If you heard far off cackling, it was me reading this book. Last year, my partner and I watched The Untamed on Netflix and we fell asses over teakettles for the xianxia and wuxia genres. Watching the series led to watching the donghua (cartoon), which led to reading the manhua (comic). I decided to shelve the novel for later and explore other MXTX goodness. Reading the blurbs of her other books, I chose The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System and devoured a fan translation. I had an absolute blast. When I heard that Seven Seas was publishing official English translations, I knew I had to collect ‘em all. Since I never got around to reviewing the unofficial translated novel, I figured I could review each official volume.

Shen Yuan is the #1 toxic superfan of popular stallion webnovel Proud Immortal Demon Way. The author, Airplane Shooting Through the Sky, uploads around 10,000 words every day, and every day Shen Yuan rips the chapter apart in the comments. Why can’t the author treat his protagonist, Luo Binghe, better! When the novel finishes, Shen Yuan is so enraged he chokes on his lunch, dies, and…transmigrates into the Proud Immortal Demon Way universe?? And into the role of the villain! Oh no! Determined to avoid the original character’s horrible fate, Shen Yuan (now Shen Qingqiu) sets out to change the trashy webnovel plot into high-class literature. Little does he know that high-class literature means gay romance.

First and foremost, The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System is a parody of online male power/romance fantasy novels. Ya know, those super misogynistic, toxic masculine stories where victory and defeat is played out on the pleasure/pain of women’s bodies. One guy is buff and has all the answers. In any case, Shen Yuan’s inner narration is hilarious as he constantly snarks and critiques such-and-such cliché. Even though I’m not super familiar with stallion novels, this book hit my funny bone often. I’m still not over the fucking power move MXTX pulled with this premise of turning a patriarchal trash fire into a tender love story between two men. Additionally, MXTX’s use of POV is fascinating. In most places, the novel’s in 3rd person limited to Shen Yuan. Then, for a paragraph or two, we see another character’s thoughts, almost reminiscent of 3rd person omniscient. Usually, switching POV mid-chapter would bug me. But here it worked, and worked well. Third person omniscient is not a popular writing choice nowadays, so I’m eager to see how MXTX’s technique shakes out with readers. Many of the story’s themes are still being set up in this volume, so I can’t say much more. For reference, Volume 1 covers the beginning to retrieving the plant!zun mushroom.

 Re-reading brought whole new levels of delight. On a plot and character level, I gained new insight. Sometimes in the story, there will be little asides or small character moments. The first time reader knows Something Is Being Communicated, but doesn’t know what. Now I do! While the novel is mostly from Shen Yuan’s POV, knowing what I know brought greater clarity to Luo Binghe’s journey. Though these same translators worked on the unofficial one, slight word changes teased out the homoerotic. For me, one of the most frustrating scenes is the one when Shen Yuan follows the original plot and throws Luo Binghe into a demonic Abyss. Here, the dialogue and narration are softened, and I Like That(TM).

My final note is on the art and back matter. ART IS PRETTY. I haven’t read a light novel yet, so it was pure novelty to have certain scenes illustrated. Last time I experienced that was reading the Illustrated Classics series as a child. The back matter has a Character & Name Guide and Glossary. The translators put in a lot of work to make Scum Villain and danmei accessible to newbies. The information is meticulous and comprehensive—a brilliant starting point, as intended.

Honestly, The Scum Villian’s Self-Saving System is worth every cent. Though the story has problems—which we’ll get into later—the characters, the themes, the humor, and the premise are a fantastical treat. If you like queer historical fantasy, if you want to shake up your TBR with modern Chinese literature, dive in.

My review of Heaven Official's Blessing, Vol 1: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/7ee6755d-ec9e-4ff1-a3ab-c4e0c133ca75

Review of Scum Villain Vol 2: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/64a2b986-fd86-4f98-9d8e-b680ad6e9e5a

Review of Scum Villain Vol 3: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/a3156dc1-eaa9-45ef-8a33-96febcee9cf2

Review of Scum Villain Vol 4: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/4426ae1a-2105-4c8e-b4ce-94e2793b5501