What a cliffhanger!! I wish I had seen the update dates and I wish I had checked the comments...
I really hope all of the main characters get a happy ending. Of course, Yeon and Danmok Bi are a matter of course for my well-wishes, but I want Danmok Chang can be happy, too. Their father is a terrible man and - to isolate them and then treat them so cruelly will definitely cause resentment, hatred, and jealousy.
I wanted to look further into WHY their Dad's so evil, but then I remember that in the first chapter, he already cursed his sons in order to boost his family name and gain strength and prestige, so I no longer bothered to understand him or fathom his personality.
Side note: I also want the pipe-smoking dude to be okay. He hasn't discarded his morals unlike several of the servants just to please the head of the clan. Someone that nice might end up being left with no choice or simply end up badly... especially since he doesn't seem to have anything or anyone to protect him.
I know I've just started to read, but from the first chapter the other girl's father is funny. I know it's all meant to be taken with a pretty relaxed point of view to allow more flexibility, yet serious enough to understand the weighty parts of the story. I know, I'm the silly one for taking this a little too seriously when the title's already odd, but...
Nothing strange with the way it started- pretty standard fare for these types of stories. But when I imagine how they were going over this before she arrived, I can't help but smile a little.
"Ok, when she enters, I renounce her in front of all the important court officials, giving her no chance to say anything right away. Then, I introduce my daughter, already conveniently beside the crown prince!" Why does it have to be done this way? To humiliate her, likely, but the way he said things and how he constructed his words and sentences, I would have held back a laugh.
No, really:
"Starting today, your engagement to his royal highness the crown prince has been terminated!! It is because you neglected the queen's education; thus, you did not acquire any proper training and that is your sin!" And then, tada! Conveniently, he says afterwards, "More than that, I would like to introduce my educated and well-respected daughter, Lady Tiana Lemone, who's suitable enough and she will replace you as Prince Alan's fiancee!!" And then she's just right there.
It would've been seen as a cliche occurence - everything from the way the story progressed to their reactions, all to possibly make the MC shine - and having seen enough of it, I am unfazed. Pretty standard. I could've just skimmed it and went for what made it appeal to me, through the title. But... the timing! The way it was announced! The convenient appearance of his daughter just as she was introduced - it was pretty silly and funny. It's like: Bam - summoning. Bam - condemnation. Then: "By the way, here's my very awesome daughter!"
Noelle was a typical child: immature, naive, stubborn, well-meaning but brash and relatively thinking only of the present moment. Added to that, she was also sheltered and abused, and she only really wants to help the one person who was a major source of comfort and help to her.
She would sulk when scolded or denied, and somewhat refuses to see why people talked the way they do, or act, because barely anyone did that for her.
One thing I did appreciate with Noelle is her willingness to admit her faults when she does realize it. It was a great help that she was separated from Sion for a while, to allow her to grow and mature on her own, to calm her down a bit and make her look at things in retrospect. Her desire to improve and to see different perspectives are great markers of how much she's grown, and will be of great help to her when crisis arrives.
Off topic, but I find Yamada's sister to be refreshing. A lot of siblings in stories are usually somewhat antagonistic or uninterested with the characters, and then there's also those who are a bit too attached and doting that it nearly becomes 50% of their personality. I don't know her much, but seeing her normally interacting with Yamada, admiring her sister but also not being too enforcing or suffocating, at an age when rebelliousness would reach its peak (she's 15, I think), makes her seem like a breath of fresh air. She's got hobbies and a proper life beyond just thinking of her sister, but she not the "baka onee-chan, don't get too close" type. Then again, I get the feeling that she might be closer to the doting type if she was older...
While he would reside with his bride, I hope they come back to the land from time to time. If I know anything about folklore; it's that they shouldn't leave their dwellings for too long, or else it might be seen as "abandoned" and unsavory happenings and things might begin to appear there. That, and that he is bound to his land as a protector, like a caretaker, I think...
I don't know if soneone already mentioned this; but I was astounded to find that the artstyle of "Oblivious Mr. B" and this one greatly resemble each other. There are some differences, sure, but there's just a lot of similarities:
Nails (shiny, shaped in a particular way)
Faces (particularly eyes and head shape, expressions as well)
Skin coloring (it's hard to explain this; but they give off a very smooth feel... like the tones are more subdued, compared to other, clear cut counterparts, like a rounded carbunkle rather than sharp diamond cut.)
Eye coloring (eyes are striking, but also subdued; and sclera takes up this almost peach-colored tone.)
Even some hairstyles are so similar:
(Ex: kwon jinhyung("Oblivious Mr. B"'s Mc's bestfriend) has similar bangs and hair with the Mc in here.
I immediately checked if it's from the same author, but there are different names posted.
I wouldn't dismiss a possibility that the author used another penname to make the other work...
I'm just happy to see this updated. When I was younger, I did like reading this manga a fair bit; but rereading it now, I couldn't help but compare it to other similar stories. It's cliche, to be honest, but hey, better to see it updated than not at all.
Nanmu wanted a family; it's his long-cherished dream. He only ever saw Pil-Gyun as his son until recently, when he went beyond that. Afterwards; since it had been a long time since, added with Pil-Gyun's persistence and his changed viewpoint of him, I think it gradually changed into something else. I guess it still extends to his treatment of Pil-Gyun until now; being soft on him, being lenient towards him, being father-like towards him.
It's Pil Gyun that's insistent on calling him "Dad". Nanmu even told him to stop calling him "Dad" at the start, but he refused. I tried understanding Pil-Gyun's reasoning, and reason he gave, albeit a twisted one, in the form of a flashback from his youth.
To a young boy who never had a "Dad", this man was the only one he ever had who he'd ever acknowledge as his father. Even when his mom introduced other guys to him, he is an irreplacable existence. If Pil-Gyun filled into Nanmu's heart with his role of a "son", Nanmu fills into Pil-Gyun's heart with his role of a "father". This bond transcends beyond that of anything else.
So the next question is why Pil-Gyun would want to keep this bond between them, while going further than what is normally appropriate.
I guess he's someone who wants Nanmu to fill both roles and won't compromise one or the other.
I should think that it'd be likelier to want to disregard certain titles in favor of a new one, in order to make their relationship seem more legitimate; but I guess they'd already done away with that they met again in the beginning of the story. For him, he's willing to do unspeakable things, cross lines, and break taboo.
Considering that they're living lawless lives,
I think they just decided to take one step above that at this point. I mean, there was also the relationship Nanmu had with his "brothers". That, too, had a twisted logic: To alleviate Nanmu's punishment, they too had to partake of it - and to do so, they had to be the ones to punish him as well. All this... to marry a woman and legitimize their relationship; only for it to not work out.
I loved this! The art style is wonderful and it was funny and cute. It's just that I'm not quite sure how to approach this because on one hand, Yurine is definitely acting sweetly towards Koutarou and while at first he just seemed like a natural at that, as time passed it seems he likes Koutarou.
On the other hand, Koutarou, being a little dense and a little lonely (and perhaps because the misunderstandings earlier made him believe that Yurine is just the way he is: a smooth prince and charming sweet talker) still considers it as a mere extension of friendship when it already seems to be at the boundary beyond that. With Yurine not being too clear and Koutarou insisting on "friendship", I don't know if they're just "friends" that can get close, sweet, and handsy, or if they're dating. While it doesn't seem all that important in the grand scheme of things, and is too serious for such a light hearted story, it adds to my confusion and now I don't know what to see them as. (The last bit of them behind thr curtain definitely doesn't look like mere friendship to me, Koutarou, and you know it, but I can't tell due to ayurine's previous offenses.)
For my peace of mind, I just decided to think of them as somewhere in between. It just made me wish there was more...
I understand that nothing everything has to be conventional, and sometimes divergence from normalcy can lead to different perspectives. Sometimes, things are just different. Odd. Uncommon. Uncanny. But, I think Sui and his family definitely have something going on in their heads.
Never mind not caring about propriety or decency in public, they're the type who takes what they want, in an almost instinctual way.
Sui didn't care for Leo before: complete indifference. Understandable. But in that one moment when he saw Leo as distinct from the crowd, it's like there was a switch, and now nothing much else in the world matters. Not where they are or what time it is, or even if there are people or anything - just him and him alone. Perhaps it is love, or perhaps it is lust;
I guess it is also a form of love, in that he's the only one in his sight.
I know that they find each other beautiful.
I also know that Leo is the one who gives in to Sui, and Sui loves that. So I guess, in that form, they truly love and complement each other so well.
But then there's the parents. Putting aside the betrothal and their advocacy for the marriage, what do you mean, it's okay for him to do "that" there? Even if you completely love the fact that they're getting married, witnessing such intimate acts with vigor feels off.
I don't know, it just felt like a continuous stream of: "I guess this is happening here and now, might as well go with it.", with Leo being from our world, being the one who has the most common sense.
Indeed: Why the sudden change? Why utter intimacy after a long period of not caring at all? Why jump straight to things without considering any amount of complications? Eventually, like the reader, he just accepts things as they go, questioning occasionally (like in the dinner party with the parents) but generally not minding anymore.
It's not a matter of dislike or like, it just confused me. It's like witnessing aliens interacting with humans. In the end, I suppose it's another case of "random reader thinks too much even if there was no need to". It can't be helped: the plot appeared in the middle, and then there was a mishmash of random things happening at once!
Oh, well, this is their normal, and everyone is happy, so I guess I'll just write it off as, "They fell in love and found their happily ever after. The end."
Upon reading this, I noticed something:
Side story 1 said Carmide died, and that in that moment of peace, Sa-Yan was bored. But Carmide is the reason, directly and indirectly, for the things that happened in the main story - the war, the secret child, and his sister.
They even said in Side 3 that Carmide woke up and that the pope sided with him.
I couldn't properly dismiss it, because it was boredom (said to be brought about by the peace due to Carmide's death) that led him to hunt, which lead him to witness Ilic's crime and love affair.
I could only surmise that he wasn't dead then (despite what they said) but weakened, leading to a "momentary peace", that lead to his boredom.
I think many people might have noticed this and done the same, but it just felt like a big jolt or gash, like a straight line that suddenly swerved diagonally, then resumed its original path.
I think the point of this being an Omegaverse is not necessarily to explore the dynamics of the Alpha-Omega pair; but the battling of instincts and inner-conflicts that arise because of it.
Kiryuu had a bad past because he's an alpha, and Aoi wanted to prove that he loves him beyond their assigned secondary genders, which is hard because they seem to be a fated pair.
In this story, their roles and instincts are meant to be an obstacle. It IS the conflict.
I think the reason for the uncommon pairing position is because this story is supposed to show that Aoi's love for him is beyond the typical omega yearning, as observed by Kiryuu, which may reassure him (considering his past) that he sees him beyond being an alpha. (He remarks that it's strange that he's different from typical omega instincts - he's worried about instinctual yearning - Aoi surpasses that consciously and subconsciously)
Without the omegaverse part, they'd only have the typical conflict of Teacher-student type of story. No instincts to battle or overcome, no strange occurences in the past or present, no approach to the atypical and divergent roles.
Then again, this is just my perception of it.
"The end" does not feel like the end. It's not even a cliffhanger or an open ending.
There should be more.
One of the sparkliest shoujo manga I've read in a while.
At first I was fairly confident that he was just the typical obsessive love-interest, who has zero clue as to why Nadeul dislikes him, but the more things happen, the more I can't trust his "love" and "affection". I'm more eager to believe it's some sort of revenge plot or something.
1. What was his hand doing hovering over Nadeul's neck?
2. His happiness a split second before losing in the game makes me think that there's something turning in his head.
3. I understand being flustered, or snatching the rock photo away, but downright punching a hand hard then smiling and offering an explanation while holding it close and not showing it again makes it so suspicious coupled by his previous action.
These make me wonder, are these just things I speculate too much about and think terribly of, or is there real gravity to my and Nadeul's suspicions?
This leads me to think that certain "coincidences" might not be coincidences at all, and Nadeul should stay vigilant towards this guy - he might be obsessed with him in a manner of actually wanting to destroy him. It might not be "kiss" but "kill".
I kind of want to see them return to their world in order to affirm their feelings more concretely without any rules and stuff over their heads.
I know they truly like each other, wherever they might be, but I feel that both of them would also be subconsciously relieved anyway.
Also, if there are parallel people in this universe and the other, I wonder what kind of story the other side would have to tell? This time, the world allows for single people to exist.
I feel like Yukito will probably affirm his singleness, like he's free from the world's rules, and Towa would still be by his side, since Yukito would no longer be seeking romantic love. Maybe he'll try to get Yukito to look his way as well, without rules or regulations.
And if their current selves are anything to go by, it's like that Yukito will still fall in love with Towa, and they'd still end up together.
(Like they said, the only thing that'll change are the world's rules.)
I kind of hoped there was an extra chapter detailing Subaru and Yuto... but in their situation maybe an entire volume might be better. They can't stick with that arrangement forever... right?
The last time I saw this was when there were only a few chapters (black witches meeting) so I was pleasantly surprised that there were a lot of chapters.
It's sadder than I expected it to be, but the lighthearted moments and sparks of hope and joy (and occasional silliness) make it so it's not just sadness or tragedy. When coming across these things I futiley try to think of how things could have been different, what might be changed of fixed, what can be helped... but of course, their story has followed its written path, the thread is spun and the die is cast. But even amidst a thorny path, as repeated by several characters, they still managed to find their own happiness, and like a fairytale, they reunited in a field of flowers, at peace and in contentment.
The only thing is that Luna is the one left to bear the pain, as someone who holds onto the memories even if everyone else forgets or disappears. I truly do hope that her future can be happier and that the world will someday be a kinder place towards her and Lis. On that note, I'm grateful about the fact that Lis didn't completely forget things, including his love, because it's also such an important part of him.
I can't help but feel nervous about the future thanks to the overwhelming force of the white witches and the power of the queen, not to mention the fact that Lis has to grow well as a magician and overcome his supposed destiny....
While I wish for happiness for Luna and the gang, considering that there were already a lot of deaths and a lot of sorrow, hope feels both sweet and cruel.
But of course, in the end, I am a spectator, and in this story it feels like one can only grasp as much happiness as they can, and that fate is generally unkind to our heroes. (Then again, Gakuen Alice was also like that... That's why I awaited the ending first before reading it after avoiding the story for a while, so I can spoil myself before getting more invested and attached. )
Not to mention, considering how things have gone, their "happiness" can be subjective. It might be happy to them but sad to me. Or it'll be bittersweet happiness after another bittersweet happiness.