Transmigration danmei review: The Disabled God of War Became My Concubine.
Do I recommend: yes, and here’s why.
Covered ◊ After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine Vol. 1-3 ◊
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Premise:
The series opens with a frame story: a skeptical history professor is reviewing a student’s thesis about a legendary general, captured by an enemy country, stripped of rank, incapacitated, and humiliated by being gifted as a “concubine” to one of the enemy’s princes. According to the legend, this general bided his time for three years, escaped, healed his broken legs, and then led an army to raze the enemy capital and behead the prince who’d humiliated him. The professor dismisses the thesis… until he wakes up as that prince.
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The good.
The premise sounds typical (and it is, indeed); however, the professor, Jiang Suizhou, who is stuck with his prisoner-concubine, general Huo Wujiu, doesn’t lose his wits. Because his only way to avoid the general’s future vengeance is to ally himself with the man instead of oppressing him, the story has many scenes that both show the issues within the court and how our main character, being a professor, uses the situation for his advantage.
The romance, especially in Vol 1 and 2, is slow-burn, and the careful progression from enemies to allies gave me satisfaction. There’s no fast jump to the lovers’ part; I appreciated the restraint. The real partnership began when the general, with his legs healed, could take action. Though when his legs were disabled, his strength and wits showed no matter his state.
Two scenes I especially enjoyed. The one where the general’s legs were hurt “to check if he’s still disabled” made me angry (and when a book makes me feel, that’s amazing). This one stung more because moments before, the bond between characters deepened when the general protected our professor, and somehow, the contrast made it land harder.
The stakes are the highest in Vol 3, not to spoil the reading, but things here escalate, and the ending is both dramatic and gives the thrill.
The bad.
The writing is decent; the translation is regular.
The story’s setting is standard; however, unlike many similar narratives where protagonists lose their brains when in love, this story, across its three volumes, avoided this (mostly). Some scenes (the cute ones) were maybe too cute, but I didn’t mind them too much as the scheming was still there.
The best was Vol 3, where the slow burn ignited and all the action happened. Not usual to keep the momentum.
Last but not least.
This story is for fans of transmigration/political-intrigue danmei with a slow-burn romance, and that’s all.
From my perspective, I am not sure why there’s so much hype around this story (I’ve read there is). It’s a decent one, and I recommend it, but I wouldn’t say that I can’t sleep, waiting for the 4th vol.; compared to better ones, like my recent favorite, Thrice Married to the Salted Fish, here it’s a regular danmei, no fireworks. But what else do you need during summer?
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