In the Bleak Midwinter by Kat, Ali published by Webtoon (37 chapters, ongoing) 2020 – present
Finally, another sci-fi story! YAAAAAAY!
Anya decides to cryogenically sleep for a year to avoid processing grief for her mother and sister in android-related accidents, only to wake up 25 years later in a human-versus-android hellscape.
Worse, the digital readout on her wrist which was counting down the years and minutes until she meets her “soulmate” lights up when she leaves her cryo-pod and sees a man… who immediately shoots her dead.
What the hell? Well, that was a short review, onto the next… wait, she comes back to life? And multiple people are after her as an advantage they could use to win the war they’ve been waging while she slept?
Everyone has Russian names, it snows constantly, Anya has terrible nightmares, and her brother is still a jerk (because some things never change). The art is a mix of video-game textures, eerie lights with convincing halos, and characters that look best straight on or in full profile. I like the eeriness and ambiguity of the characters called The Ten, and Anya’s combination of being terrified yet also being willing to try very risky plans rather than watch other humans die.
Each episode has music, which adds to the mood (but you can keep it very low).
I’m delighted to find a sci-fi story on the Webtoon platform.
The East Wind of the Altas by Tappytoon Studio, Ziseo published by Tappytoon (chapters 1-50 (season 1); season 2 in progress (ongoing) 2023 – present
I described the setup for this to a friend in a way that made him not want to read it, as the start was a bit grim. I told him a widowed mother of three has to give herself to a violent nobleman to compensate him after he kills his horse to prevent it from crushing her kids… and I lost his interest right there. But there is more to it!
Claire… is not really a widow, the kids aren’t really hers, she is in hiding under a false identity, she is fearless and assertive, she is multilingual (sexy!), and she has pretty eyes and big plans. The violent Marquess Balt (tee hee hee) Morenheitz is handsome, warm, good in bed, looks after her loved ones, and (eventually) is one of the better men in her life. That’s barely a compliment, considering what she’s been through, but she has the usual heroine-making-everyone-love-her qualities of inherent goodness, so when starts enjoying herself with him, we want that for her, even though we don’t know her plans or all of her secrets. Her wanting to enjoy him (for now) is good enough! (Hooray for women enjoying bedtime with fond, handsome men!) We might even root for Balt’s powerful eyebrows when they go to battle for him in season two, though Claire’s many unspilled secrets may defeat them.
The Broken Ring : This Marriage Will Fail Anyway by: CHACHA KIM, CHOKAM, Cheong-gwa published by Tappytoon (chapters 1-65 (2 seasons) with Season 3 starting / ongoing) 2022 – present
This story isn’t what it seems.
At first, it appears that our heroine, six year old Inés Valeztena de Perez, turns down a promise of marriage to the (child) emperor in favor of the (child) Cárcel Escalante because she declares him good looking. How light-hearted! How silly! Sure, she grows up to find Cárcel to be a hopeless womanizer and declares herself indifferent to his antics, but we think we know what is going on.
But. It’s all much harsher and darker than that. And so this is a general spoiler warning, without details, but still a warning. Okay?
This isn’t Inés’ first time living this life.
Her prior efforts to live and fulfill her obligations to her family and empire ended horrifically. They were the stuff of nightmares, and each time her life was unbearable – and short. So this time, when she finds herself back in childhood before her doom was sealed, she decides to chart a new course at age 6 — with the burden of memories of the horrors that befell her, which return to her from time to time. She chooses hapless Cárcel as her future husband ESPECIALLY because he has always been a sweet side character who witnessed her tragic endings, and is surely harmless. He doesn’t even need to love her, and she is determined to feel nothing for him.
Her plans may be complicated, unwittingly, by Cárcel himself, and possibly others. Can she survive? Can she do better than survive? Will Cárcel be an obstacle to her desperate plan, or can he help her finally have a life worth living?
Lovely drawing of our traumatized heroine, Inés
I found this series to be a real page-turner. The initially simple-seeming story wasn’t so simple, the way reincarnation is used is different from the other stories I’ve enjoyed, the horrors that Inés experienced were beyond the pale, and her desperation to avoid repeating them is a powerful force. Her determination to survive according to her newest plan appears to be interfering with her success, but considering what she has been through, it’s difficult to blame her!
While feudal Europe is a common setting, this story is set in a fictional version of SPAIN, which is refreshing, and which means everyone has great names! (I’m from California, so obviously we love Spanish names!) Also: excuses to use good lace. (I’m a fan!). Cárcel experiences character growth, or… is it something else? Does he… know something?
The suspense and my hopes for Inés (WITH Cárcel!) have me eager for a non-tragic ending this time around. While this has one of the darker backstories I’ve read in my recent obsession with Korean webtoons (which is really saying something), I’m eager to read the next season!
Note: I’ve been reading the “all ages” version, but there is a sexier mature version available (for sale in Mature mode only, and subject to typical webtoon censorship standards) that I haven’t purchased.
I thought My Time Was Up by Essie, Hyeyong, and Ari Choi published by Webtoon (chapters 1-64 (Season 1), ongoing) 2023-present
Lariette Blanche is the neglected younger daughter of Duke Blanche, who is running House Blanche to ruin. While the Blanches spoil their eldest son and allow him formal education, they keep Lariette uneducated and untrained in using her magical abilities, allow her brother to push her around, and hatch a plan to sell her off to a creepy old man who can bail out their business.
Meanwhile, Lariette doesn’t feel well. When her doctor tells her she has a terminal illness and just a few months to live, the shock shakes Lariette out of her docility, and she decides to boldly enjoy her last few months of life. She resolves to leave her abusive family’s home, ditch the creep her family sold her to, and enjoy herself with a handsome man in her remaining months of life before she will literally (and literarily, because this is fiction) explode.
With her strong-yet-underdeveloped abilities as a purification mage, she encounters handsome Sword of the Empire, Duke Ashrahan Kandel, who happens to be suffering from a terrible curse that has afflicted him his entire life… Which is exactly the niche thing that purification mages are good for! She offers to work for him, signs a contract, and also asks him out – she’s gonna die, so why not go big?
Collage of Essie’s fantastic characters: heroine Lariette, sexy most likely future pope Doha, and Duke Kandel. Look at the LACE! Look at the great hair! Look at the EYELASHES!
Lariette gets to live in the Duke’s manor, flirt with him relentlessly (overcoming his self-consciousness about the icky curse and his bloody reputation), and has someone who has her back when others try to abuse her again.
But, as in all of these stories, there are misunderstandings and overt deceptions. She won’t admit that she is terminally ill, so some of her actions and bravery go unexplained; the sexy “deacon” who heals her doesn’t admit he is a powerful senior cleric, nor admit that she is his equal in magical power; one of her “friends” really just wants to steal the duke away; and people get misgendered because of their fantastic hair. (I see you, handsome princess!)
Season One ends in blood, but we know that there are more episodes coming, so it can’t be the end! OR CAN IT?
Essie’s art is super fun – I love everyone’s hair (ooooh, Doha), but especially their eyelashes. They are colorful! They match their hair! They are so THICK! It’s an amazing look which I can’t emulate because I wear glasses and can’t stand the feeling of mascara beating on them, but it makes me want to be that cool! (I already had pastel pink hair, and people were so sweet to me… but it was WORK.)
Fun, bold, cheeky heroine! Action rather than pining! Women who flirt! Beheadings in public spaces! Women who kick rude men down hallways! A long suffering and stealthy knight, Gerard (I want one!)! Loving couples who get to share a bed! Magic that removes bloodstains! Sexy yet modestly dressed potential popes with gorgeous hair!
This is a fun series that reminds us to live our best lives. I look forward to future seasons, and want to see many more projects drawn by Essie.
I Thought My Time Was Up!
Feeling a little under the weather, Lariette Blanche visits Doctor Zakascoff only to find out that she has an extremely rare congenital disease, and only three months left to live. Though devastated at first, Lariette decides to write up a bucket list of everything she wants to do before she dies. However, little did she know that the diagnosis was actually wrong! With so many changes implemented in her life already, what will Lariette do moving forward? Will she return to her previous life, or continue living the new one, full of adventures she had never imagined before?
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.
