Is Isekai the future of the romance genre?

Digital art and comic books often go hand in hand as generations pass by with different types of interests and engagements.  In the past, when someone thought of comic books, they typically imagined a superhero comic book from a publisher like DC, Marvel, or a smaller local publisher. This was the outcome of the effective introduction of western culture, which fundamentally altered character development, storyboarding, and visual culture.

The human tendency to adapt to and acknowledge emerging knowledge as well as culture, however, is something that defines our own existence, much like the westernisation of the world. As a result, I'd like to discuss the current trend in graphic novels and online cartoons originating from China, Korea, and Japan known as manga, manhwa, and manhua. A dedicated reader may quickly distinguish the type based on the art alone, despite the fact that their appearance reflects many similarities. Aside from the obvious, I would like to discuss the Isekai and Historical romance subgenres that have become increasingly popular in the graphic novels category.

I've been reading a lot of historical romances and Isekais lately, so I'm aware of how popular this genre has become online and in reading forums. Before that, allow me to explain what "isekai" is. It is essentially the same as reincarnation. The new craze of this generation is Isekai books or visual novels; A person who lives a new life while maintaining memories of the past is just an interesting character.

Another especially overplayed story arc revolves around the title of Villainess. There are several manhwas in which the main character, most likely as a result of a book they read or game they played in the past, gets reincarnated as a villain. With a royal family, a ducal family, knights, and other historical figures present, each aspect of the story is told in a historical context. Since authors are consistently producing fresh iterations of the story, this genre has been my area of expertise for around two years.

As a romance fiction reader, I can see why this trend or the popularity of this genre is growing because, aside from general romance novels and shoujo manga, the possibility of a strong female lead was frequently unheard of over the years. Even after authors developed powerful female characters, the storyline or storytelling frequently included elements from the harem or ecchi subgenres. This was something I abhorred since the female lead would often be presented as a character who would dress scantily or behave like a five-year-old while slipping in a lifetime's worth of sexual innuendos. It is an accomplishment in and of itself because the isekai genre includes fantasy and slice-of-life stories in addition to romance. This genre is significantly enhanced by tropes like father-daughter, brother-sister, adopted parents, and numerous more types of plotlines. I particularly adore the father-daughter tropes because it highlights the lovely ties that unite families since the daughter is reincarnated and the cruel father falls in love with their daughters. Although it cannot be described as romantic, the straightforward act of a father guarding his daughter makes my heart overflow with joy.

I've always yearned to read stories with intelligent, strong female protagonists. I discovered this in the isekai genre, where retaliation for wrongdoing was frequently carried out in the most scrumptious manner. It is admirable that the female protagonists in these manhwas are such strong, independent women because it creates a role model for young readers. Similar to that genre, this one features powerful supporting characters that help to forge power couples, as well as male leads who are courteous. In order to wrap up this blog, I would want to suggest a few manhwas that I'm sure a lot of people need because they have fallen into the romance isekai rabbit hole.

Recommendations 

Who made me a princess

Lucia 

When the villainess loves 

Chitra 

The villainess lives twice 

As long as you like it 

Lady with the smartphone 

Lady baby 

Villain's saviour 

Crimson karma 

Daughter of the emperor

A villain is a good match for a villainess 

My throne 

Charlotte has five disciples 

Trash of the count's family

Beginning after the end 

I've become the villainess empress

A stepmother's marchen 

Today the villainess has fun 

The princess imprints a traitor 

I became the male lead's adopted daughter

Honey, I'm going on a strike 

Death is the only ending for a villainess. 

Let me know if I should post more suggestions and thank you for reading. 

Book Review: HIM

HIM 

Rating- 5/5 tails

An endearing story about two young athletes who uncover their hidden emotions behind their masks of friendship.

The book starts with the perspectives of the two main characters, Ryan Wesley and Jamie Canning. Ryan Wesley, the local badass and cocky to the core, is confronted with an embarrassing history he has failed to overcome: his gut-wrenching and mind-boggling love for his ex-best friend. Jamie Canning had always imagined himself as the ladies man, but his thoughts keep returning to his best friend, who abruptly ended their friendship by going MIA during the best years of his life. Even after all these years, the anger and confusion appear to have followed him. The plot twists when both protagonists unexpectedly meet during a competition and rekindle their long-forgotten friendship, yearning to return to those simpler times when nothing else mattered but one other. However, fate has other ideas for them. When Wesley unexpectedly shows up at the summer camp Jamie is coaching with the purpose of mending the past, the six-week event becomes more than they could have imagined.

“My weakness is him.”
― Elle Kennedy.

Criticisms

I honestly couldn't think of anything negative to say about the book. Jamie and Wesley's coming-of-age narrative of discovering their sexualities were so nicely depicted, the only criticism I had was that the book was too short; I wanted to see more of Wes and Jamie. And, don't get me wrong, I know the book has a sequel called 'Us', but I guarantee it won't be enough. I was completely smitten.

“Because I’d wanted to touch him more than I’d wanted my next breath.”
― Sarina Bowen.

The book had me grinning like a fool. Wesley and Jamie are two of my favourite characters. This is the first book in which I don't think I'm picky when it comes to favourites. I felt every feeling that the author tried to convey because Wesley's love for Jamie was so terribly intoxicating. Furthermore, Wesley's cockiness and unapologetic attitude toward his sexuality was so inspiring.

“I…” He clears his throat. “I’d let you do it, though.” My hand freezes in his hair. “You would?” Wes nods. “I’d let you do anything to me, Canning.”
― Sarina Bowen, Him

'Him’ by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy can be read on its own, but the good news is that it has a sequel, 'Us.' Although most M/M novels are told in a single stand-alone book, I was delighted to see that this one has a second part in which the characters are already together, followed by their difficulties and tribulations which would help the readers to understand and appreciate the characters further with extended plots for character development. Frequently, stories end with the characters marrying and admitting their feelings. Meanwhile, this book takes it a step further by allowing the characters to grow as individuals. I can’t wait to read the sequel.

“You really do love me, huh?”
“Always have.” I swallowed hard. “Always will.”
― Sarina Bowen.

Recommendations

This is a novel that I would strongly suggest to any M/M fan. This is a must-read since it has a little bit of everything a good romance should have. The best aspect of this novel was the character development, slow-burn components, heart-wrenching interior dialogue, hot scenes, and humorous remarks. You'll undoubtedly root for the boys and squeal with delight during their interactions. In addition, it serves as a coming-of-age journey for Jamie, who considers himself to be 'straight' (or is he?). Jamie begins to adjust and embrace the reality that he loves his best friend after delving deeper into his friendship and sentiments of jealously for Wes. We even get a glimpse into the societal quirks that label gay guys as 'disgusting.' The moments in which the protagonists must conceal their sexuality in order to achieve their greater aims was extremely depressing. However, I admire Wes for being so upfront and defensive towards Jamie and himself, displaying the tough demeanour that is required to avoid being looked down upon.

“But here’s the thing about family, Ryan…blood doesn’t mean shit. You just need to surround yourself with people who do love you, and they become your family.”
― Sarina Bowen.

Aside from my evident outrage at such bigotry, I found this book to be a fun read. This isn't a tearjerker; rather, it's a light-hearted and humorous twist on the best friends to lovers narrative. For fans of BL, Yaoi, or M/M, this is a must-read.

Follow me on my Instagram page @kitsunewrites  

Thank you for reading. ❤

Book Review : The Captive Prince Series

 THE CAPTIVE PRINCE SERIES

Rating-4/5 Tails 

Favourite fantasy M/M series I have ever laid my eyes on. The tale of a prince's ascension to the throne.

Revolving around the story of Prince Damianos who was shipped off to an enemy country after a coup d'état. The protagonist faces various challenges as he is forced to be a slave in enemy territory where he meets the 2nd male protagonist Prince Laurent. A seemingly sharp-minded prince with a sharper tongue, Damianos immediately becomes enchanted with his rival and owner. However, danger lurks as Damianos and Laurent start to uncover the internal politics within the nations while going on a journey to regain their lost identities in a fight for the throne.

“Is there anyone at this court who isn't my enemy?"

 "Not if I can help it," Laurent said.”

 ― C.S. Pacat

Criticisms-

I cannot say that there aren’t any flaws. Every book has its flaws, and thus following that statement the main issue with this series began with its first book- captive prince. Completely revolving around the slave-master trope in the first book, the beginning was rather slow. The constant reminder of slavery and slave culture was beginning to bother me and seemed very repetitive. Furthermore, throughout the trilogy, various scenes seemed rather slow and boring. The fact that the trilogy ended quite abruptly with a severe lack of an epilogue-which I’m sure was being expected from the series, was disappointing. I know that the series has a separate epilogue; the summer palace. But I would’ve liked the last book to have included that as an epilogue rather than a separate short story. That thought is my only complaint. After I went through the first book the next two instalments had me on the tip of my toes craving for more. 

“I don't know how this interrogation found its way into my bed. May I ask where I can expect it to travel next?”

 ― C.S. Pacat 

Awestruck would be an understatement of the overwhelming feeling that was the series “Captive prince”. Since I have binged the entire trilogy within a week, I can clearly proclaim the Captive prince series as one of the most underrated lgbtq+ books which are nothing short of gold that I have ever read. The first book from the series that is “captive prince” began with the story of Prince Damianos, however due to the typical tropes of jealousy, internal politics and evil agenda of his brother Damianos Aka Damen was shipped off to a rival county. Let me tell you, the first half of the story was not exactly very enjoyable and bordered on entertaining the thought of being put down. But as the story progressed we met the 2nd main protagonist, that is, Laurent. since the genre of the first book mostly revolved around slavery and sadistic montages I could digest the fact that the enemy prince would be somewhat evil but after completing the book, I have to say that I didn't exactly like Laurent that much in the beginning since he was pretty much now-how-do-i-say-this a jerk.

“Laurent could inspire homicidal tendencies simply by breathing.”

 ― C.S. Pacat 

However, as the story progressed to the 2nd and third instalment of the book the story and protagonist’s relationship changed drastically into a more subtle romance. Despite the presence of several bl tropes of slavery, dom-sub, enemies to lovers, and sadism, the book didn’t have the typical in-the-face romance or hardcore sex. I understand bl fans love erotica generally, including me, however, the couple in this series shocked me with the significant lack of such. And honestly, the slow burn of the story was the best part of it as even with the shortest interactions of the two male leads, I could clearly see the sparks flying and the passion burning. Moreover, this series also defied the typical trope where the top is commanding and the bottom is submissive. I can proudly say that both the protagonists were equally powerful and worthy of their titles in their own way.

Throughout the second book that is ‘Prince’s gambit,’ I had this weird sense of realisation that all the titles of the book were not only related to men but also Laurent. actually, the story felt like Laurent was the main protagonist and I was just reading his story that was unveiled through Damen's point of view. All that happened throughout the series felt like Laurent's rise to the throne instead of Damen.

“Laurent’s fair skin and blue eyes were a combination that was rare in Patras, rarer in Akielos and a particular weakness of Damen’s.”

 ― C.S. Pacat 

Recommendation-

C.S. Pascat did a wonderful job of writing the tale that is the ‘captive prince series’. The chemistry was unmatched by any other M/M I have ever read. The personality, characteristics, flaws and strengths of both Damianos and Laurent stole my heart. Furthermore, the author did a fantastic job of setting the mood for empathy and visualisation. The scenes were described beautifully as well as the individual traits of the two nations starting from the clothing styles, colours, architecture and mannerisms; hats off to that. The story was absolutely beautiful and can be considered a piece of art in itself. Although the first book was rather slow and might I say boring, but as the story progressed I could not keep the book down and went on a midnight hunt for the 2nd and 3rd books. If you haven’t read this book as an lgbtq+ book lover I have no idea what to say except go read it! It’s definitely a hidden gem.

I give this series 4 tails due to the first book, but I would definitely recommend this to everyone who loves to read romance, historical romance, bl or fantasy. 

Thank you for reading. 

My battle against Depression

Black. The sheet was covered in pitch black ink. That's when it started, maybe that was my call for help. 

"Ma'am, this is the drawing your child made. It looked...concerning". The teacher said looking at me, pulling me away from my thoughts back to the conversation infront. 

"I don't understand. Isn't it just a drawing?" My mother asked.

"Yes, it is. But children her age shouldn't just be scribbling black all over the sheet. Also, the fact remains that she doesn't speak to her peers or participate in class is raising some questions." 

" So she is a quiet child, always has been" she answered with a sigh and gave me a questioning gaze to which I averted my eyes.

" I would suggest counselling". Upon hearing that her face turned grim. 

I realized something on that day from their interaction, I might have a problem within me. 

Over the years, I went for several counselling sessions, changed doctors almost every season, but nothing helped to change the darkness within me. 

Sometimes, I thought I might just be depressed. But, turns out depression and being depressed were as different as night and day. And I was diagnosed with depression at the age of 12. 

It started out as just me being an introvert; having an awful habit of keeping things bottled up. I pondered on the reason for my illness but always ended up thinking about the past. 

"This may have stemmed from the divorce she is afraid to be abandoned", the conclusion would always be the same.

Honestly, it wasn't this bad before but some where along the line, I grew tired of myself and the people around me. All I wanted was to go back to the comfort of my bed. Everyday I felt sluggish, not having the strength to even move a muscle; caging myself in that room. I had become addicted to the feeling of depression and that was how I wanted to lived on. Even after I managed to surround myself with friends, I was alone; their happy faces suffocated me. No one knew the real me, and if they did maybe no one would want to stay anymore. But, the thought that would always follow was ‘Do I even need friends?’ it was all I could think about. My social anxiety was taking over my life. 

Moreover, I had started to become cranky, lashing out at people for the most random things. My mood was always low and I felt... worthless. Just like my father, who had left when I was a child, a constant fear lurked around my mind as a reminder that someday I might again end up being abandoned... And this time by everyone.

However, I still hoped, one day I would become more mature and all of this would be just a misunderstanding, my childishness.

My anxiety took a turn for the worse, the day I graduated from college; with no clue on what to do in life, my mind became more dark and twisted. I seemed to have fallen further down the rabbit hole. 

I didn't know what to do or where I fit in. I watched all my other friends talking about their future plans and goals for life. However, I was...stuck, with no idea on how to take a step forward.

Soon, even medicines weren't helping control my severe anxiety and depression. Day by day, I was losing my will to live; I had lost my appetite long ago and now was heavily dependent on supplements. No matter what I did, I just couldn't recover my body or mind. I was slowly losing myself to the point where I couldn't even differentiate between reality and hallucination. I had also completely stopped speaking and was heavily reliant on medication. 

Whenever I thought about the achievements of my friends, my mind would turn green with envy. Socializing became a difficult game to play. While they went on happily with their lives, I was at the point where I thought 'maybe I should end it once and for all'. 

So one night, I sat on the floor with a blade in my hand and made the first cut. I watched the oozing blood with fascination and welcomed the pain, ready to end my misery once and for all. Fortunately my mother had caught me red handed and immediately rushed me to the emergency room. When she asked me why I did so, I could not answer. I didn't know how to explain what I was going through but when I saw her face with tears running down her eyes, I burst out crying as well. All those moments where I kept bottling myself up was finally broken. I jumped into her arms hugging her as tight as I could and cried out everything that I was hiding: my anger, pain, sadness and loneliness. Throughout the night, I poured out my heart to her and she listened patiently as she patted my back.

The next day walking back home, I realized how small my mother's back looked, how tired her face was, how she must have felt all those years watching me struggle, going in and out of those therapy sessions. We both were fragile souls who only had each other to rely on. All these years, when I thought I was alone, she had silently watched over me, working and taking care of both of us all at the same time. I finally realized how much she loved and cherished me; while I was blind. She had to go through so much hardship in her life but she took all that happily just to see me smile in return. On that day, I took an oath to change myself. I wanted to become better for the both of us, so that this time she could rely on me.

After that day, I went through extensive therapy and listened to the doctors to the best of my abilities. I started to live a healthy lifestyle: eating good food, going out for a run, sketching whenever I could, maintaining a sleep schedule and socializing. And guess what? Slowly I started to recover. I also began hanging out with my friends more and even though it seemed annoying in the beginning, I started enjoying our conversations. I even managed to gain the courage to confess to them about my illness and the struggles along with it. Which made me realize that they were some of the best people in my life, as they accepted me for who I was and sometimes even helped me win the battle against it. Though I wasn't completely over my depression and sometimes, that feeling would rush back to haunt me but this time I knew exactly the people who I should reach out for, and would figure it out at my own pace. 

I realized, all I needed was to trust myself and the people around me. I accepted the fact that I needed help and I couldn't have done this alone, I wanted someone to save me. 

One of the things that help me the most was reviving my artistic skills, I brought back the me who drew in colour again. Using drawing as a way to soothe my mind, I found the answer I was looking for everywhere to be beside me all this time. I am now currently working as a freelance Illustrator with a successful social media outreach and a ton of clients. And honestly I have never been more proud of myself. 

Proud of the twelve year old me, who was trying to call for help through her drawings, the sixteen year old me, who was trying her best to not stray from her path, the twenty one year old me, who was just trying her best to survive and finally the twenty three year old me, who is grateful to myself for staying strong all those years and not giving up. I am glad that I pulled myself up from such a dark place and learnt to love myself, opening up to what life has to offer without any regrets.

"You are the only one who can help yourself, Love yourself".