Help I Accidentally Made My Reader Omniscient
Written By Ariel Wong and Koko Liu
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is a Korean web novel written by the authors SingNSong, and has been adapted into a successful webcomic with the Westernised name “Omniscient Reader”. The webcomic follows a revised version of the original novel and is illustrated and produced by studio Sleepy-C. This is the first part of a 2 part series on the franchise and will discuss events that have happened in the webcomic as of October 19th, 2023, while the next one will delve into events further on in the story (Novel spoilers).
The story goes as follows: Kim Dokja (28 M) has spent the last 10 years of his life reading a web novel, which just ended today. The novel then suddenly disappears off the face of the earth, and supernatural creatures appear in thin air, killing people left and right. Kim Dokja then gets a sense of Deja Vu and realises that the story of the ridiculously long-running novel he’s been reading, Three Ways to Survive a Ruined World (TWSA), has suddenly come to life. Being the sole reader of the web novel, he is armed with a ridiculous amount of knowledge and begins his journey in this world of scenarios, powers, and constellations.
SUBVERTING EXPECTATIONS
At first glance, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (Shortened to ORV) appears to be another generic power fantasy webcomic churned out by Webtoon for a dime a dozen: our protagonist is a typical, weak office worker who suddenly gains an absurd amount of power in some world-ending apocalyptic scenario where their normal world becomes a fantasy filled with monsters, dungeons, and mythical beings. As the story advances, the further it deviates from its generic brethren. It goes from an overpowered protagonist steamrolling through scenarios to a meta-story which loops back in on itself and even incorporates you, the reader, into the greater narrative itself. As of the writing of this article, the Webtoon is currently in the 9th scenario, Dark Castle. This is where we consider the story to be taking off and exploring all its options narratively: exploring the world of the constellations (foreshadowed throughout the beginning), exploring the demon realm (foreshadowed with the curse of the demon king) and so on and so forth.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
If you’ve read the Webtoon, you’ll know that Kim Dokja’s skill seems quite overpowered: an ability which allows him to use some character’s skills at will. However, there’s one catch: he needs first to develop a deep understanding of that character in order to use their skill to the highest level. It might seem easy since he’s the omniscient reader and all, but the usage time, slots and skill levels are limited, which makes him strong, but not overpowered. His other skill, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, allows him to read other characters’ thoughts and simple actions initially but evolves to enable a third-person viewpoint during the later stages of the Webtoon. Although these abilities seem overused and overpowered, they are justified in him being the sole reader of TWSA, and he still struggles a fair amount throughout the story. Besides, there’s the absolute unit of a man Yoo Joongkyuk who’s arguably way more powerful than him.
Kim Dokja’s greatest strength doesn’t lie in his skills, it lies in his knowledge of TWSA. His deep understanding of characters, scenarios and hidden loopholes makes him one of the most threatening characters in the story, despite not having the best attributes, skills, or physical strength. Instead of giving him the highest stats or best personal skills to artificially make him a strong protagonist, making his prior understanding of the story his best attribute and the centre of the story adds a lot of diversity to a genre where the main character is usually a self-insert with some ridiculous power to fulfil any power fantasies the reader may have. The best part of this being his strong suit is the fact that his knowledge can be shared and passed on to other characters, helping them evolve alongside them instead of being carried along.
ART
Art/ Better Art
Since this is more of a review of the Webtoon, we need to discuss its greatest difference from the web novel: the art. The artwork of a Webtoon is integral to its storytelling, as badly composed panels, nonsensical anatomy and stock effects can easily ruin the reading experience. The artist studio SleepyC does an amazing job translating the fantastical combat and storytelling of ORV into a Webtoon, with detailed panelling, dynamic posing, varied character designs and fanciful effects. As with most Webtoons, the art style and quality gradually change as the Webtoon goes on. For ORV, it means the Webtoon only gets better. See these 2 screenshots: One is from the beginning (left), and the other is from the middle of the series so far (right). See how the hair has more lustre and how the clothing has better shading? This shows how the quality of the webtoon is steadily increasing, further displaying the artistic merit.
PROMINENCE IN HK CULTURE
On the Traditional Chinese version of Webtoon, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is currently ranked as the 2nd most popular webcomic on the entire site, which is generally used by Hong Kong and Taiwan residents. Below are reviews from fellow ORV enjoyers:
“I think ORV has a very unique storyline which makes me want to keep on reading ORV and I also like the art in the Webtoon. It’s very detailed and has a lot of variety ”- A. C. number 1
“For people who are willing to take the time and enjoy the story, I believe that the series is enjoyable. When you eventually get to a certain part of the story, everything established prior starts to make sense. Even though the series is unfinished, I think that the structure of the story thus far has been phenomenal, as I believe there to be good depth in characters but still have room for interpretation.”- A. C. number 2
“It’s a really fascinating take on dystopian fiction with extremely unique world-building. I don’t think I have seen a lot of other books with the same premise”- S. Z.
OUR TAKE (PROPAGANDA)
ORV cool, go read.
Although the description of ORV may seem like your generic power fantasy dystopian comic, its true power lies in its brilliant execution. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint offers a unique reading experience with its subversive narrative, humorous respite from the chaotic fighting, and establishment of many mysteries that have yet to be revealed (within the Webtoon).
I particularly enjoy the establishment of mysteries about world-building. Although the Webtoon has yet to delve into the lore surrounding the biggest mysteries within the story, the current story does an astonishing job at omitting information to create a sense of suspense. For example, the intentional usage of ■■ to censor what seems to be incredibly important information throughout the entire narrative raises cardinal questions in regard to the worldbuilding and lore surrounding the entire story.
Personally, I enjoyed it when Kim Dokja ■■■■■ for the third time and everyone called him ugly at his ■■■■■■■.
However, it’s just getting started.
At its current pace, the Webtoon will take another 10 years to complete serialisation. So, why not jump in and read ahead on the web novel instead? With a glorious chapter count of 551, including the epilogue, you get to see all 99 scenarios in nitty-gritty detail, and you are privy to some of the biggest secrets and hard-hitting plot twists in the whole story. It may seem like a long and intimidating read, but I can guarantee that every chapter is full of sheer hype and fun shenanigans, as well as plenty of gut punches to exercise your tear ducts.
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