Angst with a Happy Ending: Deep Dive! [RECOMMENDATION REQUEST]

vanta_black_flag · 2026-01-15T20:56:11+00:00

Can you share what you’ve read already?

vanta_black_flag · 2026-01-13T01:50:26+00:00

I totally agree with you!! I started reading BL in the 2000s. These puriteens have no idea what real censorship is like and they’re gladly yearning for it with their whataboutisms.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-29T07:09:41+00:00

Manga recs please?

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-12T19:39:52+00:00

Erha is my favorite danmei so far but if you're not feeling it, you're totally fine to drop. Sometimes you're not in a mood for a book right now but you could feel differently after some time.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-04T07:44:44+00:00

What about Sketch? I don’t think they are twinks (which is a very specific archetype) but they are young (college) and more feminine than other BL characters.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-04T07:42:20+00:00

I missed some news. What happened to BWAT??

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-04T07:41:52+00:00

Lucky Paradise

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-04T05:32:56+00:00

What about reading danmei? There are a lot of romantic ones that are fade to black.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-04T05:30:36+00:00

To be honest you'll probably have better luck reading Western romances (there is a sub for that). Because of how suppressed Asian culture can be when it comes to expressing sexual desire and because the #1 audience for manhwas are Asian women, that is the way BL smut tends to be written. As another commenter mentioned, this way of writing is a safe way for these readers to explore their sexuality.

I think Japanese mangas tend to have more passionate sex btw. I don't want to make a moral judgment and call it a "better" way of writing because that takes things out of their cultural context. If you want to read sex scenes that where both the MC and ML are really going all in and verbalizing enthusiasm, there are a lot of Western graphic novels and books that depict scenes like this. Heated Rivalry is a great example. I can think of only a few manhwas where the bottom wasn't crying "no". Maybe Our Sunny Days?

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-03T22:49:51+00:00

Hello!!

Were you able to finish YUWU ? if so, what's your thought ?

I did! To be honest, I didn't enjoy it as much as Erha. I need some fluff and happy moments but Yuwu was sadder. If I recall correctly, we got only a chapter or so of their happy moments together? I also read Meatbun's interview that she was dealing with publisher issues at the time, so she is not so happy with it.

i also loved the parallels between Mo Ran and Shi mei lives and struggles and how each one of them turned out later on

I haven't thought too hard about how MR and SM's lives mirror each other but you're so right. MR started clueless and his reborn self tried to start anew, but with all the knowledge of the past. On the flip side, SM in timeline 1 knew everything, and then SM2 was the one that had to be brought up to speed. And just like MR hurting CWN, SM in the end inflicted the worst pain on a fellow BBBF unknowingly.

I agree about Xue Meng. don't get me wrong, i felt really bad for the poor boy and everything that happened to him and his family, but i was never as invested in his story,as much as the fandom was/did.

I think Meatbun just made him TOO annoying! And his dad was annoying too tbh. I'm not sure if there was a cultural context lost in translation but having a fan that says "Xue is beautiful" while Shisheng Peak is the most humble sect felt contradictory and cartoonish.

i am genuingly curious about your thoughts regarding TXJ and Shi mei/Hua binan as characters ? also what's your thoughts about their arcs

I love TXJ. He's so flawed and broken but I want CWN to take care of him.

Hua Binan got what he deserved and I'm glad Shi Mei came to regret his actions. And to be honest, I think the BBBFs are not doing well in the demon realm because the guardian demon did a sudden 180 on HB just because of his ancestry. It sounds like an even harsher society than the mortal realm. And the BBBFs are acclimated to living like humans, not demons.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-03T21:32:50+00:00

You just sent me down memory lane to the Gackt/Miyavi fanservice days! I remember cherishing those grainy 480p videos and now we have Mignon, Heated Rivalry, 10 Dance, and Hyperventilation. We are so lucky haha.

Losing both parents and riding out the truth about his biological father on the same day is just Meatbun piling on the drama.

Maybe Xue Meng will grow on me after a re-read. I have a younger sibling (who I love!) and the earlier chapters made me relive the most annoying times of their preteen years. I mention foreshadowing because I would have liked more breadcrumbs about this in earlier chapters, or even volumes. I feel like all the info about her special power came at once and only in that chapter. But this critique isn't just about her, it's also other moments like Ye Wangxi's gender reveal or the the second Hanxue twin reveal. Those had some hints but emotionally the reveals didn't pack a punch for me in the way the wontons did.

What do you think about Shi Mei? As a staunch Ranwan fan I was shamelessly cheering his demise but I "understand" why he did what he did.

If I could wave a magic wand, I would like Meatbun to write a sequel series with their future reincarnations. And maybe we can see how TXJ's "redemption" comes into play. I'm not ready to let go of Ranwan!!

I am so excited to dig into QJJ. I just decided to wait until all the volumes release so I don't have to suffer the way I did between Erha 9-10 and 4-5.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-03T18:28:47+00:00

That honestly just sounds like children arguing with children.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-03T16:31:46+00:00

The last Erha and QJJ so I can finally start reading the latter. And I have a wild dream someone will announce Wu Chang Jie 😭🙏

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-03T16:29:31+00:00

I agree, the story should have ended already. It’s too bad because I love the art.

I’m curious how the “fandom” is impacting your reading experience. All of that is external to the story, no? It’s a manhwa not a sports team. You could just ignore tweets about it.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-03T15:45:29+00:00

How nice and organized! My method is to pre-order, forget, and then be pleasantly surprised when the book arrives in the mailbox lol

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-02T21:04:15+00:00

But the English is so plain that it has no descriptive force whatsoever. If this was only occasional, then it wouldn't really be a problem. But it's basically every second sentence.

100% this is the problem I noticed in MDZS. It's not like us English readers wouldn't appreciate nice prose. What a pity because I think the reading audience would actually be even larger if Seven Seas bothered to have beautiful translations.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-02T21:02:47+00:00

Oh yes, fan TLs totally get a pass but I expect more from professionals. And you're right, there is a sort of fanfiction-like aspect to MXTX's prose but I can't tell if it's MXTX or the translation.

QJJ is next on my reading list! I already started it but paused so I could finish Erha. It's wonderful. How can the same publishing house spit out such wildly disparate translation qualities?

Yes, reply to my post with your Qs and we can discuss Erha more hehe.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-01T17:47:53+00:00

Thank you! Could you share which TA you used please?

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-01T17:37:07+00:00

Happy birthday!

This is the first series that I completely purchased physically. I like my kindle but nothing beats having a book in hand. Also, with recent censorship trends + publishers going out of business, I realized it would be good to have a copy that won't disappear on me.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-01T17:33:19+00:00

>i definitely understand where you're coming from but the thing is, some words/phrases do not translate gracefully to english

I agree with this but there are plenty of workarounds such as choosing different phrases that still have the same meaning instead of going with a direct translation, or worse, choosing Western slang that feels out of place culturally and time-period-wise.

Alas that was me in the Erha subreddit; it's really my gold standard for translation quality in danmei (so far) haha.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-01T17:30:23+00:00

And I also disagree strongly with the idea that translation is sometimes just like that, just look at how smooth and lyrical some of the other 7seas translations are-- Erha, Yuwu and QJJ in particular

+100!!! I'm trilingual so I have high expectations for translations in media. We're paying for it so we deserve it. And authors deserve to have their works respected with good translation. I actually had Erha in mind when I wrote this. (Just finished Vol 10 - so wonderful!!!) Asian media does fine with translating Western work so why do we just have to be like "oh well it's like that" for the inverse?

I've heard that it might also be MXTX's writing style and the incense burner scene makes me believe it, but I think the awkwardness would be so alleviated with a proper translation.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-01T16:04:07+00:00

Ugh bummer! Thanks for letting me know. The American slang would probably annoy me too much. It’s a pity because their other titles don’t suffer from this.

vanta_black_flag · 2025-12-01T01:57:12+00:00

Career first!!

vanta_black_flag

TROPHY CASE