Now before you guys ask about Still Waters, I just want to say the review is coming. I'm just reminiscing on it a little and also looking for other things to try and fill the void it created after I finished it, but I'm sure my school books are doing their best in filling that void and more, sadly for me. But that's besides the point. Started watching Love Island some days back and I have been obsessed. Well, not obsessed to the point that I want to watch it every single day but I'm invested, they got a new fan not gonna lie. But then again, that's not why I'm here.
I saw this sweet Webtoon some time on my featured comics and I just subscribed, postponing when I'd actually read it and I finally did. And let me tell you this, it was worth every time I spent to read it. By the way, it's a bl comic but not so bl-ish. It's kind of complicated.
Osora. I loved the name of the comic and its main character so much, I took screenshots and saved them in an album named, "Osora." The name of this webtoon is Osora, created by ToniRene. Osora is the crown prince of the kingdom of Calaveras, but behind his noble title lies a complicated and poignant/ significant truth. Born female, Osora was raised as a boy to fulfill the royal family's desperate need for a male heir. From the very beginning of his life, secrecy and control surrounded his identity, so much so that anyone who knew about his assigned sex was either silenced or removed.
As Osora grows older, the complexity of his identity becomes central to the plot. I'm not so sure what he identifies as but me using the pronoun, "he" should give us enough information on how he's addressed in the comic. Rather than being someone simply “pretending” to be male, Osora’s gender identity is sincere and personal. He is not a cisgender character forced into a role. Just someone who had never had any decisions made by himself navigating the blurry space between expectations, truth, and self-definition. The story reflects this nuance powerfully, exploring how gender can be both political and deeply personal.
Osora’s role in the story is as much about the destiny forced upon him as it is about reclaiming his autonomy. He is caught in a web of magical manipulation, royal obligation, and emotional entanglements. His world is filled with conflict, not just of kingdoms and politics, but of identity and love. The beginning of the story introduces the romantic tension between Osora, his arranged fiancée Cataline, and his childhood best friend, Arias, with whom he shares a complicated past and lingering affection. These relationships reveal different sides of him: the vulnerable boy raised to be a weapon, the confused teen facing desires he doesn’t fully understand, and the prince trying to live for himself.
The world of Osora is not just a fantasy setting—it’s a mirror of real-life struggles with gender roles, societal expectations, and queerness. Through Osora’s eyes, the story examines transmasculine identity with rare honesty and softness. He is agile, emotionally open, competitive, and at times fragile. But above all, Osora is human. His journey is one of survival, self-discovery, and the difficult balance between what others expect of him and what he wants for himself. Osora is not just a prince or a pawn, he is a boy trying to breathe in a world that keeps trying to define him.
But that asides, what's the main struggle in the comic? When we talk royalty, kingdom, fantasy, there's usually an enemy– an opposing side. That's the idea and what makes it so good. Because these creatures and new found enemy, the palace and everything doesn't translate to the real world in any way. And that's one of the things I love about fantasy books and comics. You get to drown in whatever you're reading and you can always disappear in it because you know that whatever mayhem that may be going on in your life, you'd never see a clear/ actual/ definite resemblance to it there.
The kingdom of Calaveras and humans in entirely are being threatened by the existence of the Sergos. Sergos are magical creatures with powers that can seem godly and far beyond human abilities. Just like classes, they're higher and stronger Sergos that can be considered as gods because of the extra ordinary power that resides within them. They are usually presented with twin horns on their head and each Sergo has their own abilities. In the comic, there are two types of Sergos. There's the one that possesses magical powers and the other, abnormal strength. Whilst, I mentioned Arias a few times in the beginning; you'd get to see how he relates to Sergos in the comic. There's a war between the Sergos and humans brewing and it doesn't look good. They plan to abduct Osora, for some reasons– that may empower/ strengthen them.
I really really love this comic. I love the idea, the concept and the characters. They are entirely loveable. And whilst this may be a fantasy comic, it possesses a lot of improper or offensive scenes, but the author usually gives warnings for chapters like that. If I want to rate this webtoon, it's getting a 4 out of 5 stars from me and that's saying a lot! I don't just go around giving 4-5 stars like that;).
I actually do, but you know, I have to act tough sometimes.
Thanks for reading.