is. Most of the time we see feet related sensei affection at most, there's absolutely no cheap smut, saliva, fanservice. The dialogue and sweettalk then felt all the more meaningful. Secondly, in Taming the side characters (exception of 3 relatives) never overstay their welcome - sure, there are some ego-handjobs and faceslapping (especially with 3 relatives) but stupid characters never get more than 3-4 panels of attention. Finally, while other manhwas may shift or dilute their focus by introducing more arcs and characters, TotT keeps its eyes on the endgoal and steadily moves towards it. The manhwa stays faithful to a fairly monogamous relationship and character development throughout the whole 50ish chapters I read, and that is to me quite commendable.

If you're looking for a typical villainess otome isekai I think the tropes featured in Taming of the Tyrant won't disappoint. From my stance, it is one of the 3 otome isekai manhwas that place a strong focus on the story without too much cheap fanservice (exception of goddamn unappreciative family trope) along with Your Throne and Fantasie of a Stepmother, which automatically makes it top tier for me.

Ps I predict Taming will become really really popular, it will maybe even surpass the likes of Death is the only ending for the Villainess, as the story is also entertaining and the art also is beautiful. Kinda weird this shit review is going to be its first one on MAL lmao, sorry

Pre-timeskip story: acceptance, adolescence, motherly love and a newfound family. Heartwarming, cute, very precious, best oi I ever read. 10/10

Post-timeskip story: romance, drama that does not matter, the most lovable character fl is content and gets less screen time, very very generic. 5/10

WARNING: I've avoided spoiling plot points, only commenting on the overall story structure but you might want to stop here if you want to go in knowing nothing.

Fantasy of a Stepmother is not the first manhwa that shifts its focus and becomes average as a result, but damn I was surprised. Given how strong it started, I was almost certain the author ... would stick with the unique and original themes it excelled at instead of trying to be like everyone else which it did.

The beginning chapters are incredible, we see a broken girl trying to mend a broken relationship with her adopted children. The FL is strong, selfless, cute, the side characters feel like they exist not only for her sake, overall the manhwa was a breath of fresh air from the cheap romantic otome isekai trash I've been reading recently. The story picks up around chapter 30 when one of her adopted family members is put on trial, and culminated for me during 57-65 with Shuri's heartbreaking backstory of misunderstandings which I won't spoil. It was unfathomable to me how the author could write such a creative, sympathetic and relatively plot-hole-free-ish (don't think too much) concept and then drop the ball...

Welp, chapters 65-90 featured a timeskip, and the manhwa became the romantic otome isekai I've been reading recently. Granted it was not cheap, I was still invested but nothing happens in 25 chapters, there's some insinuations of an incestous development, which god I hope won't happen, overall the female lead is pretty happy and thus stakes are zero. I felt the post-timeskip arc was pointless, because the time that was skipped was the initial goal itself. After that, there's romantic rivalries, pointless family drama, some sword/hunting competition but even if war breaks out everyone dies I don't care since the family has already struggled and prevailed. Beyond that we have A Before Midnight 2013 moment, a hollow attempt at fabricating a family ordeal, and reliving past romance.

In conclusion, do read Fantasy of a Stepmother for chapters 1-65, I gave them a 10/10 (understand I'm quite stingy, and elitist). I think the author should have not done non-familial romance altogether, extended the struggle prior to the time skip, adding 3-4 political/family arcs before the trial, and ended with an epilogue after the time skip but eh, I'm still very grateful for getting to experience the story as it is. I stand behind what I said in the intro, chapters 1-65 are the best of manhwa I have read. Going forward, I don't think the story has and will reach such heights again, but I shall be waiting and hoping to be proven wrong.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess is a feel good isekai about an iNteReStiNg royalty who loves magic. Nothing stands out particularly but what can I say, I loved this manga and I had a great time. And if you like yuri, isekai, and otome like me I think there's a high chance you will too.

As a fluffy magic isekai, if you've read Mushuku Tensei, or the shouta magic geek one, you know what to expect. Stronk quirky mc, crisp artstyle, the plot is well-paced, there are almost no stakes, and the vibes are of a nice casual sol. Not too standoutish but ... nevertheless, the cute FLs were enough to carry the story and keep me interested.

Euphy is a perfect sheltered lady who has spent her life accomodating stupid nobles, an polar opposite of Anis who is a unhinged magic freak who has only been doing whatever shennanigans she wants. They have a fate encounter in chapter 1 after which a lot of the manga is focused on developing their relationship which is very very precious. It's a Utena-Anthy dynamic we're not at all unfamiliar with but what works works.

Euphy learns to express her feelings and support Anis out of her own free will, while Anis grows fond of the found companionship she never had befor
e. Magic theory side characters, action every other plot device is built only as to support the main character dynamic, which in my opinion was a great decision not many mangakas make anymore.

You see, other isekai might place focus on magic systems, power levels, booba fanservice, braindead harem, side characters no one cares about, imperialist bs, overpowering the mc, discussing kitchen sink ethics, cardboard villains or drama etc etc. MRotRP strips the genre down to its core and gives me the only fantasy I really want which is to be loved. It is a good reminder of how enjoyable isekai can be without the cheap gimmicks we have grown accustomed to. Further positive, the choice for a mary sue female lead rather than a op/edgy/pervy/oblivious male lead helped me self insert without feeling like a pathetic incel.

I mostly focus on the negatives Magical Revolution managed to avoid rather than the good things about it, but I really can't help it. I've read a good number of isekai already so nothing stands out anymore. The best compliment I can give Reincarnated Princess is that in 21 chapters I didn't find a single dull or obnoxious panel, and I'm certain that I won't be bored if the main focus continues to be the romance. When it comes to isekai, for me, these 3 volumes are as good as it gets.

Uohhh sixteen year old cunny, age gap cute and funny 😭😭😭

The story is wholesome and the artstyle is insanely pretty but I only recommend Ojou to Banken with huge caveat. You know, my trigger tolerance thresholds usually run high due to the spicy sixdigits I read, but even I had to turn off my brain for the grooming behavior to not affect my enjoyment. If I see this happen in real life I'll likely puke.

Not to be judgemental but if you think normalising such a relationship under the pretext of protection is not gross we can't be friends. I'll be judging you from 200 ... feet away.

Really sweet manga as just about any romantic story set in a time when people had to deal with prejudice, discrimination, and class differences. And in that regard it is a incredibly enjoyable period piece, with great pacing, loveable characters and beautiful art but nothing really sets it apart.

The positives are many and Sayonara Rose Garden was for sure a quality read for me. The romance progresses nicely and although we only have 17 chapters the not one relationship feels rushed. In fact the pacing is one of the greatest strengths of the manga because the story knows what it aims to achieve from chapter ... 1. No important moment in the nurturing of the relationship is then missed and it properly feels that these 3 volumes are only snapshots of the passing of time.

In contrast other romantic mangas Ive read either make the plot up as they go, spanning hundreds of chapters and multiple arcs until they forget what the original purpose is and have no idea how to reach a conclusion. This happened with Hanayome, Horimiya, Domestic for me. Those mangas reiterate and maybe even stagnate until the ending just feels lackluster and unspecial if ended.

Here there’s initial attraction between Hanako and Alice, we then delve into some of their maybe simplistic character writing which is does a great job at making the leads endearing and progressing the relationship. The maid Hanako at first appearing as a timid determined type we get to see grow to be able to stand up to herself and her mistress Alice. She first travels to Britain in pursuit of her dream of meeting a writer but its nice to see ambitions get benched once Alice takes her in as a personal companion. Alice on the other hand is at first the flawless distant Mary Sue character, but really comes to her own once the story delved into her vulnerabilities and backstory. It was a great idea for both of them serve as inspiration of the other on equal grounds - Hanako through action and Alice through fiction - and seeing these seemingly perfect characters become needy and selfish around each other was cute and very enjoyable.

Another positive, there’s a lot of effort put into the art and locations such as the rose garden pavillion and Hastings bookstore, Alices room are detailed and well realised. We are always made aware of where a scene is taking place and each setting is a beautiful eye candy if you’re looking for the Jane Austin aesthetic in manga.

Now, the one gripe I have with Sayonara Rose Garden is the ending which feels both overdone and out of place SPOILERS here but don’t worry because the ending is so predictable knowing what happens won’t affect your enjoyment whatsoever.

Hanako ends up not killing Alice wow and they both run away to travel the world wow. The fact which was mentioned by the manga mind you that Alice couldn’t do that because she would disgrace her whole family name is suddenly forgotten and we see previously likeable character publicly humiliate the man who loves her at the wedding to selfishly run off with Hanako in the possibly most corny overused ending to any romance against society story. Its neither empowering nor deserved and all of the setup we had from the previous 16 chapters is thrown into the trash.

SPOILERS for real this time. The ending would have been infinitely better imo if they went for the bittersweet route and had Alice get married and have a child, and Hanako going back to Japan and becoming a prominent writer. The final scene would be a 10/10 for me if the final panels were a juxtaposition of both of them in their late 20s visiting bookstores, buying bestsellers written from the other, finding out both reference the time they spent together in the rose garden pavillion 10 years ago and realising both still love each other. Not that this ending isn’t overused, but it’s way less corny and the author themselves seemed to be going for this. The current ending can’t help but feel like they were only forced to comply with the demands of some stupid publisher/editor who wanted a happy ending.

Sayonara Rose Garden is a manga I’d recommend to anyone, since I enjoyed it immensely and until the end never found it boring nor overbearing which sometimes happens when I read romance. The Victorian aesthetic is a nice change of pace from modern life Japan, high school and medieval isekais and the length allows for a one sitting binge. It’s a sweet story of found companionship and feels refreshingly realistic, as opposed to so many romantic mangas that rely on archetypes, gimmicky premise, or harems but then I feel that if one has seen other lesbian period pieces like The Handmaiden 2016, or Portrait of a Lady on Fire 2019 for me, they might find the manga corny and less unique.

Ping Pong the Animation feels like it was tailor-made for me. It tells the story of 5 table tennis competitors in a period of two years, and concludes it with an epilogue 10 or smt years later. And all is creative choices are made in order to develop those 5 characters, so that they come of age. Poignant af, and especially relatable to me, because I used to be a precocious depressed math competitor, PPTA really hit home. To top it all off, this anime does not feature any of that shitty anime comedy that makes me inhale slowly and sigh with regret.

I would love ... to praise every aspect of this anime to high heaven, but I feel it would be redundant and inappropriate, because I adore it so much. When one loves something, trying to objectively analyze it sounds stupid, self-indulging and superficial (looking at you, anime youtubers) Still, I am obligated to say for the sake of promotion that the Tenderness and China OSTs make me tear up every time (post-PPTA.) Kensuke Ushio is my Final Fantasy VII.

Just watch it. You might feel like everything you have seen before is BS post-PPTA (sports anime are now all the same BS to me );) so be warned. If the animation is putting you off, know that it put me off when it came out in 2014 as well and l was retarded back then. PPTA's style grew on me a lot because I liked the show. While watching it, surprisingly I never found it ugly, or too quirky. I get it too, if the sports anime story is typically not your thing - it isn't mine either. However, know that PPTA is a sports anime only when it comes down to the setup, tropes, and epic moments. At the heart of it, the anime is about 5 lovable goofballs, 3 cute old timers, numerous losers that don't matter (but make you cry nonetheless,) and the drama between them. Ping Pong the Animation is a love letter to table tennis and a tribute to youth.

Nisio Isin dropped the ball. Either that or I have become stupider in the 2 years since I saw Monogatari, because I did not appreciate Katanagatari as much as I expected.

The story is convoluted. 12 episodes for gathering 12 swords starts off the same but slowly becomes richer and more complicated. And It flows well with more threads, characters and world-building until it does not. At the end though not one thing gets proper closure. Changing history? Fixing history? Prophesy? Legacy? Rebellion? Long lines? 13th sword? Future swords? Ancestors? Fall of the Shogunate? Why does the princess act like a bitch despite not caring about ... what happens at all? Why doesn't it matter at the end?

Story aside, the characters feel off too. Togame's initial motivations are weak, convoluted, and not relatable at all. She treats her subordinates, feelings, and self as pawns, closes her heart and seemingly seeks revenge but not really. At the end it becomes clear (but not at all) that she could not allow herself to be happy and instead chose to hurt herself for no apparent reason. Shichika is interesting and I liked how he fell in love with the ambitious but contradictory nature of Togame. However, their development throughout the show (finding their lost humanity through each other's companionship motif) could not help but feel like a lackluster retelling of another kitchen sink philosophy. Likewise all lessons or moral dilemmas they encountered in the last episodes felt to me like they were presented in an arrogant, self-patronizing, endlessly cringy, precocious-high-school-student manner. It was pretentious and it was stupid.

The side-characters did not have much of an impact to me, they were just there to be there. In this case they were "side"-ish to the extreme. The Maniwani died like bugs and each had just one fake humanizing moment to invoke some sympathy and create the illusion that they matter at all. The sword owners could go one way or the other. Either just somewhat/very cool, cute (Ezo girl, armor guy, princess + her ninja, dojo, ep 2 guy), or underwritten where writing was attempted (sister and Meisei). It is a shame, really because the show takes its time to introduce badass characters with a potentially meaningful development, but ruins them by having things just happen without logic nor reason.

The show is at its best in those moments where nothing really matters. Because when it tries to be funny and cute, it is extremely funny and cute. Both Togame and Shichicka are very cute by themselves but when they act cute together something weird clicks and makes me want to cry. And I do not remember the last time I laughed as hard as when the the narrator said Cheerio is wrong.

Katanagatari is amazing when it is self-aware, quirky, and cute. However, I also dislike it for being convoluted, for having unfleshed out characters. and overall, for going nowhere. Maybe I am just stupid but establishing so many ambiguities as to let the viewer interpret the story themselves ruins many logical connections whose lack in turn make Katanagatari a lot less enjoyable. If I had to decide, I would not recommend it - I felt it was great 4 or 5 times but I felt even more disappointed afterwards.

Kimetsu no Yaiba has creative visuals, quirky style and simple premise that works very effectively. The hashiras are literally the coolest guys ever. However, my main issue is that the pacing and villains of totally blow.

Demon Slayer has really weird pacing decisions - the fights stretch on like 30 chapters and the in-between ark pauses are barely there. In other shounen shows writers use pauses and long arks to explore contextual tangents, build up tension, create drama, and rise stakes. That way they create an illusion of a journey and make the reader more involved to the story. Unfortunately Demon Slayer does not do any ... of that particularly well and the consequences show. Everything our characters do comes out like an unearned heist sequence without any impact to the story at all. The only thing that seemingly matters is who dies but I did not feel involved with any of the characters at all.

I really did not care whether any of the characters will live or not. Sure most are cool, however, they are also static to a fault. The badass design and tragic backstory are certainly there but where are the aspirations, the character, the drama? I feel like the hashiras are just some npcs with programmed responses, present only for Tanjiro (the boringest default soy boy character ever) to interact with. Admittedly, Zenitsu and Inosuke have some non-completely forced drama, but it was too weakly resolved to count. Good characters certainly don't lack style, but they do lack substance.

The writing of the villains, however, sucks pee pee. They are stuck in this limbo zone of inconsistency between a tragic backstory, goodness at heart, and the fact that they have eaten half of the population of Japan. While we, readers are meant to empathise, the villains are subjected to the stupidest most awkward character development template:
> I am not bad at all, but I live in a society
> have to protect someone excuse
> *dies *gets vampirized
> ok, now I am over-the top evil. I want power and revenge
> *gets fucking decapitated
> Tanjiro holds hand and reads last will, feels bad man
> omg, I made a mistake, I am good actually
> Tanjiro, thanks for teaching me this cheap-ass brain-dead moral lesson
> proceeds to suck Tanjiro off and dies for real

Demon Slayer has no sense of drama and everything it does is cut short. No character has any genuine development and resolution. Boring, meaningless fights are stretched far too long, while in-between moments (with training and character development) are either basic-Tanjiro-level-cringe-worthy or unexplored at all. I really hate to have to do this, but I think Kimetsu no Yaiba lacks fillers and thus shounen substance. Nevertheless, the form is unparalleled - the style of Meiji (or smt) Japan, interesting magic system, creative fight visuals, cool backstories and character design. 5/10

Kimetsu no Yaiba has creative visuals, quirky style and simple premise that works very effectively. The hashiras are literally the coolest guys ever. However, my main issue is that the pacing and villains of totally blow.

Demon Slayer has really weird pacing decisions - the fights stretch on like 30 chapters and the in-between ark pauses are barely there. In other shounen shows writers use pauses and long arks to explore contextual tangents, build up tension, create drama, and rise stakes. That way they create an illusion of a journey and make the reader more involved to the story. Unfortunately Demon Slayer does not do any ... of that particularly well and the consequences show. Everything our characters do comes out like an unearned heist sequence without any impact to the story at all. The only thing that seemingly matters is who dies but I did not feel involved with any of the characters at all.

I really did not care whether any of the characters will live or not. Sure most are cool, however, they are also static to a fault. The badass design and tragic backstory are certainly there but where are the aspirations, the character, the drama? I feel like the hashiras are just some npcs with programmed responses, present only for Tanjiro (the boringest default soy boy character ever) to interact with. Admittedly, Zenitsu and Inosuke have some non-completely forced drama, but it was too weakly resolved to count. Good characters certainly don't lack style, but they do lack substance.

The writing of the villains, however, sucks pee pee. They are stuck in this limbo zone of inconsistency between a tragic backstory, goodness at heart, and the fact that they have eaten half of the population of Japan. While we, readers are meant to empathise, the villains are subjected to the stupidest most awkward character development template:
> I am not bad at all, but I live in a society
> have to protect someone excuse
> *dies *gets vampirized
> ok, now I am over-the top evil. I want power and revenge
> *gets fucking decapitated
> Tanjiro holds hand and reads last will, feels bad man
> omg, I made a mistake, I am good actually
> Tanjiro, thanks for teaching me this cheap-ass brain-dead moral lesson
> proceeds to suck Tanjiro off and dies for real

Demon Slayer has no sense of drama and everything it does is cut short. No character has any genuine development and resolution. Boring, meaningless fights are stretched far too long, while in-between moments (with training and character development) are either basic-Tanjiro-level-cringe-worthy or unexplored at all. I really hate to have to do this, but I think Kimetsu no Yaiba lacks fillers and thus shounen substance. Nevertheless, the form is unparalleled - the style of Meiji (or smt) Japan, interesting magic system, creative fight visuals, cool backstories and character design. 5/10