And to think the beginning was SO cute! Oh my goodness! If it wasn't already super obvious that Vincent likes Oriana, then I don't know what is!
But it is SO hard to unpack my feelings with this volume. It is deeply emotional and heartbreaking, and I can only hope that good things will come for several of these precious characters. I don't think there was one person that I wasn't hurting for in some way!
If you are a fan of this series, please prepare your heart and have tissues on hand! You will need them!
.☘︎ ݁˖ "oriana, about earlier... mr. tanzine didnt profess his affections for you. do you not yearn for something more definitive?"
well... its not that i dont want to hear him say it... but what would happen if i told him i loved him, one more time in that moment? perhaps I'd obtain that "definitive" thing. but what if the kindness he shows me is only because i stopped confessing my feelings? what if he reacts negatively? it might prompt him to retract his offer to be my partner.
"I dont. im satisfied with the way things are."
⋆˙⟡ — i love this <33 ଘ(੭◌ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚
dear god, this vol started off soo sweet and wholesome and then what was that?? ngl i did forget bits and it took a while for my brain to catch up but damn. what was this 😭😭 we got to see the beautiful relationship oriana has with each of them; vincent, miguel, yana, azraq. and yet this vol tears apart two people who were suppose to be together for life. and the last two chapters was pure pain to get through (TT) that scene where azraq speaks to oriana??? *my heart broke into a million pieces* and then seeing yana? *my soul has been dragged to hell*
I was waiting for the cover story to emerge, but it didn’t. I hope it’s in the next volume! Still, that’s rather displeasing as I was extremely anticipating it. No one would deny the huge leap of their relationship progress though so still suffice it to say I’m happy. On the other hand, the Star’s Guardian arc for Asraq and Yana’s subplot is rather heart-wrenching—I couldn’t smile about the way he tried [so hard] to make Ori stay so he could finally ask her to the ball, more so like how he did in their previous lifetime. The second one was so much better though because of its rawness and his determination. Just a theory that keeps popping on my mind though, what if Vincent drank the said potion to be a kid again? I need to know the revelations soon.
This is my first dip into a time loop series; Oriana and her boyfriend Vincent are both students at a magic school when one fateful night, Vincent dies without any obvious traces. Oriana tries to help but instead collapses and finds herself waking up back in time when she was seven. Her life plays on repeat while she has kept her memories of her previous life. Her goal is to disrupt the flow of time as little as possible whilst still preparing herself for the day Vincent died so that this time she can help him. Unfortunately, the Vincent in her repeated life has no memories of their past life together, making this a rather lonely journal for Oriana.
One thing that surprised me was that Oriana immediately confronts Vincent about not having shared memories as opposed to waiting to see how he reacts and how they find a way back to each other. In a way, I think had she waited, it would have resulted in a more slow burn and tense kind of situation and I felt like it wasn't Oriana's smartest move. On the other hand, the fact that she is upfront about it and is constantly facing rejection by Vincent whilst remaining cheerful and continuously trying to discover the culprit, adds a whole different kind of dynamic between the two. There is something bittersweet about how Oriana puts on a brave face but is clearly lonely and sad and essentially alone in her endeavours to prevent past tragedies from repeating themselves.
The world building feels a little weak at this point, it seems very standard magic school but we get to see very little of the said magic. Nonetheless, it's my cup of tea setting wise so I just try to appreciate what we get. The art is beautiful and I want to say a little unusual. It has a lot of shoujo traits and yet has a more roundish edge to it that looks more unique - it gives the characters a soft look. I'm definitely curious to see how this series continues - both in terms of mystery and romance.
Again, as always. Not much to be said about the plot. It drags on and on with a bunch of filler. When reading this manga my thoughts are always, for every volume: “wow I just adore the way the expressions are drawn. So lively, so real. I love the way the environments are drawn. I love the way the art depicts the character’s personalities, and their relationship to each other. The details are fantastic, the composition is lovely. Plot, what plot. Not much point to the dumb choices made by characters. Wow gorgeous art. Absolutely gongeous.”
Actually teared up at little at the end. I didn't expect to grow so fond of these characters given the first couple books; the writing and visual storytelling have developed wonderfully.