Osora: Initial Thoughts
I've decided to read this webtoon called "Osora" based on some of the things I've heard about on Tiktok. I'm almost done with the first season and I have a few pointers:
Osora's identity: In the first few chapters, Osora is presented as a transman who's next in line for the throne and has to marry Princess Catalina for the kingdom’s appearance. The thing is, when Osora was born, his mother died in child birth, and his father realized that Osora is female.
As a solution, he decided to raise Osora as a boy, without telling him about his sex. He never properly disclosed these things with him, and waited until Osora inevitably hit puberty for him to realize this. Even then, it took Celia, his 13 year old daughter, to teach Osora these things, when he's supposed to be their father.
I'm also surprised that Osora seems to be seemingly okay with all of this. There's doesn't seem to be any signs of resentment or confusion towards his father's decisions. One chapter established that Osora is actually non-binary, but the writing felt slightly out of place considering they seemed to identify with being a guy throughout most of the story. We don't see any previous chapters where they questions their identity.
Osora and Arias' relationship: Osora and Arias are meant to be childhood friends/rivals. Though it's heavily implied that they've liked each other in the beginning of the story, the more I read each chapter, the more surface level their relationship feels. Most of the recent chapters I've read mainly revolve around a sexual relationship, and a small portion of emotional intimacy.
Arias: Arias as a character feels one dimensional. We don't know much about him outside of being Osora's love interest. The only thing we know that's significant is that he's half-sergo, which he doesn't know, yet.
The sergos: The sergo plot feels underdeveloped since there's not enough focus on it. We don't know much about their true motives or why they hate humans so much. All we know is that they want to capture Osora and turn them into a human weapon. As for Arias, him being half-sergo just feels like a bonus, he has no use outside of that, other than being Osora's protector.
The world building: The story takes place in an intolerant mideval setting, yet there seems to be many contradictions. The outfits the characters wear look too modern for something people would wear in a mideval setting. For instance, Celia wearing high heels and slightly revealing outfits don't correlate with the kingdom’s customs and beliefs. With the kingdom’s perception of women, they would most likely be told to dress more modestly in public settings.
In addition, the kingdom banned homosexual relationships, yet Celia manages to obtain a book that involves a lesbian relationship, from an unknown source that she just hands to Catalina. In a kingdom where you're murdered or exiled for homosexual relationships, they would've most likely burned or disposed of any literature that depicts these dynamics.