somnia's manga / #want more!!!(26)

This one is absolutely hilarious. It basically makes fun of and distorts the niche shoujo isekai/time yeeting genre. Our FL is the sister of the tragic main character of a BL fantasy novel. No matter how hard she tries to make her brother avoid his tragedies and avoid his (or her own) deaths, she fails and wakes up to find herself yeeted back in time. After at least 20 time reversals, FL finds a magic sword which basically tells her that if she fullfills the wish of the character she possessed, which is to fullfill her brother Asterion's wish, she'll be able to stop the circle. FL proceeds to have one hell of a time while trying to protect her family and Asterion's happiness. The manwha is more than just self-aware, with the 4th wall being broken every so often and characters openly and obsessively thirsting for ikemen, while trying to find the best ways to bully their enemies in the most effective way possible. 11/10.

Super cute read about a deaf girl and her first love, a uni student acquaintance who loves traveling and learning all sorts of languages. It's a good read just to feel wholesome and loved. Though when I finished it, it didn't feel like the end despite the manga being completed. All I can think is that it was something intentional- something like them still having a long journey ahead together, potentially. Also loved how the mangaka used the gestures and sign language to portray their feelings later on after they were explained the first time. Not only does it show that ML and the creator actually cared to learn about sign language, but it also gives gives the scenes and emotions so much more depth than they would've had otherwise.

Absolutely beautifully illustrated story centering around Shuli, who gets sent back in time after she is killed in her carriage by uknown attackers. Once known as the witch of Neuschwanstein, this time around she is able to take the reigns and avoid the mistakes she made in the past. There's a lot of variety in tone and atmosphere in the story, but it never fails to take itself seriously. Very well paced and overall wonderful writing paired with, again, super gorgeous art, 12/10. I could gush about the different lil hints about future or past events, relationships and situations taking place within the story for hours, not to mention the S-grade character development and this sense that everyone is their own person, and their own story, on one giant chess board.

It's really nice so far. A refreshing perspective from the pov of a court jester. No, after reading so many shoujo webtoons/wanhwa which often star borderline if not full on Mary Sues, this is hella refreshing. Honestly, It's lowkey genius. You get a bit of every perspective and can grasp the characters personalities better because our MC is powerless and compassionate... and he does so without giving the vibe of a dumbass. Overall, there's a tragic undertone to the story- and lord knows I can see this becoming a tragedy in no time- while it has bright moments (mostly thanks to our MC being a literal jester) the overlaying tone is defined very clearly. Props to author for sure. I also like how clear cut the characterization of MC is. He's so dependant on/dedicated to playing the jester that we don't even know his name yet. He's only a jester for now, but he's slowly trying to fulfill a bigger role.

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.