I finished reading my ORV ARC this afternoon, and I'm really looking forward to the novel release in July! As I finished each chapter of the novel, I scrolled through the webtoon adaptation just to kinda compare the adapted content to the original source material. I love art as a storytelling medium in manga/hwa/webtoons, but I always really appreciate the extra detail and nuance in original novel content.
ORV follows a man in his late 20’s, Dokja Kim, who has been reading an unpopular apocalyptic web novel, Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse, for over a decade. The novel abruptly comes to an end, and the following day, the events from the novel start happening in his world, and he has to use his knowledge from what he’s read to survive.
I love Dokja!! He is such a relatable character because of his identity as a reader. He already had a pretty pessimistic attitude about life, but once he accepts his new reality, he knows he’s facing life or death situations and comes to terms with his morally grey decision making. As a reader, it feels so empowering to see all his successes because his achievements are mainly due to READING, taking what he’s read over the years and putting it to use!!
When reading the webtoon last year, I really liked the balance between the comedy and gruesome scenes. Dokja is hilarious when he’s judging people and is indignant at antagonists for their stupidity. It’s so funny to me too how the constellations weigh in on EVERYTHING and each have their own unique identities! This first volume sets the tone for the series and acclimates readers to the workings of the scenarios, attributes, sponsorships, and nonhuman characters. I’m really looking forward to continuing into the next volume because I love a lot of the upcoming character relationship dynamics and interactions! Junghyeok isn’t heavily featured in this volume, but I LOVE his dynamic with Dokja as the story goes, and I especially love little Gilyeong’s requited affection for Dokja ^~^
Can’t wait (for the official vol 1 release ofc, but also) volume 2 so I can continue reading!!