Images: Realize Pictures; Naver Webtoon
It's gotten to the point that fans have started calling the movie "Omniscient Reader's Gunpoint."
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (ORV) fans have been eagerly awaiting both the upcoming anime and live-action adaptations of the popular manhwa. On 15 February, the live-action film, titled Omniscient Reader: The Prophet, released its first teaser, offering a first look at its take on the story.
The teaser featured the subway scene where the main character, Kim Dokja (Ahn Hyo-Seop), reading a novel on a phone—except that whatever he's reading keeps turning into reality. Other notable characters, played by big Korean actors, were also present in the trailer, namely Yoo Joonghyuk (Lee Min Ho), Blackpink's own Lee Jihye (Jisoo), and more.
However, it seems like the trailer for the live-action movie has not been received well by manhwa fans. Some complaints were based on the movie’s casting choices, despite featuring notable South Korean actors and actresses, as well as their costuming. On top of that, others were worried about the lack of Constellations and Dokkaebis in the teaser.
Omniscient Reader’s “Gunpoint”
Most of the contention was based on the use of guns, rather than swords, in the teaser. Some of ORV’s biggest characters like Yoo Junghyeok and Lee Jihye were spotted in the trailer using a gun, instead of the swords they are known to wield. Buttercup_sol, a user on X (formerly Twitter) shared their thoughts on the trailer. “Why guns tho?... Like what's the consideration behind reaplacing swords to guns?” they said.
On Reddit, the sentiment was similar. “Saying I'm devastated is an understatement. They are going to ruin the story with the changes they've made,” Redditor _Paper_Flower_complained. According to them, the “modernization wasn’t necessary,” pointing out how swords were a major part of the story, such as “Unbreakable Faith,” a sword and a relic in the series.
Many jokingly called the movie “Omniscient Reader’s Gunpoint” because of the number of guns that were shown in the series. Eventually, fans started started creating memes based on the live-action’s trailer:
The memes consisted of ORV posters or trailers where swords were replaced with rifles, even if the scene involved a sword stabbing another character.
In the manhwa, swords play an important role in the story. Many of them have a thematic and symbolic role closely tied to the characters of ORV. Some swords were also gifted or awarded during parts of the story. The swords were also connected to “Constellations,” or powerful legendary beings from various mythologies.
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is based on a webnovel written by Korean author duo known as 싱숑, sing N song on Munpia. The series ran from 6 January 2018 to 9 February 2020. It was later serialized as a manhwa with artwork by Sleepy-C as the main artist and UMI as the assistant artist. The webtoon adaptation was first published on Naver Webtoon in South Korea on 26 May, 2020 before it became available on LINE Webtoon in August 2021.
ORV follows the story of Kim Dokja, an ordinary office worker who spent years reading an obscure web novel called Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World. One day, the events of the novel suddenly becomes reality, and he’s the only one who knows how the story unfolds. Having knowledge of future events, he navigates deadly survival scenarios orchestrated by celestial beings called Constellations, while working alongside the novel’s protagonist Yoo Joonghyuk.
Omniscient Reader: The Prophet is scheduled for release in July 2025.
