Being reborn as a beautiful princess may seem like a lucky break, but it’s certainly not worth it when you know your future death may be at the hands of your own ruthless father.

“Who Made Me a Princess” is a webcomic available on the app TappyToon created by pen-named author Spoon. While the title may seem a bit cheesy at first, this webcomic offers a lot of refreshing themes and characters that make the story stand out and easy to get invested in. While it’s referred to as a comedy and fantasy story, there’s so much more to it.

The story follows a character who finds herself reborn as Athanasia, or Athy, a young princess who has a very grim future. A future in which she could eventually be killed by her own father, the cold and brutal emperor of the country. Interestingly enough, the main character is already aware of how her life is supposed to play out. Already being aware of the dark end she is supposedly going to meet, she strives to change the story and try to create a better life for herself.

Her first step is to ensure her frightening father, Claude, doesn’t murder her. Thus, the first season mostly consists of Athy trying to build a relationship with her father. It’s the complex relationship between Claude and Athy that’s the driving point and most engrossing aspect of this story.

Athy secretly hopes for a good relationship with her father since she has no other family. However, she’s no silly princess. She’s different from other princess protagonists in other stories because she plots and puts on acts that will put her in favor of her father and those around her. She plays a role that will most likely ensure her survival.

Claude, the ruthless emperor, is a very complicated character. He’s a young, handsome emperor who has a very intimidating and cold persona. One minute, readers will see his brutality. The next, they witness small flickers of humanity, especially later on when his relationship with his daughter starts to shift. However, there’s a lot of conflicting feelings with his character. On one hand, he’s a jerk who neglected his daughter, but on the other, you’re rooting for him as a dad.

It’s not often in stories we see such a focus on the relationship between a parent and child. In other stories, relationships between children and parents usually consist of closeness or distance. But in this story, there’s fear of how things will turn out, as well as hope for what the two could become. This is a relationship in which neither character has experience with having a parent or having a child before, and there’s also an unnerving, silent understanding that they could be each other’s downfall.

The artwork for this webcomic is absolutely gorgeous and vivid. The strongest parts of the artwork are the detailed facial expressions drawn on the characters. Even the smallest details, such as panels spotlighting Claude’s gaze toward Athy or a bead of sweat on Athy’s forehead despite the fact she’s smiling, can really hint to readers what the characters’ emotions and thoughts are. It increases the tension and draws the reader into the story.

The first season of “Who Made Me a Princess” did really well with the pace and development of Athy’s relationship with Claude as she progressively grows up, and ends with a very unhinging cliffhanger. While the stakes of the story ride on Athy surviving, one can’t help but hope her relationship with her father improves and doesn’t inevitably end in her demise in the next season.