Akuyaku Reijou no Oyome-sama - Vol. 2 Ch. 9

[Kampfarsch]

Immediately at page 3 I thought that would happen, but surely it wouldnt because that would be too cartoonishly braindead, but ofc thats exactly what happened
Why the fuck is this manga still dragging ass showing us random characters anyway? MC has still done FUCK ALL

 

[Ironclad]

Because it was grooming. He was grooming her.

---

I'm not sure how much of the priest preventing her from touching other animals was part of the process or how much was him believing his own religious fanaticism. With the former, he built a structure of only touching "pure things" (men selected for sex). With the latter, I feel like it has somewhat racial isolation fervor behind it. Her current partner being wolfkin, a people that allegedly can become animals.

Except he was going to have random villagers knock her up like a puppy mill, not wealthy eccentric noblemen paying a fortune for her at auction. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't make sense.

 

[Khaoticsuccubus]

Eve and Juno are very specifically foils. Their narrative role is to highlight and contrast the differences between them and Karina/Reshutoka. A role they do very well. They highlight how dysfunctional the protagonists are as well as what they could be.

---

Of course they are foils to the main couple. The problem is they're unnecessary foils. Anyone with eyes can tell how dysfunctional/toxic the main couples relationship is currently. No need to create a whole separate couple on the side with no relation to the other two in the slightest to foil them.

As I said, they feel more like a backup protagonist couple in case readers don't like the main couple. We'll see or not whether or not a major flaw in the story though with the next couple chapters. It really depends on how it's handled now that we're back (supposedly) going back to the main pair. Personally, I don't appreciate the jump forward so hopefully it rewinds a bit.

 

[UdenEmpati]

Of course they are foils to the main couple. The problem is they're unnecessary foils. Anyone with eyes can tell how dysfunctional/toxic the main couples relationship is currently. No need to create a whole separate couple on the side with no relation to the other two in the slightest to foil them.

As I said, they feel more like a backup protagonist couple in case readers don't like the main couple. We'll see or not whether or not a major flaw in the story though with the next couple chapters. It really depends on how it's handled now that we're back (supposedly) going back to the main pair. Personally, I don't appreciate the jump forward so hopefully it rewinds a bit.

I'll just copy past it again from my other comment:

Evie is actively involved in trying to clear Karina's name within the kingdom through the propaganda machine enacted by the Crown.

These two are very much relevant and their story & relationship is meant to contrast the Main Couple, as well as factor into the actual narrative with Karina's homecoming once the MC starts "putting truth to the rumors" and making all the bad things she was blamed for, a reality -- while Evie tries to prove that all of those crimes and accusations were lies from the crown.

 

[Sionnach91]

We are only 9 chapters and half as many main characters in. Some actual focus would be appreciated, this feels very scattershot after the intro.

 

[NinjaGoemon]

I'll just copy past it again from my other comment:

Like this entire section of Juno and Eve is about Karina. Eve is researching about Karina. Eve goes to Juno about Karina. The whole world building is about the world dealing with the absence of Karina.

We the readers feel the narrative absence of Karina just as her absence in the world itself provokes question. It's intentional.

I get that this is a monthly manga so it feels slow and questionable in the moment but this is just a portion of one volume. It's part of the overall narrative. Come back to it in 5 months for a reread and it all flows very smoothly.

 

[UdenEmpati]

I think some people have just gotten used to the "Instant" nature of lots of media nowadays, and are used to having everything fed to them in short, quick, digestible chunks and have lost some of the capacity to patiently work through and experience a slower & more involved story.

And that's whatever; not everyone will want to wait month after month for ~30 pages of a story that's busy setting up a world and all the characters and working through suspenseful buildup and exposition to lay the stage for the actual events about to take place.

I guess if anything it's unfortunate that the people who are in that mindset and pattern of media consumption then miss out on quality works simply because the pace is "too slow / seemingly scattered" for them, because there are great stories that don't fit into the current "pattern" of Fast Media that will be missed or lampooned into oblivion and thus cancellation, as a result.

 

[Sionnach91]

I think some people have just gotten used to the "Instant" nature of lots of media nowadays, and are used to having everything fed to them in short, quick, digestible chunks and have lost some of the capacity to patiently work through and experience a slower & more involved story.

We live in a post Game of Thrones world, a tremendously popular show that was praised for its slow burn, realistic nature and shifting viewpoints, where people waited for more with bated breath for years, and its downfall was not properly taking its time with itself.

I don't think it's an audience issue, I think it's an author issue. You have to know what you are working with. If you have 15 pages a week you can spend an entire month somewhere else. If you have a movie or a book you can be more secure in its slow burn nature because the rest of it is right there.

If you are working with 30 pages a month you can't spend multiple months someplace else so early on, especially when you put youself in a situation where your general world building depends on NOT having your main characters around, instead of involving them and being a reaction to their actions. It makes it feel fractured and glacial.

Add to that the fact that the other characters being set up don't even have a direct connection to the main pair (only a symbolic one), it was coincidence and curiosity that fueled the other side of the plot which makes it feel even more fractured. The story could start with the sudden dissapearance of a random noble woman we didn't see or know and it would make as much sense.

 

[Claith]

9 chapters total and so many of them for these side characters. Certainly a choice, but I'm starting to forget the deal with the main characters.

I do think that this author can pull it together, but it is troubling when there are so few chapters released at the moment.

 

[llde]

I actually love Eve and Juno they are so good characters, and so cute together.

 

[UdenEmpati]

We live in a post Game of Thrones world, a tremendously popular show that was praised for its slow burn, realistic nature and shifting viewpoints, where people waited for more with bated breath for years, and its downfall was not properly taking its time with itself.

I don't think it's an audience issue, I think it's an author issue. You have to know what you are working with. If you have 15 pages a week you can spend an entire month somewhere else. If you have a movie or a book you can be more secure in its slow burn nature because the rest of it is right there.

If you are working with 30 pages a month you can't spend multiple months someplace else so early on, especially when you put youself in a situation where your general world building depends on NOT having your main characters around, instead of involving them and being a reaction to their actions. It makes it feel fractured and glacial.

Add to that the fact that the other characters being set up don't even have a direct connection to the main pair (only a symbolic one), it was coincidence and curiosity that fueled the other side of the plot which makes it feel even more fractured. The story could start with the sudden dissapearance of a random noble woman we didn't see or know and it would make as much sense.

one show that had a spectacular crash 'n' burn doesn't make for the best overall barometer, I think - especially given the show's source material is an author known for dragging out the release of new work to the point that it's a fairly widespread meme among various literary circles of the Internet.

But at this point I think it's just a difference of mindset, and I'm not going to try and convince you that they author seems to know what they're doing because we're just talking past one another. So I guess enjoy the series, or don't, or whatever floats your boat.

 

[MelonManic]

Fuck the main ships absence Yuri is Yuri and these girls are FASCINATING, And I think I know what their doing here, if I'm right it'll be great HAHAAH

Have a nice day

 

[Kiaran]

Thanks for the translation!

 

[Otaku_D_Gamer]

Thanks for the chapter.

 

[arielsawesome]

Like I said, they are great side characters for the last past chapters, they all shine and the world feel alive. But focusing too much on them instead of the MC is a bad decision. The author still needs to show what the MC is doing, even if it’s just a small scene, while giving others the spotlight. Readers need that presence to stay connected to the main character.

Eh, not every story (or reader) needs gratuitous main character appearances in side stories. There's other things to look forward to like the world building, getting to know future allies, or hearing about how the main character shaped (and was shaped) by the world around her.

So yeah, as long as it doesn't end up like Denma where no storyline gets completed because the author keeps getting sidetracked by other storylines it's fine.

PS: Not catering to your tastes doesn't mean it's a bad decision.