Becoming the Monarch

This manhwa is heavily inspired by the 2006 manga 'Kingdom' which is one of top juggernauts in the Warring States genre. The plot, characters & villains follows the manga loosely. The only differences being the fantasy element, the regression and the RPG-like system.

That said, this manhwa cannot compared to 'Kingdom'. The story is watered down, it does not have the complex plot and intricate politics, instead its very linear and rigid. Use of plot convenience to push the story makes the narrative feel unnatural. A story arc starts because something suddenly happened, feels like plot device magically gets written in, with no context and relation.

The secondary characters are an interesting bunch but severely lack appropriate screentime for character development. What's the point of recruiting a Sage when minimal content was devoted to him? Also character relationships get shipped out of the blue, its so weird. At this point, these characters that had so much potential end up being forgettable.

The wars and battles can't compared to the grand battles in 'Kingdom'. It focuses on the main character duels but cut short the wars and battles of subordinates. Tactics and strategy rapidly lose significance in favor of power fantasy.

It also desperately needs better world building instead of throwing occasional snippets. World building creates immersion, it should not be ignored.

The manhwa opts for a much faster pacing of the main plot which ends up detrimental for other parts of the writing like character development, geopolitics, relationships, world building and battles. Hardly any chapters were devoted to them which is a shame. I'm curious if the novel delves more into the 'cut content' because it plainly obvious there's so much missing. 140+ chapters is too short, story was rushed to a melodramatic ending.

It may be inferior in all aspects but it does have its own charm, like how it translates warring kingdoms into a fantasy setting with monsters, magic and martial powers. Our protagonist is also a fan of direct action. Often times, characters' hands are tied due to politics, which is frustrating, but the MC prefers a strong arm approach and is not afraid of killing even if they're aristocracy. That said, it was a bit overdone. Even a powerful man will receive constraints in the world of geopolitics and needs to play smart, you can't brute force your way through.

Personally i feel this manhwa does not intend to rival the top dogs in the genre, just contend with putting out good works. It is severely lacking compared to Kingdom but the storytelling, characters, setting & battles are enough to let it stand out among the average crowd though still not enough to step into the decent category.

This was crazyyyyyy good. LOVED ITTT

only thing I was a bit sad about was not getting to see how things developed with his wife and child. They just kind of appeared after a 10 year time skip.

But the fight scenes in this were so good omg, and I loved all the allies he recruited. Did wish that some of them were developed more though; for example the assassin raechel girl, the dwarf blacksmith, and the wizard

Everything just works out for MC so I never felt like anything was at stake even in the most perilous situations. It's all too easy, and he's not interesting enough as a character for me to care about his journey. The 'system' seems really out of place. The art is also below average.

Well, the ratings from the people ware no joke. This was one cool ride. took me two days to binge the whole thing. and i gotta say, it as not time wasted. awesome journey 🙂
only minor complaint if i had one, would be that the relationship between him and hes queen was rushed..no wedding even..just announcement and then 10y later a daughter ...would have been nice to see that relationship bloom to a bi and the daughter.
But over all its a solid9 in my book. Glad i red it

There are still a few plot holes and storyline that haven't been concluded but as a story a whole story with its bonus chapters, it fills in a few things I believed needed to be answered and make the story whole.

Do I still feel reluctant to recommend it? No, it's a quick short read and it's doing a decent enough job that the reader won't get confused. The story is a typical, back in time and redo life and it's a story that ends.

Wasn't the absolute best but better than the one without the bonus chapters.

Still fine overall, but the last two-three arcs were very rushed, I'm guessing due to health issues of the author/artist.
Could have been much better. I would estimate the series need another 70-100 chapters if kept the initial pace.

It started with the MC needing to be smarter than others because he lacked power and slowly gaining it through hard work and wit and charisma with companions that were capable of doing things he couldn't. Then it rushed through multiple story lines at ever increasing pace. The end is still "okay" and at least there is an end.

The art in the beginning is quite plain but it got better in recent chapters. The story is great. The ML feels very invincible, like nothing could beat him wether it's strong enemies, overnumbered armies or even pandemic😆 It has it's moments. Not the greatest but definitely worth the read.

nothing groundbreaking or amazingly new here, but simply a well-executed fantasy regressor story.

compelling characters with a coldly rational but still humane MC, good story, engaging plot. world-building is only decent, the medieval fantasy setting can feel a little formulaic at time but eminently serviceable. art is unusual and perhaps an acquired taste, but works well for the story.

PZcolo has summarised the series well in his review below.