It’s high time we shine the spotlight on ‘Selina ~ Moon Bride‘, a brilliant fantasy- romance series created by shilkefair. You can read it on WebToon Canvas, although for the life of me I can’t understand how this series is not a WebToon Original yet.
The plot
A long time ago, following a war among the four clans, the Moon Clan was divided into the Southern and the Northern clans. To prevent a new war threatening the fragile peace, a marriage is proposed to rejoin the two Moon clans. Set in this beautifully complex world, the story follows the titular Selina, princess of the Southern Moon tribe.
As the groom runs away and the bride sets out on a journey to fulfil her duty, there are many parties just waiting to play their hand. From the Sun Clan’s own agenda to assassins lurking in the shadows and the mysterious fate of the people from the former Star Clan, it quickly becomes evident that our heroes have found themselves entangled in something much more complicated than an arranged marriage.
The verdict
Let’s start with the art; It’s a beautiful hand-drawn manga style, it has a distinct personality and it’s consistent. It has a very appealing simplicity to it, without being at all plain – quite the contrary. One of the reasons it’s such a joy to read Selina is the art.
We’re at chapter 82, but it feels like the story has a lot more ground to cover before we reach the ending. This makes me even more excited to see how all the details and plotlines that are being set up will play out. The more I find out about this world, the more I want to keep reading. So far things are looking really ambitious in terms of how ‘big’ this story feels. Selina as a heroine is intriguing. She’s not meekly subjecting to her duty, she’s proudly facing it, and she’s no pushover. All of the characters have depth and I’m certain we’re still just scratching their surface.
One thing that did bug me, more so in the early chapters, were some grammar issues. The people who claim to be proofreading were lying to you dear author. That said, overall it has markedly improved in more recent chapters, so I hope the trend continues. As far as issues go, it’s hardly a deal-breaker.
When I call this series a hidden gem, I mean it’s criminally underrated. It’s easily as good -or better- than existing Webtoon Originals, and I honestly hope the author gets an offer from Webtoon to feature Selina. If this kind of storyline tickles your fancy, this one is a must. And if you do, don’t forget to like the chapters – it matters even more for Canvas creators!
