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Beth's Reviews > The Abandoned Empress, Vol. 4 (comic) (Volume 4) (The Abandoned Empress
The Abandoned Empress, Vol. 4 (comic) (Volume 4) (The Abandoned Empress (comic), 4)
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I've become fond of the light novel subgenre where the heroine dies--often to execution because she's committed a crime--and revives as a younger version of herself, with all her memories intact. (There's a name for this subgenre, but I've only seen the term once and immediately forgot it.) Maybe she was passive in situations where she could have taken action, or fell into a pattern of behavior that eventually led to her committing the crime. In any case, its most appealing aspect is the hope of a second chance for the heroine, who through her own actions and decisions can save her own life and win her happy ending.*
* I assume. I haven't finished one of these yet! :D
I spoiled myself a bit on this one by looking at some reviews of the last volume. Not a big thing, since I got the answer to the question I was mildly curious about. Now that I've read close to halfway through the story, I'm a little surprised that (view spoiler) Of course, this still leaves the question open of what might happen when Jie-un shows up.
I like the new characters that have been introduced when Tia joins the knights (not a spoiler, this is what she's been aiming for since v. 1). Sometimes I get the impression that secondary characters have lives or thoughts that don't center around our MC, so that's a plus. For example, Dillon and Lian, Aristia's fellow knights, were childhood friends, and their banter reflects their having long been comfortable with each other.
There are some political machinations going on, but as often happens in light novels, the plotting feels naive and it's difficult for me to take it seriously or even to pay much attention to it. Allen is involved in that aspect of the story, and is also privy to Aristia's secret. I can think of at least four people that's true of, so it's a stretch to call it a true secret at this point. At least a couple of them fully believe her and are in her corner.
Although I've twigged onto some of the tricks Ina is using for her backgrounds--the Monique country estate is very obviously based on a photograph with some smearing effects layered over it, for example--the coloring and effects do a great job of setting the mood, and a decent job of creating a sense of place (well, not everything can be City). Flowers and geometric shapes add a nice shoujo-manga vibe to several of the panels.
This is far too long for a lazy vacation review, so that's it for now. :)
* I assume. I haven't finished one of these yet! :D
I spoiled myself a bit on this one by looking at some reviews of the last volume. Not a big thing, since I got the answer to the question I was mildly curious about. Now that I've read close to halfway through the story, I'm a little surprised that (view spoiler) Of course, this still leaves the question open of what might happen when Jie-un shows up.
I like the new characters that have been introduced when Tia joins the knights (not a spoiler, this is what she's been aiming for since v. 1). Sometimes I get the impression that secondary characters have lives or thoughts that don't center around our MC, so that's a plus. For example, Dillon and Lian, Aristia's fellow knights, were childhood friends, and their banter reflects their having long been comfortable with each other.
There are some political machinations going on, but as often happens in light novels, the plotting feels naive and it's difficult for me to take it seriously or even to pay much attention to it. Allen is involved in that aspect of the story, and is also privy to Aristia's secret. I can think of at least four people that's true of, so it's a stretch to call it a true secret at this point. At least a couple of them fully believe her and are in her corner.
Although I've twigged onto some of the tricks Ina is using for her backgrounds--the Monique country estate is very obviously based on a photograph with some smearing effects layered over it, for example--the coloring and effects do a great job of setting the mood, and a decent job of creating a sense of place (well, not everything can be City). Flowers and geometric shapes add a nice shoujo-manga vibe to several of the panels.
This is far too long for a lazy vacation review, so that's it for now. :)
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There's a Japanese term I saw in a review, but since I haven't seen it thousands of times like I have isekai, I don't remember it. The prince's minor self-reflection in this book was nicely done, but since he was bred to be an absolute ruler, I'm not convinced it would happen except in a fictional setting like this.
Oh, if you’d like to see a drama based on this exact trope (villainess wakes up in her teenage body after dying), check out The Story of Kunning Palace! I enjoyed it a lot!
It's on a streaming site I've never used before, but it looks beautiful. Maybe I'll give it a try. :)
They (iqiyi) let you watch the first five episodes for free, so you can give it a try to see if you like it. I think they also offer a free VIP trial period with which you can watch the rest, so no need to spend any money.They have some other great series such as Mysterious Lotus Casebook (Sherlock Holmes mixed with bromance comedy and fantasy martial arts), My Journey to You (sexy assassins and mystery), and Love Between Fairy and Devil (fantasy romance and comedy).
I too see a lot of vitriol against this story because she ends up with the prince! But it was one of the more interesting aspects of the story IMO, since it turned what could have been another hot cardboard cutout ML into someone with a little more depth.