Pick Me Up

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My review as of chapter 131(I think, I don't remember the chapter number)
World building: 9.5/10 absolutely perfect due to its uniqueness and overall execution. Only reason why it's not a 10/10 is cus I want to save the 10/10 for a manga that has perfect world building and is completed so once it's completed if the world building is still perfect imma give it a 10/10
Art: 8.5/10 really damn good
Character development: 9/10 pretty good development and realistic. Doesn't force random awakenings onto side characters to keep them relevant as shown by the spearman who was kicked out of party 1(he will probably return later on in the series)
Execution: 9/10 really really good. It is consistent and always interesting.
Overall: 9.5/10 close to the perfect manga. Would recommend even if people enjoy other genres more.
 
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Eh, trash. The art is peak, but that’s where the good part ends. Aside from the main character, it’s the same tired formula---every man is either a horrible person, disposable, or completely unimportant. Meanwhile, the unique female characters are always important, indispensable, and oh-so-awesome.

At this point, it’s painfully obvious. A whole group of people gets summoned, and of course, they’re all evil---despicable, bandit-scum-of-the-Earth types. But oh? What’s this? The one female in the group just so happens to have a functioning moral compass and is, naturally, deemed worthy of redemption by the MC. Same thing happened at the start of the story---dozens of men tossed aside like trash as 'cowards deserving of death', but wait… The one cute female? Turns out she’s the only one with talent, the only one who deserves to be saved and cared for. He gives her a chance, but no one else.

And this is where it gets even dumber. The MC literally goes on about how they shouldn't waste one-star heroes because they could have hidden potential, yet he’s the one throwing them away the moment they don’t immediately impress him. If he actually believed what he was saying, he wouldn't be so quick to write off every single male character that gets summoned. But nope, instead of actually giving them a chance like he claims the player should, he just dumps them like garbage. Meanwhile, any unique female? Instantly gets a spot under his wing, no questions asked. The hypocrisy is diabolical.

They try to hide it, but it’s way too obvious. The author tries to justify this favoritism by making it seem like the MC values “spirit” or determination, but the way it’s written makes it obvious asf that it's not what he actually looks for. Especially the example above. Whole band of heroes, all 3 stars and from the same 'mercenary' group. Just for all of them to be evil except the one female in the group. Couldn't be less obvious if they tried. And honestly? Probably more annoying than an outright harem. This kind of thing plagues so many mainstream manhwa. SSS Class Suicide Hunter did the same thing---every man was either bad or irrelevant, while every unique female deserved respect. Even Solo Leveling had shades of this, though to a lesser degree.

And I guess the spear guy too, another example of this. He could be good, but nope. They basically make him a coward who shits himself the second something bad happens. Cringe shit.

And the main character is an asshole, this relates to what I said earlier. I see people trying to defend him by saying that he's cold and calculative, but he really isn't. He's just a dickhead who was given special privileges and cheat powers who tosses away people like they're cannon fodder, only really giving any unique female a chance to thrive in the world he's now in. "Weak!" "Coward!" "Useless!" Those words are specifically only ever directed towards the male characters that get summoned, even the spear fella is basically getting shit on by the main character every few chapters while the ginger gets glazed by the main character at the start of nearly every chapter. I'm dropping so I don't know what happens in future chapters (obviously), but I have a very strong feeling that this aspect of the story won't change---instead, it'll only get worse---as more female characters are added.
 
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Eh, trash. The art is peak, but that’s where the good part ends. Aside from the main character, it’s the same tired formula---every man is either a horrible person, disposable, or completely unimportant. Meanwhile, the unique female characters are always important, indispensable, and oh-so-awesome.

At this point, it’s painfully obvious. A whole group of people gets summoned, and of course, they’re all evil---despicable, bandit-scum-of-the-Earth types. But oh? What’s this? The one female in the group just so happens to have a functioning moral compass and is, naturally, deemed worthy of redemption by the MC. Same thing happened at the start of the story---dozens of men tossed aside like trash as 'cowards deserving of death', but wait… The one cute female? Turns out she’s the only one with talent, the only one who deserves to be saved and cared for. He gives her a chance, but no one else.

And this is where it gets even dumber. The MC literally goes on about how they shouldn't waste one-star heroes because they could have hidden potential, yet he’s the one throwing them away the moment they don’t immediately impress him. If he actually believed what he was saying, he wouldn't be so quick to write off every single male character that gets summoned. But nope, instead of actually giving them a chance like he claims the player should, he just dumps them like garbage. Meanwhile, any unique female? Instantly gets a spot under his wing, no questions asked. The hypocrisy is diabolical.

They try to hide it, but it’s way too obvious. The author tries to justify this favoritism by making it seem like the MC values “spirit” or determination, but the way it’s written makes it obvious asf that it's not what he actually looks for. Especially the example above. Whole band of heroes, all 3 stars and from the same 'mercenary' group. Just for all of them to be evil except the one female in the group. Couldn't be less obvious if they tried. And honestly? Probably more annoying than an outright harem. This kind of thing plagues so many mainstream manhwa. SSS Class Suicide Hunter did the same thing---every man was either bad or irrelevant, while every unique female deserved respect. Even Solo Leveling had shades of this, though to a lesser degree.

And I guess the spear guy too, another example of this. He could be good, but nope. They basically make him a coward who shits himself the second something bad happens. Cringe shit.

And the main character is an asshole, this relates to what I said earlier. I see people trying to defend him by saying that he's cold and calculative, but he really isn't. He's just a dickhead who was given special privileges and cheat powers who tosses away people like they're cannon fodder, only really giving any unique female a chance to thrive in the world he's now in. "Weak!" "Coward!" "Useless!" Those words are specifically only ever directed towards the male characters that get summoned, even the spear fella is basically getting shit on by the main character every few chapters while the ginger gets glazed by the main character at the start of nearly every chapter. I'm dropping so I don't know what happens in future chapters (obviously), but I have a very strong feeling that this aspect of the story won't change---instead, it'll only get worse---as more female characters are added.
I read up to chapter 9 as of now.


Characters being written more dramatically is meant to add drama, which is reasonable--it's meant for the masses, and which are mostly young. Even in movies, there's so much more dramatic acting, rather than subtle.
Young audience, and sex sells. Thus, they introduce some hot females soon. Yet, they can also be disposed of.
The alternative would be that most summoned characters would have mild personality but be average in every aspect, including combat. They'd eventually fall in combat.

Most of those characters are also adults--developed and difficult to change. And they're instantly being put into combat--thus, from the MC's/writer's perspective, if the first impression of them is bad, it's right to expect that they won't listen and that effort put into them will be wasted.
Up to that chapter, there were 3 summoned characters that performed well--they were young and got along.

That doesn't make the writing bad. You're attempting to apply expectations that don't fit.

The MC is some typical Korean one. Very critical, self-centered, etc.

It's a manhwa, thus is influenced by Korean culture--just like manga are by Japanese culture.

Seems that you didn't pay attention to the background of the characters. The ginger female's father was a hunter, and she practiced. One was a soldier, thus was apt. Most other characters had non-combat backgrounds. Beyond that--unlike the MC--they came from a medieval period, thus we expect some low IQ.
 
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I read up to chapter 9 as of now.


Characters being written more dramatically is meant to add drama, which is reasonable--it's meant for the masses, and which are mostly young. Even in movies, there's so much more dramatic acting, rather than subtle.
Young audience, and sex sells. Thus, they introduce some hot females soon. Yet, they can also be disposed of.
The alternative would be that most summoned characters would have mild personality but be average in every aspect, including combat. They'd eventually fall in combat.

Most of those characters are also adults--developed and difficult to change. And they're instantly being put into combat--thus, from the MC's/writer's perspective, if the first impression of them is bad, it's right to expect that they won't listen and that effort put into them will be wasted.
Up to that chapter, there were 3 summoned characters that performed well--they were young and got along.

That doesn't make the writing bad. You're attempting to apply expectations that don't fit.

The MC is some typical Korean one. Very critical, self-centered, etc.

It's a manhwa, thus is influenced by Korean culture--just like manga are by Japanese culture.

Seems that you didn't pay attention to the background of the characters. The ginger female's father was a hunter, and she practiced. One was a soldier, thus was apt. Most other characters had non-combat backgrounds. Beyond that--unlike the MC--they came from a medieval period, thus we expect some low IQ.
You're completely missing the point. The issue isn’t just "drama" or "tropes", it’s the blatant double standard in how characters are treated which makes my opinion of story lower so drastically.

If competence and effort were really the deciding factors, then where are the competent male recruits? Are you seriously telling me that in an entire group of summoned people, only the females ever have the drive, talent, or morality to be worth investing in? That’s nonsense. The author could have written any number of male characters to break this pattern---but they don’t, because that’s not the goal.

Also, saying that dramatic writing is for young audiences doesn’t address the issue of how blatantly biased the character treatment is. Plenty of stories aimed at younger audiences manage to have balanced character development.

And your "background" argument is weak. If it was really about skill or potential, we’d see at least one competent male recruit get the same treatment as the female ones. It doesn't matter if their minds are already developed, men or female, this is a story. The author can change that and force them to develop as characters, but instead, the author consistently writes the men as worthless, cowardly, or outright evil. That’s not just "natural selection" or "cultural influence." He HAS the ability to change it, so it's obvious that the author is just playing favorites.

As for "sex sells"---yeah, exactly. The story prioritizes waifus over actual balanced character development. That’s the point. If you’re fine with that, cool. But don’t pretend the writing is logical or fair when it’s clearly designed to favor female characters at every turn.
 
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You're completely missing the point. The issue isn’t just "drama" or "tropes", it’s the blatant double standard in how characters are treated which makes my opinion of story lower so drastically.

If competence and effort were really the deciding factors, then where are the competent male recruits? Are you seriously telling me that in an entire group of summoned people, only the females ever have the drive, talent, or morality to be worth investing in? That’s nonsense. The author could have written any number of male characters to break this pattern---but they don’t, because that’s not the goal.

Also, saying that dramatic writing is for young audiences doesn’t address the issue of how blatantly biased the character treatment is. Plenty of stories aimed at younger audiences manage to have balanced character development.

And your "background" argument is weak. If it was really about skill or potential, we’d see at least one competent male recruit get the same treatment as the female ones. It doesn't matter if their minds are already developed, men or female, this is a story. The author can change that and force them to develop as characters, but instead, the author consistently writes the men as worthless, cowardly, or outright evil. That’s not just "natural selection" or "cultural influence." He HAS the ability to change it, so it's obvious that the author is just playing favorites.

As for "sex sells"---yeah, exactly. The story prioritizes waifus over actual balanced character development. That’s the point. If you’re fine with that, cool. But don’t pretend the writing is logical or fair when it’s clearly designed to favor female characters at every turn.
I read up to chapter 50.

Things are pretty balanced. We got the old man, there were some competent male members that were wasted due to circumstances. In some "premium summon" of 3, a female behaved badly like the infamous males. Not every female was cared for. Edith happened to remain uncorrupted by her group because yes, she's a female (they're generally kinder and such)... And she's more competent because of her background (but she wasn't even the strongest in the group, though).
It's true, though, that males are more competitive and malicious--especially from some medieval period. (To think that I had met a pal in a MMORPG that wasn't even aware of that... thus they questioned something I said that was related to it. How oblivious most people are... thinks to self) Even in today's times, "95% of homicide perpetrators are male."

Like I said, things seem pretty balanced. But given that the vast majority of readers are young males, the author knows that he has to prioritize what appeals to them the most in order to sell more.
They wouldn't be reading this if the story was about politics of that world, and the characters were more realistic, consisting mostly of middle-aged men, as an extreme example.


And I feel like saying that, given the background of the MC (well, it's a given, but), he really doesn't have to care about the characters he meets in that world (I took a look and saw that Redditors criticize his behavior). Mainly since, only what's ahead of him is his eventual return to a world completely disconnected from all those people. And he was a gamer (in general they should be less caring about others since they're escapists and all).
 
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This manhwa manage to make my interest high even though i mostly don't like this kinda system like world after so many manhwa i read are copying each other. But this manhwa somehow manage to make me eager to watch more chapters.
 
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:fml:
Damn I can't believe Yvolka died. She is on the cover of the manga.
 
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A lot of the beginning chapters English translation have disappeared. The ones I used were from Reaper_scans but I don't see any anymore.
 

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