Superhuman Battlefield Review | Enjoy

Written on August 25, 2024


I was moved already at the opening, and it reminded me so much of many scenarios of friendship in which case one would be lost, leave, or be gone somehow and the others would feel their absence in concert with the situation of a great length of time having passed and gone since their times together. When the first major character looked at the spunky expressions on their faces in the picture, I was moved, because it reminded me of my own experiences with loss, given that I used to be just like that with my former close friends. We used to be adventurous, curious, untroubled, and brazen, and now, we're just a bunch of people wearing suits with trimmed haircuts doing monotonous have-to work. The dull expression on the character's face reminded me much of what it feels like to be reminded again of the vividness, vastness, and richness stolen from me by time and situations far beyond our complete understanding. We were young, and we had either that soft knowing smile or that devilish grin of youthful ambition and confidence. But now, we sigh and close our eyes with our eyeglasses and professional gaits. We used to take on large roles, but now, we're banal and utterly unrecognized and cared about. We feel nostalgic for those years, and the emotions of frustration and grief that came with loss have become a stone, boring expression. That is exactly what that start portrayed well, and it is probably even more impressive than the true protagonist himself, who is initially portrayed as and can be considered a mere Gary Stu "hero."

However, as I read on, through his initial interactions with a nurse character, in contrast with his previous depictions, he is much more grounded here, making realistic inferences, and the nurse's responses fit the circumstances. Now, this is more than just an instance of realism in a vacuum, but it helps stabilize the narrative after its grandiose opening, which preceded the scenes with the glasses-wearing character staring at the picture. As such, the contrast propelled by the nurse-protagonist sequence, which I identify as the third narrative thread, aids both a dynamic, three-dimensional experience and a coherence that guarantees that there is a human grounded point of reference to it all. Ultimately, the protagonist and the glasses-wearing character are both effective axes of a broader first arc that is currently evolving from its grandiose, but conceivably typical prologue sequence.

The reveal that the glasses-wearing character, who was depicted initially as the equal counterpart to the main character, was a student of his changes much, but it is imaginable and conventional, especially in this era of power fantasies and Gary Stus.

Since 17 years has passed since the protagonist disappeared and presumed to be dead when he came back, the age gap, not only in terms of biological age, but also in culture and technology, hints at a growing tension that will become clearer as he interacts with characters whom he knew, such as the glasses-wearing character. The fact that the protagonist did not feel that 17 years has passed and said even that only a few days had passed for him underscores this intimated conflict. The happiness displayed by the glasses-wearing character, whose name I will finally recognize, Jeho, adds only to this  strain of dynamics in resources (i.e., power or strength), background, and perspective.

The fact that the protagonist, whose name I will also finally recognize, Yeob, maintains his spunky attitude, while Jeho looks desperate is a simple illustration of this shift, which is sudden for Yeob, who disappeared and came back feeling like only a couple days had passed, but life-long for Jeho, who stayed behind and is now in his late forties. (To clarify, I said "forties" because Yeob said that he should be 47 years old after he returned from his 17-year-long disappearance, and it is likely that Jeho is now around the same age as Yeob should be biologically.) 

Yeob's spunky statement "Seems like you got a lot weaker?" and Jeho's response "It's been peaceful," illustrates further the difference.

Jeho and Yeob's following conversation to this grounds their initial intense greeting. 

Jeho said: "You'll find out when you get older as well. You start crying more as you age." Yeob responded: "I wouldn't know because I'm still young though?" Yeob later asked about the request he made before he disappeared, and it was a joke about his friends making a biography for him. Jeho said that they did abide by their promise and said that the film became top 1 in the worldwide box office.

Afterwards, Yeob expresses his vulnerability. He said several things: that he thought he died in the dungeon, which was the place whither he disappeared, that the world is filled with so many new things he had never seen before, that it does not feel real, and that even though he saved the world, he was really just a poor homeless person.

The overarching plot becomes introduced to the protagonist, specifically about the virtual reality sport called "Battlefield". The story says that it was a new business for the superhumans "who became useless after the war." The superhumans were part of the people affected by the power caused by the monsters from underground. This was what was narrated about in the prologue sequence. As such, when the protagonist saved the world, he defeated the underground monsters or "civilization."

The protagonist continues to be grounded and realistic about his circumstances, given that with the amount of burden on him, it is imaginable to want to stop living like a zoo animal all the time. It is conceivable that he would want to live for himself.

While the scene where Yeob unknowningly calls Jeob's daughter attractive can be considered strange and creepy, they are 30 and 23, respectively, both adult in mind and body. Moreover, bringing up briefly a pertinent complicated topic such as this cements further the concept of "17 years have passed," given that a lot of the women that are biologically and mentally around his adult age currently were only children before his disappearance, which, as mentioned earlier, to him, was only a few days ago.