obviously she didn't give us all the information, only what the characters knew at that point in the story

I like the fact that the doors are based on something hahahaha it's creative

he is only cold for his company and that, which is credible

Many loving characters die

that at first they didn't want to say their feelings made me feel sad, but what made me feel worse was how and why they confessed :' (

you become aware that the characters need to complete all doors to live blissfully but it contradicts with the reality that NO ONE has ever completed all 12 doors. So it’s as if we’re being told that the characters are destined for death. Whether they are are on their 5th door or fighting tooth and nail to survive on their 10. You witness characters be unwilling to bear the reality of their own mortality. That entering a door may provide extra moments to live your cherished life however, there’s still high risks that the moment before you entered that door were your last.

i honestly admire lin qiushi’s tenacity. He is truly an anomaly (and it’s mentioned several times by others). Maybe it’s because he has been offered the protagonist’s halo or plot armor that he manages to survive every door he enters albeit that assumption can be nullified by the fact he has been the target of many mu*derous attempts in the door and sometimes got out with his life on the brink of death.

ruan zuanhu is an enigmatic breath of fresh air. As the audience we know him as incredibly intelligent and perceptive dare I say perfect, with an affinity for campish traits while in the door. In reality he is stoic, ascetic and unapproachable. The authors does the barest minimum to inform us about him other than the fact that he’s skilled enough to enter 10 doors and more and that he’s the leader of the obsidian. Fortunately with lin qiushi’s presence, we begin to his glimpses at some of his past. How he’s been doing doors for close to 7 years and how’s he’s had to suffer the lost of partners and friends in his previous doors.

the author must have been exhausted writing all the characters in the story because to be honest xi-zi did an impicable job at bringing every character to life with their own quirks and idiosyncrasies. Every character is written to play a role and they play it immensely well. They choices drive the narrative and offers different human perspectives in regards to the door world. They instill fear in you, joy, anger, despair and even schadenfreude.

.

Imagine this - all of the characters live in a perfectly normal world, they live, they die, work, love etc. And it's just that some of them enter the doors for an unknown reason. Nobody knows why. It's a mystery that's never explained. At the same time there are no supernatural abilities like exceptional hearing ability, no parallel worlds with long gone loved ones, no NPC RNZ with his mission - just normal world and this one random thing that nobody can explain. I feel like, even if it seems like a major change to the plot it would paradoxically not affect the story that much. It's easier to come up with a supernatural explanation (for example why RNZ fell for LQS - I'd rather it was some mundane reason and not because he was metaphysically special or whatever). Ok maybe it doesn't sound as exciting now that I wrote about it but I still think I'd work just fine haha

Honestly I don't think 11th and 12th doors revolved that much around the main couple's romance - it is what you focus on, of course, cause it's the most "dramatic" and emphasized aspect of this arc BUT what made those doors difficult was the choice. It was not meant to be a bodily horror - it was a psychological horror: you either choose a fake life of a real death. You can't win, there's no solution/escape, you have to choose. It would be easier for some and more difficult for the others but tbh I would be disappointed if we got another gory story. The Hako Onna door was a perfect conclusion for the "classic" type of doors cause it forced the characters to think tactically, scheme and lie in order to survive. I found this door the most interesting but it also broke me, I was so mad at RNZ, waah.

*rant start* I like the amnesia trope! This narrative device would have been welcome if MC either had had a good interesting personality in the main story, or if his personality hadn't been so different, but they're like two completely different people and we only get a glimpse of the interesting one in the extras, like wtf! Reading this novel for me it was like seeing ML falling in love with a sunny, emotive, experienced, mature person, then approaching another person and being all gushy gushy and complimenting this other person for no reason at all. Then suddenly person 1 is back and it's like person 2 never exited. I get it that the intent of the author is to tell me that they conflated. But to me they didn't, they're too f*cking different!

I love the Obsidian twin so much that I cried for a long time about their death, even though I know that they ended up together but.. but... It left a scar on me😭

Also, Li Dongyuan I love him too. Although he's not a good guy but its a known fact that door players experienced death door so, his character is fully ok to me. He's cunning, handsome inside the doors, and cute outside the door. Its just that the author said that he got betrayed and boom he died in one of the door. I would definitely love it if the author fully explained the experience and death of some remarkable characters. For example, the woman who became the leader of the White Deer.

The other organizations, the rules of how the door can get stolen from its holder, and how can two or more persons can enter the same door together was also not fully explained.

and I'm still mourning their death.🙂

Which I think the other reviewer didn't understand that much.

The other reviewers thought that the ML was the door but... In fact it was said in the novel that every door has a different guardian guarding them.

For example, in Woman of the Rain Arc the Madam is the guardian, in the Japanese School Tragedy part Sachiko is the guardian, the Slenderman was the guardian in the Remote Village Arc, the twin sister are the guardians in the Sister's Drum part.

So that explains that the ML RNZ is not the door! But the doors guardian ok!

does not focus on blood or gore, at all. The Lady in Rain painting arc is truly terrifying to me because of how well the anxiety (and horror of your perception of reality being f*cked with) is written. Chilling.

The only negative thing I can think of is that the text sequence/language of 'opening the gate, finding your teammates' was repetitive. I don't know whether the usage of the exact same words each time was an authorial choice or if it just translated to english the same.

I would have liked to see a bit more on how Lin Qiushi's life would've been without Ruan Nanzhu, though. We did get to see a bit of that, but I was kinda curious.

a bit on the "when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back" part in the summary, but it wasn't at all like what the summary led you to believe.

Cheng qianli died. I freaking cried.... his death hurt me more than anything. Tan zaozao also went away. Her death was very pretty. There's this line I particularly loved-

Red lips, white teeth, brilliantly grinning. Time froze for her at her most beautiful moment.

First door: what a way to introduce the doors! nothing like waking up to a creepy lady to scare you. Also the entire scene surrounding the temple & that gigantic lady was terrifying... f*ck that NPC who gave them the wrong instructions to get them killed.

Flitcher's bird: Not too bad, I can imagine a nasty bloodshot eyeball staring at me. Also that one guy who got dragged down the toilet r.i.p. And ew can you imagine seeing a nasty bloody cake like they describe.

Sister drum: ew ew ew, skinless people/ being skinned alive is so nasty. Blade rain is like the coolest thing (but also painful too aparently). Also that bit at the end when MC see that mass of skin staring at him from the window, I would die of fright.

Woman in the rain: this painting is too scary irl I see why people complain about it. Also the boss NPC of the door just was kinda funny getting all fustrated that she couldnt do anything when MC & ML were challenging her. BUT OMG when she nearly got MC I was like..... OH NOOO

Satchan: Aww poor satchan. all she wanted was revenge. Boys suck.

Slenderman: thought it was kinda weird to have slenderman as a story but oh well. This was probably the least exciting door for me. Why did he wear a top hat???

Waverly hills Sanatorium: mental hospital? yes please. Scary nurse jumping off the building every night? no thanks. But the ending of this arc, where everyone started trying to attack them, ughh you can IMAGINE the horror.

Mirrors: urgh big fright if I looked in the mirror & my reflection moved how did MC stay so calm. So sad we didnt get to see more of the siblings after this (kinda would have been cool to see how the sister got trapped). So tense when MC got trapped in the door but then ML went and saved him <333

River God: Scary lady making oil out of humans for lamps. Also that one guy was such a d*ck hiding everyone's lamps so they all might die. So annoying that he shot MC & stole his hint.

Teru Teru Bōzu: Why they gotta be so ugly wahh I know its to troll the bad players but please. Also what a duo for teaming up & secretly indirectly killing the ppl responible for MC's best friend's death. Ppl''s heads being cut off to act as weather dolls.

Sculptures: WTF men are dicks. Girl just wanted to be with her man.

Hako Onna: Looked up the picture for her & was so scared!! I thought that mole was supicious all along when we started opening up 3 chests at once.... but having 2 moles I didnt see that coming. But ahh the moment when RNZ was trapped & were saying there goodbyes & MC's reaction was like woah (but also hey ML cant be dead dead right?)

Minotaur: Ew rotting fish is so nasty & I was so concerned for everyone at the end when they all started eating it & started to grow fish scales. Wish MC was able to save more ppl but anyway they got out alive okay.

Door 11: WTF WTF WTF!! during door 11 I was like okay theyve gone back to their orginal selves when the first entered door 1, but at night all their past door bosses & dead acquaintances come back to life and either try to kill you or help you. Thats cool. Cute how ML & MC were girlbossing their way through the ghosts. The key being in the clock very clever. What I dont understand is door number 12, like RNZ's explanation that HE was the 12th door's NPC & when he left the door sealed itself & how he met LQS before?

EXTRAS: the twins extra is so sad, but very interesting to see how their story played out properly. ZYQ & BM's relationship is kinda cute. Also im living for MC & ML's addiction releasing their inner drama queen & being so dramatic hehe

In the big twist in the extras, there was somewhat of an explanation on why the MC seemed to have such high adaptability and somewhat muted reactions since he'd forgotten his past and that he was an expert to begin with.

An explanation on how the door NPCs had so much power and could eventually just leave their post and actually enter the real world.

How come other door NPCs didn't do the same? And if they did, wouldn't the doors eventually just break down and fall apart cause all the OP NPCs left?

Also the illusory world in the final door didn't really seem connected to why the doors existed and could prolong someone's life in the real world. There was no cohesive explanation, just two completely different concepts forced to co-exist because Reasons.

For example, if the doors had the power to prolong someone's life or change their fate, then what gave it that power? Why would that power be connected to the illusory world? The author only gave a half-hearted, "oh it just exists cause maybe the NPCs feel bad for making people suffer through the doors" which really didn't fly well as part of the climax/ending.

A better explanation would have made the story stronger overall.

I forgot the name, but the slightly dumb twin died