Manga Reviews Reviews Yen Press

Manga Review: Daughter of the Emperor Vol. 1 (2022) Rino & Yunsul

A complex family drama with a fantasy twist.

“Ariadna Lerg Illestri Pre Agrigent is no ordinary baby. She's the princess of an empire, she doesn't cry at all, and…she was born with memories of her previous life?! Not to mention her father's trying to kill her! Blessed with a chance to start over but cursed with a crazed tyrant as her father, Ria must navigate the chaos of growing up in the palace—conceited concubines, grand birthday celebrations, assassins in the night—while also avoiding being killed… But just how is she meant to escape death when she can't even walk?!” (Yen Press)

At its most basic interpretation, “” meets the classification of an ‘isekai' title with a woman being reborn into the body of a baby to the man who slaughtered her people. However, where the book deviates from the tried and true formula is in its exploration of the complex relationship between baby Ria and her father, Caitel. Born with an understandable hatred for the man behind the moniker “The Crazed Emperor”, contempt begins to transform the cold persona of Caitel as her childish innocence shows a different side to the man. Even though he may not be an adept parent obsessed with making her cry, his affections and weaknesses slowly reveal themselves to the infant.

The success of the book, undeniably, rests in its ability to transform Caitel into an object of admiration in the eyes of someone who has a grounded reason to despise him. This transformation is gradual and allows the story to flow in a way that does not seem forced or unreasonable. Additionally, there are elements of fantasy beyond the initial ‘isekai' set-up that works to complement the exploration of the arduous relationship between Ria and Caitel instead of convoluting the plot. Admittedly, my initial impression of the manhwa with its awkward framing and the silly premise was wholly unfavorable, but as the story began to unravel the intricacies of the narrative captured my attention. If given the opportunity, many readers are likely to have a similar experience given the strength of the story.

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The art for the novel adaptation, done by artist , is favorable to the book, and despite the rather simplistic aesthetic that comes with the Webtoon format, there is an abundance of personality in the characters. Furthermore, the fashion and backgrounds pop and feel fully conceptualized. The color palette is bright and welcoming, and (as always) Yen Press does an admirable job in adapting the webtoon format into the printed press both in the presentation and layout of the panels.

In the closing statement, Rino makes two rather telling statements about how she perceives her work, one approaching it with an uncertainty of her ability and the other mentioning the lack of being able to tell the full story in the format. A continued trend in artist commentary in both manga and manhwa is that humbleness (perhaps insecurity) pushes the artist further into perfecting their craft, as “Daughter of the Emperor” is one of the more visually appealing books in the webtoon format. Furthermore, the adaptation does give the impression the novel could offer greater depth, yet the manhwa at no point makes the reader feel like they are missing key components. Despite the artist's reservations about their own work, the title proves to stand on its own and is an example of why the Webtoon format has gained such popularity among its fans–visuals and story come together in a wondrous way.

At face value, “Daughter of the Emperor” might not have the broader appeal to fans of visual media, as it does not appear to be an wholly original concept and its charms are not defined at a quick glance. However, the relationship between Ria and Caitel is a deeply fascinating one that explores complex themes. It may not be a breakout series, but volume one sets enough intrigue in place to give reason to be excited about subsequent releases as the relationship between Ria and Caitel feels poised to go into interesting (possibly disturbing) tangents.

About the author

Adam Symchuk

Adam Symchuk is a Canadian born freelance writer and editor who has been writing for Asian Movie Pulse since 2018. He is currently focused on covering manga, manhwa and light novels having reviewed hundreds of titles in the past two years.

His love of film came from horror and exploitation films from Japan that he devoured in his teens. His love of comics came from falling in love with the works of Shuzo Oshimi, Junji Ito, Hideshi Hino, and Inio Asano but has expanded to a general love of the medium and all its genres.

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