lewlibrary

[lewlibrary]

Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story

A-jin, DOYOSAY, Lemon Frog - Webtoon original

Completed - 100 episodes - Scrolling

When Suna Choi reincarnates into the body of Edith Rigelhof, she thinks she might finally get a peaceful life. Though Edith has been the villain in her favorite novel, she hopes that by changing Edith's actions, she can change Edith's fate of being killed by her husband at the end of the novel. But Edith’s life is nowhere near as easy and luxurious as the novel had lead her to believe, and her marriage to Killian Rudwick is tense with mistrust and suspicion. How does she change a perfect story?

With this comic having completed its run on Webtoon only two weeks ago, now is the perfect time to talk about it! Especially since I want to recommend it in time for new readers to join in for the side/epilogue stories, as well as allow people to see it before it possibly goes behind ad pass. After all, if you’re an isekai enjoyer, this is a story you absolutely want to read while you have the chance.

Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story has truly gorgeous art. I really love the way the artist draws… just about everything, really. I’d call their style easy on the eyes, but honestly, I spend quite a bit of time actively paying attention to it. The outfits everyone wears are always really nice and very pretty, and I love this artist’s handle on expressions (both silly and serious). I have a real fondness for the way the artist renders hair especially. I grabbed a couple of panels below specifically for some different expressions, though I could have really grabbed any random three and found something I liked.

Another thing I really love about this comic is the lighting. The artist has a great feel for atmospheric lighting, as well as a very visually distinct style of lighting/coloring in general, at least in my mind. It’s a more subtle aspect of the style, but it’s the thing about this comic’s art that stands out most visually in my mind.

The plot itself, as I summarized above, is relatively simple, at least as far as isekai plot lines go. However, don’t mistake “simple” for an insult—as far as “villainess tried to change her fate” isekai stories go, this is one of the best and most interesting takes on this trope I’ve ever read.

The story is a mystery, and every beat of it is satisfying, tense, and well-paced. I don’t want to dig into it too much to avoid spoilers, and I would hate to spoil any of this comic's big twists for anyone, but I will say every single question this comic raised had my interest, and every single reveal was rewarding. If you like isekai where the author is a major antagonistic force, or where the narrative and story themselves play a part, this comic has one of my favorite takes on that trope.

For one of the first times in all the years I've used webtoon, I looked into how to get coins for free just so I could read the ending of this story sooner. I had to know what happened next, and even with all my patience from years and years of following weekly webcomics and manga, I couldn’t wait. As far as “typical” isekai plots go, Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story is one of the best.

And, while Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story isn’t a comedy, it does have a fantastic sense of humor. Edith herself is a very funny person, and that’s one part of her charm as a character.

Speaking of Edith, I absolutely love Edith herself, as she’s a very compelling and interesting protagonist. She’s clever, but her struggles with trying to survive the story and navigate a house where no one cares for her are still very realistic for her situation. Her knowledge of the original novel doesn’t make her life her effortless or smooth, nor does it make her turn Edith into a perfect character. She’s absolutely fascinating to me, and it made the story even better.

While I’m on characters, I find myself really interested in every single side character—Rhyse, the rest of the Rudwick family, Rhynon, Anna—I want to especially shout out Jocelyn Rudwick as a favorite side characters, as she had probably one of my favorite dynamics with Edith in the story, being one of the first to be sympathetic to Edith and staying that way throughout the story.

Edith is able to survive in the Rudwick house due to characters like Jocelyn, another woman who married into the family and can empathize with Edith’s situation. I really liked their mother- and daughter-in-law relationship, and I haven’t seen many relationships like it in other comics.

(Pictured here are Killian, Edith’s husband; Axel and Jocelyn Rudwich, Killian’s parents; and Rhynon and Anna, staff members in the Rudwick house.)

Of course, my favorite of Edith’s relationships is with Killian, her love interest. Killian himself is a great character in his own right. He’s understandably upset about being arranged to marry the daughter of his father’s enemy, especially when he’s already in love with Rhyse. He’s the second son and the second male lead, and he knows well he’s second choice at everything in his life. He was super engaging as a character—even if he weren’t the love interest, he would have been one of my favorites, honestly.

Killian’s arc of getting to know and becoming closer to Edith is super rewarding, and he’s quickly become one of my favorite male leads in any romance. I love seeing the relationship between these two build, and seeing them build a genuine trust was really fun to read. I really believed and felt invested in their romance, as they’re both easy to care for and root for.

I also want to call some attention to Rhyse, who is one of the most interesting characters in the comic—I won’t say much, since I think she’ll be more fun to learn about yourself, but her dynamic with Edith was another favorite of mine the whole story, and especially at the end.

I could honestly keep going, but I want you all to find out on your own what makes this comic so special. Maybe another time I’ll come back and write about it with spoilers, though, just because I really love so many of the characters, their arcs, and the story’s mystery. It was really fun to read the first few episodes of this comic for the fourth time to write this, and honestly, I might sacrifice the rest of my day to read the rest again!

[lewlibrary]

And Another Lovely Day

Leehama - Webtoon canvas

Ongoing - 36 Episodes - Scrolling

A "(non) rom-com" following Nora and Elliot, two aromantic/asexual teachers at the same school. The two have a fateful and romantic meeting off the clock, which causes them both to worry the other has fallen in love with them.

I first started reading Leehama's work with Flowerpot on Tapas (then tapastic!) back in 2017, and I've been following her work ever since. All of her comics are incredibly thoughtful and heartfelt, and And Another Lovely Day is a shining example of all the care and consideration put into Leehama's work.

(Speaking of Leehama's comics, Gourmet Hound is on my list of comics to talk about here, too—stay tuned for that later!)

There are a lot of small details I enjoy about this comic, such as the name scheme of the cast. Every single character draws their first or last name from a color, either being named directly after a color itself (ie Nora Chestnut, whose surname is a shade of warm brown) or their name drawing on something related to that color (ie Isaac Heather, named for a purple flower). I adore the fact every single character's name, no matter how big or small the character's role, both fits a certain theme and tells us a little about them, as it makes the whole work feel a little more cohesive.

Related—unsurprisingly by the attention paid to colors in the name scheme, And Another Lovely Day's color work is phenomenal. Every single panel is easy on the eyes, with a nice balance of bright and cheerful colors. Of course, the art style of the comic is also incredibly pleasing, with a super charming and distinct style for people and expressions. The comic especially prefers oranges and blues, the colors of the aromantic-asexual flag.

My favorite small detail is the way the comic uses stars. Many romance comics use things like hearts around a character in a panel to denote romantic feelings, and this comic has a similar symbol: stars, for platonic or familial affection and feelings. A specific symbol to highlight these moments in a comic specifically about how platonic connections instead of romantic ones is incredibly useful, as well as really fun to pay attention to once you know to look for it!

And Another Lovely Day is a very heartfelt comic, portraying asexuality and especially aromanticism in an honest and sympathetic light, something that can be very rare in media! The "tragedy," if you can use so heavy a word here, of Nora and Elliot's lives isn't their aromanticism, as both of them are relatively content with their own interests and their platonic or familial connections. Instead, the comic deals more with things such as the isolation of navigating in this world built around romantic partnerships as a person removed from romance entirely.

While the comic handles these feelings respectfully and with the care and weight they deserve, it never stops being a light-hearted and comedic story. And Another Lovely Day has a very clever and silly sense of humor, and I've shown many of the jokes from this comic to friends as they land every single time. I walk away from most episodes of this series with a genuine smile on my face. A personal favorite style of joke that this comic does is footnotes which comment on or contradict the content of the panel or the misconceptions of the characters, a gag that makes me laugh every single time.

(Just rereading this comic for panels to sample was cracking me up all over again)

These are two of many of the comic's strong points as a written work, but the comic is also strong in character writing and in handling relationships, both platonic and romantic. Elliot and Nora are both incredibly interesting characters, and between the two, I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favorite (and that's not even getting into all the rest of the cast!)

Every episode of And Another Lovely Day comes with small bonus panels of trivia, and there have been several bonus episodes with more extra information and content or context about characters or writing choices. These are absolutely fascinating, and many of them—such as one which pointed out the author's use of stars—have changed the way I read and appreciate the comic.

As a last note, the author posts here on tumblr @/leehama! I would recommend checking out her tumblr for trivia about the comic, as well as her entire body of work as a comic artist. I've never read something from Leehama I didn't absolutely adore with every fiber of my being, and I plan to follow her work wherever she takes it.

[lewlibrary]

City of Blank

66 - Webtoon original

Ongoing - 218 Episode - Scrolling

The world of CoB is heavily populated with ghostly humanoid creatures known as “blanks,” which will instinctually steal the face of any human not wearing a mask, and nowhere is as famous for their blank population as Glory City, a place populated with enough blanks to earn the titular moniker “Blank City.” Rex Kelman is new to the city, following the trail of his brother Mikiah following Mikiah's death six months prior. Rex seeks to solve Mikiah’s murder and finish the mysterious mission Mikiah left him with.

The first word which comes to my mind when I think of City of Blank’s art style is always “bold.” The colors always pop, and the comic’s art always stands out in my mind because of it. It can be difficult to pull off a wide range of colors in your sets and character designs without it feeling like too much, but City of Blank consistently looks fantastic and exciting. The coloring style was the thing that first drew me to the comic, back when it was still on Canvas—the bold purple of the series icon immediate caught my eye and drew me in, and the artist's color work has continued to excel every single episode.

City of Blank also has very pleasing, detailed backgrounds. Every scene feels very grounded in its setting, no matter where that setting is. The style itself is unique as well, and very effective at setting a vibe—If you showed me the background of a City of Blank panel without any characters or text, I could still immediately recognize it as coming from City of Blank. I grabbed a few for examples, but honestly, every background in this comic is wonderful. I'd really recommend paying attention to them when you read.

And, speaking of unique, let’s get into the character designs. All characters in the series have to wear masks to avoid having their faces stolen by blanks. These masks are really interesting parts of the character design, as each character’s mask can tell you something about their personality and interests. Whether a mask is simple or elaborately designed alone can share a lot, not to mention the actual patterning or theming itself. How functional it is in the character’s day to day life—is it solid all the way through, or is there an easy way to access their mouth for eating? This often demonstrates a lot of thought on the part of the creator for the impact of blanks on the world, as well as the way each individual character navigates it.

Here's a couple of masks from a few members of the cast (and one background characters whose mask made me laugh when rereading this to write this post). I'd recommend paying attention to the background characters as you read, though, as a lot of them have neat mask designs.

On top of that, the outfit designs are always thoughtfully detailed, and each character’s wardrobe is distinct and unique to their personal sense of style. You again develop a clear feeling on the personalities and interests of each character through their clothes alone, before they’ve even spoken a single sentence on page.

There’s a very consistent attention to detail throughout the whole comic. The most obvious is City of Blank’s unique bubble style—every single character has a unique speech bubble coloration style, with a text/line color and background gradient combination specific to them. No matter what colors the bubble uses together, I never have trouble reading them, as the text is always legible—I have seen plenty of other comics use a similar tactic, but 66’s style is one of the best at maintaining legibility while still giving each character their own voice though the stylization of their bubbles. It’s always been one of my favorite details about the comic, as it exemplifies the care the creator puts into every character and every episode, especially in the way that it aids in crafting City of Blank’s identity.

Here's a couple of bubbles—readers of the comic will probably be able to pinpoint which characters these belong to.

I keep pointing out the unique feeling and distinct identity City of Blank has as a comic, and that’s not a coincidence. City of Blank is a comic about identity, and every single piece of how the comic is crafted helps demonstrate that theme. It's especially clear in the mechanics of blanks.

Blanks without faces are fully unaware and act entirely on instinct. They steal a face without thought, only to suddenly and abruptly develop awareness the moment they have one, leaving them scared and confused in a generally hostile environment. Humans fear and revile blanks as dangerous and murderous entities, and treat blank with and without faces as monsters and murderers. The intangible bodies of blanks that have stolen a face slowly become more and more human, gradually the memories of the face they stole as their blank bodies turn organic, finally gaining all of their face’s memories once their body becomes fully “human.” The humans whose faces are stolen will suffocate to death if not immediately treated and, even if the blank who stole their face were to be caught, cannot have their faces restored, making the idea of having one's face stolen a nightmare to the humans in this setting.

Without going into spoilers, many of the main and supporting cast members are either developing blanks—blanks who have stolen a face and are in the process of developing a more “human” body—or half-blanks—the children of a human and a fully developed blank. The comic deals a lot with developing blanks as they create a new identity of their own and grapple with what they had to do to even gain one, as well as the fear and confusion of humans at the potential loss of their own lives and identities. The way blanks and identity are handled is the most gripping part of this comic, but far from the only strength in its writing.

City of Blank has a great sense of humor, and is often making me laugh, and every tense or serious moment still hits with incredible effectiveness. The mysteries are well-paced and very rewarding to watch unravel, and the world itself is clearly as thoughtfully-written as every other aspect.

Every single character is well-developed, with engaging arcs I consistently find myself drawn into. I tried to pick a favorite for this post and genuinely could not decide—Rex, Lyss, and Desmond are all super interesting, and that's just the original main three. Every single character you meet after, sympathetic or not, has a fascinating mystery to unravel.

I feel genuinely lucky to have been following this comic since day one of it being on Originals, as I've loved getting to see this comic unfold in real time. It's currently on break and gearing up for its final season, and I very much recommend being there for the finale, as I have full faith it'll be every bit as thoughtful and exciting as every episode leading up to it.

To wrap up, I'll add that the author, 66, can be found here on tumblr at @/66sharkteeth. They regularly post extra art, reflections on episodes, or answer asks. If you enjoy the comic, I highly recommend looking through their account!

[lewlibrary]

I’m starting a brand new little project here—webcomic recommendations! I’ve been reading webcomics avidly for around a decade now, and I want to share some of the comics I love most. From here on out, I’ll be highlighting the comics I love and why I love them, with the hopes others will find they love them, too.