...
Show More
A scholar who failed the national exams is taken under the wing of a martial arts master. Tasked with documenting the master's life into a book, Son Bin embarks on an enlightening journey. Along the way, he encounters numerous remarkable individuals. Soon, Son Bin finds himself treading the same path as his master, ultimately becoming the Martial Arts King.
Original Novel: Available on Naver Novel, Naver Series
Original Webtoon: Available on Naver Webtoon, Naver Series
Official Translations: Thai, Traditional Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese
Disappointing. This is a harem without the tag. EVERY woman is intrigued or falls in love with MC. Their first, second and last thoughts are always about the MC after they meet him. No individual agency. They all look for him like heat seeking missiles.
It wouldn't be so offensive if they had their own storyline AND keep to it. They do not.
This MC doesn't have a single male character around his age to be a companion in the 90 chapters I've read either. It's only beautiful young women, very young children and VERY old men. This is a trend in this writer's works. Their other male main characters are also only surrounded by very young women and very old men.
If you thought a powerful young person who looks male with a clean-shaven, pretty appearance has come into contact with MC they will 99.9% turn out to be female despite how ambiguous the artwork is. Oh, and any beautiful men are not just villainous but creepily so.
The Jade Dragon was elegant, morally corrupt and grossly obsessed so of course he had to die. Good looking evil dudes who are queer coded aren't given redemption arcs like a bunch of other male characters who start off acting all shitty and even dangerously towards the MC or MC's party. The NO HOMO/Queers Are Degenerates is just unbelievably loud with this writer's works.
EDIT: Ooh, Seorin is actually male? Good. Despite the translations calling him female all this time I've always thought of him as a man. Finally. A young man. It only took 94 chapters jfc author. It's okay to have deep, male friendships. It IS.
... I was a bit worried when I read all the comments about how MC's character took a sudden (and seemingly problematic turn) in Season 2, but I found myself so immersed in the story that I completely missed that "transition". In retrospect, I realize the MC's personality did change a lot, but it felt plausible enough for me given the plot progression and changes in his situation.
Anyhow, this is a super compelling story. Great MC. Wonderful perspective. Lots of the plot changes seem so much more natural and feasible than in 95% of manga out there that have similar tropes. This has been a breathe of fresh air!
Overall great!
Did both the artist and author change? The MC's character design changed notably between chapters 63 and 64, which is really bad considering there's no time skip. It's literally a matter of second (season 1 didn't have a climax, it just paused mid scene).
Also, the MC himself has drastically changed... he used to be intelligent and frankly one of the greatest MCs in the genre. I.. really don't know what happened during the 3 month break between seasons, but this went from top-tier to near droppable.
What happened😕
Like man.. why.. im very angry about those chapter. Why? After the hiatus you forgot about your mc? Man... that's really stupid.
The manga has a Story that moves forward in a good pace and is engaging and interesting: The manga is slow in showing the main characters growth, this is good in my opinion since there are to many Weak to Strong mangas out there that makes the main character go from weak to strong in just a few chapters, i'm currently on chapter 29 and the main character isn't strong yet but you are able to seem him improve and grasp the concept of the martial arts hes been observing.
I like it.
A scholar with no experience in martial arts, due to coincidence was employed to record the life of a master martial artists like the intro said. However, if you read beyond that simple intro, you will see a complex hidden plots and relationships among characters. Our MC may not be a simple scholar as he appears. The pace is relaxed, the character development intricate, and the action is good.
Name is as it implies, a Failed Scholar is recruited by a Martial Arts Master to follow him around on the intent of writing his will/biography to leave it for future generations, this, in turn, changes the scholar as well since he needs to understand what it means to be a martial artist to make sense of what the martial arts master wants to leave it behind.
This takes a more physiological approach on what it means to be a martial artist then it's current peers, highly recommended.
This story is about a scribe who follows a middle aged martial artist and writes his biography. It revolves around their interactions and conversations about the abstract ideas of martial arts. An engaging read that has amazing art and battle scenes. I personally found it to be less cliche than other reads in that the main character is also watching along side the reader.