Omniscient Reader

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Ahh this seems to be a new addition in here and I was WAITING for this to be added.

Note that the webtoon just recently released a few months back and I will be writing my review for the 36 chapters I have read, not the webnovel.
So let's get to it now, my review might be a bit too long with some spoilers.


STORY: 10/10
This starts off with a simple yet exciting plotline that many readers might be able to relate to. Our MC here is an avid reader of webnovels and he followed one of them in particular called "Three Ways to survive the apocalypse" ... for 10 years religiously seeking a distraction from worldly matters.
The intriguing part kicks off the moment he finally finishes reading it with the message, "There are three ways to survive this apocalypse. Everything is fading and becoming unclear now. But one thing is certain, if you're reading this, you will survive". He was the the sole reader. Then at once, everything came to a standstill.

Fiction became reality.

It's basically this huge Jumanji mixed with Hunger Games. Except the entire world has fallen prey to it and only the MC knows how the plot goes. Oh and did I mention that the whole world has now become a huge streaming service for the entertainment of celestial beings? The story continues to get more and more and complex and interesting as it goes on but I'll leave that for you to discover. The world building here is *chefs kiss*. Power System is extremely well thought out.

ART: 10/10
From the same studio that did the art of Solo Leveling, need I say more?

CHARACTER: 10/10 (100/10 if I could)
The Characters CARRY.
Kim Dokja the mc. The story at first leads you into believing that he's a naive and clumsy guy. I mean, what would you expect from someone who failed multiple exams getting enrolled into a third rate college and still struggles with work, seeking happiness from reading a web novel throughout his life. It becomes quite apparent once the apocalypse begins though, that he is NOTHING like that.

He stands at this very fine line between good and bad, that he could even be considered a realist. That should be the case for a 28 year old man. He does what has to be done to survive. He's cunning and manipulative as well, leads you to wonder why he did not become a businessman! Surely with his intellect and memory power, he would not have performed this badly at life? Turns out later in the story that there is more to him that meets the eye. It has not been covered completely in the webtoon yet, but I must say I'm hooked.
It's never dull when he's on the scene, bringing out new and innovative ways to clear each scenario, a method that you might have never expected. It's not even about overpowering the difficulties, it's about outsmarting them.
I should mention that while Kim Dokja is the main character, there is a true protagonist, the one who was the actual protagonist of the webnovel he read. Funny thing is, this character would more suit the OP af, good looking trope that protagonists of fantasy genres like these have.

The side characters are great as well. They are a mix of the characters that Dokja actually read about in the webnovel plus characters that are exceptions. Each character has their own specialty, personality and traits and they grow in their own ways. Some mysterious characters included. Their interactions are a treat to read especially. It would take a hundred years if I have to describe each of them so let's leave it at that.

ENJOYMENT: 10/10
The comedy here is surprisingly top tier! It has a very dark and gritty start, so the comedic scenes feel very welcomed and also natural. No fanservice involved, so that's a plus point. Keep an eye out for the viewers of this grand show too, they keep this webtoon very lively with their reactions.
I'm enjoying this quite a lot so far and I would really recommend you to check this out for yourself whether you enjoy this too or not!

OVERALL: 10/10
Yes yes I know that this has been a completely positive review. Unfortunately, I'm unable to find any glaring flaws in this media. If there are any, it was easily ignorable. ORV has high potential, and from what I've heard from the reviews of the webnovel, it doesn't fall of in quality but rather rises in it. The biggest negative I would say is that this is addictive, so I suggest waiting for more chapters to pile up before beginning instead of committing my mistake.
Another little flaw is that the pacing is a bit slow, but I'd say that is good since this is a plot heavy manwha and a lot of the information in the beginning is relevant later on so rushing through the concepts won't help.

TL;DR Read Omniscient Reader and see if it is your cup of tea! I do not think you would regret giving this one a shot!

Okay. Here's the thing. I absolutely adore Omniscient Reader. The webnovel is easily beside my favourite novels/series like Les Miserables and Lord of the Rings. Seriously. The novel is just that good, and I honestly, wholeheartedly recommend reading the novel if you're someone who loves stories and great characters. There are a lot of impactful and heartbreaking moments in the book, and it moved me to tears both while reading it and thinking about it. So yeah. I love this novel. But then why did I only rate the webtoon a 7?

The thing is that Omniscient Reader is a story told from an unreliable point ... of view---throughout the story, Kim Dokja is constantly misleading the reader, hiding things from you, and thus you rely on the other characters who are more concise and clear with intent (Yoo Joonghyuk, Han Sooyoung) to fill you in on what he may have left out of the narration. Kim Dokja does not like conveying his emotions, he wants to *appear* like a calm and level headed leader who totally knows the best course of action, but the narration of other characters, the fourth wall, and even his own views on himself betray this. It shows you just how lonely he is and how lowly he views himself, and why he has no value for his own life, and why he is willing to throw away his life for his companions (because they are his everything). The point of view changes in this novel can let you into how the others view the world, and how Kim Dokja actually felt during a certain moment. On top of this, it lets you know what other characters might have been during between periods of time (ex. When YJH threw KDJ into the Han River during the itho-im not spelling that-saur scenario, he actually came back to the bridge and waited for him for 3 days). The webtoon chooses to focus almost entirely on Kim Dokja, and the effect of an unreliable narrator loses all of it's meaning when you can see the action rather than having to trust Kim Dokja to accurately describe what is happening. I think that the loss of the unreliable aspect of the novel, combined with the fact that you don't really read all of his thoughts, I can get why people don't think his motivations make sense, because his motivations lie within his constant commentary, and the rumblings of the fourth wall or the viewpoint of another character help further your knowledge of his character. As a result, I think his webtoon counterpart lacks depth that his original webnovel self had. Removing the context of Kim Dokja's thought process and ramblings, it makes webtoon Kim Dokja come off as flat sometimes (not all of the time, but definitely certain moments where he had plenty of internal dialogue reduced to a few sentences).

I also feel like the reader loving the story metaphor is lost in other forms of media, and that is why I fear the release of the movie to be honest...with the webtoon, those elements are completely removed since you can't hear all of Kim Dokja's thoughts and the thoughts of other characters, and I feel as if it focuses entirely on the action instead. Also, the addition of new characters (like that one dude from the peace land arc, whom I cannot recall the name of. in the novel it was just Asuka Ren, which ties in to the theme of authors and readers loving the stories that they make, and the peaceland arc was way longer now that I think of it) is something that I believe to be unnecessary.

The art is amazing, beautiful colours and clean lineart, and some panels are so beautiful I'd frame them if I could tbh...

But other than that, as a reader of the novel and the first person to sing it's praises to the highest point in the Alps, I think that the original meaning and overall emotional impact of the novel is lost in the webtoon because of the lack of external narration and because Kim Dokja is no longer an unreliable narrator. Thanks for sticking around!

This story is the peak of deus ex machina(a.k.a Random BS Go!!!) if I've ever seen one. Almost every conflict and problem is resolved by introducing a new element or character instead of with wit and determination. None of the characters hold any weight in the grand scheme of things. You just know that some new BS plot armor will save the day no matter what.

The world-building is a huge mess that lacks any consistency and logic. Again, new elements and characters keep getting conveniently introduced and immediately dropped/killed off once they're no longer useful to the plot. Even the leveling in the game ... system is a unsalvageable mess. I mean, gathering stories to gain power is a truly unique concept, but...

I'm a sucker for the "game-like" and OP MC trope but this is just not it. I had planned to keep reading the manhwa till I'm caught up with the latest chapter then continue reading the novel but I don't think I can make it that far.

Edit: OK so I lied. I went on to read the novel, thinking that it should be better than the manhwa (novels are always better, right? Right??), and I actually made it to 60% before finally giving up. It really didn't get better... In fact, the Random-BS-Go got even more random, and the BS grew to ES (Elephant S). Entities from the whole universe b*tching on social media all day long bla bla bla, lack of "Probability" bla bla bla, swinging gianormous and micro stories in each other's faces bla bla bla. Rinse and repeat. Maybe it's just lost in translation? I'm not sure. But one thing for sure is that I've given it my best shot and it's just not for me.