When Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint burst onto the Munpia platform in 2018, it did so with an original and unique meta-narrative proposal: a reader who knows by heart every twist and turn of a novel that suddenly becomes reality, being the only reader who managed to complete its 3,149 chapters.
This novel concluded in 2020, but the story of Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk soon found new life in Naver's webtoon, and is also expected to be adapted into a film and animation series later.
The following article reviews the evolution of the work, the tensions surrounding the imminent release of the live-action on July 23, 2025, and the expectations raised by the anime series produced by Aniplex and Crunchyroll.
The web novel that conquered millions
Written by the duo known as Sing Shong, Omniscient Reader combines apocalyptic fantasy, survival fantasy, and reflection on the act of reading itself. It also incorporates a wealth of historical and mythological references from different cultures, along with philosophical reflections that add depth and meaning to the plot without making it unnecessarily complex, further enhancing its appeal for readers and fans, offering the enchantment that characterizes this work.
From its initial publication on January 6, 2018, to its closure on February 2, 2020, the work accumulated tens of millions of readers, opened a market for Korean web novels in the West, and generated a surprisingly active fandom, supported by official translations in several languages and an extensive corpus of analysis and fan art.
The jump to live action: premiere on July 23, 2025
Realize Pictures and Munpia announced an ambitious five-feature film project in 2019, the first installment of which, Omniscient Reader: The Prophet, directed by Kim Byung-woo and produced by Won Dong-yeon, hits South Korean theaters on July 23.
With a budget of 30 billion won (about 20 million euros), the film features Ahn Hyo-seop as Kim Dokja and Lee Min-ho as Yoo Joonghyuk, accompanied by Chae Soo-bin, Shin Seung-ho, Nana and BLACKPINK star Jisoo.
The studio is banking on a staggered worldwide release following the domestic premiere and has already hinted that filming on the second film will begin before the end of 2025.
Controversies sparked by the first trailer:
The change from swords to firearms.
The promotional campaign sparked debate when teasers showed Lee Jihye—a fencing master in the original work—wielding a sniper rifle.
Fans and critics dubbed the film “Omniscient Reader's Gunpoint,” claiming that changing the heroine's connection to the saber distorts the influence of her Constellation, Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and alters the hand-to-hand combat dynamic that defines her arc.
Yoo Joonghyuk could also be seen using a firearm from the first scene, which also discouraged fans, since the use of swords in him is also characteristic, and traditional bladed weapons had great prominence from the beginning of the story, however, with the inclusion of firearms, from this point on they could be clearly overshadowed due to their disadvantage in range and precision, distorting the confrontations and taking focus away from the tradition, history and mythology that marked key points of the appeal in the initial novel...
However, fans have admitted that his actor seems to be the only one in the production who has read and captured the essence of the original work and, with it, of his own character.
The director defended the decision, citing "dramatic needs," and the production company noted that the writers approved the script. However, on forums and social media, suspicion prevails regarding these and other possible creative liberties, such as the one taken with the Dokkaebi, "Korean goblins" who greatly influenced the plot. Their overly artificial appearance left many unhappy. They question whether such approval, if given, was truly free and voluntary or was tied to a contract that included such changes. For their part, the writers do not appear to have commented on the matter so far.
The anime from Aniplex and Crunchyroll
A hope for fans: loyalty in sight
On July 7, 2024, Aniplex and Crunchyroll confirmed an anime series that will cover the entirety of the web novel.
Although there's no official release date yet, the production is currently in pre-recording and, according to industry sources, is targeting a fall 2025 release schedule.
The 36-second teaser showed key panels from the webtoon and underscored the desire to preserve the original iconography—including the constellation swords—a gesture interpreted as a direct response to the film's controversy.
The series will air simultaneously in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent, cementing the franchise's global reach.
From a Web story to a global phenomenon
Omniscient Reader exemplifies how a novel born in digital format can expand into multiple media without losing sight of its original audience.
The immediate challenge will be to demonstrate that cinema can reinterpret without betraying, while animation paves the way for the more faithful adaptation that readers crave.
Between expectations and fears, July 23rd will mark a milestone: it will confirm whether the sword—or the rifle—defines Kim Dokja's fate on the big screen and whether the reception will influence the vision of future anime.
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