I Became The Leader Of A Revolution In A Romance Fantasy Chapter -- Discussion

Bruh, this is too American for an American like me.

While I appreciate the attempt, it feels uncomfortable seeing a foreigner attempt to interpret our complex culture and history without approaching it with the nuance such a subject necessitates. In fairness, this is also a systemic issue we also have in our education system where resources often glorify or exaggerate America and its influence internally/externally. While we've made strides in recent years to rectify these errata, it still remains a significant issue.

With that out of the way, I want you as someone reading this review to keep an open, empathetic mind because I will be getting into the story's political framing.

This story, loosely speaking, is a spin-off of America's history. It begins with the protagonist being an allegory for George Washington. He is a noble, originally betrothed to the country's princess, who in a strange turn of events finds himself facing an angry mob of peasants. In the original timeline, the situation would have concluded much in the way of the French revolution. However, for a completely unexplained reason, the protagonist plans to reform the revolution from the inside, and soon finds himself as its figurehead.

It quickly becomes evident that the author is following a very linear trope with the story. Think of "The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt." Essentially, the protagonist is two-faced as he is heralded as the champion of democratic values while at the same time secretly embodying selfishness and greed.

Spoiler

The issue arises when the first significant political roadblock occurs, which is literally the American Great Depression. It's frustrating how much the author glosses over the intricacies of this major event. I don't excuse that lack of depth just because it's a comedy story. Any author should not include a significant plot point if they can't think of how to carry it over several chapters -- especially if it's the pivotal first plot point that's meant to hook you in!

Aside from that, the other issue is just how the author manages the politics. The author equates the political left with communism. While this is certainly the case in East Asian countries (sans Taiwan), this is not the case in America. This was also during the time when the American political right and left were swapping positions on many issues. It feels frustrating seeing such inaccurate representation of the American political sphere and lack of nuance especially with such a well-documented event, and with how they are going to be understood in today's context. It also just stands out in what is meant to be a comedy story as a stroke of seriousness.

It's possible that the author's own biases influenced them representing the political left in such a negative light. As aforementioned, Korea is extremely conservative even within the subcontinent (progressives are less than 1% of votes). That would explain the communist angle. There are also thousands of other possible factors, so who knows.

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Ultimately, I don't see this story getting better in its own writing quality, nor nuanced understanding of culture and politics given how divisive so many people are about their beliefs regarding these elements. For these reasons, I'm dropping it. If you aren't the type of person who finds these qualities as important as I do, then you may enjoy this story as a fluff read. The setting is really interesting.

Fun fact: What we would call conservatives here in America are called liberals in Asia.