The Dragon Slayer Academy's Hotshot

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

8.7/10


I’ve been meaning to review this manwha ever since it was released because it was my dirty little obsession. Like how people had a bias toward Solo Leveling, I loved this for whatever reason. It’s a typical regression with forms of revenge/grudges that depicts and introduces characters extraordinary well.

To note on the main character, he carries his grudges from his past life as he was constantly berated and obviously that has an impact on someone, even if they “start anew.” Of course, the mc benefits from his regressor knowledge, but he struggles with relationships due to his innate nature along with the stress from ... his missing brother.

What I really enjoyed about this, besides for the character interactions, is the ability for the plot to move forward from issues while keeping them relevant. Despite how blinded I may be, I can also recognize some of the flaws: drop-off in art, lesser than good world building (It builds on what was established each time without explaining the basics), lack of constant action, and the initially stereotypical characters (they get developed further, but they can come off bland at first).

Like I noted before, this is my dirty obsession; I don’t believe flashy art can ever make a story nor does the best world-building make a story enjoyable — as such, I don’t mind this manwha’s flaws. It’s a hit or miss depending on if you can tolerate that. Enjoy or don’t, nevertheless I will.


Reading Rankings (Portnoy inspired + A Huang-Teizan Original)
10 - God’s penmanship
9 - Must-read. Drop everything else.
8 - Instant bookmark
7 - Entertaining
6 - Good to pass time
5 - Why are you reading this?
4 - Bad.
3 - Typical garbage.
2 - My head hurts.
1 - Retirement is a thought.
0 - “Did they even give you a story?!”

I am a crazy man........ I am a crazy man to hold out hopes for this genre, desperately wanting to feel that same arousal which I got the first time I held a power fantasy. But time after time, I have been shitted on by the manhwa gods, only able to clutch to a husk of such saturated mediocrity, it saddens me.

"The Dragon Slayer Academy's Hotshot" is nothing but titbits of various clichés which are already introduced, used and spat out by countless of its predecessors, all crumpled into one place. It seemingly baths in its mediocrity. It saddens and amuses me at the same ... time that the situation of the power fantasy scene in manhwas has become a stark competitor with the isekai scene in mangas, both competing to prove their dominance over mediocrity. And while isekais are my guilty pleasure, so I usually look the other way, but this kind of benevolence from me is not enjoyed by the power fantasy genre.

Cliched, cliched, cliched....... It looks like it has become the mantra of various power fantasy manhwas, where we see the same rehash of a manwha nearly everyday or so, it seems. And this manhwa blatantly makes it its motto to the point where it starts to feel a copy.

Talking about copying, it has an eerily close resemblance to one of my first manhwas "A Returner's Magic Should Be Special".
I JUST CAN'T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD! The resemblance seems too close for it to be an inspiration and the allegedly copied manhwa is not even that good to begin with. But I would rather refrain from saying that because some people who like it would come after my ass saying "HoW cOUld YoU sAy iT Is A coPy?", when it clearly is.

That is not to say that it is bad, but it is just MID. People give various example, this is mid, that is mid, but I think this right here truly captures that meaning of mid, just perfectly mediocre, right in the middle.

Not good, not bad, Just MID.

But, but, bear with me, I did not have any cringey moments with it. Ok I maybe lying when I said that, but the cringe amount was definitely in miniature. It definitely feels weird to have a positive ending when all I have done in the majority of this review is just dogpile on it. And it is better than most manhwas I have given a 5 anyway. So it deserves atleast a 6.