Who Made Me a Princess is a present day shoujo magnum opus. Having just completed my 3rd complete read of available chapters I was really paying attention to why this work always left such a good impression on me. A standard that others within this subgenre should aim toward. The quality of the aesthetics of Who Made are selfevident whether that be attractive characters gorgeous backgrounds and panelling and a cute reverence for at times silly yet fashionable clothing. However I also believe that not only presentation but plot and general character of the story is elevated here. The cast of relevant characters is kept rather small which seems to have given the plot ample time to flesh out and contextualise each individual persona. Not to diminish just how wonderful each miniature interaction in this story is. The bouncing tonal shifts in combination with the presentation just makes each scene pop in a way that the average manhwa in this subgenre just doesnt. Its hard not to have a personal stake in the story from the very beginning because of this. The momentum takes you in its steely jaws and just carries you forward. There is no dilly dallying for pointless side character or extemporaneous fan service. Its all just baked into the core of the story. Its all just dripping in high romance as any fairytale should be Not that this necessarily means it is without potential areas of irritation depending on taste. Magic has this ephemeral nonsense quality to it. Lucas is very much the fairy god mother who is plot designated as a possible autoresolve button. A cynical occasionally cunty supergenius who always has the logical take and a suggestion that a flick of his wrist could solve all their problems within some very loosely defined parameters. However this is vetod by the very story he exists within. Magic would be far too convenient a solution for us Drama is what we serve. It wouldnt be true to the emotional journey of either Athy or even Lucus himself if it was all that easy. Not to suggest I dont have any reservations with Who Made which I think gets a bit slovenly around the transition from first to second season. Amnesia is really not a solution I am entirely fond of for mixing things up. The story definitely makes the most of the scenarios that this offers up though and having past that point quite a number of chapters ago now I feel I can forgive the designer and appreciate what they have done with the place. Seeing the transitions from anhedonic stupor to blood thirsty beasts again for Claude is also entertaining. I would also be amiss to note that I dont think I have seen a story in this very specific subgenre give so much credence to its foundational premises. It has become increasingly common with the supersaturation of these genre tropes to simply discard the Im a 20something nobody from IRL who has been reincarnated as a princess from a book wowzers xD and get on with the good stuff. But Who Made makes a concerted effort to continue to incorporate the MCs past life into how she evaluates her relationships in her new life. Lucas is also in on the situation from the beginning adding this extra layer of comedy to their relationship. There is even an increasingly obvious hint that there may be more going on behind the background. That the original novel wasnt necessarily what it seemed. So I am highly impressed and think Who Made Me a Princess takes its side next to Stepmothers Marchen as the current standouts from this subgenre that I am aware of. This definitely reads more typical shoujo than Stepmothers though with its adolescent relationships and whimsical flare. I look forward to seeing how the story ends.