The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong (Novel) Vol. 2 Paperback – April 19, 2022

Same as the first volume, this second has a lovely, high quality cover with gorgeous art to match! I especially appreciate the color insert with a little bonus illustration. Xiao has done a wonderful job in all the illustrations, perfectly capturing (and sometimes adding some much appreciated dramatic flare) to the tone of the scenes. The art is especially evocative of an elegant ink brush painting in the black and white pieces, and adds a real charm - Like I’m picking up an old classic novel with lovingly hand painted art! I think the only thing I could criticize is the length of the glossary at the end, and even that comes down to preference. It is quite large, and will be very useful to newcomers in the genre, but being the second in the series I feel they could have cut down on the size just a touch and potentially fit in another chapter instead. Granted, that would take chapters away from the upcoming volumes and make them scrawny by comparison so I do see the logic and assume Seven Seas has planned their volumes and pages well in advance.Story wise, I really enjoy the ups and downs, the wild chases, and ridiculous antics that abound in this volume! It has some of my absolute favorite moments in the series and many of the jokes have been excellently handled either by direct translation or tasteful localization. You can really feel the impact of the moment sqq himself realizes he has not been the most reliable narrator, accounting for his own bias. His inner monologue on two men being together isn’t great, but considering how little everyone around him seems to mind it’s made pretty clear that it’s less of the novel going “haha gay joke” and more that the joke is framing sqq as being the weird one for his lack of self awareness and silly modern hang-ups, but I do see how it could be a deal breaker for some and advise discretion if that’s something you know is a hard no for you. (If you’re on the fence though, he does get over it. Obviously. Considering the genre.)Also if you are a Liu sibling fan like I am they have some great moments in this volume - personal fave being the lmy & shl illustration again, thank you Xiao!I’m again looking forward to the next volume to see how all these wild threads begin to come together for the finale! Hopefully we also get some of the extras going into the mysterious pasts of Shen Jiu and Airplane bro as well, but we will see come July!

MXTX is a wonderful writer! This series is great although it would be considered my least favorite in her (so far) 3 series, it is still great

I’ve been waiting for a month for this!!Ok so I’m going to start off by saying that we finally get to see how the moon dew mushroom is used. Everything in this second book was really unexpected. It was not the least bit cliché and all so refreshing. The plot leaves multiple possibilities and outcomes, but while I think this book is very creative, I also think that it very short. Even though a lot clearly happened, it also felt like it wasn’t much. I wish the author could’ve put more complications into the main characters’ relationship and to basically make the book longer so I can savor it more. I would really appreciate it if more plot holes were covered and more events were added. In any case, I can’t wait to read the next volume!

I love MXTX's works so if you are a fan of others this one will be just as good! Very funny protagonist and cast too.

I love my insane gay books

This book is amazing! After reading the online version seeing the physical book is so exciting! The pictures inside help the visualization a lot. The relationship between Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqui is so beautiful and dynamic, but it's also tragic and has its comedic side. The way that Shen QingQui Is so oblivious to Luo Binghe is so funny. Especially at the beginning of the Water Prison arc. I overall really recommend this book and really hope you take the time to read it!

I think I like volume 2 of Scum Villain even better than the first! Once again, absolutely gorgeous pictures to go along to a funny and engaging story that has even more drama. I can't wait for the next installment!The only reason I deducted a star is because my book arrived slightly damaged at the corners, along with the other two books it was packaged with. Do better Amazon. A flimsy envelope is not enough padding for three heavy books, especially when you know packages get tossed about; use more bubble wrap around each book individually or better yet, use a box and bubble wrap when shipping books instead of an envelope.

Shen Qingqiu is awesome. It was so pleasant to read. I couldn't put the book down.