So I've been re-reading one of my favorite #webtoons , Odd Girl Out, by #Morangji. I was pretty invested in it, but for some reason I stopped reading it for maybe one and a half years. Now that I decided to follow it again I can say that boy, I really love it. Its plot, its characters, its humor. It's one of the best #manhwa out there, seriously.
I actually follow this webtoon on Tapas (known as The Fantasie of a Stepmother there), but I wanted the Seven Seas print edition because it's one of my absolute favorite series and the art is stellar. (Also, Orka is one of us! She used to post Haikyu fanart on Tumblr years ago!)
This is a regression series where the heroine dies an egregious death but wakes up 7 years in the past and gets a second chance at life. The basic premise is that the heroine is the much-younger second wife of a marquess. He dies, leaving everything to her - a seriously heavy responsibility when their family is one of the twin pillars supporting the imperial family. And because her stepchildren are only a few years younger than her, their relationship is strained and awkward at best. The heroine, Shuri, regresses to the day of her husband's funeral when she's only 16 years old.
The Villainess Turns the Hourglass 2 by Sansobee & Antstudio
As the title suggests, this is another villainess regression story. In this one, the heroine was outmaneuvered by her younger stepsister and painted as a villainess & executed by her stepbrother.
Like other stories in this genre, Aria wakes up in the past with a second chance at life but what's interesting is that it's because she receives a magical hourglass from the powers that be that allows her to turn back time.
Interesting backstory: Aria's mother was a prostitute who got pregnant with her. Despite this, she managed to charm a rich count into marrying her. Unlike other stories, she brings Aria with her. Neat undercurrents going on with class there.
Major plot point is that Aria's set out to seduce her stepsister's fiance, but it's clear the true love interest is the crown prince who Aria doesn't realize yet is the crown prince in this volume. They have a great dynamic.
It's villainesses all the time around these parts :gritty: In this one, a children's clothing designer dies and transmigrates into the body of a wicked stepmother. The original story is a Snow White retelling where the stepdaughter becomes the fairest of them all, more or less.
Abigail, the newly transmigrated heroine, adores her cute stepdaughter, but the original Abigail was a terror so fixing her reputation is an uphill battle.
In this volume, the relationship between Abigail and her stepdaughter continues to improve while the one with her husband is...there. I suspect I know what's going on with the husband and his very obvious aversion to being touched by women, but I suppose we'll see how the series handles it.
I really hate Villainess stories, where the lead was treated badly by her family her whole life to a point where ruthlessness and violence are her only way to get attention from them, just for something to happen that changes her, which also changes the perception of her family.
After that, she has a redemption arc, and the people who hated her start to like her.
Yeah, cool!? But where is the redemption arc of the people that made her this way in the first place? Oh, her father is now super nice because her behavior as an adult is acceptable? Well, I guess we like him now, even if he abused her for 17 years and doesn't repent. #Manhwa#Manga
I won't say that these kinds of stories can not work. There is always potential for families to grow together after hard times, but I hate that these stories tend to focus on the wrongdoings of the female lead and often ignore the things that twisted her.
#MosquitoWar is such an fresh action, post apocalyptic #Manhwa from the same artist who did #TheBoxer and I love it so much. Still not done yet but it's sooo good.
Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint 1 by singNsong, Umi & Sleepy-C
After years of fandom osmosis, I'm finally beginning this series! This is the webtoon adaptation of the webnovel and I'll be reading the collected print volumes from Ize Press (Yen Press's manhwa/webtoon imprint).
The series focuses on Kim Dokja, a deeply mediocre contract office worker who spends his commutes reading an equally deeply unpopular webnovel called Three Ways to Survive an Apocalypse. He's the only reader & commenter of this 3000+ chapter novel. (It be like that sometimes...) But when he finishes the final chapter, the real world plunges into chaos as the events of the webnovel come to life around him.
Volume 1 covers the setup and the scenario (surviving a mass killing in a subway car). I can see why this series is popular. So far, I think I like it more than Solo Leveling. Probably blasphemy to admit that, but I don't care lol.
