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The Evil Lady’s Hero (2019-2021) - :)

I don’t know when the “she stole my first time” trope started in manhwa, but I can see why it’s compelling. The idea that there is this femme fatale (or more often just really drunk protagonist) seducing a super hot absolutely pure like fire dude who then immediately doubles down on this idea that she must be special. I mean, it’s also deeply creepy when you think about it too hard, but at first blush it’s a hilarious conceit. It sets up a power dynamic early on where the woman is the one on top (pun intended). The other thing manhwa usually do with this trope, however, is pull the bait and switch where now that the main characters have slept together you get to watch them dance around the possibility of holding hands for another fifty chapters rather than allow them to continue to enjoy each other. Not so with this manhwa!

Yunifer is our isekai heroine who has fallen into a novel where she is the villainess, but instead of spending undue time worrying about it she has been leading a relatively normal life. Already, the fact that she had not bent herself in knots trying to avoid a bad ending was refreshing. When she ends up falling into bed with Ishid, she spends a bit of time writhing in angst about it, but ultimately what they establish is a decently healthy and harmonious adult relationship. Plus sex. This manhwa actually had sex scenes in it, which thank everything someone is allowing their grown ass protagonists a guilt free sexual connection. Because lord knows, modeling a healthy sex life is something manhwa could use more of! Ishid treats her well, and Yunifer truly enjoys his company in every capacity.

The plotlines circling around Yunifer and Ishid had a bit of fantasy, a bit of action, and a bit of royal intrigue, but what stood out to me was the treatment of Yunifer’s friend and the prince. Their relationship is called out as toxic and it’s never romanticized even when more context is brought in to explain why it’s so toxic. The author knew the message they wanted to convey, and I’m here for the call to embrace healthy relationships and give people space to heal from trauma. I would definitely recommend this one because even if it isn’t necessarily breaking new ground, I thought it had some fresh feeling takes.