The King’s Royal Guard
Review
Writer: qiseki
Artist: qiseki
Publisher: Webtoon
Format: Webtoon
A blend of drama and fantasy, readers will find The King’s Royal Guard curiously entertaining. Reminiscent of classic shoujo mangas and current historical fantasy webtoons, the series will have the average webtoon reader wondering how such a revenge tale will ultimately end.
The King’s Royal Guard
ReviewWriter: qiseki
Artist: qiseki
Publisher: Webtoon
Format: Webtoon
A blend of drama and fantasy, readers will find The King’s Royal Guard curiously entertaining. Reminiscent of classic shoujo mangas and current historical fantasy webtoons, the series will have the average webtoon reader wondering how such a revenge tale will ultimately end.
Some of the biggest and oldest tropes in the books are gender-bender stories and revenge plots. The Webtoon Canvas series The King’s Royal Guard delivers these classic tropes to readers in a beautifully made high fantasy setting. Created by qiseki, an artist whose name has been floating around the Webtoon Canvas scene since early 2015, The King’s Royal Guard is one of their newest series that has picked up a solid following. Having not yet read this series before but familiar with the creator’s other works, I was excited to see what the buzz was about. Scroll down to join me as I give my review on the webtoon!
Overview
Since the massacre of her entire village, Venge’s life goal has been to kill King Erul, the man supposedly behind the horrific event. One day, she comes across a flyer looking to hire a personal guard for his majesty. Taking it as an opportunity to get close and kill the king, Venge masquerades as a man to apply for the position. But after Venge secures the job and spends more time with King Erul, she learns he’s different from what rumors make him out to be. Could he have been the one behind the village massacre? What will Venge do if her resolve shakes and she can no longer kill the king?
Image: Webtoon
Review
The first episode of The King’s Royal Guard sets a somber mood by prefacing a short flashback about Venge’s tragic past. It gives readers a great look into Venge’s character as she dramatically chops off her long locks to signify the start of her revenge plan. Because of these early parts of the story, I was pleasantly surprised by how fleshed-out Venge’s character felt already. While she’s beautiful and a skilled fighter, she is hardly presented as a “Mary Sue'' as she still bears plenty of flaws. Her scarred mental state due to her traumatic childhood is something that’s often revisited, showing Venge as a character dealing with plenty of internal conflicts as the story progresses. Her occasional struggle to assassinate King Erul also adds depth to her character as someone with a more emotionally complex personality.
Although the webtoon does have plenty of dramatic elements, The King’s Royal Guard surprisingly contains quite a lot of slapstick comedy, making it an enjoyable read for its silliness. Even with such ridiculous moments, like the accidental kissing after a crash trope, the plot is still curiously entertaining because of the mystery surrounding King Erul and Venge’s ultimate choice to kill him. With how the webtoon is progressing, I’m interested to find out how things play out with Venge, and if she will fulfill her original goal of avenging her family and village.
Image: WebtoonBut even though I found The King’s Royal Guard to be a fun read, parts of it also felt like they needed more work. Some early episodes stood out to me as having awkward and hastily cut transitions that disrupted the story’s pacing. Combining that with how fast the plot progresses made for a jarring experience as I binged through the available episodes. Then, perhaps due to the story’s quick pacing, certain characters seem lacking in depth. I, personally, don’t have strong feelings about King Erul aside from the fact that he’s very handsome. Besides Venge, there hasn’t been a moment in the series with the male lead that I could connect emotionally with one-on-one. Side characters are also barely explored, making the fictional world of The King’s Royal Guard seem quite small beyond what’s going on with the webtoon’s two main leads.
Putting my minor gripes aside, I will end my review with a positive note. The art in The King’s Royal Guard is incredible. The webtoon has qiseki’s shoujo manga-style art that has become very popular with readers. As someone who used to be a big shoujo manga reader, this webtoon hits the same vibes with its equal mix of a dramatic plot with lighthearted moments and humor. It’s got giggle-inducing and slight heart-fluttering moments that follow similar patterns and tropes to shoujo mangas. Even so, it doesn't seem overused and is still fun to read. Qiseki also uses a grainy texture for the art, which I’ve come to enjoy as it adds a certain flare to the webtoon’s aesthetics. Its vibes feel like a mix of historical fantasy series with classic shoujo mangas like Ouran High School Host Club and Maid-Sama!, except with less fluff and more violence. So even with a few flaws in the series, I still think most people would enjoy reading The King’s Royal Guard for its engaging mood, main plot, and MC.
Image: Webtoon
Final Thoughts
As someone who grew up obsessed with shoujo mangas, The King’s Royal Guard made me recall how charming they can be, even though the webtoon is not overtly romantic. Despite my minor gripes about the story’s pacing, I look forward to seeing how this revenge story concludes for Venge and King Erul. I recommend this Canvas webtoon for anyone looking for a simple yet exciting story with a likable MC. And with its impressive illustrations, The King’s Royal Guard is a solid webtoon to read.
Who this is for
- Readers who enjoy gender benders.
- Fans of revenge plot stories.
- People who enjoy shoujo manga-style art.
Who this is not for
- Readers who are only in it for romance.
- People who don’t like cliché tropes.
- People who want to read a series with a consistent update schedule.