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About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series Rix Vanus.
Content Warning: There may be references to dubcon, noncon, violence, blood, curses, death, religion, incest, suicidal ideation, mentions of war, mentions of corruption, gossiping, BDSM (including forced), torture, self-deprecation, prejudice, homomisia, mentions of capital punishment, kidnapping, invasion of privacy, power imbalance, confinement, hostage situations, experience gap, slut-shaming, mentions of sex work, mind control, excessive drinking, age gap, human trafficking, enslavement, drugging, PTSD, depression, murder, child abuse, arranged marriage, classism, human experimentation, and self-hatred, as they do appear in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
The royal family’s third child, second son, Rix Vanus, has just returned home after defeating the demon king, a monstrous demon who had been consuming human hearts to gain power. The people celebrate him as a hero, but those nobles who hoped he would die quietly return to plotting how best to remove him from power. Rix isn’t worried about trying to survive, though. After killing the demon king, Rix was cursed with dreams full of sexual assault and rape at the hands of his closest friends and family. He’s grown weak, trying his best to avoid sleep, and the dreams are beginning to mix with reality, causing him to avoid and rebuff any support from those he holds dear. Rix is ready to run off and either find a cure or die trying, but while sleeping in the woods, he encounters a glowing wolf that makes all terrible dreams disappear.
When he wakes up, he reencounters the wolf. The wolf explains that he is a divine beast named Nuah, and he has the ability to stave off the curse for a period of time. But the only way to do it is if Nuah has sex with Rix. Rix is not keen on that idea; sex is no longer a pleasurable experience after the endless nights of rape-filled dreams. Still, Rix is desperate, and he ends up agreeing. As Nuah promised, the dreams stop for a time, but only for a while. He still has to find a cure, and with Nuah by his side, it seems like it might be a real possibility. In exchange, all Nuah wants is to see a festival. Rix finds Nuah to be silly and not all that divine for a divine beast, but over time, those are the things he falls in love with.
But love could never happen between a divine beast and a human. At least, that’s what Rix believes. Nuah, though, is under no assumptions about who can or can’t fall in love.
Review:
This is a very sketchy title, but that does not mean it’s terrible by any means. On the contrary, this is stunning. It has a raw style perfect for the mythical and dreamlike ambiance it seeks to achieve. It very much gives Oh! My Assistant vibes, which I’m extremely partial to. Not to mention, Rix is a fashion icon. He’s a beefcake and a warrior prince, but he has a softness that completely contradicts his hard exterior. Pretty much all the character designs play around with our perceptions of gender. It’s also worth mentioning that the fact that Rix’s lover is a man isn’t ever brought up as a point of contention or something worth commenting on beyond that it is surprising Rix as a person would have a lover – especially one as big, fluffy, and sweet as Nuah. We even see a lesbian couple, where we learn that it’s not uncommon for nobles to get into same-sex relationships. I love it so much.
While we’re on this topic, this title contains immense world-building with fantastical elements and a historical, other-worldly vibe. There are gods, demons, humans, wars, politics, and the like, but readers are never inundated with huge swaths of text. This does an impeccable job of piecemealing important information through dialogue and visuals. Something as simple as the hierarchy of currency is explained easily and clearly with a small interaction between Rix and an innkeeper. As a writer, I’m thoroughly impressed by this creator’s ability to build a world in such subtle ways. I’m taking notes, for sure. Now, there are lots of long author notes where things are explained, but you can easily skip them if you’d rather experience the world-building as it comes organically through the story. With that said, there are many cute extras and side stories at the end of most episodes and in their own dedicated episodes (including omegaverse and modern-day college side stories – I love the AU content). There’s plenty of content in this one.
It isn’t perfect, of course. There are many instances where it seems like the creator heavily relies on Nuah’s airheadedness to explain away plot points, such as Nuah breaking his promise. Nuah isn’t supposed to interfere with human matters and promises not to, but then he does, only to be told it’s fine because he’s not a full divine beast. That can be a bit annoying or disappointing, but what’s extremely unfortunate is the quality of the edit and translation in this. I briefly mentioned how they play with visual gender expectations, but because of the poor translation, major characters are frequently misgendered – particularly the crown prince, who is very beautiful and feminine but is most certainly an established man. Yet, he is called “she” and “princess” multiple times. Then, multiple grammatical and text formatting issues bring down the quality and can make this very difficult to understand since it relies on such large, fantastical concepts. It’s disappointing on this front.
Another disappointing thing (which isn’t a fault of the story or translation and just my own issues) is the basis for this story. I found it interesting that this was initially based on a short story, with Rix actually being pursued or, at the very least, seduced by multiple people (including his brother). I only know the bare minimum based on the author’s notes regarding the short. I wish the short had been licensed in English, as I’d love to compare and contrast them. Also, seeing a Rix that’s more open about sex and interested in having multiple lovers would be interesting. I’m not sure if the short was more just an orgy, multiple fuck buddy setup, or an actual poly situation, but I’d have liked to have seen it regardless. I’d also like to see if Rix happily accepted this scenario or if this was something he hated like he did the curse in this full-length variation. I suppose I’ll never know.
One final thing I have to bring up because I just love it that much is froglings. They are the cutest little bastards I’ve ever seen and function as pseudo-children for Nuah and Rix. There is no mpreg, unfortunately, even in the omegaverse short, but we do have child-rearing, and those were some of my favorite aspects of the story. However, it is worth noting that they appear during the most challenging section of the story to endure. We have the memory loss trope, Rix and Nuah fighting and misunderstanding each other, and lots of pain and anguish. If you’re hoping for neverending sex and fluff, you’re going to agonize through the final section of this story. I personally liked it for the froglings and the character growth, but be warned, if you like this because of all the fucking and pining in the beginning, you’ll hate the climb to the end. They make everyone work for the happy ending in this one.
It’s also worth noting that the sex between Rix and Nuah is always painful. It makes sense because of Nuah’s size, but it can be disappointing since Rix never seems to fully enjoy having sex with Nuah. He does enjoy it because he loves Nuah, but it isn’t because it’s pleasurable, and that’s a bit of a bummer. It’s realistic, but it’s still a bummer.
Results:
I had a lot to say about this one, and unfortunately, a lot of it was negative. This has a ton of potential, and there are many elements I really enjoy in it. There is a bunch of content in both the main story and the extras, but a lot of it is sullied due to the quality of the translation and the edit. Then the sex is pretty sad since Rix doesn’t find it all that pleasurable most of the time. The story is a major bummer, in good and bad ways, and though my little froglings carry a lot, they can’t fix many of the issues with this title. I like it, but it’s a hard one to recommend.
Have you read Rix Vanus? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!