Moki-Mori's Random Readings

Rating: 4.5/5

Review:

I absolutely love the emotional beatdown Sovieshu gets in this volume. Like, what did you think was going to happen? That Naiver was just going to wait around for you to decide to marry her again, and then everything would be fine? I think it speaks to just how self-absorbed he was this whole time, enough so that he legitimately thought Navier was just going to wait around for him. 

But also! We finally get the scene from the very beginning again with Henry walking in and them getting married! It's so cute and just stunning visuals-wise. 

I also love how Naiver was still worried about Rashta in terms of how she would be perceived and how it would affect the Eastern Empire. Even when she’s being tossed away by those very people, she’s still worried about them. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Review:

Volume five is when everything starts to get moving: Navier becomes aware of just how far Sovieshu is willing to go for his mistress, Rashta is starting to corner her, and she’s losing a lot of ground in the Eastern Empire. At the same time, she’s gaining important allies outside of it, such as Henry, who has now proposed to her. Honestly, that moment where they were out together at the academy and singing to gather was one of the best scenes for me in the whole series thus far. It's so cutesy and domestic, and for a moment, Navier seems genuinely happy in a way we don't see often at this point in the story.

Rating: 4.5/5

Review:

For me, this volume is where we can really see the differences between Rashta and Naver. 

Rashta is essentially floundering, getting caught up in relationships and alliances that should ‘help’ her, but ultimately end up making more issues for her. She’s petty, not thinking things through, and relying too much on the men around her. 

In contrast, Naiver is careful, thinking as many steps ahead as she can, and making contingency plans as if there won't be a tomorrow for her. She doesn't suspect divorce yet, but she’s preparing for many other eventualities. 

Overall I think that it's an interesting look into how their characters work on a base level, though it doesn't go much deeper beyond that for me. with the main theme of this volume being that: Naiver has been put into a situation that doesn't benefit her at all. Her husband has a mistress who gets pregnant very quickly, whilst she has never been so, the court is starting to turn against her, and she’s losing her footing. Rashta has been given the opposite hand; she's gotten into a situation that DOES benefit her. She's a mistress, pregnant with the royal baby, and is starting to wrap the court around her fingers. 

Despite this, Niaver is flourishing, and Rashta is drowning

Rating: 4.5/5

Review:

I feel like, up until volume three, the hate that Rashta got from the fandom was a little out of proportion. But then volume three hits, and it starts to make sense (not to the degree her character got it, but yeah people were bound to start hating her after this vol). Rashta immediately goes from this innocent ' I'm just trying to survive here’ girl to being manipulative and trying to hurt Naiver intentionally. I also think it's sort of funny how Rashta supposedly gets smarter as the series goes on, but her plans in this volume to undermine Naiver are fairly similar to the ones in later volumes. I definitely think that the cause for this is relate dmore to the audiences hate for Rashta rather than the author’s orginal ideas, which happens a lot in books like webtoons that are posted as they are still WIPs. 

Overall I found that while Rashta’s character took a weird turn starting in this volume, Naiver’s character only seemed to strengthen (which I again think relates to the audience more than anything else). She stays very elegant, intentional, and graceful. From the way she thinks to how she carries herself, her lifetime of training and dedication to her role as empress, this is one of the best moments of characterization for me in the book. Naiver carriers in the ‘show not tell’ for this whole series really, which i wish we got more of with Rashta but it is what it is i suppose. 

This is also where all the romances start to collide with each other. Henry is obviously in love with her at this point, the grand duke has accidentally drugged himself into being in love with her, and Sovieshu is somehow just now realizing that she has other (and better) options than him. Cue the flying Love Triangles!

Rating: 4.5/5

Review:

Book 2 focuses a lot on Rashsta, the emperor's mistress, as she navigates being in the royal household. There's a lot going on with Navier as well, with Henry, Queen, and the upcoming galas and dinners, but the main focus of this volume is on Rashta. 

I sort of have this love/hate erealtionship with her. Rashta starts out as fairly understandable. She's a runaway slave, she was saved by a handsome man and fell in love, and she lets herself be further ‘rescued’ by being taken in as his mistress. She struggles with life in the royal household and wants to befriend Navier based on the Empress’s public image, and is hurt when rejected. In that way, she’s very sympathetic, and you can feel for her struggles. But you also feel for Navier, who is dealing with her husband, whom she has been engaged to and close to since childhood, taking in a mistress and suddenly treating her very coldly. On top of that, said mistress seems to think that this is 100% fine, that Naiver should be thankful that Rashta is there and that Naiver should be all buddy-buddy with her because they ‘share a husband’. It makes her seem sort of… off? 

Rating: 4.5/5

Review:

To me this series is akin to a reality TV Show, I read it because of its beautiful draw, entertaining, and honestly just a pretty fun read but to me there isn't really a plot or much depth to the characters and there are a lot of plot holes throughout the series. 

That being said: The Remarried Empress is one of two romance books/series that I read regularly and it's honestly one that I love! It's just a super fun and easy read that I enjoy binging every now and then. 

The overall gist of the story is that the Female lead and empress, Naiver, is battling against her husband after he brings a mistress into the palace. The whole thing ends in a big divorce and she later remarries a prince from another kingdom. The whole thing is rife with drama, court intrigue, love triang;les spinning off every which way, and really pretty fashion! 

Rating: 10/5

Review:

After reading the main series i 1000% needed the pick-me-up that is Kimetsu Academy! This six book series is so cute, so sweet, and just down right giggle-while-you-read worthy. 

Rating: 4/5

Review:

This was so cute! I loved seeing Rengoku prior to becoming a Hashria and how he made it to the point where we first meet him in the main series. It was also very interesting to see Guyi post meeting Tenagiro and Nezuko where he still isn't 100% happy with himself or believing in himself but getting better than some of the first scenes we saw him in!

Rating: 3/5

Review:

I absolutely loved this little peak into the details of Demon Slayer so much! It was such a nice little way to finish up the main series, like a little cool down session after the adrenaline that was the final few volumes. 

Rating: 100/5

Review:

It's over, and it feels way too soon!!

I was both smiling and crying my eyes out in this volume because of everything that happened. I like that most of the characters got their version of a happy ending, even if it was through their eventual descendants rather than during their current lifetime. 

I will say that Tangiro almost becoming the demon king doesn't make full sense as a plot point, but I get that it was supposed to show that Muzan’s plans failed out of harmony, teamwork, a sense of justice, and kindness which are all things that Tangiro embodies as a character. 

Rating: 10/5

Review:

This is definitely one of my favorite volumes because we get Obain’s back story and we learn more about Kabumaru! I think their relationship is so interesting, the way that Obaini was essentially tortured and raised for slaughter because of a snake demon but still befriends and wholly trusts a snake with his life and well being is adorable and really sweet. To me it speaks volumes of how kind of a person he could be, if he wasn't horrifically hurt at such a young age. 

The battle between the hashira and muzan really starts to pick up here. I remember I had to set the book down and pick it back up multiple times. And then once I finished it I had to re-read it two more times because I could not believe what I had just read. 

Rating: 9/5

Review:

OOOH THE MUZAN FIGHT! 

I have been both looking forward to and dreading this volume because this is where it all ends. This fight carries onto the last volume and it is during this that my fav characters get so hurt (and/or die) and i was not emotionally ready for that while reading. 

Focusing on cooler things though; the way all the hashira move together and fight as a single unit is amazing! Even though Giyu isn't close to them, even though Obani doesn't like most of them, even though Mitsui is terrified, they all act with one goal in mind and they carry it out as a single fighting unit in the coolest way possible! 

Rating: 8/5

Review:

Upper 1 is my favorite demon (as previously mentioned) and the fact that this vol is just completely his epic final battle is a big reason why it's one of my favorites. 

The way that three Hashira struggle to even stand on even fitting with him is amazing and it's done in a way that feels realistic rather than ‘uuhhh over-powered demon’, which i am very happy with. Kokushibo is beating them for most of the volume, but we can also see him having to think about his moves and the few moments of struggle and panic he does have. It humanizes his battle experience in a way that makes the fact that he is almost easily beating some of the most powerful hashira make sense. 

I am a little disappointed in his backstory, I knew about the whole jealous twin thing going on but I was hoping it would carry out a little differently. I think the main problem with it (for me) was that there wasnt enough emphasis on why Kokushibo felt so threatened by Yorichi. It was mentioned once that if Yorichi became better than him Kokushiobo would lose everything he’s worked towards, and because that isn't really mentioned or focused on it makes Kokuishibo’s hatred toward aYorichi feel very surface level which means that none of his desperate actions later in life really make sense. 

Rating: 7/5

Review:

AHHH One of my favorite fight scenes is here!!!

My favorite demon is upper 1, 10000%. So seeing his epic 4v1 fight with three hashira and a demon-eater is just amazing. The reveal of Muichiro’s heritage (especially considering how much he put on/the copiers put on him being descended from sun breathing), the fight between Gyomei, Sanemi, and Kokushibo, the way we get to see Genya’s thoughts and feelings, it's all so beautiful! 

Of course even with that 100/10 epic battle scene going on, we can't forget to mention my favorite snakey-boi: OBANI!

Rating: 6/5

Review:

This vol was just *chef’s kiss*, similar to vol 17 it just carries itself so well. The dialog and the fight scenes and the backstories are all just beautiful! 

I really like how Gotouge carries a lot of the themes of humanity, mortality, and justice with the demons through their backstories while contrasting that with their current demonic lives/actions. It really comes through with Akaza, how he tries his best to let go in the end, and how he finally reconnects to his human self. 

Rating: 6/5

Review:

The fight scenes in this volume are AMAZING! Zenitsu vs his adopted brother, Tangiro and Giyu vs Akaza both are stunning in dialog and visuals. I absolutely love how Zenitsu overcomes his strongest flaw as a swordsman; only being able to use one form, in order to defeat the man he saw as a brother and who he blames for the death of his gramps. The dialogue between the two of them is so heartfelt and amazing that I was stunned by how great it was!

The same goes for Akaza and Giyu/Tangiro's fight, the three of them (ok maybe not Giyu, but when does he ever talk?) the dialog, the fight scenes, the way everything slots together. Everything is 11/10 amazing!!