Live-action films have a notorious reputation amongst the anime community, and after bearing witness to the adaptation of the manhwa,Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, it would appear that they likewise affect thewebtooncommunity as well.Omniscient Reader: The Prophecyis set to debut on August 1st, but each new reveal has fans baffled over the production decisions.
Based on thewebnovel and webcomic by singNshong,Omniscient Reader’s Viewpointis told through Kim Dokja, a young man short on luck who finds comfort in web stories online, specifically Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World. Just when his favorite series wraps up with its last chapter, the apocalyptic tale breaks into reality.
Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy Revises Many Roles Among the Cast
The Biggest of Which is Changing Yoo Sang-ha to a Healer
From introducing guns to changing around character roles,Omniscient Reader’slive-action adaptation has made some curious changes that have caused an uproar amongst the fanbase. Many have even accused the movie of being a “soulless cash grab” due to how far it has strayed from the original source material.
Inan interview with Naver, the actresses playing Yoo Sang-ah, Jung Hee Won, and Lee Ji-hye answered questions about getting into shape for their roles in the movie. Chae Soo-bin, who is playing Yoo Sang-ah, one of Kim Dokja’s coworkers, expressed her excitement over training for her part and spoke about Sang-ah’s character:
“She has the wisdom and warmth to overcome crises with realistic judgement, and uses skills to connect broken bridges and heal her colleagues by using silk thread. Sang-ah’s charm lies in being able to serve as a stepping stone for someone and help them stand on their own two feet.”
Schematics aside, what really has fans worried about this new development is how it could relegate Sang-ah to a stereotypical female lead role who acts as the healer and potential love interest. This directly contradicts her role within the novel, asshe was meant to counteract those tropes and serve as an equally capable survivor in the apocalypse.
Im Jin-ah and Kim Ji-soo, who play Jung Hee Won and Lee Ji-hye respectively, also spoke up about their roles, recalling their many months of training to get the action sequences down fluidly. Although their new weapons of choice have stirred even more debate, it is reassuring that the female cast isn’t all being downplayed to supporting roles.
‘Small Changes’ Have Escalated Into Major Plot-Bending Narratives
Is The Movie Even the Same After So Many Alterations to Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Story?
With as manychanges that are being made toOmniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’swebnovel, its live-action adaptation is going to find itself hard-pressed to adhere to the source material’s own plot faithfully. The decisions being made have gone beyond picking actors based on their looks and evolved into breaking the themes the light novel worked so hard to build.
By introducing weapons like guns, Hee Won’s daggers, and the gauntlet device Lee Hyeon-seong is equipped with,defeats the premise of the apocalypse that is forcing these characters to resort to primitive methodsof make-shifting weapons during their early stages. This could be an attempt at a modern retelling of ORV, but it still results in negative reception among fans.
Another peculiar choice was regressing the age of Lee Gil Yeong, who is depicted to be around a middle-schooler’s age or preteen. In the trailer, he’s often seen being carried around or holding his hands up to his head like antenna, presumably alluding to his future attribute to communicate with insects.
While not a breaking detriment to the film, it does present problems down the line that will contrast considerably with the webnovel. As a survivor in the apocalypse and someone who grows quite close to Dokja, Gil Yeong is meant to act as someone who can fend for himself despite grown-ups trying to shield him.
Appearances can be overlooked, but not their motivations or inherent nature that helps viewers align or understand the choices they make, especially in an apocalyptic story.
Production claimed these small changes wouldn’t impact the overall film; however,they are mounting to a point where they are changing ORV’s narrative, and even the personalities of the characters themselves. Dokja’s panicked cry as he’s dangled above the seabeast’s mouth replaces his abrasive challenge to Yoo Jung-hyuk, the protagonist, to drop him while silently cursing when he’s let go.
This moment is significant because it’s the turning point of Dokja’s character as he becomes more adept at challenging and changing parts of the webnovel’s story because of how familiar he is with it. Appearances can be overlooked, but not their motivations or inherent nature that helps viewers align or understand the choices they make, especially in an apocalyptic story.
Live-Action Adaptations Fail Because They Move Away From the Source Material
Faithful Adaptations Live Long Enough to Reap The Success They’ve Built
Omniscient Reader: The Prophecyis said to be the first of five feature films that will adapt the webnovel and will likely encompass the events in the subway before concluding just before the Theatre arc. Due to time restraints, side quests may be glossed over to fit the major sequences in the film, which isn’t abnormal for live-action adaptations.
However, live-action adaptations normally are well-received among fans and audiences alikedue to their adherence to the source material, like in the case of Netflix’sOne Piece, with season two being highly anticipated among original and new fans alike. Although changes were made to condense the manga’s material, most were done so to fit 90 chapters into eight episodes.
Adaptations that stray too far often incur the wrath of fans, withNetflix’sKakeguruilive-action losing half of its supportersdue to its parody version of the original anime. WhileBetmanaged to generate some success among Western and Japanese audiences,it was perceived as controversial for most of its production.
Live-action adaptations are tricky beasts in that any change will incite some backlash, andOmniscient Reader: The Prophecyhas made many, many changes. It’s yet to be seen just how far the movie has strayed from the original webnovel that started it all, and that fact leaves fans incredibly worried about how new fans will perceive the series.
