The idea is nice, and the political machinations have been interesting if not very original. The cruelty of the “villains” was unexpected in a shoujo with such a soft drawing style, but helped convey the general vibe of danger and thrill the main character must be experiencing. The drawing style itself is nice and pretty - basically the style the artist showed in Doubt!! years ago but with a little more grunge.

The characterization of the male and female leads has been fine, but the latest chapter was especially disappointing with the focus on the gender or the person being rescued from captivity and their supposed inborn fragility. “You’re a woman.” And the tired threat of rape to cow a woman who acts with less gentility than other ladies of her social class and remind her of her gendered vulnerability was...tiresome.

I’m not saying it wasn’t realistic for a sheltered person to react poorly to a truly life-threatening situation. But repeated references to her gender and the love line with her rescuer/comforter tainted the development. That the author took advantage of Sumire’s moment of greatest vulnerability to glorify the love interest and emphasize the potential romance was in Extreme poor taste. Sumire, delirious from capitivity, looking up in admiration at his sunlit figure from her position on the ground seems to encapsulate the author’s vision of their relationship as a romantic couple. Paired with earlier scenes of him forcefully pinning her down on the ground, and him forcing a kiss on her (all justified, ofc, by her too prideful mien)... not a great foundation.


Further. It may not be the time/place to delve into in any amount of detail, but I do want to note that this series is yet another example of stories in which strong/smart female characters are humbled, manipulated, and/or mentored by the even stronger/smarter male love interest. It’s a bit off an offshoot of the Damsel in Distress trope, but worse bc it allows storylines w misogynistic bylines to masquerade as feminist friendly.

Bc yeah, Sumire is a strong willed, intelligent, combat-capable young noble. She’s a likable protagonist with determination and conviction for readers to cheer on. It’s a darn shame her growth as a person is oversaturated with connections to gender, and romance. This in turn sours any romance, as there is a notably imbalanced power dynamic between the main couple. Ugh.

It’s nothing surprising, especially considering how this mangaka has shaped her romances/male-female dynamics in her previous works, but. It’s disappointingly so.

Update: The political intrigue continues to be, well, intriguing. I have to warn potential readers that there is a scene where a man describes his having raped a woman to taunt another character. The author thankfully does not illustrate the rape, but. It’s there.

... Last updated on June 15th, 2019, 11:01am

I'm surprised. Because "Joou no Hana" was a cheese fest, "Cold Game" is not. (Actually, it takes itself too seriously sometimes. But that's a charm of it.)

The story is pretty intriguing. The characters are blunt, somewhat on-the-surface though, not too deep. It's not like it's well-told, well-described or detailed, but it sucks me in. It's a slow-burn however. I wonder how long it will take to reach the end.

Btw, mature tag please.

This is the first time I am reading a story in kingdom setting full of rude people, they are not peasant, they are noble, princess, knight.

How can an aide say shit pig to king aide from another country where you live now?
How can a mere noble call a king bastard?
How can a mere noble scream at a princess from another country?
How can a knight throw a queen food with her foot and bite her finger?
And no one get punished from all that.

Strong female lead is not excuse to be rude, you know Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii? The FL is strong willed female lead, still young too, a princess too but she is not rude, she ever say rude thing in early episode and she went to jail. Plus she is a princess, not a knight like female lead.

This is supposed to be story about internal struggle within kingdom, you talk nicely, with etiquette but behind you are plotting something. But it's not enjoyable to see a FL who try to struggle in that country but can't even keep her etiquette. Etiquette is the most basic thing you need to do to be able to survive anywhere, even in real world and especially in setting as strict as kingdom.

The core story is interesting but this story is not enjoyable because the characters keep doing whatever they want , rude rude rude, hypocrite (Call other people rude but you are rude yourself), and the romance part doesn't feel like romance at all. Aruna change her opinion quickly (You can see how she judge other people quickly and talk rudely about it but she change her opinion shamelessly) and suddenly just fall in love like that.

I am not bothered with gender imbalance unlike other review, the setting happen in the past, people long ago didn't treat woman as well as now, this is real. There was society who kill their daughter just because they are woman, there was society in which women refer to their husband as "master", woman is just for married off to other men, women can't work. You can't apply today value to a setting happen in the past. But their rude behavior is seriously unrealistic. If they are delinquent, beggar, slave then I understand but they are people who learn etiquette.

... Last updated on March 14th, 2022, 4:38pm