Post — Aaron Ngo

Major Spoilers are included in this Webtoon Review. Please read with caution.

unOrdinary had officially caught my attention. For those who hadn’t read my review on the “Beginning Arc”, the link is here. The series follows main character John Doe navigating a superpowered school—Wellston Private High School—without any powers of his own. After reading both the “Beginning Arc” and the “Kovoro Mall Arc”, I have some thoughts and opinions on what isn’t being told in this series. The beauty of the Webtoon is what’s not being said.

The second story arc centered around John and his best friend Seraphina going to the mall. This may not sound exciting or actiony—it wasn’t really—but the “Kovoro Arc” hinted that John Doe may be hiding some things about his past. I have a feeling that this series is playing the long game—taking the time to build up their characters, setting, and plot first.

Episodes 8 and 9 explored John and Seraphina going to the mall and running into a rude woman complaining about the store’s ability gauge. This showcased the privilege of superpowers, and how powered individuals were able to get away with things, as the store clerk ended up apologizing to the rude woman. Then John refused to have his ability gauged and reacted when the store clerk tried. Why would he react if he doesn’t have powers? Hmmm….

Episode 10 was John and Seraphina leaving the mall and getting attacked by an invisible assailant. Seraphina took care of the creeper once they were discovered. John was somehow able to sense being followed, which made Seraphina—and the audience—wonder how he was able to sense an invisible person.

Based on John’s refusal to have his ability gauged and how he sensed the invisible person following him and Seraphina, these questions kept popping up in my brain: “Does John have superpowers? Does John know he has superpowers? Is he using them subconsciously?” I found myself theorizing, and I’m positive other readers were thinking along the same lines to a certain extent.

Episode 11 was the aftermath of the invisible assailant attack. John insisted Seraphina stay the night at his place for safety reasons. Seraphina agreed and stumbled across the Unordinary book shown in the Prologue, learning John’s father—W.H. Doe—was the one who wrote it. We learned this book was controversial for inspiring vigilantes to act like superheroes. This adds to Seraphina’s curiosity of John and what else he may be hiding from her and the rest of the world.

Episode 12—the last episode of the arc—centered around John’s nightmare—an unspecific memory from his past—and how that had affected his behavior with Seraphina in the morning. This was an intriguing end to the “Kovoro Mall Arc”, as John accidentally yelled at Seraphina before she headed back to her dorm. This made me wonder about their friendship and how they became best friends in the first place. Curiosity and the author intentionally holding back information had me wanting to read more of this series.

Overall, I’m really liking unOrdinary’s story progression so far. The laser focus on John and Seraphina’s characters was refreshing. Usually, superhero shows would have thrown a bunch of characters into the mix at this point. Taking the time to invest in John and Seraphina during this arc was like the author gently guiding us through her world and how the characters basically interact with it. I had severe superhero fatigue earlier this year post-Arrow ending, but it may have worn off now. I can’t wait to read the rest of the Webtoon series.

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