wow Maneria is kind of evil huh

Yeah, she really is. I can't imagine any way I could come to like her, she seems to enjoy making Rei suffer and going completely overboard to the point where Rei is coughing up fucking blood.

Yeah, she really is. I can't imagine any way I could come to like her, she seems to enjoy making Rei suffer and going completely overboard to the point where Rei is coughing up fucking blood.

While I do think Manaria is absolutely pushing her nose into things that she has no business interfering in, I would like to point out that Rei DID just try to kill her.

I don´t really like manaria as a character but i can understand her inclusion and even if it´s a little force i can appreciate the fact she´s moving the story foward

agreed. Though I admit she’s not the most likeable character, I feel that she’s a much needed push for Rei and Claire.

I personally like manaria though i see why people don’t like her lol

I disagree with this idea though. Rei I don't think has been doing a bad job. She helped Claire a lot last arc and she clearly has some feeling of appreciation for her considering the necklace. They've only known each other for less than a year, what's the rush? If she went more aggressive, that might start pushing Claire away. Plus another thing is why does Rei have to be the one to make all the moves? I think a better way of getting them closer and getting Claire to realize more about her feelings is maybe if there was a scenario where Rei had to leave for a while and then Claire might start feeling a bit lonely and might appreciate her presence a bit more. Another idea maybe if she spent more time with the prince she likes. She might realize that she's not as interested in him as she thought and then this could lead to more development with Rei. Majority of Yuri's I find are always 1 person carrying most of the relationship development. How this we have the other confront their feelings in a non forced way.

My point is that I think what this character is way too forceful and feels like Rei and Claire are being pushed together for plot reasons rather than getting into a relationship naturally. What this character is doing is as natural as getting a brick to the face.

I like Manaria but feel like she doesn't really make sense within the otome setting.

If this were just a story about a commoner in love with a noble, then it would make sense for a character introduced as the stock rival-from-the-love-interest's-past to be comically overpowered compared to Rei - she's supposed to seem insuperably better than the main character.

Rei's already the comically-overpowered protagonist of a completely different story, though, and in that story Manaria's just a minor supporting character, so it's kind of odd that she's also just coincidentally the Avatar.

I do find the power scaling in this really odd. The Princes, Claire and Rei I think are all meant to be the top students and all have exceptional ability we have seen demonstrated with I think 3 (I think it's 3) magical elements being really special. Plus from the magic we have seen a lot of skills involve mixing the elements together.

Manaria just really feels broken for no reason. She has 4 magic circles out of nowhere which I would have been fine with since that doesn't seem too much stronger but then has extra abilities like being able to stop magic, use extremely high level spells that no other previously seen spells can compare to like teleportation and then whatever dominator does.

Why are we not following her and why is she not the protagonist? (this is a joke btw in case someone took that seriously). I just feel there is way too much of a gap in her abilities compared to everyone else and that's almost impossible to bridge. As you said, Rei seemed overpowered before and I am pretty sure if I am remembering correctly is meant to be special as a saint or something but she just looks like a mob character compared to Manaria.

Considering how the there is meant to be an evil church, I am hoping the author get's better at the power system and actually shows why Rei special becuase Manaria should be able to solve problems as she is way more of a standard Iseaki protagonist than Rei is.

Are you sure she's not named Malenia? Because all that sounds like Malenia to me.

Elizabeth is the ultimate boss of Persona 3. Margaret is the ultimate boss of Persona 3 Portable. Unless it's a localization issue, I don't think Malenia was a name in those games.

Malenia is an optional super-boss in Elden Ring, haha. The joke was how similar they sound in terms of crushing difficulty.

Also, "Malenia" sounds like "Manaria", so there is that, too. >__>

Nyashi if you see this thanks for the high quality translation!

Also, if this fight is meant to look like Manaria is just giving rei a push in the right direction, its way to brutal for that. Causing someone severe internal bleeding for the lulz seems very excessive and the audiences reactions confirm this. If this level of injury was standard for magic duels, this wouldnt not be cause for much concern. So basically weve had this really op character walk in, challange rei to a duel she can be confident in winning, proceed to fuck rei up considerably, and this is supposed to be for the sake of the relationship ? It feels really rather poorly done. (Unless rei coughing up blood is some kinda asspull and not actually a serious injury in which case that harms the writing quality even more)

I like Manaria but feel like she doesn't really make sense within the otome setting.

If this were just a story about a commoner in love with a noble, then it would make sense for a character introduced as the stock rival-from-the-love-interest's-past to be comically overpowered compared to Rei - she's supposed to seem insuperably better than the main character.

Rei's already the comically-overpowered protagonist of a completely different story, though, and in that story Manaria's just a minor supporting character, so it's kind of odd that she's also just coincidentally the Avatar.

See, I'm not surprised by this at all when I think of games like Persona 3 with the optional boss battles. With Rei being thrown into the story of a literal game, where the player does have these minigame battles with the various cast (the novel does a better job depicting that she has their movesets memorized from playing it so much). Anyways, back to Persona 3, the most powerful boss in the original game is Igor's assistant, (Charlotte, is her name, if I remember right?) and you have to completely go out of your way to battle her (dating her is way easier tbh) because 99% of the time, she's just there to help you and improve your Persona. and if you perform certain moves in the battle, it's an instant player-kill trigger on her part where she'll use a move that cannot be avoided. Rei clearly triggered Manaria's insta-kill move, as she immediately realized she was fucked.

Manaria's original purpose in the unaltered game is to keep a certain blonde at bay while Rei flirts with the princes. She's friendly and is an optional boss battle in the vein of Final Fantasy 8's Triple Triad, basically. She's just another character that has been pulled off script by Rei's choices, that's why she seems mismatched in this version of events.

You just made me remember when i faced the Organization 13 past members bosses in Kingdom Hearts 2.5 .... Sheesh that was traumatic

Well, we've averted the French Revolution for now and have rowed right into partisan shipping lanes.

I do like how this series approached serious matters. It was good to see lesbianism and gender brought up and not used as fault or excuse. This furthering the "not Yuri Yuri" movement in the genre. However, I wish the author made it clearer that Rei's harassing treatment of Claire is a matter of individual personality and not a result of being a lesbian.

Unfortunately, I'm also getting some Shitsurakuen vibes from this story given that Rei is lecherous, manipulative, and her love isn't as selfless as she lets on. Rei does get a bit of a pass for this until Lady Manaria challenges her. Both of them fighting over Claire is obnoxious. And I think it's clear that Claire will be mad at both of them.

Then again, Manaria goes overboard and against the grain of all the primary characters, so I wonder if she's actually the masked villain or another isekai character who somehow ended up in Rei's game. Rei saying she can never beat Manaria is a possible flag that Manaria may be a final boss. Or simply that Rei doesn't have to beat Manaria for Claire's affection.

always find it stupid how characters say you clearly don't love someone enough even though you are respecting their boundaries and space and not constantly harassing them especially after they have told you they aren't into you yet.

This sounds a lot like Rei. And whether someone is into you or not doesn't excuse nor make abusive treatments better or worse. There is no especial here as far as I see it.

I really wonder if she doesn't have some forbidden (illegal) magical artifacts or other surprises like that that would explain how crack she is, because yes it's good to remember that Rei is supposed to be the character that is way too powerful for this world. This is just too much, unattainable.

Now that Manaria has unveiled the Teleport spell I can point out that wind magic so far has achieved:
-Flight (Manaria)
-Telepathy (Manaria also)
-Teleportation (Manaria part 3)
-Magic Nullification (Misha's Siren)
-The ability to turn air solid (Thane's air walking)

Thus proving my thesis that wind magic's true ability is to do whatever the plot requires of it.

last edited at Sep 14, 2022 8:19PM

This just feels like Marinara wants to push Rei into actually fighting for Claire's love just to test her and prove she's worthy if it. The usual clichés and drama for some yuri stories. I don't mind bc I wanna see Rei go full on power mode of some sort and best her ofc it won't happen just bc of the trope. Most likely Claire will get mad at both but will even get emotional over a hurt Rei.

I like Manaria but feel like she doesn't really make sense within the otome setting.

If this were just a story about a commoner in love with a noble, then it would make sense for a character introduced as the stock rival-from-the-love-interest's-past to be comically overpowered compared to Rei - she's supposed to seem insuperably better than the main character.

Rei's already the comically-overpowered protagonist of a completely different story, though, and in that story Manaria's just a minor supporting character, so it's kind of odd that she's also just coincidentally the Avatar.

the heroine of an otome game cant be too strong or else she cant get saved by the male leads lol

Also, if this fight is meant to look like Manaria is just giving rei a push in the right direction, its way to brutal for that. Causing someone severe internal bleeding for the lulz seems very excessive and the audiences reactions confirm this. If this level of injury was standard for magic duels, this wouldnt not be cause for much concern. So basically weve had this really op character walk in, challange rei to a duel she can be confident in winning, proceed to fuck rei up considerably, and this is supposed to be for the sake of the relationship ? It feels really rather poorly done. (Unless rei coughing up blood is some kinda asspull and not actually a serious injury in which case that harms the writing quality even more)

You wouldn't have liked the WN version, since in it the spell caused blood to erupt from all over Rei's body.

The spell causes all of the magical power in a mage's body to go out of control, harming the mage. Rei possesses so much magical power that it can't be measured, meaning Dominator would cause far more harm to her than it would to anyone else. As I recall, Manaria wasn't aware that Rei was so powerful, so she may not have expected to hurt Rei so badly. But even if she had, I have to point out again, Rei had just tried to kill Manaria a moment before. The fight had already gotten out of hand.

Now that Manaria has unveiled the Teleport spell I can point out that wind magic so far has achieved:
-Flight (Manaria)
-Telepathy (Manaria also)
-Teleportation (Manaria part 3)
-Magic Nullification (Misha's Siren)
-The ability to turn air solid (Thane's air walking)

Thus proving my thesis that wind magic's true ability is to do whatever the plot requires of it.

Ah, the Legend of Korra school of thought.

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/i_favor_the_villainess_ch22#41
No, actually. Claire is canonically a switch and according to Rei the only person who's ever managed to top her.

Nyashi posted:

Now that Manaria has unveiled the Teleport spell I can point out that wind magic so far has achieved:
-Flight (Manaria)
-Telepathy (Manaria also)
-Teleportation (Manaria part 3)
-Magic Nullification (Misha's Siren)
-The ability to turn air solid (Thane's air walking)

Thus proving my thesis that wind magic's true ability is to do whatever the plot requires of it.

Most of those have an actual logical explanation. Flight should be pretty obvious, as should making the air solid. Telepathy can be explained by controlling the air in such a way as to establish a private conversation at a distance. (Dunno if that's actually how it works in-universe though.) I don't know exactly how teleportation works in-universe but even that could be explained by extremely quick movement which would normally be an ability associated with wind. Dunno about Misha's Siren though. I don't recall enough details about it to have any kind of theory on how it works.

Dunno about Misha's Siren though. I don't recall enough details about it to have any kind of theory on how it works.

No nullification there, just a regular sound-based attack. Considering that sonic weapons exist even in real life, the least fantastic use of wind magic here.

last edited at Sep 15, 2022 9:15AM

I do like how this series approached serious matters. It was good to see lesbianism and gender brought up and not used as fault or excuse. This furthering the "not Yuri Yuri" movement in the genre. However, I wish the author made it clearer that Rei's harassing treatment of Claire is a matter of individual personality and not a result of being a lesbian.

This does actually get covered quite well in the novel version, but sadly didn't make it into the manga.

I like Manaria but feel like she doesn't really make sense within the otome setting.

Why are we not following her and why is she not the protagonist? (this is a joke btw in case someone took that seriously). I just feel there is way too much of a gap in her abilities compared to everyone else and that's almost impossible to bridge. As you said, Rei seemed overpowered before and I am pretty sure if I am remembering correctly is meant to be special as a saint or something but she just looks like a mob character compared to Manaria.

Revolution does not follow a 'defeat the big bad' otome plot; the MC is not a prophesied saintess or anything like that. Within the game plot, the purpose of the MC's power is to overcome social barriers. She doesn't need to be the most powerful, just powerful enough to make princes consider dating a commoner, and simply being strong enough to kill people can't solve the social upheaval the plot centers around.

(That said, I also don't particularly like Manaria as a character or a plot device)

last edited at Sep 15, 2022 5:24PM

I like Manaria but feel like she doesn't really make sense within the otome setting.

Why are we not following her and why is she not the protagonist? (this is a joke btw in case someone took that seriously). I just feel there is way too much of a gap in her abilities compared to everyone else and that's almost impossible to bridge. As you said, Rei seemed overpowered before and I am pretty sure if I am remembering correctly is meant to be special as a saint or something but she just looks like a mob character compared to Manaria.

Revolution does not follow a 'defeat the big bad' otome plot; the MC is not a prophesied saintess or anything like that. Within the game plot, the purpose of the MC's power is to overcome social barriers. She doesn't need to be the most powerful, just powerful enough to make princes consider dating a commoner, and simply being strong enough to kill people can't solve the social upheaval the plot centers around.

(That said, I also don't particularly like Manaria as a character or a plot device)

I have read so many Villainess stories and the releases of translated chapters are so sporadic, they are all fusing together in my head lol. Cool, she isn't a saintess, thanks for clarifying. Then Manaria seems even more op than she needs to be imo. Being able to use 4 elements would put her way above the mc and enough to beat her with a big power gap. This just feels like an adult pummeling a toddler now.

last edited at Sep 15, 2022 6:39PM

It really is excessive. It was already kind of crazy just with Spell Breaker, but that's at least theoretically possible for Rei to overcome (Manaria wouldn't be able to break extreme aptitude water or earth spells, Rei just doesn't have any yet). So then they throw in Dominator to make sure she can insta-KO anyone she can't spellbreak...

Rei possesses so much magical power that it can't be measured,

So are Rei and Manaria both OP in different ways? Or does Manaria also have unmeasurable power?

last edited at Sep 15, 2022 8:49PM

Rei possesses so much magical power that it can't be measured,

So are Rei and Manaria both OP in different ways? Or does Manaria also have unmeasurable power?

If I'm understanding the concept correctly, Manaria is OP in the sense that the game will not allow you to defeat her without following a specific, narrow set of rules. Her "power level" is very measurable, but variable, depending on the circumstances.