Villains Are Destined To Die
Controversy Alert!
The thing about a slavery system is that it needs to be done with consideration. Either the main character is supposed to be vehemently against it and vocally virtue signal to the reader that our FL would never accept such a thing, or it needs to be shown as a simple fact of life that no one actually addresses outside of characterization and pity. For Penelope to address the wrongness of slavery and then lean into it for her own benefit, regardless of her own survival trauma, is a handling of the topic that a very vocal section of the OI fandom do not condone or accept. (Also a lot of people just hate the cyclops artstyle, but personally I think it's funky fresh.)
All Reviews Contain Spoilers
Review: Our FL was once an illigitimate daughter with a father who neglected her and two brothers who constantly harassed and mistreated her. She is then brought into a mobile otome game where she becomes Penelope Eckhart, an illigitimate daughter with a father who neglects her and two brothers who constantly harass and mistreat her. Rip.
An interesting twist on this plot is that in the beginning, Penelope is unable to speak or move outside of predetermined game choices. She quickly gains the ability to speak for herself, but I still think it's pretty neat to at least start out that way. Additionally, I'm fond of the trope where the FL tries for a moment to die, thinking it will bring them home, and then at the last second they realize that dying won't actually help and would probably really hurt. Like an ice cold glass of water, it's plain, repetitive, and genuinely satisfying for me.
Also rather fresh and satisfying to me is the way the 'affection scores' are handled. The subtle shift in tone when the colors change... unmatched tbh.
While this title does the whole "the OGFL was always a horrible villain from the start" which I occasionally enjoy, it does that thing I hate where it's just OGFL's body possessed by Something Else rather than having an actual character with agency being a villain. I don't think it's done lazily here but I don't like the trope because I think in a vaccuum it's just a lazy narrative imo. Even stuff I don't like can be done well, as it is in this title, I just don't like it lol.
Thankfully, Callisto is the ML, but I think it's amazing how Eckles affection went the worst possible way. I love how the 'easy route' ended up being a 'doomed route'. Very swag.
Where I'm Reading: bato.to
