There’s something to be said, about webtoons that try to use so many of the popular tropes and is really packed with all the cliches that have been mass-produced. It can be a bit much sometimes. But, imagine a manhwa that has all of that but is able to make it work. Heck, if anything it’s killing it.
Imagine all of the common tropes and cliches in the romance fantasy genre nowadays, I’m talking transmigrating into a book, regression getting a second chance in life, and child-rearing with hot and powerful dads, and imagine all of this actually working so well that they don’t even feel like overused concepts, at all. And imagine this manhwa being so gripping that you can’t help but wait for chapter after chapter, whether it’s the webcomic or the webnovel.
And that’s exactly how I feel about “The Baengri Clan’s Unwanted Granddaughter” written by Marubyeol and adapted by Siyo and Berry. Both the novel and comic are available on tapas. And it has instantly risen up to the top of my list of favorite rofan (romance fantasy) and child-rearing second-life manhwas. That’s why I am here today to invite you to read it too.
Although I mentioned it uses the usual tropes, it’s pretty unique in the sense that it’s set in the Murim world – the martial arts world. So, unlike the usual historical Western outfits you see in most rofan manwhas, here you see historical Eastern outfits, which the artist is doing so well at. The outfits look so good and they just keep getting better and better. And matching father and daughter outfits are always a plus.
So, “The Baengri Clan’s Unwanted Granddaughter” is about Yeon who transmigrated into a book as a minor villain, a useless villain as she would describe it. But she only realizes this at the end of her second life, her first life in this world. Her dad here is a beloved martial artist who’s the mentor of the main character of the book and dies as part of the hero’s story. So, her father dies and then she soon does too. Don’t worry, all of this is in the very first episode, these are not major spoilers.
Upon death, Yeon finds herself back to her six-year-old self at a time when she just broke her qi core which is an important aspect of life in this martial arts world. She’s also faced with her still-alive father who’s crying his eyes out apologizing for not being around to protect her at the time. And she’s thinking, “Oh, this must be my life flashing before my eyes”, so she tells him she loves him and puts everything out there so that she could you know rest in peace… is what she’s thinking. But instead, her dad hugs her so tight and she realizes I don’t think this is a dream.
So, she eventually comes to terms with the fact that she’s back to being 6 years old again, and now she has the chance to change the trajectory of her and her father’s lives. This time around, she’s not going to waste away her life and she’s going to make sure her dad doesn’t get killed like he did before.
At this point you’re probably thinking, it’s already a familiar concept. A lot of readers at the start of this series associated it with I shall master this family. But the more you go through this series the more you’ll realize the uniqueness and the sheer impact it has to offer. For starters, Yeon’s dad is a powerful martial artist who’s also known for his beautiful soft looks. And he really does look good. He’s majestic! The artist has done such a good job making him look like that. I’m usually not into men with long hair aside from Jeonghan of Seventeen, but Yeon’s dad, Euigang, is just so fine. So fine. All of you long-haired men lovers, this one’s for you.
And of course, Yeon is just so precious. She drifted away from her dad in her past life because she always felt bad being the daughter of this awesome martial artist but she can’t even do martial arts because her qi core is broken. But now she knows better. She has a better shot at standing her ground in this vicious compound this time around. So, this is actually her third life, coz remember she read this book before transmigrating into it, so her first life was in that modern world, her second was in this world where she and her dad died, and now this is her third life, still in this world.
Her first agenda in this new chance of life is to be closer to her dad. And show him how much she loves him coz she knows that her dad spent his entire previous life trying to protect her from all the people who scorned her. Her dad has always loved her and will always love her. And when I tell you their interactions in this life are just beyond heartwarming, I mean that they are constantly melting my heart and soul. I’m constantly re-reading this comic while waiting for new chapters because of these interactions.
Another aspect I find fascinating about this series is the more realistic viewpoint Yeon has about everything. In most stories like this, the main character usually earns precious things and acquires helpful people along the way. And they’re always gaining more and more valuable stuff and deservedly so considering they’ve been through a lot in their previous life. And Yeon definitely deserves the world and she does get some precious stuff and even good people sometimes, but a lot of the time, Yeon can’t have good things because she knows she’s not in a favorable position and she can’t really protect anyone just yet.
It breaks my heart whenever this happens. She can’t have this and that because she has enemies in her own home. Heck, most of the family is out to get her in the Baengri clan. They can’t stand her existence all because of the ugly jealousy they have over Yeon’s brilliant dad. At least, in this round of life, things are getting better for her than in her first life, when she didn’t know any better.
Now, she knows how to deal with them and the nasty workers, and is even buttering up her tsundere grandfather – the current master of the clan. But it’s sad to know that all of this is only happening because already she spent years suffering through it all. If she didn’t have the mind of an adult, she wouldn’t survive here, which just sucks, you know.
It breaks my heart every time there’s a flashback of how bad it was in her previous life and it breaks my heart whenever she has that ‘knowing look’ that she can’t keep this or that because many people will take them from her or ruin them altogether. I just want things to keep getting better for her. Thankfully enough, the second season is so much brighter now that she’s out of the most toxic place in her life. I just can’t wait for her to peacefully have everything in the world, because she deserves it.
Of course, I have complicated feelings about it as well. But this part is a bit of a spoiler so skip ahead if you don’t want to hear this part. It’s about the qualms I have with the ml and ml candidates. So, if you don’t like spoilers, I highly recommend skipping ahead.
I’m not very fond of the tsundere archetype. I’m not a very big fan of tsundere male leads. But I do feel like the ML in this series just seems like one for now because he’s still so young and doesn’t really know much about the world just yet.
Yeon is practically teaching this sheltered young master more about life and people which I think is slowly softening him up. So, I genuinely hope that his being a tsundere is just a phase and he’ll end up being a much softer and sweeter romantic partner in the future. I have high hopes coz his dad seems to be devoted to his mom.
Okay, that was already a spoiler, but what I’m about to say next is an even bigger spoiler that I recommend you skip if you don’t want to know the ml’s identity just yet. So, his dad is best friends with Yeon’s dad which is why Euigang became the mentor of the main character of the book Yeon read in her first life. So, the ML is actually the MC of that Murim book. And his dad is so fine as well. So, that’s like the added bonus on all of this, because most rofan manhwas usually have just one hot dad, this one has two. Two hot and powerful dads who have soft spots for Yeon. I love that!
Now, I don’t really dislike the ML, he’s growing and becoming more and more thoughtful as time progresses but this is the first webtoon where I actually have really strong 2nd male lead syndrome. I’ve had 2nd male lead syndromes before but none were as big as this. And I went into this comic confident that I wasn’t gonna care for the 2nd MLs. I mean, for one thing, and again this is a major spoiler, Yeon’s past life murderer is one of the second male leads.
I was like, “Nope! You better not!” Everybody was gearing up to throw him out of the ML list. We’re all sick and tired of MLs who killed or abused the FL in their previous lives being the end game. Everybody had pitchforks ready for this guy. And I knew the writer would have probably prepared a sad backstory for him, which I was so ready to be like, “So, what? Who cares?!” But daaang…
Because he, Yayul, was saved early in this life and he no longer believes Yeon and her dad are constantly out to get him [meaning he has no reason to grow up wanting to kill them], he becomes just the biggest puppy. And I have such a soft spot for puppy-like characters. The way he cares for Yeon in this life is just so ridiculously sweet that it makes me so mad. Coz why would you make him so sweet and so devoted if he’s not gonna be ML?! Huh, marubyeol?! Why? Just why? You even made the ML start off as a tsundere while this guy is out here being a sweet caring puppy. Of course I’m gonna be biased! Of course I’m gonna be mad at this setup!
The other guy/ML candidate I don’t really mind so much. He only pops up a bit in the beginning, so maybe his time to shine is still in the future. I mean, he’s sweet. I think they’re trying to make him seem a bit sketchy in the beginning, but he is actually really sweet to Yeon, so far, in the very minimal times they’ve interacted.
So, I’m not as upset about his loss as I am with Yayul’s at this stage. Ugh… but we’ll see in the future, how things will play out and how I’ll feel about it. But yeah, that’s pretty much the biggest issue I have with this manhwa so far. Obviously, aside from constantly wanting to snap the necks of all the villains over and over because they’re just so horrible.
This series brings out so many emotions out of you. And the art is also precious. Yeon just keeps getting cuter and cuter. The Baengri Clan’s Unwanted Granddaughter is currently in its second season, it’s still of them as kids, still very strongly child-rearing and friendship-building. And it’s genuinely a worthwhile reading experience, so I highly recommend checking it out! And because the story is so gripping, even without the images, the novel is worth jumping into as well.
Make sure to read the official English translation legally in order to support the creators so that they can continue to create awesome content. Both the novel and the comic of “The Baengri Clan’s Unwanted Granddaughter” are available on Tapas. [If you’re new to the app use code FUJO587N so that both you and I can get free ink that we could use to purchase episodes.]
I hope you’ll enjoy reading it and show Yeon some love. Go check it out now!
