So I bumped into a new series while going down the rabbit hole with no description. Cover art and title was interesting so I read a few.
Standard setup and back story. Might be interesting to see if anything unique stands out…
Then it kept jumping forward. The story progressed way too fast.
I realized it was a manhua.
I don’t know why but there’s always so much happening so fast it’s hard for me to digest it all that I end up dropping it.
What are your thoughts?
Other manhua I’ve dropped:
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Versatile Mage
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My Wife is a Demon Queen
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Monster Pet Evolution
I have started to hate most of the stuff that I read. Power fantasy like tower-climbing/levelling-up and otome/villainess is something I detest very much. I admit that I’m guilty of consuming it, because curiosity - and rightfully, it has killed the cat in me time and again.
Apart from that, I hate over-repeated, unfunny jokes related to “accidental” sexual assault, and the cocky “smirk syndrome”. And don’t even get me started on special otome highlight panels - the hero/heroine can say the most ridiculous nonsense, and people won’t question it, cuz “muh fleur, glitter en shiz”. When it comes to adult category, they’re the worst, especially the “guilty pleasure” part of it - apparently, some people like it, but me, I’ve been traumatized.
I like reading stuff that makes me feel like I’m a speck on the universe. I also like reading good slice of life. Good, as in, not just pointless daily life time-lapse. Something similar to Hyouka, where the story is slow-paced.
Here’s a few of them that I enjoyed of the many I’ve read:
Manga:
Manhwa:
Manhua (all the manhua I’ve read are absolutely shit, except for this one):
Light novels
Right now, I’m considering moving to actual novels, from diverse international authors. Maybe a few in English, Hindi, French and possibly, my own mother tongue. I don’t really like the currrent enshittification of East Asian animation. Maybe I’ll read something like Inuyasha, Trigun, Blame, WorldEnd, Astra Lost in Space or Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash in the future.
If you liker bastard, give Swet Home a go, it’s from the same author and the vibe has a similar-ish eerines.
Also,as a general recommendation that I’m reading and enjoying right now:
Black knight: kinda decent vibe to it. I reincarnated as a legendary surgeon: yes, I know, isekai bs, but the story progresses in an organic way for now and the MC is likeable. The return of the crazy demon: it might not be up your alley but the entire pretext is that the MC is actually kinda crazy so I do enjoy binging 5-6 chapters from time to time.
I’ve read both Sweet Home and Shotgun Boy. It wasn’t as fun as Bastard. But it was a nice read.
Honestly, I want to read something that gives me the joy and fear of unknown. For example, when I talk about fantasy, I want to enjoy an unknown world that I might be somewhat familiar with. I will gladly accept the good and bad side of a world, as long as it is neither glorified or vilified. I want a main character that does not deviate from their moral responsibility. I don’t want to read cartoon-ish heroism or villainy. I want a world that isn’t black and white, where the conflict between two groups is complex.
I don’t want a fantasy that bends to fan service. I despise evil stuff, but if such things exists in this fantasy, I expect societal problems to affect the main character as well. I don’t want to read the story of the hypocrite power-fantasy MC who has a twisted sense of justice normalized by the mangaka. Honestly, I don’t find comics to be fun anymore. Maybe there’s a small subset of books out there out there that is for me. One reason why I like comics like AiRen and Shakugun no Shana is because it has this concept of “joy” in “despair”. Too bad I won’t be able to read SnS because apparently, they never translated the book to English.
Hard for me to make a recommendation besides overgeared for a LN. Non standard story. Its a leveling crafting series about a MC playing an VRMMO. The twist is he’s a horrible gamer and self centered. But because he plays inefficiently it ends up helping in the long run.
He also solves his issues fairly quickly but keeps playing as a career gamer. Ends up socializing through the game and becoming a better person. The character development is fantastic.