Ziziel's Topics (10)

Oh, I hope both of Yeoreum's parents have the days they deserve. Since we have yet to meet his father in the present, I'll start with the mother.

1. I hope she'll always have a pebble in her shoe, no matter how often she tries to shake it out.
2. I hope her hot beverage always turns room temperature.
3. I hope her food orders always give her stomach problems.
4. I hope she wakes up with back pains, every day, and nothing to alleviate them is nearby.
5. I hope she suffers from leg AND foot cramps, every night.
6. I hope her hair frizzes up right after every time it rains.
7. I hope her very best make up expire or turn out to poor quality.
8. I hope it rains--and I mean down pouring--and she doesn't have an umbrella, nor anyone to pick her up.
9. I hope her favorite sound irritates her to a migraine.
10. I hope her best jewelry goes missing.
11. I hope her credit cards decline.
12. When traveling via airplane, I hope she loses her passport.
13. Speaking of traveling, I hope all her flights get canceled indefinitely.
14. I hope she wakes up with gunk in her eyes that take forever to wash out.
15. I hope her favorite/best clothes always turn out wrinkled, no matter what.
16. I hope she endures hot flashes so bad she's drenched in sweat.
17. I hope her bedroom is always uncomfortably and unbearably warm.

That's all I have so far, but feel free add an 18th minor inconvenience or more.

No really, am I the only one who thinks Eros belongs in Tartarus? I know it's too soon to say, but I like the mute lyre-player. Eros, on the other hand, is a dub-con creep who should be sent to Tartarus. But then again, that's the Greek pantheon for ya.

It's absolutely egregious that this manga is only a one-shot. I feel like there's more to this story. I love the art, the characters, the fact that one of them is so relatable when it comes to social anxiety, and the story itself. I truly hope author will continue with this one because it shouldn't end this way.

So I've been reading this since yesterday and have just finished. This hurt me so good, I legit cried. Not just getting teary-eyed, I mean crying ugly that I had to find a packet of tissues.

I seriously did NOT expect to get so emotionally invested in this manhwa. What makes this different from some of the historical manhwas I've read is that the uke (idk the Korean equivalent to the word) is almost always younger (sometimes looking a little too young), smaller stature, and kinda feminine-looking. I don't have a problem with that, just in moderation. It's not often I see a bottom character like Geum-Hoo in manhwa, so his design was a major treat. He's a real-deal power bottom in the bedroom, a ruthless warrior towards his enemies, but is a fair master in the household as long as you don't FAFO.

I was expecting his relationship with Beom to start off as a variation of enemies-to-lovers/master-slave with the slowest burn ever with Geum-Hoo being a toxic master, but I was proven wrong. They turned out to be genuinely in love and even have lots of lovey-dovey moments, despite some of the intense scenes that come with the political and social intrigues at the time.

I definitely loved this one and will read it again. Now, if y'all excuse me while I continue to emotionally process my feelings.

Seeing baby Charles cry breaks my heart.

Gaaaah! I can't get over how ADORABLE little Charles is, especially in that little bear onesie! He must be protected!

Me: *reading this* Oooh, I'm liking this so far.
Also me: *reaches end of ch 4.5* Oh well, I'll wait for the next update! ^_^
Also-also me: *sees no update since 2021* G0DDAMMIT!

Thank goodness it's finally over! I'm especially glad that Miyata survived bc he looked the type who might have had a slim chance of survival but ended up de@d, so I'm relieved he made it out alive.

Hold up! Wait a damn minute! When did Saotome and Satou even have an inkling of a romantic chemistry? I know it's been a long time since I've read the previous chapters, but I felt like Saotome and Miyata had chemistry that could've developed into something romantic way later on. I guess I was the only one the whole time. *shrug*

When I first saw that there was a continuation of HwD, I was actually very pleased because the original was my favorite for a long time.

I was looking forward to seeing the possibility of Iwaki continuing to mend the bridge between himself and his family, maybe have more scenes of him and his brother become closer to make up for the years of separation due to the different paths they took. After seeing Iwaki spend so much time with his Katou in-laws and Yousuke, it would've been nice to see him spend time with his niece to see what she might be like, since we saw her as a baby last time.

It also would've been nice to see Carlo and Magira from Casino Lily (and their appearance in the HwD manga) make a reappearance in the sequel.

***Spoilers***
Unfortunately, all we got were a few cameos from Iwaki's family before completely disappearing into the aether and having to watch him suffer more for the rest of the sequel. I swear, this sequel seemed like Nitta had a grudge against my boy Iwaki. He already went through enough trauma in the OG series, from his fear of losing Katou, the lack of support from his family, and the r@pe attempts against him.

Then we're introduced to Shou, whom I strongly believe was the result of an act that wasn't quite consensual. In this manga, Iwaki himself was pretty young (late teens-early 20s) and it looked like he was manipulated by his then manager Kiriko into having sex, as compensation for having to use her body to get even the smallest of jobs for him when he started out acting. Keep in mind, the two met when he was still a minor, so...

Then he has to endure being on the receiving end of her jealousy that he turned out all right--having a successful acting career, is in a loving relationship, and is managing his own agency. Oh, and Nitta really HAD to do my boy dirty even more by including THAT scene as a flashback when Iwaki "helped" Yousuke deal with [fill in the blank here bc I will not elaborate any further].

And finally, how the story would eventually conclude. Iwaki always had this fear of losing Katou, from since ch. 18 (Inside Report) in the original HwD manga. To make his fear a reality only made the ending more heartbreaking for Iwaki. The cause of Katou's death was so preventable but Nitta really had to make him go out that way. I really was hoping that if "Alive" were to include the two being together in death, I thought they would live on for more years, with Iwaki dying first from a heart-related disease and Katou would follow not long after.

The only thing I thought was a good idea was that Iwaki decided to quit acting, go into politics and be the reason for same-sex marriage being legalized in Japan.

That being said, I love the art work--no dispute on that, and the sex scenes are always satisfying. But I felt that there were more missed opportunities as I've mentioned above, and it's exhausting to see my boy Iwaki having to endure more problems, with losing Katou being the breaking point, given how it could've been avoided or at the very least been done better.

Sorry for the overly long review/rant, but I thought I'd give my 2 cents on this while being constructive as possible.

I love a good BL story in a historical setting, and the reference to Japanese folklore was quite the learning experience. The art, of course, is beautiful, which is what got my attention into this manga in the first place. I felt the story was a bit rushed, so I was hoping there would be more because a one shot just doesn't do justice.

Unfortunately, the manga artist had passed away about a year ago, due to cancer. May she rest in peace ;_;