Lavanya Singh, New Delhi

Omniscient Reader is a fictional Korean comic, now popularly known as Webtoon. It is a thrilling action comic consisting of really intriguing plots and exceptional characters. These characters make readers hooked up with this comic for a very long time.

The ongoing comic, Omniscient Reader, is based on the completed web novel “Omniscient Reader Viewpoint” by Sing Shong. Currently, there are 43 official English chapters on LINE Webtoon and 46 Korean chapters on Naver Webtoon. It has an 8.3/10 rating of MyAnimeList (MAL) and 4.3 stars by Animal Planet. Redice Studio is the producer of this ongoing comic and adopted by UML. The artist of the comic is known as Sleep C. The weekly episode takes place every Wednesday.

‘Omniscient Reader’ focuses on Kim Dokja, a lonely 28-year-old office worker in Korea who reads web novels as a hobby. On a subway ride home, the web novel Dokja had been reading for the past decade finally comes to an end. The in-story web novel, “Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse (TWSA)” written by an anonymous writer tls123, ended with over 3,000 chapters, with Dokja as the only reader of the web novel—which also meant that only he knew how the story would end. Upon finishing the novel, the anonymous author, tls123, reaches out to Dokja, saying that TWSA would become paid content at 7 pm. Coincidentally, the subway Dokja was riding was attacked at 7 pm. When a dokkaebi, or Korean goblin, gives a quest scenario from TWSA, Dokja realizes that the beloved novel he’s read for the past decade has turned into reality. When the real world is plunged into the premise of Ways of Survival, Kim Dokja’s knowledge of the novel becomes vital to his survival. He allies with the protagonist of the novel Yoo Joong-hyuk to change the original story of the novel.

To begin, the plot of “Omniscient Reader” is fantastic. I’ve read a great deal of isekai (science-fiction manga’s) and fantasy manhwas, but this might be the most intriguing one I’ve read so far. The world-building is superb—the statistics system by which the characters level up and the mini-game scenarios the characters go through are all executed extremely well. The dokkaebi, the mythical horned beings, stream the character scenarios for the constellations. Constellations, the mysterious beings behind this tragedy, watch the dokkaebi stream and give characters coins if they entertain them. Characters can use these coins to level up their statistics. They can sponsor a character they favour, allowing characters to use their sponsor constellation powers—but Dokja has his unique ability.

Alongside the world-building, each chapter of “Omniscient Reader” is action-packed and exciting because of the scenarios the characters have to solve. Readers get to watch how Dokja and his companions struggle and grow, facing every difficulty thrown at them headfirst, and it’s extremely thrilling. I especially enjoy these action scenes because the panels are very well-drawn, immersing the readers directly in the action. 

The character growth experienced by Dokja and the supporting characters makes this comic a worthwhile read. At first, readers see Dokja as a timid businessman, barely scraping his way through life. But as he adapts to his new reality, Dokja displays intelligence and cunningness that was never used in his previous role. Even in the story’s first challenge, Dokja overcomes the scenario with his knowledge of the book that he has read for a decade, he uses his wits and passes the scenario without killing anyone with his own hands. The dokkaebi also add a comical touch to the webtoon as soon as they appear on the screen because they are seen to be cute looking but are dangerous as hell.

Being a person who likes action, thriller, comedy, and romantic comics, it comes in 3 of my favourite category making it a webtoon for me. I have been reading this webtoon from the start of it as I was a reader of a web novel after which this webtoon is made, named “Omniscient Reader Viewpoint.” Even though, I know the whole story, it is still so amazing as the webtoon itself has beautiful and prestigious drawings or artwork showing the storyline differently. And as I wrote before its plot and characters are remarkably made to seem relatable.

I highly recommend “Omniscient Reader” to people who enjoy reading stories that are action-packed and with an original plot. This webtoon is similar to “Solo Leveling”; they have similar art styles and statistic systems. However, there isn’t any romance at the moment, so readers who prefer romance may want to read something else. 

All in all, “Omniscient Reader” is highly recommended. It is a webtoon that is thrilling with every scroll, which makes you want to read more. The plot is action-packed and original, and the characters show beautiful development through the hardships they face while completing the scenarios. 

And technically, you are the omniscient reader of any book you read. Do let us know if this makes you read the webtoon or the webnovel. You can read the webtoon here:

Omniscient Reader Webtoon