This had truly potencial and interesting dynamics and plots but the development seems to be the same of others royal, villainess isekais. Which is sad, it's not horrible and I have fun, but, I was truly expecting SOMETHING different, this market is so overflowed with this same aesthetic and plot, dont anyone wants to do SOMETHING different with the isekai premise? Please?
Like others already commented here, in a far better manner that I could ever do, there are many questionable choices the writter choose to do in this story. For example, the whole system of impriting and the tone. First off, why Eve is the only one to find the system a bad thing in the WHOLE royal family? She was raised in a slave family with slave ideals, why she is the only against it? The story teases that her "teacher" have a thing or two in the matter, but the story also show us, that she was already questioning it when she was just a child. I find irrealistic, because, for someone to began questioning the beliefs they heard all of their lives, they have to get in contact with someone or something that would sparkles that change. I for example, grew up in a really conservative family, with conservative ideals, that I never questioned until I get in touch with so many differents people in school, and also media, like mangas and animes. These people and things drastically affected my views and thus I began to think of my own and form my own views.
Eve never had that, and it's so unrealistic, is just lazy writing, because of course our protagonist cant be in favor of slavery even a little, when she was a child and was groomed to believe in the system, no, no she has to born with empathy! And this point gets even worse when the story progreeds and we dont see Eve do much for the revolution or the homunculi that she always said to be in favor off, I know that she is probaly trying to get in the good graces of her father before trying to break the system, but, still, we dont see her planing ahead about this in any way, and its almost seems like this is one of her last objectives.
I was glad when she said that she wanted to her and Mikhail to be equal, BUT THEN, the story just makes Mikhail a FUCKING SIMP who in the first 10 chaps is already in full simp mode, and want to protect and serve her and bla bla bla. I wanted Eve to break her imprint on him, make him truly an equal, and then they had to fake the imprinting thing. OR better, the imprinting never get to be done, because just dont work on Mikhail, and then they form an agreement for the benefit of both, they still can be suspicious, Mikahail even more! This way, their relationship has tension and stakes, and we could also get rid of the possible irritant future plot of "UwU the imprint makes him say such chivalrous things UwU" like AstralRabbit has commented. We would see a real development of trust and love between them, and make the scenes where they save each other, or help each other more impactful! Kind similar with the vibe they have in the first timeline, that speacking of it, I kind miss the conflict of the first timeline. The tone and tension was so different and for more intesting, like Glow Toads have mentioned and I WHOLE agree. Mikhail seems like a complet different person and thats makes me mad. He turned into a real loyal puppy with only thoughts about Eve and I just wanted a character with a mind of his own like he seemed to be in the first timeline. I want more than a beautiful face, I want before everything a CHARACTER, with layers like onions- FOR FUCKS SAKE, he refused to be imprinted on in the beginning!. He did started the revolution for Eve too, but still, it was because he wanted more for his life, the others homunculi and then Eve.
And so, the story reach chapters 40+ and I feel like nothing really happened, and not in a slow burn way, things really just dont have impact and sometimes, some plots are really fast as others slow and, well, slow. I could not believe that we had so much chapters but none of characters have grow, no, they seemed to get worse ( Mikhail). When compared to Villains Are Destined to Die, the first season is mostly just the build up of the setting, but even so, it gives birth to so many plot points that then began to develop in the sequences, and its the good slow born, and even so, the ending of the first season is culmination of all minor conflicts presented during the course of the chapters!
And finally, the tone. The tone of this manhwa now compared to the first chapters is so much of a whiplash. It lacks deep, it lacks urgency and severity. Its truly a dissapointment. I really was enjoying this in the beginning, the concept and themes, but everything seems to just fall off. I will continue to read it one day, maybe when its finally finalized. Until there, who knows, things can change.
*EDIT: MY OPINION HAS CHANGED SO DRASTIC PLEEASE IGNORE THIS UNTIL I DO A PROPER REMAKE OF THIS. I learned my leason to not judge manhwa until at least 30 chapters +
OG: First of all, this story is so well written, it follows the same clichés that we saw in other isekais / time travel stories, but this one is Intelligent and well done! I love how it was not a Deus x machina that brought back FL to life, as in other stories of the genre, but ML in the "present" after her death through magic and the help of "the teacher"
The pace and construction of the world is so good and interesting. "Homunculus."
Homunculos are the central part of the conflict, how they work ( created) and function in the society along side with the slave system "impriting" and the affects of it in relation with the royal family.
It is in itself an interesting plot device and differentiates this one from other stories. The romance is also believable, which is great! In the first chapter you already have some kind of attachment to the characters and their love.
ML is a great SIMP ( and made a dumb mistake in the first chapter) but not in a bad way, for now, I think. I mean, I like the concept of doting, but I hate when characters are always thinking about "x person" being a woman or a men. I just hope the ML grows to have others objectives and dreams besides the wishes of the FL.
Anyway, Fl is clever, it might be a little cliché to say that, but she is INDEED clever, not like in other stories where FL is said to be "clever", but in reality it's just the plot bowing for her. Eve does things, she plans and wins.
there are some flaws here and there, but I think that at this point it is part of the genre shoujo / isekai ( nitpicks) For now, there aren't that many chapters, so I can't say much, but what I see is really promising and already an interesting read.
EDIT* I turn donw one score from 8 to 7 because I not liking the recent development, for most part being some kind of plot holes and the ML, I like him...but...still a simp ;---------;