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moonmagister's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was the last MXTX book I had left to read so far and it’s the first one she wrote. As such it’s a shorter and more chaotic read and probably won’t be to many peoples tastes. Lots of people say this is a lighthearted novel, and it is, if you happen to have dark sense of humour. This is romance but much more in the style of a messy queer dark romance than anything more wholesome. So if that isn’t up your street then I wouldn’t bother trying.
I personally really enjoyed this novel, despite flaws in plot and translation. I’m looking forward to continuing the official translation in the following months!
I personally really enjoyed this novel, despite flaws in plot and translation. I’m looking forward to continuing the official translation in the following months!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and War
maride's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I am writing this without read the extras, so my thoughts maybe will change.
How I can describe this story? Weird possibly is the word for me... because that's how I felt reading the whole story, but not in a bad way of weird ... more like a ´ wtf is going on? This is so cool´ form of weird.
If i need to be honest even when i understood all the story I felt like I was losing something, perhaps was the translation that I read (I am not complaining ... thanks for the translation) or maybe was me that had the mind in the clouds.
I really like the story, was fun to read, specially was new to read for me, I really enjoyed read about Shen qingqiu and all his complaining, I enjoyed so many characters ... Liu Qingge was so far one of my favorites.
Luo Binghe was adorable but excuse me my Spanish Como me sacaba de quicio este pana... but i love him.
I would have love that the author explore more the relationship between Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu (romantically talking) because i felt (maybe again ...I was lost in translation) that the development was so fast (specially the development in Sqq).
The CHANGE between the female characters in the main story and in the Sqq story was so BIG and cool ... 1point for that
How I can describe this story? Weird possibly is the word for me... because that's how I felt reading the whole story, but not in a bad way of weird ... more like a ´ wtf is going on? This is so cool´ form of weird.
If i need to be honest even when i understood all the story I felt like I was losing something, perhaps was the translation that I read (I am not complaining ... thanks for the translation) or maybe was me that had the mind in the clouds.
I really like the story, was fun to read, specially was new to read for me, I really enjoyed read about Shen qingqiu and all his complaining, I enjoyed so many characters ... Liu Qingge was so far one of my favorites.
Luo Binghe was adorable but excuse me my Spanish Como me sacaba de quicio este pana... but i love him.
I would have love that the author explore more the relationship between Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu (romantically talking) because i felt (maybe again ...I was lost in translation) that the development was so fast (specially the development in Sqq).
The CHANGE between the female characters in the main story and in the Sqq story was so BIG and cool ... 1point for that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, and Violence
streetlights's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What is this book about?
Scum Villain's Self-Saving System is a tragedy dressed up as a comedy presented as satire. It is about a young man named Shen Yuan, who dies and gets isekai'd into the webnovel he hate-read in its entirety, Proud Immortal Demon Way. Shen Yuan actually really loves the potential of PIDW, especially its main character, Luo Binghe. Only, the webnovel squanders all of it in the end and turns a promising novel into an trashy male power-fantasy harem extravaganza!
Shen Yuan is unfortunately transmigrated into the body of Shen Qingqiu, the beautiful villain of the novel who abuses Luo Binghe and meets a tortured demise. To avoid his cruel fate, Shen Yuan — now Shen Qingqiu — works to get into Luo Binghe's good graces and fix the terribly written plot of PIDW! Except... why is Luo Binghe no longer getting his harem? Why is Luo Binghe no longer admired and adored by everyone? There are hidden plots not written in the book?! Is he messing up the plot for Luo Binghe?!
Genre, Adaptations, Translations
Because of the meta-nature of the novel, SVSSS works through a whole host of genres. The original PIDW is a male power-fantasy and a harem novel where Luo Binghe is always cool and always gets the girl. SVSSS is a xianxia danmei novel where SQQ and LBH end up together. Both were written as a serialized webnovel.
This novel has been adapted into a donghua. It's very funny and captures the humor of SVSSS really well!
The fan translation by faelicy and lily is excellent, and the they also worked on the official english translations. Please buy them when you can!
Review
SVSSS is a fun read! For the first third of the novel, it's very easy to read with lots of meta humor. Shen Yuan is an unreliable narrator in the funniest way. He is smart, perceptive, but creates the most wildly inaccurate conclusions from his observations, which further creates misunderstandings. He is extremely Wrong Genre-Savvy. He is the protagonist of a danmei book, parading as the villain in a male power-fantasy novel for survival, not knowing that he is bound by the genre he is actually in to fall for the male love interest.
The best way I can describe Shen Yuan is this: he was written to be an extremely online millenial, but he is kind. He is unwaveringly kind. He likes to complain in his head, he likes to think he's deluding himself, but his actions speak louder than his words. He is the most unreliable narrator MXTX has ever written. He will convince you that he does not love Luo Binghe (not in that way, because everyone just loves Binghe, right? Everyone loves the protagonist!), that he betrays him in the worst way and deserves his anger, that he would be happier as an NPC. And he will tell you all of this in the funniest way, and you will get hooked, and it's only on a second reread (or if you're doing a very close reading) do you realize that Shen Yuan has hoodwinked you, the reader, into the lies he spins for himself to make sense of the world around him and to avoid his sexuality? gender? crisis.
And it is for this reason that it's easy to dismiss both Shen Yuan's and Luo Binghe's true feelings. Don't let Shen Yuan suck you into his unreliable narration. But he is fun to read, for sure. Shen Yuan is an incredibly queer character mired in comphet and with an incredible personality. He is loveable, he is a red flag, he is kind, he is a twitter antifan / reddit bro. This guy has layers. You will for sure be entertained with him as the narrator.
PIDW, despite all its trappings, is a bleak and tragic work. You will realize this when you find that if Shen Yuan was not the narrator, the story will always sound tragic when told by anyone else. It's a testament to how funny Shen Yuan is and how he makes the best of his situation.
The best way to enjoy SVSSS is to remember that it has a meta narrative. It's a satire of male power fantasies and a commentary of the genre and of stallion novels in literary form. The male gaze vs the female gaze as Shen Yuan creates a genre shift and turns PIDW (unknowingly) into a danmei novel. There's breaking down of character tropes, finding hidden backstories that were never written, and there's even commentary on writing for profit (for survival) vs writing for art. If you love meta humor, SVSSS operates on so many levels of meta that the whole novel will be candy for your brain.
It is MXTX's first work and therefore it's not her most refined work. However, even though it doesn't have the same grand undertakings as MDZS and TGCF, SVSSS on its own is very good. And because of its premise, of how Shen Yuan always finds himself confronting the poorly written mess that is PIDW, even though SVSSS is not the most polished work, it is full of charm. It is full of heart. Not being as tightly written as the other two books adds more to its charm than it detracts from it.
Summary
If you love meta narratives, if you love millenial humor, if you love messy queer characters, if you love unreliable narrators, I would definitely recommend reading SVSSS. It's a fun romp, and even if the romance doesn't convince you, I'm sure you'll find yourself entertained by the story regardless!
Scum Villain's Self-Saving System is a tragedy dressed up as a comedy presented as satire. It is about a young man named Shen Yuan, who dies and gets isekai'd into the webnovel he hate-read in its entirety, Proud Immortal Demon Way. Shen Yuan actually really loves the potential of PIDW, especially its main character, Luo Binghe. Only, the webnovel squanders all of it in the end and turns a promising novel into an trashy male power-fantasy harem extravaganza!
Shen Yuan is unfortunately transmigrated into the body of Shen Qingqiu, the beautiful villain of the novel who abuses Luo Binghe and meets a tortured demise. To avoid his cruel fate, Shen Yuan — now Shen Qingqiu — works to get into Luo Binghe's good graces and fix the terribly written plot of PIDW! Except... why is Luo Binghe no longer getting his harem? Why is Luo Binghe no longer admired and adored by everyone? There are hidden plots not written in the book?! Is he messing up the plot for Luo Binghe?!
Genre, Adaptations, Translations
Because of the meta-nature of the novel, SVSSS works through a whole host of genres. The original PIDW is a male power-fantasy and a harem novel where Luo Binghe is always cool and always gets the girl. SVSSS is a xianxia danmei novel where SQQ and LBH end up together. Both were written as a serialized webnovel.
This novel has been adapted into a donghua. It's very funny and captures the humor of SVSSS really well!
The fan translation by faelicy and lily is excellent, and the they also worked on the official english translations. Please buy them when you can!
Review
SVSSS is a fun read! For the first third of the novel, it's very easy to read with lots of meta humor. Shen Yuan is an unreliable narrator in the funniest way. He is smart, perceptive, but creates the most wildly inaccurate conclusions from his observations, which further creates misunderstandings. He is extremely Wrong Genre-Savvy. He is the protagonist of a danmei book, parading as the villain in a male power-fantasy novel for survival, not knowing that he is bound by the genre he is actually in to fall for the male love interest.
The best way I can describe Shen Yuan is this: he was written to be an extremely online millenial, but he is kind. He is unwaveringly kind. He likes to complain in his head, he likes to think he's deluding himself, but his actions speak louder than his words. He is the most unreliable narrator MXTX has ever written. He will convince you that he does not love Luo Binghe (not in that way, because everyone just loves Binghe, right? Everyone loves the protagonist!), that he betrays him in the worst way and deserves his anger, that he would be happier as an NPC. And he will tell you all of this in the funniest way, and you will get hooked, and it's only on a second reread (or if you're doing a very close reading) do you realize that Shen Yuan has hoodwinked you, the reader, into the lies he spins for himself to make sense of the world around him and to avoid his sexuality? gender? crisis.
And it is for this reason that it's easy to dismiss both Shen Yuan's and Luo Binghe's true feelings. Don't let Shen Yuan suck you into his unreliable narration. But he is fun to read, for sure. Shen Yuan is an incredibly queer character mired in comphet and with an incredible personality. He is loveable, he is a red flag, he is kind, he is a twitter antifan / reddit bro. This guy has layers. You will for sure be entertained with him as the narrator.
PIDW, despite all its trappings, is a bleak and tragic work. You will realize this when you find that if Shen Yuan was not the narrator, the story will always sound tragic when told by anyone else. It's a testament to how funny Shen Yuan is and how he makes the best of his situation.
The best way to enjoy SVSSS is to remember that it has a meta narrative. It's a satire of male power fantasies and a commentary of the genre and of stallion novels in literary form. The male gaze vs the female gaze as Shen Yuan creates a genre shift and turns PIDW (unknowingly) into a danmei novel. There's breaking down of character tropes, finding hidden backstories that were never written, and there's even commentary on writing for profit (for survival) vs writing for art. If you love meta humor, SVSSS operates on so many levels of meta that the whole novel will be candy for your brain.
It is MXTX's first work and therefore it's not her most refined work. However, even though it doesn't have the same grand undertakings as MDZS and TGCF, SVSSS on its own is very good. And because of its premise, of how Shen Yuan always finds himself confronting the poorly written mess that is PIDW, even though SVSSS is not the most polished work, it is full of charm. It is full of heart. Not being as tightly written as the other two books adds more to its charm than it detracts from it.
Summary
If you love meta narratives, if you love millenial humor, if you love messy queer characters, if you love unreliable narrators, I would definitely recommend reading SVSSS. It's a fun romp, and even if the romance doesn't convince you, I'm sure you'll find yourself entertained by the story regardless!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Body horror and Torture
Minor: Death
Make sure to look up some content warnings before reading! Even though it's her most humorous book, there's still body horror just like any other MXTX book. There is a noncon scene towards the end, but if you can do a close reading and follow the meta, then it's a scene that has a point. Regardless, it's still a very uncomfortable scene to read, so I would advise reading Chapter 80-81 with caution. (Not sure if it's 80 or 81 because it depends on if the translation you're reading includes one of the extras in between the chapters or not).breemeup's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ultimately, scum villain is an answer to the age old question: what if we gave a giant overbearing demon puppy man acute separation anxiety and a crippling Oedipus complex and set him loose on a milfy repressed redditor who is assigned final girl at rebirth?
Joke's aside, here are my messy thoughts about the novel:
1. I think that if people had made it more clear that scum villain is a dark comedy psychosexual horror story rather than pretending that it's a romance novel, I probably would have gotten into it a lot sooner.
2. By giving shen yuan so much agency and such a rich inner voice, mxtx builds such a fun exploration of like the inherent horror found in so many heterosexual romance novels and the ways in which we take for granted the mistreatment of female love interests in these novels. I adore binghe but his love is so monstrous and all consuming and terrifying in such a classic bodice ripper romance novel kind of way!!! mxtx masterfully uses framing and the protag's awareness of romance tropes to subvert/satirize this romance dynamic that women are subjected to
3. And that's not even getting into shen yuan's epic genderification arc and how the fact that he's subjected to this horror both makes him feel trapped but also gives him the liberty to experiment with and explore his relationship with gender and feminity and sense of self. (Transfem shen yuan real!!)
4. the way women in this novel become their own people/are given the freedom to be less classically "feminine" and instead become selfish/brutal/even a bit ugly because of their exclusion from binghe's desire? WOW... liberty from the inherent horror of compulsory heterosexuality methinks.
5. This book is about gender!!!!! It's about the complex intersections between sexuality and gender identity and it's absolutely incredible. I was NOT expecting that a AT ALL. I'm blown away. Like you know how that dude gave a copy of undertale to the pope? im gonna do that except it's gonna be Judith Butler instead of the pope and im giving them a copy of svss instead of undertale
Anyway, I really thought that this was gonna be my least favorite mxtx book I thought I was gonna be put off by the romance but oh my god the fact that the romance is DELIBERATELY off putting has made this one of my favorite novels ever. I'm going to be thinking about it for a long long time
Joke's aside, here are my messy thoughts about the novel:
1. I think that if people had made it more clear that scum villain is a dark comedy psychosexual horror story rather than pretending that it's a romance novel, I probably would have gotten into it a lot sooner.
2. By giving shen yuan so much agency and such a rich inner voice, mxtx builds such a fun exploration of like the inherent horror found in so many heterosexual romance novels and the ways in which we take for granted the mistreatment of female love interests in these novels. I adore binghe but his love is so monstrous and all consuming and terrifying in such a classic bodice ripper romance novel kind of way!!! mxtx masterfully uses framing and the protag's awareness of romance tropes to subvert/satirize this romance dynamic that women are subjected to
3. And that's not even getting into shen yuan's epic genderification arc and how the fact that he's subjected to this horror both makes him feel trapped but also gives him the liberty to experiment with and explore his relationship with gender and feminity and sense of self. (Transfem shen yuan real!!)
4. the way women in this novel become their own people/are given the freedom to be less classically "feminine" and instead become selfish/brutal/even a bit ugly because of their exclusion from binghe's desire? WOW... liberty from the inherent horror of compulsory heterosexuality methinks.
5. This book is about gender!!!!! It's about the complex intersections between sexuality and gender identity and it's absolutely incredible. I was NOT expecting that a AT ALL. I'm blown away. Like you know how that dude gave a copy of undertale to the pope? im gonna do that except it's gonna be Judith Butler instead of the pope and im giving them a copy of svss instead of undertale
Anyway, I really thought that this was gonna be my least favorite mxtx book I thought I was gonna be put off by the romance but oh my god the fact that the romance is DELIBERATELY off putting has made this one of my favorite novels ever. I'm going to be thinking about it for a long long time
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence
phenomenarwhal's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and War
mobeijunswife's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
s_s_kassab's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Death, and Violence
Minor: Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Slavery, and Torture
lapetite's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My first time reading MXTX's work (though I've seen MDZS's live-action and donghua SEVERAL TIMES and I love TGCF's donghua) and I liked it! Admittedly, I was already a big fan of the SVSSS donghua so I think it made me biased to like this so much. Shen Qinqiu is a great character, a poster boy for opinionated millennials everywhere. Luo Binghe is the sweetest, most fucked up character ever and I am here for his problematic ass. All the side characters are great, too.
The story is so fast-paced that if you are not careful, you will end up binge-reading it in one weekend as I did. And you know what? You won't regret your choices at all.
It does have some problematic content, especially because of some of the words the fan translations used (but since I can't read or speak Mandarin, it's tough to know if it was part of the original work or a choice by the translators).
The story is so fast-paced that if you are not careful, you will end up binge-reading it in one weekend as I did. And you know what? You won't regret your choices at all.
It does have some problematic content, especially because of some of the words the fan translations used (but since I can't read or speak Mandarin, it's tough to know if it was part of the original work or a choice by the translators).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, and Body horror
Moderate: Grief
isakr's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Grief, Self harm, and Suicide
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, and Stalking
wings_bl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Bullying and Child abuse