When war erupts in the kingdom of Ehas, a terrible man sees an opportunity and sends his least-loved daughter, Pollyanna, to fight in the family's name. The young woman, however, also sees her own opportunity: to become the most esteemed knight who has ever lived, thwarting her father's hopes that she die unnoticed and unknown.

In the enemy kingdom of Acrea, the newly crowned King Luxos plans to utilize the war to achieve his vision of a unified continent. When he captures Pollyanna, Luxos orders her execution—until she puts his knights to shame, showcasing her talent as a fighter and a strategist.

The Knight and Her Emperor has a story by HEYUM and art by WINTER, based on a work by G.M. English translation is done by Somin Parker and lettering by Jeanthrix Andres. Published by Inklore (February 3, 2026). Rated 16+.

Content Warning: Sexual assault

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

It's an imperfect comparison, but all I could think as I read the first volume of The Knight and Her Emperor was that it felt like a Tamora Pierce novel by way of Prince Freya. If you enjoy either of those things (or both), just go pick this up now. But if you need a bit more convincing, by all means continue reading. I could talk about this book all day.

Unlike the heroine of Eleanor H. Porter's 1913 novel, Pollyanna Crenbell is no optimist. She has no reason to be: as a child, her father cut off all of her hair and sent her to be a soldier so that he and his second wife could name their daughter Ryanna as heir. Baron Crenbell assumed that a mere girl would die in the endless wars between the nations of Ehas and Cukda, thus sparing him from having to give Pollyanna the family lands and title should she survive ten years of war. He may manage to avoid that fate, but it's not because Pollyanna dies – it's because she reads the signs that her superiors ignore and figures out that a third nation, Acrea, is about to attack, and when they do, she defects. And since Pollyanna is very, very good at what she does, she promptly tells Acrea's king how to conquer both Ehas and Cukda.

There are a few themes and plots at play here, and the reason the book works so well is that the story understands how to interweave them. The most notable is the pervasive, violent misogyny that Pollyanna faces. While we don't know why her father hates her (it could be the red hair), his sending her into battle is seen as an easy way to kill her without dirtying his hands, because “everyone knows” that women can't be knights or soldiers. While training for the army, her mentor tells her that if she's captured, she'll be raped – and her fellow soldiers may just do it, too. In fact, once she defects, two Acrean soldiers do attempt, but she beats the shit out of them. She's violent in her responses because she's learned that she has to be, and if knights cover their crotches when she walks by after a swift boot to the berries of an insubordinate (and sexist) squire, well, that's just the price of doing business. But it's infuriating to read about how no one gives her a chance and how some of them would rather kill her than have her in their squadrons.

This is where the political plot comes into play. King Luxos, the handsome young ruler of Acrea, at first thinks to execute Pollyanna, but once he starts reading her captured reports, he realizes that she's an amazing tactician. When he sees her handily dispatching all of his knights, he accepts her as one of his own, and throughout the volume, he remains the only person who steadfastly believes in her. Right now, Pollyanna isn't comfortable trusting him, but he's her best option, and it seems as if their slow-building trust will be a major factor in the series going forward.

With simpler art than we often see in full-color webtoons and a story that's interested in not just saving Pollyanna, but letting her shine, this is a standout. I can't wait to read more and I eagerly anticipate the day when she shows all of the men that excellence has no gender.

Erica Friedman
Rating:

Pollyana is unwanted and unloved by her family. When she arrives in the military, she is unwanted and disrespected. When she saves her unit by running in the face of total destruction, she is captured as an enemy, and when she takes the Emperor's sword as his knight, she is distrusted. But Pollyanna Winter, the Emperor's knight, will prevail with her understanding of warfare and the people around her, whether anyone believes in her or not.

This was a hard read for me. Of course I've read (and lived) my share of “women don't deserve to be here”-type stories and weirdly, they are never any more fun than they were in my youth when fantasy was filled to the brim with young swordswomen and mages who had to prove themselves to have the right to be in a room over and over and over. Here we are in 2025, in which a manhwa tells that same story, with unremitting misogyny and personal hatred from every single character but one. It does not make this easier to read that the wannabe Emperor could stop people from treating Pollyanna like crap and only barely begins to by the end of this volume.

Let us also boggle at the choice of the name Pollyanna for our angry, determined protagonist. Pollyanna is the name of the protagonist of children's books by Eleanor H. Porter. The title character is known for her optimistic view of life, even in the face of hardship. This has to be a name meant as an ironic choice here. Pollyanna is not particularly optimistic, but she is a realist, and as bad as things get, she never backs down. Unfortunately, because it's almost all bad things, it makes for a bit of a slog as a read. Sure, it's great that the Emperor thinks Pollyanna is awesome, but no one else does.

If you enjoy competent women being better than the men around them and still not getting any respect for that, this might be your jam.