As the Heart Leads Review

As the Heart Leads is a manhwa you can read on Tapas.io. It’s about Yijae Kang, an orphan who can see ghosts. She reincarnates has Hailey Duncan, a noblewoman who drowned herself because she didn’t want to marry the tyrant, King Rodrick. Turns out, King Rodrick falls into fits of rage because of the evil spirits attached to him. As Hailey, Yijae marries the king and spends her days trying to exorcise those ghosts away. 

The artwork for this manhwa is absolutely gorgeous. It’s smooth, detailed, and colorful. I’m always particularly in awe with how beautifully drawn Hailey is. The artist has made her so beautiful and designs some of the best outfits that fit her perfectly.  

The line art is clean and it’s clear that each color is chosen deliberately in the best way. The artist also incorporated highlights and shadows nicely. They really add detail to the mood of each scene. 

Character are extremely likable. Hailey, who used to be Yijae, is kind and caring, but also smart and reasonable. She’s stuck in a situation she didn’t put herself into with no way out. However, she doesn’t let that bring her down. Instead, she chooses to fight it all head on. She uses what an old shaman lady taught her in her previous life to get rid of the ghosts haunting the king.  

When you first read that King Rodrick is a tyrant, it’s easy to be concerned about how his personality might be in the story. But he turns out to be a really good guy, just affected by the evil spirits following him that can sometimes cause a manic episode that makes him violent. He’s surprisingly very respectful towards Hailey and a pretty reasonable king when the evil spirits don’t affect him. And don’t worry, he’s never ever violent towards Hailey in those rages, as she’s able to calm him down.  

Obviously, this manhwa focuses heavily on romance. It’s gradual but nicely paced. Hailey and Rodrick grow closer naturally. They are married, after all. It never feels rushed or drawn out too long. And it’s super cute. Not only do the two of them mesh well together, but the reactions of others are entertaining and funny. 

And there’s definitely a lot to laugh about too with this series. Despite there being some heavy themes, that I’ll get into later, there’s also a lot of comedy. No one knows about the ghosts other than Hailey so anything she does regarding them seems really odd to anyone else and it creates a lot of funny reactions from them.  

However, like I said, that doesn’t mean As the Heart Leads is all sunshine and rainbows. There’s some heavy themes in the background, like the fact that the evil spirits are once people who had some sort of grudge against the king. And the king falling into violent rages where he can kill anyone around him isn’t really a light topic either. Not to mention the original Hailey’s suicide, her father’s abusive behavior, and Yijae’s identity struggle. So, fair warning, there can be some triggering moments if you’re sensitive to those themes. 

Still, the vast majority of the time, the manhwa feels more light-hearted and cute. The romance between Hailey and Rodrick is the focus, as well as her quest to rid him of the evil spirits.  

While I enjoy the pacing of the romance, I do think the plot about the evil spirits has been a tad slow. She takes a lot of time to really dive into getting rid of them. There are reasons for that that make sense, but she did sit around not doing much for a while. A few other situations happen in the story that make it feel like it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, but I don’t want to go into too much detail or else I would be spoiling parts of the story. 

But the story is very interesting and keeps you invested. The writer hints that there’s much more to these spirits. Not only do I want to continue to read for their romance, but I want to know more about why these spirits are haunting Rodrick in the first place. There’s also fantasy politics peppered in as well. 

As the Heart Leads is a gorgeously drawn manhwa with likable main characters and an interesting plot. It’s really funny but also is able to mix in more serious themes like abuse, suicide, personal identity, and more in a respectful way. The romance is nicely paced, natural, and super cute. However, I would like to see some more progress on the spirits and why they’re latching onto King Rodrick in the first place. 

It’s a really interesting manhwa to read and I highly recommend it. Of course, if you’re not really into romance, then it might not be for you. But if you do, then I think you’ll really like this one. Fair warning, you’ll probably take some extra time staring at the art and how beautiful the artist made Hailey sometimes. Of course, King Rodrick is attractive too. 

Check out my other manhwa reviews for more.

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