Reviewed @ch 37
So the novel has over 200 chapters. And we've had 55 chapters of the manhwa in 3 years.
So I decided to just read some of the fan tl and come back ina few years to read the series fromt he beginning in official TL. Cos the fan TL is good at parts, but definitely has frequent mistakes that are jarring/immersion breaking.
But I ended up reading 37 chapters instead of just one or two.
This series starts with an incredible opening, really emotional, in chapter 1.
And the grief and melancholy never really leaves the series. Emilia is still grieving. Others are, too, but Emilia's takes a different form. I think when grief is depicted well it often results in something beautiful, and we have that here.
We have a very likeable lead character, with a very interesting relationship with her childhood friend that's fortunately frequently show in flashbacks throughout the series. Even as we know she's already dead. It's the kind of story I've always been interesting in writing myself.
I personally view their relationship as being unspokenly romantic in nature, even as it was co-dependent af. And it feels all the more tragic, yet powerful, for it. quote:
"If either one of us had been a man, we would have been married and my name would've been next to her's on her tombstone." (Idk what chapter that's from but I saw a screenshot of it on reddit)
The glasses guy is just crazy and thus boring. The cousin seems like he could be interesting...if given the oppurtunity with more screen-time. The blonde guy is...well I was going to say he was just ok, with potential. But ch 37 shows there's a lot more to him.
Chapter 37 overall is a very interesting chapter that raises the quality of the story, really.
But the best part is Ophelia's relationship with Emilia. It's interesting that this is a rare series in which..well Ophelia is not a good person. Emilia describes her as horrible. Yet Emilia is also perhaps the only one who truly loved her. And Ophelia loved her in turn. We don't usually get that unless it's in a villain.
This series does a fairly good job with it's central mystery (slowly introduced) and a very good job of depicting its lead who is an unreliable narrator. She's so sure of her view of people because of her knowledge of the game ...and realising that she shouldn't be also means she'd have to open herself to examining her own low self-esteem. There's an interesting conflict there.
There's a little more I want to write, but this is mostly a placeholder comment until I come back in a few years after reading the official TL. (again, the fan TL has issues and lowered my enjoyment). I rate it a 7 for now, but suspect a better TL and more of the story would result in a higher rating.