somnia's manga / #Magic(85)

It's a fun read, there's also some genuine plot though it doesn't feel all that deep. I like how some typical shoujo story holes, for example, the recurring backdrawer that keeps on leading the reader to the question of: "so, why do they remember this one story so well but not themselves?", kind of get an explanation here. I first found it jarring to have these kids act like almost-adults, but thanks to the lighthearted tone of it all I grew into it + there's actually an explanation for their behaviour. And I do kinda have to agree with other comments, the queerbaiting is there and all, and a yandere game protag crushing on our MC for little to nothing is also a bit over the top. Thanks to the comedic tone it thankfully doesn't feel all that deep, but it still lowkey makes my eyes roll to see the prince have these genuine scenes, careful thoughts and so on about our MC, while the female love interest is played up as a crazy nut used for entertainment purposes. Smh.

37/ Without spoiling too much: This is about someone who reincarnated into a cruel 19+ novel, where her villain-esque family kidnaps the FL's brother. She has to survive in a psychotic family, and eventually rescue said brother from his circumstances to survive. I could reread this a dozen times, man, and it's not even complete. While we're theoretically in just another "I reincarnated into this one novel and slayed"-story, this one has such a unique, dark vibe to it. This eerie twisted world vibe goes a long way and allows for a captivating atmosphere, which is only complimented by the fitting dialogue- not to mention the dope art. Theoretically, I could get mad that it's another story that forgets about the MC's character pre-reincarnation, but in this case, you understand why she doesn't choose to remind herself of that past, nor retain much of her "original" personality. Roxanne has given me my bisexual awakening, nuff said. The powers and cards she has at hand are well explained and the world overall is set up in a way that wants you to find out more. Roxanne doesn't feel like a Mary Sue either thanks to all of that, you stand on your toes when she's about to mess up or fail- again because you know and witnessed that the world she is in doesn't fuck with the standard moral booklet.

God I NEED more chapters. The first chapter hooked me so good and it just kept getting better. Remilia is the destined OP villainess of an Otome game. Strangely enough a reincarnator possessed her body from childhood on, letting her take a backseat within their shared conscience. She witnisses how Emi, the reincarnator, works hard and with a pure heart to give Remilia a happy ending. Of course, Remilia learned to love and appreciate Emi for her efforts, but when the classic condemnation event still takes place (due to the most hateful otome FL I've ever seen, holy shit I hate her so much) Emi takes control of her body again. The only thing she is out for now is to take revenge while doing her best to preserve Emi's efforts and memories. I can't stop praising the premise, man. This isn't just a fresh breeze in the reincarnation genre, this is like using the inhaler after choking for 5 straight minutes. I can't describe how bitter I felt when that condemnation scene hit, after you were told exactly how Emi tried her damnest to make all these people's lives better. The art is so fitting too, and don't get me started on the pacing of it all. Ok tbh, the beginning with all the exposition can feel a little long, BUT it's totally worth it. Also, sometimes you gotta appreciate an antagonist you can unapologetically hate with all your heart and no take backsies. Join my burn-in-hell-Pina Club. /2.9

Gotta keep looking out for whatever direction this is going to go. Right now it's slightly above average. Yet I can't shake the feeling that the more chapters we get, the more plot and characters are gonna turn to shit. It strikes me as the typical "Let's do things better this time and slay boss-lady style" type of isekai over all.. The type where it's just briefly mentioned how the boss lady in question makes money and what not, but it's never shown how compentent she really is, besides her sitting in front of a desk with lots of paper, and maybe giving her rival an epic burn, while making decisions that make you think she switched her brain putty out for playdoh. But again, too early to say that it's going into that direction.

Meldenique is the villainess of a romance fantasy novel. She is the evil, cursed fiance of the ML who gets in the way of the FL's romance and success in life. Our MC is very uninterested in living that out, so she throws away her shitty family and title, and opens up her own small business... It's not really a stationary shop? More of a candy store lol. On the way she also picks up an OP hero spirit, named Dominic, who basically is her side kick and main crutch for now. Anywho, turns out these supposed good guy protags are total scum and get in her way in any way possible. Included in that pool is her fiance, who doesn't love her one bit, but is at the same time strangely obsessed with her. So, I really like this one despite heavily playing into the whole "I possessed the villainess, but changed to avoid fatality and oops they all love me now"-trope. It plays into it with taste, but also gives it a tiny twist. She doesn't have upper hand at all at the start, and is constantly being stepped on by various chunks of faeces who you'll hate more the longer you read (ofc not to the point of totally ruining her). The pacing so far is nice, it's mostly held up by said faeces constantly being bad guys. Good and bad is defined VERY clearly with this one, but for now their crimes don't feel too cartoony. It's cute how involved children are in the plot, though sometimes you really wonder why they have so much say as the little kids that they are. Ah, and ngl, Domenic's SSR class magic go brr abilities are a bit too much here and there. His abilities are a bit TOO convinient sometimes. You can overlook that though, since he's supposed to be this kind of powerful hero. I couldn't help but spoil myself to see where it's all headed, and man, it's gonna get good. Can't wait to see the stand-offs between Mel and the og FL. Not to mention our ML. Over all, a worthwhile read so far.

40/ Our MC, Helga, is the young lady of a powerful Dukedom. Her real mother, a maid who served the family, swapped her and her half-sister Hyllian out when they were infants - which was eventually found out by the Duchess. As you can guess, Helga went through hell trying to endure this family. Once Hyllian returns, they expect Helga to just quietly switch identities and give up all her accomplishments. Hell no, to put it kindly. Honestly, I feel this is one of the better "I may be fake or real, but I'll become a menace either way"-shoujo stories. The focus of Helga's revenge isn't Hyllian, despite her inner frustration and salt when they're together. Hyllian is more so a tool to hurt the Duchess. With that said, the bar isn't that high either, idk if I still need more info, but some cosmic coincidences just line up too perfectly sometimes. I have 2 questions: Why did the Duchess not hunt down her real daughter asap instead of waiting however many years? And how did Hyllian find out that Helga and she were gonna switch names/identities just by being told that "Hyllian" is getting married to the Prince? Also, thank god they both ended up looking similar enough to be confused as identical twins, Anime DNA is amazing. The Duchess would've looked even dumber otherwise. There was this annoying voice at the back of my mind, every time Helga brought up her escape plan. It just said "if she did it another, the easy way you wouldn't have to sacrifice your fortune and love interest for the sake of one last petty comeback", over and over again. After she succeeded and escaped I found it hard to keep on reading. At that point you kinda know what everyone's deal is and what side they're on, so guessing the outcome is easy. Despite that, I still appreciate this one for not pitting the sisters against one another, and treating their feelings for each other with respect and depth. Update: So after 100 chapters you can scratch the whole thing about Helga's sister not being made the ultimate bad guy. The author turned her into an opponent after all. As I said after Helga leaves her family the story's quality decreases rapidly. At this point stuff only happens for the sake of something happening, and every plot thread feels useless af.

MC is a mysterious woman with the ability to tell lies and thruths apart. Additionally good luck seems to pile onto her like crazy before something bad is going to happen soon, which is an interesting mechanic. Anyway, MC is a professional gambler who traveled around and made a name for herself sweeping casinos. One day, she rescues a boy from trouble and takes him home. They become close, bond and go gambling together. But after her ring, which she recieved from a dummy mage, flares up, she ends up 10 years in the future without the kid.. or even her house. So, the thing with the whole gambling pov is that you get a thrill because of the uncertainty of whether the MC will win or not - the higher the stakes the higher the enjoyment for those reading - but this MC wins almost every time, and when she doesn't? It's on purpose or just doesn't affect her much. If she doesn't care, why would you? The story itself is kinda cliche. Stuff is constantly happening (mainly gambling, people cheating while gambling, just bad ppl getting in the way or fluff scenes with male main leads), but the thing that keeps you reading takes its sweet sweet time. The thing I am refering to is MC's dumba** realizing that the kid she took in before her time skip is mortal, able to age, and looks literally the same as the duke dude who's getting close to her now. The story lost its focus somwhere within the whole cruise ship "arc". It's clear that finding him is important to MC and she thinks about this lost chance more than a few times, but the fact that the author themselves avoids it so much to get more chapters out of it, just makes the plot TIRING and EMPTY in the end. I skipped right from FL's first visit to the Duke's (btw her outfit in that chapter is horrid, just to add extra salt) to like chapter 50-something. That's like 30+ chapters and she still has no clue. I'm dropping this.

You know the drill. A reincarnated girl possesses the body of the villainess in a BL novel, who is also said male lead's sister, as mentioned in the title lol. Instead of bullying him and making him an even edgier boy bound for heartbreak, she decides to be nice and change him so he can be happy with his future lover. Eh, yea. Starts off okay. And as you read more it's becoming very apparant how little the plot points actually matter. Only FL does. She doesn't do shit besides act cute with the Duke and ML in her childhood, nothing concerning their abuse and then it's just forgotten about after FL has her trauma moment. And from what I recall ML never got this acknowledged much unless it's from FL's commentary. Turns out she's a saint, color me impressed. I don't want to write another essay on this but let me just say this: what was author's reason for making the og story a BL? To fish for starved fujoshis? Sure, gay people exist and don't have to be tied to the yaoi genre but the implications of healing a broken gay character and making them fall in love with a straight woman is kinda questionable, you get what I mean? Nitpicking but still. I think that just shows what I meant when I say that only FL and her fish matter.