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REVIEW: The Dragon Knight's Beloved GN 1




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John Thacker



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 1006
PostPosted: Sat Feb 05, 2022 2:46 pm Reply with quote
So it's like an Anne McCaffrey Dragonriders of Pern book? I think Mercedes Lackey books have some magical horses too.
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lys



Joined: 24 Jun 2004
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 05, 2022 3:21 pm Reply with quote
Dragon girls are totally a thing! Horse girls still are too :D I know a few of both, and definitely had my own dragon phase some 20ish years ago... (Wings of Fire is the big dragon series these days, I think?)

I can see this series having a potential appeal to that market, but as described in the review, it sounds a little adolescent and lacking in depth, even for "less discerning" younger readers. "She's special" may have appeal to those readers (and to all of us in some capacity :) ) but if "she" herself doesn't have some traits or back story for readers to invest in and connect with, I'm not sure it can hold attention for long.

(I enjoyed reading this review and thinking on some of the traits and plot beats Caitlin pulled out to examine!)
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SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 05, 2022 4:24 pm Reply with quote
lys wrote:

I can see this series having a potential appeal to that market, but as described in the review, it sounds a little adolescent and lacking in depth, even for "less discerning" younger readers. "She's special" may have appeal to those readers (and to all of us in some capacity Smile ) but if "she" herself doesn't have some traits or back story for readers to invest in and connect with, I'm not sure it can hold attention for long.

I wouldn't be so sure about that... I mean let's be honest, how many people in the target audience do you expect to read this for the main character, as opposed to the hot guys? In which case the main character is really more like just a convenient self-insert and her sole task is to get into situations where the guys can do romantic ikemen things that make the reader go dokidoki and whatnot.
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lys



Joined: 24 Jun 2004
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 05, 2022 6:59 pm Reply with quote
Well, I can't speak for all of us, but as one female reader of large quantities of shoujo manga (I don't care so much for the reverse harems, precisely because the girls are often such non-personalities), I always feel it's important to me for the protagonist to have her own charm or appeal, or else I'm not very motivated to root for her romantic endeavours and everlasting happiness :)

I was also thinking of the middle school horse- and dragon-girls I know, and the way they often dream up their own stories through a character who embodies some traits they're drawn to (whether outward appearance or backstory or whatever), so I do think it's a factor readers bear in mind, consciously or not.
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all-tsun-and-no-dere
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 06 Jul 2015
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 05, 2022 7:17 pm Reply with quote
lys wrote:
Well, I can't speak for all of us, but as one female reader of large quantities of shoujo manga (I don't care so much for the reverse harems, precisely because the girls are often such non-personalities), I always feel it's important to me for the protagonist to have her own charm or appeal, or else I'm not very motivated to root for her romantic endeavours and everlasting happiness Smile

I was also thinking of the middle school horse- and dragon-girls I know, and the way they often dream up their own stories through a character who embodies some traits they're drawn to (whether outward appearance or backstory or whatever), so I do think it's a factor readers bear in mind, consciously or not.


I agree. I think the disconnect comes from the manga sitting at a slightly awkward intersection between romance and horse girl story. After all, most of the horse books I read growing up focused more on the relationship between the girl and her horse. Romance rarely figured in, so the girl would have to have a personality because even the most spirited horse (and oh, they were always spirited) wouldn't be able to prop up a total blank slate.

Romances tend to take blank slates better, and The Dragon Knight's Beloved is more romance than horse story, so probably a lot of its audience won't mind. However, they're not the ones writing the review; I am, and I like protagonists with personality.
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Amuro1X



Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 175
PostPosted: Sun Feb 06, 2022 10:59 am Reply with quote
Not gonna lie, I saw the "horse girl" pull quote and was like "What does this have to do with Uma Musume?"
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SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 06, 2022 11:04 am Reply with quote
lys wrote:
Well, I can't speak for all of us, but as one female reader of large quantities of shoujo manga (I don't care so much for the reverse harems, precisely because the girls are often such non-personalities), I always feel it's important to me for the protagonist to have her own charm or appeal, or else I'm not very motivated to root for her romantic endeavours and everlasting happiness Smile

And that's fine and all, but just like how there's a great many types of shoujo manga (not all of which are about romance, or even feature much romance, if at all), there's a great many types of readers of shoujo manga, too. Many people care about the heroine, many people care only insofar as she's the one that the love interests' happiness hinges on. (Anecdata, sure, but every shoujo manga love triangle shipping war I've ever had the misfortune to witness eventually boiled down to the male characters' needs. "She must end up with X, he needs her!" Oh but he's not her responsibility, she's her own person with her own life to live, and not a walking emotional crutch bearing the responsibility of the mental well-being of some very cute but angsty guy? "whatever, he needs her!!" Very Happy )

lys wrote:
I was also thinking of the middle school horse- and dragon-girls I know, and the way they often dream up their own stories through a character who embodies some traits they're drawn to (whether outward appearance or backstory or whatever), so I do think it's a factor readers bear in mind, consciously or not.

Oh sure, the wishfulfilment/self-insert factor is certainly important. I'm just saying that a pleasantly bland (and by this I mean stereotypically feisty, etc. as well) protagonist may be easier for some readers to project these traits on.

all-tsun-and-no-dere wrote:

Romances tend to take blank slates better, and The Dragon Knight's Beloved is more romance than horse story, so probably a lot of its audience won't mind. However, they're not the ones writing the review; I am, and I like protagonists with personality.

I mean... I wasn't trying to criticize the review? I just wanted to point out that what seems like a minus may not be a minus for all readers. To each their own, I'm not judging anyone, god knows my own taste can be shallow enough, just in different ways. (Personally I'm not even into this particular genre, I just checked it out because I like fantasy.)
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