As a high-ranking general captured after the end of a war, the Holy Knight Gilbert braces for execution... when at the last moment, his life is saved by Chris, the enemy nation's master artificer and puppeteer. An arrogant, wickedly playful man who surrounds himself only with dolls of his own making, Chris claims to admire the beauty of Gilbert's soul and intends to use him to create his newest masterpiece.
By Hatoba Kogarashi
Series The Genius Puppeteer Loves the Holy Knight Fiercely
Volume 1
Release Date 29.05.2024
Genre Yaoi
Age Rating 18+
Publisher Tokyo Pop
CW War, assault
Rating ★★★☆☆
My Review
There’s no denying that the art in this manga is absolutely beautiful. Each page is filled with incredibly detailed illustrations that are amazing! You can tell the mangaka put a lot of love into every panel, and the world also seems very interesting- even though we don't get to see much of it.
We follow Gilbert, a knight, and Chris, the puppeteer. Gilbert is 'saved' from his execution by Chris and to prevent being turned into a doll, Gilbert offers himself up as a slave. I originally bought the manga because Gilbert reminds me of a mix of Aymeric de Borel and Meteor from Final Fantasy XIV- so I might have not researched the overall plot that well, haha!
The story immediately starts and it seemed to build up- but instead we got a bit of a unnecessary smut scene quite fast. The manga seemed to alternate between edgy war stories and smut, as if there was a rule that there's supposed to be smut after a few pages or story. The beginning seemed a bit messy, like they didn't know which direction to go into yet. Towards the end, things were starting to get more interesting and the potential was showing. Unfortunately, this excitement was interrupted by random plot points being thrown in at the last minute. Loose ends were left dangling, and it felt like the mangaka had too many ideas, but none of them were developed any further. There were storylines that were introduced but never followed up on, which left the overall plot feeling a bit empty.
This manga could have been so much better if it had more time to breathe. If it had been a multi-volume series with a slower, more thoughtful build-up—especially before jumping into the smut—it might have allowed for better character and world-building. There was a lot of potential here, but the rushed pacing and scattered plot points made it a bit chaotic.
In the end, what could have been a fantastic manga ended up feeling like a collection of half-realized ideas. There’s still a lot to appreciate in the art, but it’s hard not to wonder what could have been if the story had been given more time to grow. I am a little biased but I give it three stars for the gorgeous art and handsome Gilbert.
