the artstyle and plot itsef isnt the best ive seen but i love how it touches on so many topics thats been avoided, most notably:
1) that mothers in manhwas dont have to be just black or white <- especially dead mothers at that, they always some saint that loved their child to death but that doesnt mean they despise thier child either
2) even if women gain more power, that doesnt mean that they are deemed to be equal in this society. if the world was a perfect place then all humans would be equal, and some manhwas do make an attempt at that by placing women in powerful positions (only for the other female characters to fall victim to the same old misogyny, only with a female emperor this time!). usually its either women having pre-established power or women slowly gaining more power, but i found it interesting that the author made it so that women did have a degree of power that was actual POWER but still touched on the standard patriarchy that was present back then. this sounds generic but it was really unique imo that they had this revered empress that made laws that the next generation keep trying to change because of the patriarchy and the current emperor trying to follow the old empress' will but still remarrying a woman that fit their 'standard expectations'. maybe i just havent read enough manhwas but it was nice to read for a change.
3) once again(ish) the whole black and whiteness of parenting. fl's parents neglected their daughter for sure but they still showed their love(ish) to her instead of the standard neglectful parent. imo the dad is a lost cause and i wish the mom was alive just so fl can get revenge but we cant all get what we want. i like how the fl only thinks about using her dad when he becomes a more sensitive parent because of ogfl. usually the fl's stay oblivious of their dad's change of attitudes w a 'its too late to change' kinda thing but fl is actively aware of him changing (not fully, but enough) and suing rational reasoning to use it to her advantage stuck out to me.
4) idk what to call it but the mirroring of the patriarchy on women. it was touched upon veryyyyy briefly but it was a pretty nice detail. the fl commented on her mom basically spoon feeding her trauma because of how she grew up isolated and how it was ironic that her mom was doing allat even though shes a victim herself. even though i can remember i handful of times this has been done before they kinda just label the mom character as petty villain and thats that. since fl's mom was fleshed out it just created a different impact yk?
lowkey the romance plot is probs gonna suck ass 'i'm cold to everyone but he... he's different' and the 'were just using eachother... until were not' and the sibling stuff is cliche-ish w/ the whole my brother/younger sibling (usually a brother because we obviously have to have only male members in the fl's family...like what) hating me or looking down on me and then admires me and becomes my super adorable sibling. i enjoyed the actual plot though and fl is highkey a mary sue but ill eat up this slop anyday of the week.
the artstyle and plot itsef isnt the best ive seen but i love how it touches on so many topics thats been avoided, most notably:
1) that mothers in manhwas dont have to be just black or white <- especially dead mothers at that, they always some saint that loved their child to death but that doesnt mean they despise thier child either
2) even if women gain more power, that doesnt mean that they are deemed to be equal in this society. if the world was a perfect place then all humans would be equal, and some manhwas do make an attempt at that by placing women in powerful positions (only for the other female characters to fall victim to the same old misogyny, only with a female emperor this time!). usually its either women having pre-established power or women slowly gaining more power, but i found it interesting that the author made it so that women did have a degree of power that was actual POWER but still touched on the standard patriarchy that was present back then. this sounds generic but it was really unique imo that they had this revered empress that made laws that the next generation keep trying to change because of the patriarchy and the current emperor trying to follow the old empress' will but still remarrying a woman that fit their 'standard expectations'. maybe i just havent read enough manhwas but it was nice to read for a change.
3) once again(ish) the whole black and whiteness of parenting. fl's parents neglected their daughter for sure but they still showed their love(ish) to her instead of the standard neglectful parent. imo the dad is a lost cause and i wish the mom was alive just so fl can get revenge but we cant all get what we want. i like how the fl only thinks about using her dad when he becomes a more sensitive parent because of ogfl. usually the fl's stay oblivious of their dad's change of attitudes w a 'its too late to change' kinda thing but fl is actively aware of him changing (not fully, but enough) and suing rational reasoning to use it to her advantage stuck out to me.
4) idk what to call it but the mirroring of the patriarchy on women. it was touched upon veryyyyy briefly but it was a pretty nice detail. the fl commented on her mom basically spoon feeding her trauma because of how she grew up isolated and how it was ironic that her mom was doing allat even though shes a victim herself. even though i can remember i handful of times this has been done before they kinda just label the mom character as petty villain and thats that. since fl's mom was fleshed out it just created a different impact yk?
lowkey the romance plot is probs gonna suck ass 'i'm cold to everyone but he... he's different' and the 'were just using eachother... until were not' and the sibling stuff is cliche-ish w/ the whole my brother/younger sibling (usually a brother because we obviously have to have only male members in the fl's family...like what) hating me or looking down on me and then admires me and becomes my super adorable sibling. i enjoyed the actual plot though and fl is highkey a mary sue but ill eat up this slop anyday of the week.