The Return of the 8th Class Mage

TheLewdOtakuRe

2 years ago

This manhwa is a mess\r\n\r\nThere\'s a lot of inconsistencies with the magic, one minute the mc is doing crazy out if this world stuff and the next he\'s crying about how has limited mana because of his rebirth but then not even a few chapters later he\'ll do things that make even the peak mages in the worlds head implode. \r\n\r\nThe story itself is ripe with issues and incontinency as well, the side characters are naive to a fault and some of them are even characters that had a hand in the mcs demise and yet it\'s completely glossed over. \r\n\r\nHe wants to go into\n ...\n this world and get revenge and live his best life, and makes a point to mention his creed of revenge often and yet when it comes to other figureheads that indirectly caused this he just doesn\'t care? He\'s shown to care for like one single chapter, and then after that all worries are dissipated and gone. \r\n\r\nIt\'s like the author realizes they\'re just glancing over a pretty integral piece of story so they quickly acknowledge it and then move on so they can say 'yeah I did it at least'. \r\n\r\nNot to mention the mc is shown to be either bloodlusted and vengeful or just completely meh about certain things in the first few chapters, it feels like the author was unsure of what direction to take the character but it smooths itself out and seems more consistent later on it\'s a very brief issue that I personally noticed. \r\n\r\nThe pacing though is the biggest offender for this series, the mc spends very little time on any real revenge it seems like it\'s kind of rushed. The plot points are blitzed through pretty quickly, and sometimes plot points are touched on extremely briefly as an after thought in conversation only to be brought up and shown as rather integral details. \r\n\r\nIt seems kind of weird, I feel like the author was trying to go for a show don\'t tell thing, but it just hinders the story because of the brevity and speed of certain things in the story. \r\n\r\nOn top of that, characters we are given very little time with and reason to care for are forced to be relevant. We are meant to care for them but it\'s kind of hard too when they\'re like like 10% of the total screen time and used merely for cheap ploys to tug on your heartstrings. \r\n\r\nThis is becomes glaringly obvious in the final 20 chapters, we are given 20 chapters to tie up like 5 plus plot points and a good bit of those final chapters are spent on pointing at the big bad final villain from the very first chapter.\r\n\r\nIt\'s used to paint him in a negative light and really drill into your head that you should hate them, but we already do well enough. We don\'t need a recap of the first chapter these chapters would be better spent on the more pressing final plot points rather than some cheap rage bait to make you angry. It\'s just very lazy. \r\n\r\nSpeaking of lazy, the art is abysmal for, I wanna say, the first season? Like 40 chapters are just filled to the brim with extremely bad CGI use that looks horrendous. Not to mention 90% of the characters in the first season are drawn without a face. \r\n\r\nthe only characters given even remote detail are main characters, and that\'s kind of to be expected in manhwa and manga alike but this series is a pretty bad offender when it comes to that. \r\n\r\nThe lackluster art and super rushed story just makes this series seem like it had zero care given too it, maybe the novel was just written this way and they\'re working with what they can but it\'s still no excuse. \r\n\r\nIt ended somewhat satisfyingly, but the feel good ending just lacks any impact as the biggest 'pay off' involves a character we spend virtually no meaningful time with and getting to know. \r\n\r\nI could honestly go into more depth with the nit-picks I have with the series but this all you really need to know. \r\n\r\nIt\'s just very amateur.

Kaia15

2 years ago

Out of the countless regression manhwas I\'ve read, this is one that has a genuinely interesting plot and multifaceted characters. The world building is fairly strong and the reasoning behind the main character\'s regression makes sense in context of the power system. This story uses many of the same elements from other manhwas in the same realm (your typical magician classes, imperial hierarchy, medieval fantasy setting, magic towers etc), but the interactions and conflicts between characters are refreshing and quite complex compared to other stories in the same vein.\r\n \r\nOne of the strongest elements of this manhwa lies between Ian\'s relationships with the two princes\n ...\n of the empire. In his past life, he was betrayed by his best friend, the 5th prince Ragnar. After he regresses back in time, Ian seeks to take revenge on Ragnar and personally see to his death. Ragnar is probably one of the best written characters in the series and a fantastic antagonist with unexpected depth to his personality and motives. He is a great villain to hate and drives the revenge plot forward. The crown prince Hayden is a very loveable character who is quite unlike his coldhearted, logical brother. He is kind hearted and playful, but lacks the public speaking skills and political strategy to gain support throughout the kingdom. The dynamic that Ian has between these two characters is really what had me invested in the series and the resolution to this plot point was quite satisfying and well done. \r\n\r\nHowever, I do have some gripes with the ending since many of the characters who had very little time together throughout the series suddenly developed relationships without any build up. It felt a little rushed most likely because the series was coming to an end and the author tried to mold their characters into a place that would seem conclusive without giving the time or emotional commitment that it actually takes to get there.\r\n\r\nOverall, in a genre that is littered with unremarkable rehashes of the same over done tropes, 'The Return of the 8th Class Mage' does little to separate itself, but at least the characters are genuinely interesting, the writing is pretty good, and the story continues to be engaging! I have thoroughly enjoyed this series so far and I would recommend it if you\'re looking for a well written regression manhwa with a fun cast of characters.