Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Lore Olympus, Season 1 by Rachel Smythe

32 reviews

annabeth_jackson's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

bella613's review

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Ok preface to the review: this is a re-read from years ago. Lore Olympus was my first webtoon, and the comic that I attribute to getting me into all things webcomic, as well as my first real Greek mythology retelling (so I knew little to nothing about the lore, pun intended lol)

This is a great webtoon, but I think I can say that it's not really my favorite art style now, and more slow moving than I prefer my webcomics these days. It's also just ~not that deep~ and while it handles some tough subjects

(rape, trauma, confinement and even being eaten by a parent)

in a respectful way, it also doesn't do much with those subjects. If I remember correctly, season two goes further into that especially kore's rage, but for me this didn't hit nearly as hard with the re-read and I don't feel super satisfied with it. I do like it and would recommend it with TW. I'm rating it 4☆ but when I first found it (circa 2018 idk) I def would have done a full 5. 

I will say, knowing a (little) bit more about Greek mythology now I really do love how Rachel Smythe does the modernization, and I think she takes enough liberty to make it a story entirely hers while also including important "canon" details (can you call it that in this case?) I LOVE her Eros and Hecate. Sometimes Persephone is too much of a cinnamon roll to take seriously and the one thing I don't love about it is the leaning into her little girl innocence and making it a daddy trope. We obviously can't ignore the nearly 2000 year age difference, or the problematic parenting of Demeter, but do we need to exaggerate her schoolgirly-ness? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

bekkysaurus_rex's review

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

After leaving the comic for a while so that I could binge the end, I decided to read through the series again as a catch up and so that I could do a review on the series. (I also lovveee re-reading the comics and graphic novels I love! Definitely my main reason) 

The first season was great! I loved the tension and how Rachel was introducing us to the characters but wasn’t revealing too much about their stories, which kept one dying to know more.

 The art style is absolutely beautiful! It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with this series! Rachel’s panel structure is out of this world and flows so beautifully. And let’s not even go into her use of colour! Fantastic! 
I can’t comment too much on pace because this is the 3rd or 4th time I am reading this series, but I felt that overall the first season was great and really draws one into the story!

I highly recommend this series, especially if you’re a fan of Greek mythology! The unique setting and the beautiful art style will have you hooked! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Violence

foxclcves's review

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Blood, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

rafacolog's review

emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, and Toxic relationship

adoto's review

dark emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Lots of mixed feelings about this story. 

This is a fantastic concept with amazing worldbuilding, and even more breathtaking art to go with it. I love the way the Greek gods have been reimagined in this story. I think the series is a masterclass in how to communicate a plot and characters visually. 

The main romance is shallow and difficult to like. It doesn't feel like either of them know very much about each other, but have fallen in love very fast over nothing. This is all while the story takes a long time to get going -- little happens in each episode, and there are over 100 in this season. It does give me time to warm up to the side characters, who are all very cool and far more interesting than the main characters. 

I wish I liked this story a lot more than I did. The art and concept has kept me reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Blood

The sexual assault and rape are handled with care, but are very explicit and can be triggering. Most chapters containing references to it include a trigger warning, but not all do.

ricardo_sb's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

glen3's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, and Alcohol

friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

sarahaurora628's review

dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-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

4.5

I would like to start by saying, I read the first two printed volumes and left pretty harsh reviews of them. The first got 1 star from me and the second 2 stars. Some of my issues were… 
⁃its inconsistent drawings where all of the characters have the same face
⁃the pacing (in the first volume nothing happened in 350 pages)
⁃the instalove between Persephone and Hades (and also the age gap between them)
⁃romanticizing the myth of Persephone’s kidnapping

That being said, at some point reading the rest of season 1 I was completely sucked in. I’m writing this caught up to season 2 episode 200 so some of my opinions of season 2 might trickle into this review. I still have those critiques of the beginning episodes, but after reading the whole thing I have a different view of the series as a whole.
⁃I don’t care about the inconsistencies in the art or the characters having similar faces anymore. The art style and color palette is what made me pick up the first volume to begin with and it only gets more beautiful as the series progresses. With the use of color its easy to distinguish the characters 99% of the time. The setting was a world I kept finding myself wanting to spend more and more time in.
⁃After some thought, I also don’t care that it isn’t accurate to mythology. The series never promised a history lesson, although the plot isn’t always rooted in accepted mythology there are tons of other lessons throughout the story. Lessons on the importance of communication, health vs. toxic relationships, and how to be there for someone dealing with trauma are only a few examples. I think it’s fantastic when taken for what it is.
⁃I like that events are often shown from multiple character’s perspectives
⁃Persephone shows so much personal growth and I love watching her find herself
⁃I love the growth of the relationship between Persephone and Hades
⁃Trauma, domestic abuse, sexual assault, gaslighting, and seeking help are difficult topics but I think they were handled well and depicted accurately (at least to my experience and feelings, I cannot speak for how another person may feel). I thought it had good representations and appreciated the consistent message of “its not your fault”.

There are definitely problems with this series, it isn’t perfect, but to be honest… I like it.  If you’re looking for a lesson in mythology this series isn’t for you, but if you’re interested in a creative myth retelling about friendship, coming of age, romance, and figuring yourself out, and can stick out the slow beginning you might like it. (check trigger warnings first)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility and Alcohol