somnia's manga / #hell yea(100)

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.

One of the better shoujo fantasy stories. But Tia is def a power fantasy kinda gal, if you want stakes and drama it isn't here. What I do give the story credit for is making an array of compelling characters and putting some much needed brain juice into the political world building which usually gets kinda bogged down and neglected in most shoujo stories. The politics/economics are essential here and play into the nobles' relationships, which you rarely see in historical shoujo manhwas ironically. It's not researched all that well but it works for the story. My main gripe here is FL herself. Tia for all the op knowledge she's bringing to the table is too innocent when it comes to romance imo. It just makes me cringe. Sure make her demure, but forcing her to be so stubborn about ML having to end up with that other brown girlie, not realizing this man is SO down bad for her... shit doesn't add up. Otherwise I find myself enjoying the story, I just expected so much more of it. It's nice that Tia was able to change some things from the way they were originally, but there could've been so much more depth to the conflicts. I was expecting the story to atleast dig into Ballsack's psyche a bit, make the mean guys more than just mean guys but nOpe. Annoying kid stays annoying and Angenas all bad. Okay. At least the characters stay consistent? It's just that no one in this story ever really changes either.

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

FL is an unassuming count's daughter... who got a side-hussle as a popular romance author and a lively personality which most see as unfit for a lady. Not that she cares, she's not like other girls hihi. She gets engaged to her absolute opposite, the crown prince's right hand who's super knightly and sought after as a marriage candidate. It turns out FL's tendency to snoop around and blend in (to get a scoop on high society drama typically) is also of great help when it comes to political affairs and other mysteries, as she does so by virtue of helping her fiance with his work and worries, no matter how much he protests. The story's been great so far. The only thing I was annoyed at is FL's insecurity at the start, thankfully it went away and wasn't that overbearing. I wasn't feeling the romance between FL and ML at the start either, I was rooting for Lutin at one point, but their development is very realistic and mature so I fuck with it regardless. There is this case-by-case mystery solving structure to the story which honestly is a hit in any decent shoujo manga. FL's personality makes this an enjoyable ride too. At first I was kinda cringing at yet another "sHE's nOt Like oTheR giRls"-stick, but were fr this time. Since this is shoujo ofc all the characters go uwu over her at one point, but it's more or less justified and adds a bit of spice too.

This one basically gender swaps the positions of a cold hearted Duke and the lost princess looking to get away from trouble via marriage. So far it's pretty fun and refreshing. The only thing that rubs me the wrong way is our FL constantly misunderstanding people and their interest in her. Maybe that's something personal because I'm dead tired of FLs that can't read other people and misinterpret every little thing just to create artificial tension in the story, but anyway, it's a point to make. Also, I love how the relationship between FL and her sister is established. Their dynamic is interesting and lowkey keeps you on your toes despite knowing they'd never betray the other. Looking forward to future chapters.

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.