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Book (Manhwa): Men of the Harem by HereLee, Alphatart, & Yeongbin

Logo of Men of the Harem webtoon, chapter 148
Men of the Harem chapter heading (chapter 148)

Men of the Harem
by HereLee, Alphatart, Yeongbin
published by Webtoon (150 chapters, 2 seasons, ongoing)
2021 – present

Latil believed her boyfriend would send for her after settling a crisis in his home empire, but instead she received an invitation to his wedding as emperor… to someone else.

After her father was murdered and she executed her dangerous brother, Latil became empress of her own empire, and decided to establish a harem of consorts – for spite and fun! Would her ex become jealous? Oh, yes. Would a variety of handsome and influential men apply, ranging from both wealthy royals to mercenaries and spies? Again, yes – and one of them is her emperor-ex’s overconfident brother.

Despite the fun implications of the title, Latil is a really hard worker, and birth control doesn’t exist in this world yet, so it isn’t the party it could be. Latil must stabilize her empire and determine who killed her father, so she is too busy to frolic with her attractive consorts and risk a pregnancy that will leave her unable to swing her sword – something she still needs to do often. Also, because of the influence of the men, favoring one over another creates political drama outside of the palace – and not just drama for her closest knight, who secretly pines for her.

Season 1 is filled with drama, political intrigue, flirting, secret maps, magical items, and possible imposters.

Season 2 reveals that dark magic seems may have returned to the world after an absence of 500 years, with outlying villages being emptied by monsters, and rumors that her ex’s new empress has gone mad, because she is claiming to see people back from the dead.

Did I both gasp AND make a pained sound at seeing a familiar character oozing blood and sinking into a pond – yes, yes I did!

Even during crises, the harem is a source of campy humor and entertainment – and outside it, some of her consorts are both useful and eager to help. My favorite is the secret leader of the assassins’ guild, who also likes to read (ooooh), fall of out his clothes (haha), send Latil naughty paintings (o_o) – AND ALSO go undercover with his empress, collect intelligence for her through his guild, and capture people! (Competence is sexy!) Then there’s the big pale one who implies he has always known her, without explaining the specifics of these prior life relationships. His strength and unflinching devotion are assets, even if he is a bit spooky… When he says her knight was born to protect her, is he being melodramatic, or is he hinting at a prophecy he is eager for her to ask about?

Men of the Harem
Scorned by her lover and thrown into power after the mysterious assassination of her father, Latil must marry to secure her sovereignty of Tarium. Instead of choosing one man to become her Royal Consort, she chooses five young men from all walks of life to join her Harem. Will Latil ever solve her father’s murder, and can she keep the peace in her Harem?

Latil is a woman who works too much and needs to have more fun (aside from participating in brawls while eating street food without her knights present), and I really want her to have a chance to relax! And also, not to need to manage a zombie outbreak, or worry that she’s going to become the bad guy. (Problems we all face at one time or another, amirite.)

Season Two delivered the always enjoyable, ‘don’t worry, this isn’t my blood’ trope that I eagerly await in all Korean graphical fiction.

I stayed up too late several evenings reading Season Two, and I’m eagerly awaiting Season Three.

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Administration: Adding Manhwa Tag for Selected Webcomics

I’m starting to add the tag “manhwa” to the Korean webcomics I’m posting, because I got into them before being able to have pedantic arguments about what distinguishes manga, manhwa, and even manhua!

Manhwa – Wikipedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The general gist is that these are comics (a) from South Korea that are often (b) in color and now even (c) set up for vertical (phone) scrolling publication.

If you haven’t noticed (because I usually only write at the end of publication, and so much of what I’m reading is in ongoing serialization without end), my main sources of manhwa content are Tappytoon and the Webtoon app.

Stories that change your world, Tappytoon Comics & Novels | Official English
Newest chapters, premium webtoons, exclusive stories. Tappytoon is the official, trusted place to read comics and novels from top creators.
WEBTOON
Enjoy every day of your life with the NO. 1 comics app with millions of users worldwide.

Many genres and styles are available. I primarily choose stories of:

  • dying of overwork in the real world, waking up as a the villainess of a novel the heroine has already read, and trying to reform her character to change her unfortunate fate
  • avenging the killing of one’s immediate family (feudal settings)
  • secret identities (especially including girls having to pretend to be guys to survive; sole survivors of royal families pretending to be commoners to they can get revenge later, etc.)
  • dramedies (dramatic comedies) which are often also romances and invovle women who are good at fighting with swords (and sometimes magic).

The digital coloring, use of 3D software to model figures in lifelike positions and odd angles, and the application of complex textures and patterns makes this genre quite visually appealing – my phone is filled with screenshots of favorite characters whose costumes would be disabling to draw by hand, but are slightly less so with digital tools. (They can still be disabling – the artists need to take long breaks between seasons to recover from the efforts! Some are on long term hiatus for health reasons… I worry a bit for the artists over this.). I’m a bit discouraged by the dominance of European castles and royal themes, though I understand why the elaborate costumes can be fun, and why it is convenient to have idle (not ordinarily employed) characters with time to get into trouble.

You’ll see the new tag applied as I consider whether to rename the titles to a broader category like comic (which evokes American retro-newspaper comics, rather inaccurately) or perhaps graphic fiction.

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Life: Pajama Weekend

So, it turns out four months is too long to go without a vacation. Who knew?

What? [conversational sounds] Oh. Oh, really? Everyone knew? [conversational sounds] I see. [takes notes, breaks pencil lead from pressing into notebook too hard, tosses notebook across desk.]

I used this weekend to rest. Read, eat, and rest. I am still wearing the very soft clothes I slept in, and I am not ashamed.

I’m reading more [written things] than I write about here. Also, I’m intentionally not writing about much of what I read, because I write to share / endorse / celebrate / promote things I enjoy, and if I’m not that enthused, I don’t want to waste my energy.

I’m not writing about webcomics that spend too much time discussing agriculture. It sounds like a weird bias, but if someone was tortured in a dungeon by their family and uses magic to time travel to avenge themselves, only to spend their days giving expositions about strategic crops, I feel like they are avenging themselves on me, somehow. Another webcomic with a hotly drawn villain somehow led to the lovely heroine making dramatic statements about the berry industry, and I nearly threw my phone. (I’m enjoying one now that involves a secret mission to secure a port, but it is just a side thing, not something I have to pay attention to! The world and characters are well established, and the story doesn’t require this – it’s just a footnote. World-building such details by footnote is FINE!)

I’m not writing about webcomics centered on rivalries between two female-led religious institutions. One of the women is a fraud whose powers are being faked by manipulative men (yes, in more than one comic), and it is getting predictable.

I’m not writing about religious instructional texts I’m dipping into, because those are only interesting if you are in the same sect, and any subjective criticism of such texts is unlikely to be welcome.

I’m not writing about the audiobooks I can’t hear properly in the train or the eBooks on my phone that are in progress.

I’m not writing about current event news, because such news is uniformly awful at the moment, and might encourage you to live under a rock. You might upset a sweet octopus or eel living under that rock, so just leave them and their hidden home alone, deal with humans as much as the rest of us must, and whip a few humans into shape, please.

I do love the magic of scheduling posts in advance, and will try to use this magic more often to spread my infrequent-yet-enthusiastic output more evenly.

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Book (Manhwa): The Knight and Her Emperor by G.M, Team IYAK (winter, heyum)

Tappytoon banner for The Knight and Her Emperor by GM and Team IYAK (winter, heyum).
Tappytoon banner for The Knight and Her Emperor by GM and Team IYAK (winter, heyum).

The Knight and Her Emperor
by. G.M, Team IYAK (winter, heyum)
published by Tappytoon (197 chapters over 4 seasons, complete)
2023

Pollyanna’s neglectful family needed to contribute a family member to the war effort. Her parents favored her younger sister, so they just… handed Pollyana over to be trained as a solider, and didn’t look back. Her mentor trained her as well as he could, advising her on how to compensate for her weaknesses, while grimly warning that both the enemy and her own side were likely to rape her. Her fellow soldiers were cold and abusive, and she had little personal safety and no sympathy. She gave up all femininity to be one of the guys, pulled together a loyal team during military campaigns, and tried to die an honorable soldier’s death while saving them.

As her captors struggled to execute her less-than-honorably, she made an impression on the enemy’s emperor.

Such a big impression, that he offered her a job.

And, given her first real opportunity, the foreign (!) woman (!) solider (!) took that job offer and ROLLED WITH IT. Pollyanna swore an oath to the emperor, became the knight Sir Pol, and served his majesty faithfully throughout his military campaign to conquer the incessantly warring continent.

This webtoon spans MORE THAN A DECADE! (I’ll change to present tense!) In a country where people express sympathy for the misfortune of giving birth to a daughter, Pol’s life requires near-daily struggle, struggle softened by the loyalty and friendship of her knights plus rewards from her appreciative emperor. Along the way she makes friends and enemies, kicks men where it hurts, becomes a war hero, conceals weapons in formalwear, inspires fierce loyalty in comrades at arms, becomes lonely, tries to do too much herself, develops close female friendships, becomes a role model, and… punches trees.

This multi-season graphic novel (based on a book) took the artists six years to complete, and it’s epic! I hadn’t realized when I started how many chapters were available, so each chapter was a cliffhanger – I wasn’t sure anyone would survive, and was pleasantly surprised to hit the button providing the next chapter, even when the (relatable) pain of Pol’s struggles to be taken seriously stung me in familiar ways. In that spirit of suspense, I’ll only note that Season 1 centers on the decade-long war across the continent; Season 2 is focuses on establishing a lasting peace and living in a society that has no clear space for senior female officers; and Season 3 is about being true to oneself and pursuing happiness against all odds after ALL OF THAT.

I felt weary on Pol’s behalf at the at the end of the war, worried that Pol’s spirit would be broken during peacetime by hateful old men, charmed by the emperor’s adoration-plus-respect for her [swoon], and misty that she could be herself AND (to her own surprise) have people who truly care about her and like her just as she is.

This webtoon has many lighthearted moments, funny jokes told by characters that other characters refuse to laugh at, adorable chibi-style illustrations, hard life lessons, babies drooling, a man with blinding physical beauty, and moments of yelling at the characters to JUST TELL EACH OTHER WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH that must go unheeded for the sake of the plot for a while, but not forever.

This webtoon delights me, and I’m so glad I read it. I developed care and affection for the characters, and was emotionally moved at the end. I strongly recommend The Knight and Her Emperor.

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Life: Declining Social Events Politely

I’ve invited some long-time friends to dine with me, but don’t want to pressure them to attend. Long time friends can always decline – we’ve known each other forever, after all – and I’ve invited them to say they aren’t in the mood if that is true. Historically, some of them won’t decline, but then bounce during the event, or agree to attend, but cancel at the last moment, which is less fun.

To prevent bouncing and bailing, I’ve invented a list of excuses they may use at any time with me, which I will accept without challenge. This list includes:

  • attending an appointment for plastic surgery (giving or receiving)
  • having tires rotated (must pretend to own car)
  • entertaining out of town guests
  • filming porn
  • engaging in crimes on behalf of the Republican National Committee
  • washing hair (must not be bald)
  • having hair cut (same)
  • cutting hair for others
  • attending pet therapy.

I hope to update this list seasonally, so none of the excuses become worn out.

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Life: Working too much, reading too little

So, the usual.

I’ve been entertaining myself during times when I can stay awake. I took a ferry ride, and observed that the usual boat was in the shop, so one of the giant commuter boats took its place. I texted a friend about this, with the note, “I like big boats and I cannot lie,” and he found it hilarious. (This is a Sir Mix-a-lot reference, for you young people.)

I am enjoying pleasant cross-employer camaraderie during my commute, and enjoy speaking with my solution-oriented allies at the office.

*

I’m reading multiple new manga which are published serially and are incomplete, so it is difficult to know WHEN to write about them. I may invent a rule about reviewing them at the end of each season, or perhaps 100 chapters? (I’ll need a similar rule if and when I ever write about The Second Sex, which is complete but very, very long. And filled with book flags/darts that I’ve left there for points I want to dwell on.)

I continue to avoid comics which are creepy about female characters’ bodies (groin close-ups on underdressed female characters during battle scenes? No, thank you!), while the men are covered to such an extreme that you can’t see their hands without gloves. That is just weird. If men are that uncomfortable with men showing skin, they should really work on their issues.

The drama and fantasy stories often have women softening/improving violent male characters, even to the point of turning depots and recluses into engaged authority figures who actively attend to the needs of their subjects, and I don’t think that is a very safe theme to promote. The hashtag for those is #charactergrowth, and I find that funny.

I’m still mystified by the many story tangents relating to agriculture. There is a drama, someone is trying to prevent their own execution, and then there are many pages devoted to growing a crop. I… I… What?

There is a running manga in-joke that still surprises me, sometimes 100 or more chapters into a story:
–a main character enters a room covered in blood
–others characters express concern
–the bloody character then says ‘it’s not my blood’ (the actual wording varies), suggesting that they just won a battle of some type that is not being illustrated here.
It is… very funny, in these stories – unexpected, as there hasn’t been a lot of violence until that point, or there was but it was distant. The fact that I find this funny means it is well done, but also that I am living in a culture that has normalized violence. (Oh-oh. True. Yes.)

Please be sure to work on your own #charactergrowth without waiting for a new romantic partner, and avoid being covered in ANYONE’S blood.

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Books (Manga): The King’s Beast by Rei Toma

Cover of the King's Beast volume 1 by Rei Toma
Cover of the King’s Beast volume 1 by Rei Toma

The King’s Beast
by Rei Toma
published by Viz (ongoing)
2021 –

This is the most beautiful monochrome manga. Toma’s art is INCREDIBLE. And her people, especially her men, are SO GORGEOUS!

I am 61 chapters into the story (!), and there are more to come, but I’m impatient to gush about it. (I also want to say that the ears on the Ajin characters are not some fetish thing, so read without fear.) Viz has lovely previews of each volume on their website, linked above.

The story: our hero(ine) is Rangetsu. She is one of the Ajin, an human-oppressed group of people who happen to have some animal features like furry ears and tails. Ajin women are forced into prostitution; Ajin men have limited options as exploited laborers, but the most accomplished among them can work for the Imperial Family as personal servants or soldiers.

Rangetsu is a young girl; her twin brother went to work for the Imperial family, and was brutally murdered. Rangetsu vows to avenge her twin, but the only way to access the Imperial palace and investigate his murder is to present as a boy, become physically powerful, compete for a job there as an imperial beast-servant, and win. Only then, after devoting years of her life to this purpose, will she have a chance to use her position to avenge herself against the likely culprit, Prince Tenyou.

Rangetsu is hired into the palace, only to find Prince Tenyou to be (a) crushed over her brother’s death, and (b) shockingly beautiful. Tenyou wants to help Rangetsu (who is successfully passing as a boy despite being really, really pretty) find out what happened. How awkward it is for Rangetsu that the prince is so tender toward [her]. How awkward it is that the other (also gorgeous, ofttimes bitchy) princes are so… handsy.

The scenery is beautiful.

The architecture is beautiful.

The characters are beautiful.

Single panel from Rei Toma's The King's Beast, showing the gorgeous characters being gorgeous.
Single panel from Rei Toma’s The King’s Beast, showing the gorgeous characters being gorgeous. (The conversation where this collection of character is being imagined made me laugh.)

I love the way Toma draws eyes. Many of her best eyes are subtle trapezoids, and the details in their irises are subtle washes. The main characters all have shapely eyebrows. Everyone of import also has good eyelashes, while their flowing hair goes on and on…

The story is high stakes – Rangetsu may be killed before she can discover who killed Sogetsu. And the other princes of the palace are shady. (Hot and shady.) Plus, the beast-servants of the other princes also have special powers, called arcana, making them extra-dangerous.

The vengeance story arc is a long one, but is very solid. This manga is a huge accomplishment, and is lovingly drawn. I’m looking forward to future issues.

Cross-dressing, palace intrigue, physical powers beyond those of humans, danger, Chinese palaces and gardens, eyes so deep you want to swim in them, confused longing, gorgeous men in flowing robes… Yes, I’m raving here: I highly recommend this manga.

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