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A review by ocheeva
The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Though this is MXTX's first work, I'm glad I waited to read it until I knew both her and the danmei and xiania genres better — as a parody of tropes common in the Chinese web novel sphere, I simply wouldn't have understood it without first coming to learn those tropes.
With that in mind... though you can tell this was written by a young person, it does show hints of how she came to grow as an author. Her deep understanding for her characters' motivations is palpable and the intimacy with which she writes Shen Qingqiu's denial of his own feelings, whether they are about physical sensations or his attraction to another man, makes my heart ache. His characterisation is also wonderful; he is incredibly annoying but his internal monologue shows such great care for the people around him even when he first transmigrates and views them only as characters.
Even characters whose POV we don't get to enjoy are easy to understand; MXTX is fantastic at showing how people feel through their actions. Luo Binghe's internal conflict is kept from us and filtered through SQQ's perception of him and it still bleeds through in everything he does. The same goes for the other characters we get to spend time with and it makes every reread a treat as you get to know them better and better.
With that in mind... though you can tell this was written by a young person, it does show hints of how she came to grow as an author. Her deep understanding for her characters' motivations is palpable and the intimacy with which she writes Shen Qingqiu's denial of his own feelings, whether they are about physical sensations or his attraction to another man, makes my heart ache. His characterisation is also wonderful; he is incredibly annoying but his internal monologue shows such great care for the people around him even when he first transmigrates and views them only as characters.
Even characters whose POV we don't get to enjoy are easy to understand; MXTX is fantastic at showing how people feel through their actions. Luo Binghe's internal conflict is kept from us and filtered through SQQ's perception of him and it still bleeds through in everything he does. The same goes for the other characters we get to spend time with and it makes every reread a treat as you get to know them better and better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, and Violence