Marry My Husband

This series irks me a little. It just comes off as being so phoned in. And it also feels very derivitive. Not in the standard tropey way, which it also definitely is, but more so in the direct copy way. And while I am not sure if this is actually the case I do not think it can be ignored. Marry My Husband is a story about Kang Jiwon dying after having lived a miserable life and returning to the past to redo her life in a way that this time turns out in a way that is more fulfilling and true to herself. This setupis fine and something I personally enjoy and actively look for. I also definitely don't mind a romance focus. Where it starts to go wrong is the focal points of the struggle. I personally think that this story has issues with questioning humans. Any and all bad situations are things that happen to the characters, or atleast portrayed that way. Never are the roles that the characters themselves play in this questioned. At times there is an attempt to give a little bit of depth to situations, but at no point does this go beyond just justification of behavior that even the author seems to think is questionable. And there is nothing wrong with morally grey characters, but it needs to make sense. The antagonists are irredeemably evil and I feel the blame is misplaced for some of them. And the protagonists or side characters are unquestionable good. Another issue I have is that the story lacks focus. Not unlike the perhaps more historied, and therefore more well defined structurally, male wish fulfilment series this manhwa is mainly about the gotcha moments that can be created from having prior knowledge of negative events and going against expectations. However, despite not being a woman, I cannot imagine that the way this is done here is satisfactory to many people reading. What it essentially boils down to is having more self confidence, and while I actually quite like that as a message, the result is that half of the time the resolution is getting a make over to look better or being more bold. And sure, I understand that this is also representative of the personal growth the character has gone through, but this is where that personal growth stops. Kang Jiwon doesn't act like she returned from 10 year in the future, she acts like she would act except at moments where the story doesn't want her to. As mentioned in the introductory part I constantly felt like this was a 'copy' of something else while reading it. I initially was planning on doing some direct comparisons and stating why the other series succeed and this doesn't, but I don't think that is very valuable. What Marry My Husband does wrong is writing a story that uses it's set up in any valuable way. Sure, there is plenty of getting back at people. But it never feels like it was because of the advantage that was gained from the regression. It comes of like the series copies elements from other media with regression tropes and takes exactly the wrong elements. Wish fulfilment is satisfying because of the journey. Just giving you the end result doesn't feel earned. And it doesn't help that the characters just feel empty. As mentioned earlier, all the 'good' guys are absolute good. And the way that love is portrayed in this series makes my skin crawl. I have no issues with unrealistic green flag men but it needs to come off as plausible. I would love to go into spoiler territory here but lets just say that the infatuation that the male lead has for the female lead absolutely does not feel earned in anyway. It feels like a cop out nonsensical way to make the story more romantic. Overall I just think it is not very well done. The antagonists are unlikeable to a fault. The good guys are also unlikeable but only because there is nothing to like, they are just perfect. The story is directionless, especially past like chapter 30 at which point they need to pad for time so they start to introduce some side stuff, and overall it is just kinda a nothing burger to me. Read something more engaging like medical return if you like the modern day regression element, or see you in my 19th life if you like office romance and angst with actually well written drama and character relations.

Though I’m not usually a fan of romance, I gave Marry My Husband a chance on a friend’s recommendation and genuinely enjoyed it. While Marry My Husband was a good distraction, I wished for more depth in character development, especially for the supporting cast and villains. The main character does experience growth, but it feels a bit too rapid, mostly because she’s already been through these experiences in her previous life. If you’re looking for a truly engaging read with rich, evolving characters, this may not hit the mark. But if you just want a quick, entertaining time-killer, this manhwa could still be worth a try.

A typical regression revenge romance story, but fun regardless. While the story follows a well-worn "bum ex to boss boyfriend," it does a good job of creating fleshed-out and fun characters. Usually in this sort of story, side characters are relegated to board pieces meant to uphold the male and female leads, but this manwha makes sure the other characters are present with their own plotlines. Character building is wonderful and the drama built by the main antagonists are always fun. It is riveting seeing the main character plant the seeds to protect her future, overcome those trials, and set up the main antagonists totheir downfall. What holds this story back are weak character motivators, tired tropes, and cartoonishly evil (and sexist) antagonists. Some characters have their backstories revealed and completely falls under to why they are so motivated within the story. This is especially clear the filler antagonists, who lack anything to make them behave that way. There are many plotlines that are beyond predictable because that happens in like every manwha of this genre ever, which can lead to some arcs feeling lackluster. The last con is that the villains of this story are STUPID evil, with a very misogynistic approach to their writing. The good guys are monogamous girl bosses, the villains are cheating sluts; women should do house chores AND work for the sake of the husband, that kind of writing. The villains are written very conservatively with no redeeming qualities, which can be pretty boring if not for their downfall. Regardless, if looking for a series that is short, has competent revenge, and has some cute moments, Marry My Husband is a nice pick up.