I Don’t Want to Be Turned Into the Female Protagonist by the System Chapter 72 Discussion

A very difficult novel to rate objectively-- the author is clearly talented and the writing quality reflects that, but the story’s contents makes it unpleasant (to downright infuriating) to read.

avyvanja’s review does a very good job of covering the story’s positive points, so I recommend reading their review before mine (which I more or less agree with.)

One of the main reasons I love (male-oriented) gender benders is having a cute female protagonist who also has the agency and sense of identity that’s expected of a male lead. Instead, this story is basically a lesbian version of “tall handsome rich CEOs fight over me and have their way with me” with an MC who seems to get not less, but more meek as the ab*se mounts.

First of all, the system is a lot more malicious that most novels I’ve read, and it bullies and controls Su Qi even more than her girlfriends. The quests it gives (most of which the MC doesn’t particularly want to do) tend to follow this pattern:

success: a nominal stat increase (there are a couple of decent rewards, but they’re the exception)

failure: literally BE r*peD (via the “frivolousness” stat that compels people’s actions)

Because of this, Su Qi has basically no choice but to be a puppet for her system, and it definitely takes advantage of this. I understand that this gives the author carte blanche to write the MC doing whatever they want, and I’m sure it’s convenient from their standpoint, but as a reader it’s infuriating to see a character you’re sympathetic to have zero agency and be forced to dance at the whims of others.

Furthermore, the system constantly scams the MC ($1, 400 pair of panties, anyone?), and instead of using her hard-earned cash to go buy whatever she needs normally, she always ends up blowing the last of her money on whatever “deals” the system throws her way, which forces her to do some desperate thing to earn more money (which always bites her in the ass somehow), and the cycle repeats.

My second complaint expands on this, with Su Qi being bullied not only by her system, but by... just about everyone. She rarely gets as upset as she should, and on the rare occasions that she actually fights back, she’s made to suffer even more for her trouble.

I’m tempted to agree with avyvanja once more, in that the author definitely has- or is at least writing for- a humiliation/degradation fetish. For those who aren’t so inclined, however, you’re liable to end up angry and wishing for some of the characters to get their just desserts.

I won’t go into this too much, but poor communication is a constant theme in this story. Many of the MC’s problems could have been avoided if she’d come clean to her family and few more trustworthy people, asked for help when she needed it (several characters would do just about anything for her), and drawn a clear line to those who have been mistreating (or outright abusing) her.

TL;DR: A well-written but miserable read for anyone who sympathizes with characters and has self-respect. Many of the characters would be antagonists/villains if they weren’t romantic interests, and the system feels genuinely malicious, to the point that Su Qi has barely escaped ruination several times already.