Roasting "Apple Black Origins: The Spectrum and the Spectre" Chapter 1

"Apple Black Origins: The Spectrum and the Spectre" is terrible

Today I’m reviewing “Apple Black Origins: The Spectrum and the Spectre”, the light novel spinoff of Apple Black by Stephanie Williams and Odunze Oguguo aka WhytManga.

I’ll go through chapter-by-chapter as I read this, since every page from the Kindle sample made me want a cigarette. I know I’ll have enough pettiness to kvetch about every chapter at length.

Here’s the official summary:

Many years ago, humans acquired “Black” fruits from a tree that descended from the skies, turning humans into sorcerers. Although all of Black is now extinct, humans still have sorcery inherited from their ancestors. In this fantastical world of wands and sorcerers, The Ebony Peak wars led to the new regime of Eden, but its policy left behind many stricken and near-extinct tribes who’ve now formed rebellions against the new rule. In Apple Black Origins , a pivotal origin story about the fantastical world of Apple Black, Willow, a wild young sorceress with mysterious vitiligo, looks to end the discrimination towards her tribe and others by finding all the legendary Golden Wands, like the one she got from her father, to help balance the scales. She enlists the help of a powerful rogue sorcerer, Gideon Banburi, to find salvation, though he may be more trouble than she anticipates. Gideon and Willow are hunted by Rebels, secret organizations, and the new regime to find a wand using a map that was hidden within it. In time, it’s revealed that Willow’s vitiligo is actually the map that leads them to the wands—but not before treachery repeatedly crosses their path.  Apple Black Origins  is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up.

Before we get dig in, here’s some disclaimers:

• I’ve only read one chapter of the Apple Black manga and viscerally hated it

• My feelings on WhytManga are a little more complicated but basically it’s a parasocial rivalry, but don’t worry, it’s actually really super funny and not at all pathetic.

• I am a hater. I’ve never reviewed anything in “good faith”

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Chapter 1: Wild Spectrum

Opening paragraphs:

“Willow!” a beautiful little girl yelled. “You’re gonna be late,” she continued in earnest. She was trying to wake her older sister, who could sleep through almost anything.

Willow groaned. She was having a great dream, one full of promise and hope. Dreams like that were a rarity, even for her, a 13-year-old who had yet to experience the world entirely, but what she had experienced up until this point was heavy on hopelessness and despair: an unfortunate plight that wasn’t exclusively hers, but one for all who live in Youta.

“Dang it, Opal! I’m up,” Willow groaned with more bite than she meant. Opal’s eyes grew wide in shock. Then she did what most little sisters do when they feel their older sister has slighted them. 

“Mommy, Willow is being mean to me,” Opal shouted while jumping from the bed to run out of the room. “Opal, wait! I didn’t mean to yell at you,” Willow said as she fell back into her sleeping mat. She let out a heavy sigh—so much for trying to recapture her dream. It was long gone like grains of sand slipping through her fingers. There was no sense in her wasting any more time. Her mother would be in soon if she didn’t get up, and Harlem Wantmore was not someone who had a high tolerance for delay. She always made it a point to stress to Willow and her sister how important it was to use their time wisely. And given how important today was for Willow, the lessons of Harlem Wantmore were all in full effect, sleep be damned.

This is a terrible way to start a novel. Our sleepy protagonist is in a passive state, and therefore not driving the plot.  She’s not even reacting to an alarm clock she set, it’s her sister, Opal, who’s getting the day, and by extension the plot, started.

This is a very clear example of writing a passive character instead of an active character. In “The Bestseller Code”- a book where they fed a bunch of bestsellers into an AI to see what they have in common- they make the point that across all bestselling books, regardless of genre, the main character is the one driving the story. I would be curious how much this rule applies if they were to analyze books exclusively from collectivist cultures, but at least from my Western perspective, their point stands. If you’re writing a story about a meandering piece of driftwood, that’s a bit of a challenge and will have a smaller audience. But if your protagonist is calling the shots, this is going to be more widely accessible and a more broadly entertaining narrative.

To demonstrate how prominent this trend is, The Bestseller Code brings up book “The Lovely Bones.” It’s about a girl who gets brutally murdered, and from Heaven she’s able to see how life on Earth unfolds. I can’t find exactly how long it was on the bestseller list, but this book was huge enough to get a Peter Jackson film adaptation.

The Bestseller Code makes the point that, although the protagonist here is an actual dismembered corpse, she’s still able to be an active protagonist because she has this power of omnipotence. She guides the story with this unique superpower. So even in this scenario where the protagonist is as passive as possible, the narrative was still able to structure things so she has an active role in the story.

Apologies for going on a tangent so soon— but this opening line stood out as incredibly odd. I know Saturday AM is pushing Opal as a character, since they’re the Diverse Manga Publisher. When that’s your whole deal, it’s a solid PR move to hype up the Black girl from your flagship series. Earlier concept art of Apple Black looked a little more Wonderbread, and Opal’s existence as a character is another baffling rabbit hole better saved for later (look, just because this manga sucks doesn’t mean I don’t know the deep lore)

knowing Apple Black lore is an accomplishment in itself, considering its Googleproof title

Either way, I see this opening line as a way to shoehorn in government-mandated Opal screen time, with the hopes that readers will clap and applaud like this is an MCU cameo and we’re all weeping with joy because we can identify Yelling Girl.

And just why are you yelling to wake someone up? Did you try nudging them or opening the blinds? And when Willow gets justifiably pissed off, Opal turns into a little crybaby narc. Boo fucking hoo, Opal. You’re lucky Willow’s shipping off to Hogwarts today, so she can’t get her revenge by waking you up with an airhorn tomorrow.

Anyway, since we learned that-

• Opal is here

• Willow had a kickass dream

• Their mom “was not someone who had a high tolerance for delay.”

-we finally learn that today is Willow’s first day at Hogwarts (not trying to be rude, I just forgot the name of their Elite School of Magic and Whimsy). Everyone keeps saying “YOU’RE GONNA BE LATE” but there’s never any legitimate sense of urgency. There’s time to for Willow to meander out of bed, eat breakfast, and contemplate her super-special vitiligo as she gazes into the mirror. So if everyone could kindly shut the fuck up about being late, maybe Willow can start her morning commute without a migraine.

There’s plenty of good reasons why anime will begin with the protagonist in a rush to get to school. These are fast-paced, relatable scenes that show off what our main character prioritizes. What would You grab when you needed to be out the door five minutes ago? Apple Black Origins does indulge in this anime trope, but we learn more about what the mom values and how everyone in Youta was dealt a raw hand.

There is a lot of second guessing and conflicting messages in this chapter. And not in a way that shows an inner complexity, it felt more like this writer chugging along with whatever came to mind without punching up the final draft.  This example stood out as particularly bad: 

Willow took a few more seconds to admire her wand. It was unique, like most wands, but Willow’s was golden and whiplike. Had she thought of pawning it for a sizeable amount of money? Sure. It was gold, but it was also a family heirloom and one she dared not part with. Plus, it had another function she adored, which was to help tie back her thick hair.

She thought of pawning it… but she dared not part with it. Alright.

Let me zoom in on the “family heirloom” tidbit. Because this chapter really wants you to know everything about Willow’s mom and dad. Mostly her mom. This mom is a Supermom, and she’s mostly written as stern, but with a biiiiig heart and lots of wuv!

If I sound like I’m mocking her, it’s because I am. Why is this light novel telling me so much about the protagonist’s mom, like this book doubles as her Tinder profile? It’s YA fiction, so I’d assume the target audience of children and emotionally stunted adults think that parents are fucking lame.

Maybe they had higher hopes for their audience, as if surely, anyone who’s cultured enough to Read Books also has tremendous respect for their parents. But focusing so much on the mom, specifically, came off as the world’s strangest Mary-sue self-insert. Was this author clacking away at their keyboard and thinking— fuck yeah, that’s me, I’d mother the Shit out of this shonen protagonist —in the world’s strangest power fantasy?

Or is the point of this character to tell the child-majority audience that actually, your mom is Pretty Cool, so quit being such a miserable cunt and eat your vegetables.

I’ll forgive this hyper-fixation on the mom if this is actually a Chekov’s gun. That is, if the mom is put in danger later in the story, we have more of a reason to feel that fear with the protagonist. We just spent the bulk of chapter 1 learning about how cool she is, so it’ll hurt all the more if anything bad happens to her. But I’m also imagining if Momma Wantmore dies tragically, we’ll get an even longer ass-kissing segment about how she’s a martyr and too beautiful for this world. Yuck.

This story makes the point that Mamma Wantmore has sacrificed So, So Much for her kiddos. While everyone’s eating breakfast - which, by the way, if you’re actually late for your first day at Hogwarts, why in the fuck are you sitting down for a meal - okay, sorry, still not over that, anyway, everyone’s eating breakfast, but, oh no, Mamma Wantmore is only having a little bit of food! Willow asks why, and Mamma Wantmore says she had some of Opal’s candy from her secret stash last night. We see she’s reassuring her kiddos so they don’t worry about her… but we, the audience, know what’s happening. We know she’s making this ~noble sacrifice~. 

Btw, if she’s gonna lie, why is she lying about breaking into her daughter’s candy stash. Isn’t stealing kid’s candy pretty high on things you obviously shouldn’t do? I guess that’s one way to interject a bit of nuance in this supermom character, but like, lol, c’mon. Work on your fibbing, dumbass.

And if you want an even more nuanced parental figure, Pappa Wantmore is gonna do it for you. He’s a great guy who loves his kids and would regale them with stories of adventure, but as of recently, he’s nowhere to be found. This gives Willow a lot of mixed feelings, since she loves her dad but feels she doesn’t really “know” him, and feels hurt he’s not around. It’s pretty typical “dad’s not around” angst.

Even if there’s going to be a tearful reunion later down the road, this is a very strange detail to bring up now. Okay, it’s a single-parent household, but why do I need to know that the absent father here is, actually, a Really great guy? It’s fine if that’s part of your backstory but dude, this chapter 1, I’m still thinking about how you’re gonna be late and I keep looking over my shoulder to check the clock. Don’t hit me with your dad’s character bio.

(I won’t apologize for bringing up Willow’s Potential Lateness again, since that’s still a fraction of the time they belabor the point it in the chapter).

One thing that I did need more info on was the Wantmore household. We know it’s in bad shape, but I want to know what kind of house they’re living in, on a scale from “van down by the river” to “enchanted toadstool”. It’s a fantasy world with wands and shit, but it seems a few steps away from the average Tolkein-inspired fantasy. 

The spectrum from "methhead" to "cottagecore" (in the middle is living under the staircase like harry potter, but you put up some fairy lights to jazz up the place)

Once Willow steps out for adventure, she goes out into The Big City, which is full of vibrance and life, but she also needs to keep her head down so she doesn’t get stared at. It’s one of those things that I can conceptually see where this author was coming from - this city is a cool, exciting place, but she’s still self-conscious about her skin condition. It’s just the way they conveyed this information felt oddly contradictory. Are you excited to see this vibrant place or are you too scared to make eye contact? I know both can be true, but again, this could’ve been reworked so I could feel both with intensity rather than feeling like it’s a contradiction.

Eventually, Willow runs into her schoolyard bully, Jino. Jino is pretty mad that Willow is going to Hogwarts, since he’s a nepo-baby and his dad paid for him to get in. But just so you know he’s Really evil, for real, he also taunts her for her vitiligo.

Which is funny, because the text describes him as “tall for his age, lanky, and had a buzzcut to go along with his buzzkill demeanor.” I guess appearance-based bullying is totally cool, as long as it’s about hair.

Hey, little note, but all of the bullying here is absolutely toothless. It’s way too tame, even by the standards of kid’s media. It reminded me of when a cartoon has a Christmas special, everything’s going to be a little bit softer, because they know this is more likely to be played on the living room TV in competition for wholesomeness with the 24-hour marathon of “A Christmas Story”.

Earlier in the story, Opal says to Willow, “It’s about time you joined us, grumpy grumpelstiltskin,” and they stick their tongues out at each other while Mamma Wantmore is cooking breakfast. Buddy, they’re teenagers. Even when Rod and Todd Flanders get to that age, they’re not using “grumplestilskin” to insult each other.

So back in the city, Jino calls her “Wantless” and taunts with “Your brain must be splotched with stupid, just like your skin, if you really think you have the chance to become a cloak.” Again: having some trouble believing these would be used as actual taunts.

The narration tells us:

Jino and his lackeys didn’t miss an opportunity to express their dislike of Willow or her sister. And it was all because of her appearance. How am I supposed to control that? It wasn’t her fault or contagious, but these jerks didn’t care.

If the bullies leaned into teasing her about being “contagious” I would believe it a little more. Tell her that they don’t want her spreading her “infection” at the school. Or would that be a little too real and give people with, y’know, actual vitiligo flashbacks to real-deal- schoolyard bullying they experienced growing up? In which case, I rescind my critique.

I do wonder if they consulted anyone with vitiligo in the process of writing this, and if they gave their solemn Nod of Approval for the way it’s used as a plot point. The description teases that Willow’s vitiligo is actually a super special secret map- so I’m getting big time “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” vibes. Ashamed of a dermatological condition until it’s “useful”. Feels a little shitty that they’re applying this (already shaky) lesson to something people have in real life, but hey, that’s just speculation at this point.

Also - calling her “Wantless” as an insult? Come on. I’m not expecting outright slurs (I’m assuming “Wantdick” and “Dickmore” would be inappropriate), but you have to show a little more creativity with your bullying. The fact that Willow isn’t able to think of any comebacks just makes me think she’s dumber than this kid who couldn’t think of a better bully-nickname than “Wantless”.

Here’s how a good bully scene plays out:

1. The bully says a stupid bully thing

2. Our very cool very clever protagonist comes back with The Sickest Burn

3. The bully is outraged at being one-upped in wordsmithery, so he physically lashes out

4. Now that the bully has thrown the first physical punch, our protagonist is justified in any ass-kicking

And this story skips steps 2-3, so now Willow seems both stupid and violent. The narration tells us that “[s]he knew she should ignore Jino and his band of idiots, but she didn’t feel like taking the high road today. Willow had done that more than enough times.”

Well, do you do it every time? How long has this been going on? I get it, Jino’s a twerp that needs his ass kicked, I’m not taking his side here. But today’s your Big Day in the City, First Day At Hogwarts, now’s the worst time to break your Bushido code of pacifism.

So Willow kicks Jino’s ass in a magic fight, and it turns out their school’s Dumbledore (aka Master Linux) was watching the whole time. He says that Willow was such a badass in that fight that she doesn’t even need to take the entrance exam. She’s In, no need to worry. Once Willow trots off, Dumbledore tells Jino that he better watch himself, since there’s people “willing to pay five times what your father did for your admission into the Guild to get their hands on her and the wand.” Ruh roh, could Dumbledore be… corrupt???

The whole reason Willow even wants to go to Hogwarts is so she can become a Cloak and improve the lives of Youta people. Cloaks are graduates of Hogwarts, and their duties fall somewhere between politician and cop. No notes on that so far, I’m just letting you know in case they in any way fumble on their message of progress and change.

Once Willow is alone, she’s cornered by three people - one of which, Reagus, scoops her up and runs off somewhere private so the “real” bad guys can’t get her. Before Reagus can properly introduce himself, Willow is knocked out cold (not sure if from a roofie or magic, once again igniting my question of where on the scale from “methhead” to “cottagecore”) — but the narration tells us that this reminded Reagus of his daughteru and how badly he wanted to be a better dad. Given how aggressively pro-natalist this story’s been, I guess this is to let us know that Reagus is Good, actually.

So the chapter starts with our protagonist being forced out of bed… to being forced asleep. My hopes for her taking a more active role in the story got even lower.

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