Ordering Off-Menu: Otome Game Play and the Quest for Survival in Gwon Gyeoeul and SUOL’s Villains are Destined to Die (2020-Present)

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

Abstract

Recently, we have witnessed a rapid increase in the Western readership and consumption of East Asian graphic narratives. In addition to an influx of Japanese manga within the English-language market, the accessibility of Korean manhwa – taking the form of scrollable, full-colour webcomics found within both official apps and unofficial ‘scanlations’ – has garnered an explosive level of popularity. Coinciding with this growth of readership there emerges a cross-cultural interest in ‘Reincarnated Villainess’ narratives. These narratives exist upon an axis. They are, at heart, metafictional experiments in genre. Their proposed source material is either a romance (web-)novel or a female-demographic otome game; either a fixed narrative path or one with multiple potential variations. Whilst their protagonist, the villainess, is positioned as the subject of an isekai transportation from our modern world, or else shown to regress through time – usually from adulthood, at the precipice of execution, to childhood – and thus given the opportunity to correct the mistakes of her past-life.

Gwon Gyeoeul and SUOL’s Villains are Destined to Die (2020-present) falls upon this axis as an otome inspired isekai manhwa. Waking within the body of Penelope Eckhart, our protagonist discovers she is trapped within her favourite game: ‘Daughter of the Duke – Love Project’. Further, she finds herself stuck on ‘Hard Mode’, a secret prologue of the main narrative. Here, playing as Penelope, she must try and win the affection of those around her whilst working from a deficit, afforded none of the heroine’s natural advantages. To succeed means surviving the main narrative of the game. However, the limited multiple-choice options only lead to death. Thus begins Penelope’s active manipulation of option mechanics within an unbeatable game.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusUnpublished - 12 Jul 2024
EventThe Fifteenth Annual International Graphic Novel and Comics Conference: Comics and Technologies - University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
Duration: 10 Jul 202412 Jul 2024
https://internationalgraphicnovelandcomicsconference.com

Conference

ConferenceThe Fifteenth Annual International Graphic Novel and Comics Conference
Abbreviated titleIGNCC
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityNorwich
Period10/07/2412/07/24
Internet address

Keywords

  • Manhwa
  • Manga
  • Comics Studies
  • Video Games
  • Otome
  • Archetypes

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