Introduction
Most manhwas I've read fell under the genres of adventure, action and fantasy. Because most of them tend to have the same plot they became really forgettable through time. I'm confident that The Greatest Estate Developer would not suffer the same fate, at least not in the next five years. Written by authors B.K. Moon and Lee Hyunmin the on-going series is like a breath of fresh air among the ocean of generic titles out there. I also think that the artist, Kim Hyunsoo's art style although not as sharp and detailed compared to say Jodol or the likes of Redice Studios is undoubtedly a great one. Character's faces are drawn rounder which is perfect to express those uncanny facial expressions.
The main character being one of the production class is not something new. There are some titles in manhwa, manga and even web novels that had some success portraying their MC's as one belonging to the production classes. People love underdogs that's why way back before and even today most main characters were portrayed as having some difficult past. Their families being annihilated, betrayed by their lovers and plotted because of their hidden potential are just some of the common recurring tropes.
Being a production class creates a much worse form of disadvantage. Even with their difficult past that we mentioned earlier in their story most of those MC's are of the warrior class. They were swordsmen, mages, bow masters and the likes. Even if they were deprived earlier they had something that they were good at or potentially good at and that is martial prowess or fighting ability. In case of production class, to be triumphant in a martial world given that your carpenter, a fisherman or a pot maker is something outrageously interesting to the readers. That why titles like The Legendary Moonlit Sculptor, Overgeared, The Florist and many others have became really popular. Of course, it's the same for The Greatest Estate Developer.
Story
"You have been chosen to have a random wish granted by The Absolute."
The main character of the story is Suho Kim. He is a civil engineering student who slept the previous night and was transmigrated as a character in the novel he read, Knight of Blood and Iron. He was now Lloyd Frontera the eldest son of Baron Arcos Frontera. Suho was aware that Lloyd was a scumbag of a noble. He was lazy, an alcoholic and had no redeeming feature. In the the first chapter he woke up as Lloyd with his body lying on the ground. Javier Asrahan is the protagonist. After waking up the new Lloyd encountered him. Even at the start we could see the disparity between the two. Lloyd was more like a common mob with his brown hair and somewhat normal face. He is the son of a baron but his looks paled in comparison to his lackey or body guard Javier. With his light blue hair, sharp facial features and extremely good posture there's no doubt that this is the protagonist. The interaction between these two is really the reason why many people love the series.
It was subtly hinted that Suho and the old Lloyd have some similarities like being drawn to material things. With the skills and smarts from his previous life the new Lloyd is someone who is still stupid but has capability. He might be rude and greedy but still gets the job done. That's why people started to be drawn to him, especially his number one henchmen, Javier. The ice cold knight learnt to make new expressions and started to trust Lloyd. There we definitely some good character building as the story progresses. Lloyd is slowly building his prestige and credibility while Javier is becoming more human.
Some elements of TGED is similar to Omnipotent Readers Viewpoint. Both are great reads but ORV is quite heavy so I prefer TGED if I have to choose one. The supposed to be protagonist in TGED is more active compared to ORV. Javier is strong but not strong enough to be considered overpowered. This is great since we can expect challenges in the future. The friendship between the two is something very different compared to the interaction within the ORV universe.
Conclusion
Lloyd and Javier's interaction is something that harmonizes the existence of both old and new protagonist. It's very redeeming because most plots tend to pull the former to emphasize the latter's greatness but in TGED both protagonist have their own strengths and they are complementing instead of competing with each other. If you like fantasy, adventure and comedy then TGED is one of the best manhwas to read. For now, I'd give it a rating 9/10. Worth it.
Thanks for dropping by.