Every Day the Protagonist Wants to Capture Me / EPWCM by Qing Duan -- a brief review (no spoilers)
Novel length: 80 chapters + 8 extras
My Rating: ★★★★★ / 5
This is another of the first few danmei I read -- After The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System I either read this or How to Survive as a Villain next and loved them both. I've read this one twice and it was still very enjoyable the second time around. If you liked SVSSS or HSAV I think you'll like this one!
Check for content warnings under the cut.
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What kind of story is Every Day the Protagonist Wants to Capture Me?
This story manages to keep a funny upbeat rhythm while also putting the characters into some serious situations. The MC is relatable, the ML charming, and the supporting cast are fleshed out with more canonical gay couples by the end of the book! There is unfortunately a lack of female characters but that's not wholly uncommon in danmei :/
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EPWCM is a story about growing up, taking responsibility, showing love through actions, and gay love saving the world. This is another story that (like SVSSS) due to the transmigrator (MC)'s actions the protagonist (ML) changes so completely that the plot of the original work goes off the rails.
(Note that the MC and ML are both cultivators under the same teacher and so call each other by "shixiong / da shixiong" [older / eldest martial brother] and "shidi" [younger martial brother] most of the time.)
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Like SVSSS this is a xianxia setting. Also of note is that for the most part the other characters don't have a problem with the main couple being gay. There is a scene where one character can't wrap his head around it and the MC and ML's teacher stands up and tells him to get over himself and support his them (the MC and ML).
The one who balks the most at the gay relationship is the MC and I believe this is due to his growing up in modern day china. There's brief mention of characters needing to do what's right and continue the family line but ultimately the characters follow their hearts in the end.
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Who are the main characters?
Without going into details here's a little bit about our main squad:
Chu Yu - the main character. He was a normal guy in the modern world when one day he wakes up in the webnovel he was reading as the protagonist's childhood bully and da-shixiong. He's committed to his new role and feels a bit guilty about taking the "original" Chu Yu's place.
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Xie Xi - the protagonist of the webnovel and the male lead. At the beginning of the novel he is very wary of his da-shixiong's sudden change of heart. After a while he learns to trust Chu Yu and then decides to protect Chu Yu. Due to Chu Yu's need to put himself in danger Xie Xi gets a bit of a yandere personality.
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Chu Sheng - Chu Yu's older brother. He loves his dear baby brother very much and is very protective of him. He does not approve of Chu Yu and Xie Xi's relationship mostly because he doesn't want anyone to take his brother away. He has a romance with a medical cultivator named Fu Chongyi.
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Lu Qingan - Chu Yu and Xie Xi's shizun [teacher]. A well known and badass cultivator in his own right, he is an aloof and peerless immortal. He has a romance in his past that he still can't let go of. (He and his love interest remind me of Lan Wanji and Wei Wuxian from MDZS.)
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Third Shidi - ...I can't remember his actual name because it was only mentioned in the extras. For the rest of the novel everyone just calls him third shidi. He's also Lu Qingan's student and shidi to Chu Yu and Xie Xi. He mostly plays the role of comedic relief but later proves to be quite adept at talisman crafting.
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What is the plot of Every Day the Protagonist Wants to Capture Me?
Chu Yu wakes up in the webnovel he had been reading and right away starts trying to prevent his character's tragic end by putting an stop to everyone bullying Xie Xi. After that he spends countless nights healing Xie Xi and strengthening his core while Xie Xi is asleep. Once Xie Xi learns what Chu Yu is doing his opinion of his da-shixiong changes and he vows to get stronger himself so that when he gets older he can protect Chu Yu.
There's tensions between the righteous and demonic cultivators which eventually lead to a war, a secret realm that can easily trap someone, a cult-like group of demonic cultivators who want to bring a demon lord back to life, and a strange cliffside that would just be perfect to fall or get pushed off of. There's also some in-sect disagreements and a cover-up that is unearthed as well as a glimpse into the Chu family's past as well as Lu Qingan's.
Overall I feel like this story has an interesting and interwoven plot that connects things in ways I hadn't anticipated during my first read. Reading it a second time there's some hints at things at the beginning that hit differently once you know what the connections are.
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