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- Dec 25, 2024
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I learned recently that they made a movie out of my favorite webcomic, based off a web novel I never read. It got panned by critics, but my wife and I thought it was fantastic.
To avoid spoilers, it's a story about the power of stories. It's kind of an isekai-with-a-twist, the main character from our perspective is the reader of a story online that becomes true. He doesn't get sucked into it, rather, the real world follows the plot of his story all of a sudden.
It's a fun romp primarily, but on some level, I feel it speaks to something about reality. In the world of Omniscient Reader, stories have more power than skills, and skills have more power than attributes. Later chapters show that on a meaningful level, you are made out of your stories—and isn't that just the truth? We're defined by what's happened to us, it's human nature to practice "mastering the story"—retelling the same story with slight variations until you've told the "perfect" version of that story given the context you're bringing it up in.
There's another occult theme that gets brought up early in the story. They call them "supporting constellations", "constellation" being the term in Omniscient Reader for powers above mortality, whether it's a so-called "historical constellation" (someone from our history who ascended through deeds) or a higher being like an archangel. It feels very familiar to the occult practice of picking patrons, hoping that by working specifically with one entity you'll have more success than by playing the field. This is probably part of why I love the comic so much, Dokja reminds me of me, refusing to pick a sponsor and instead trying to speak to the constellations as an equal.
The movie only covers the first 50 or so pages of the comic, it's very much so the first act, but it has some fantastic special effects. Please watch it! I really hope they make a sequel. It's a korean production, but tubi had a good english dub available.
To avoid spoilers, it's a story about the power of stories. It's kind of an isekai-with-a-twist, the main character from our perspective is the reader of a story online that becomes true. He doesn't get sucked into it, rather, the real world follows the plot of his story all of a sudden.
It's a fun romp primarily, but on some level, I feel it speaks to something about reality. In the world of Omniscient Reader, stories have more power than skills, and skills have more power than attributes. Later chapters show that on a meaningful level, you are made out of your stories—and isn't that just the truth? We're defined by what's happened to us, it's human nature to practice "mastering the story"—retelling the same story with slight variations until you've told the "perfect" version of that story given the context you're bringing it up in.
There's another occult theme that gets brought up early in the story. They call them "supporting constellations", "constellation" being the term in Omniscient Reader for powers above mortality, whether it's a so-called "historical constellation" (someone from our history who ascended through deeds) or a higher being like an archangel. It feels very familiar to the occult practice of picking patrons, hoping that by working specifically with one entity you'll have more success than by playing the field. This is probably part of why I love the comic so much, Dokja reminds me of me, refusing to pick a sponsor and instead trying to speak to the constellations as an equal.
The movie only covers the first 50 or so pages of the comic, it's very much so the first act, but it has some fantastic special effects. Please watch it! I really hope they make a sequel. It's a korean production, but tubi had a good english dub available.