Webtoon Spotlight

Spotlight#88: No Scope

Yeah, so remember in Scorching Romance where I mentioned my trip to Hawaii? Well, sit back and relax, dear viewers, because this will be a spiritual successor to that trip since there was still one other webtoon that I got interested in. So sit back, gamer gals and pals, because I'm turning up the brightness on the webtoon No Scope by ZOYANG.

Summary

Whether you are a total noob or pro gamer, everyone in their stepmom has heard of the hot new sci-fi/fantasy fps game that's taking the world by storm: PSI Bond! With its popularity growing by the day, everyone is trying to aim for the top, including the epic gamer geek Suho Kang. 

However, in his school, he happens to meet up with a living legend: the powerfully potent player Psychopomp, a moniker held by the narc Doonyoon Lee. Realizing that Doonyoon has the talent of a pro player but lacks everything else, he hopes that his gaming know-how and Doonyoon's potential can glitch them into the professional circuit and leave the competition pwned.

Characters

Doonyoon: Our little cinnamon roll Doonyoon, while having amazing reflexes and dexterity, is a complete dunce when it comes to the finer details. Overall though he is embarrassingly nice, polite, timid, and submissive, through Suho, he can get enough XP to grow out of his former position as an IRL NPC.

Suho: Doonyoon's best friend Suho is pretty much the brains behind the brawn. While he may look like a typical jock and type a student, Suho is very passionate about gaming to the point of almost obsession. Despite this, he is still friendly, protective, and supportive to all, especially Doonyoon. He is a man who grinds to be the best but isn't willing to nerf anyone down to get it.

Juri Han: Suho's supporting girl Juri has a massive one-sided crush on him. Despite her constant controversies and naive knowledge of the game, Juri still keeps trucking with her high self-esteem. She's the literal embodiment of lagging but having spirit.

Overview

No Scope is easily one of the most creative webtoons I've seen in my 4-year career. 2020 did make me open up to an appreciation of sports anime and shows like Haikyuu and Kuroko No Basket. I am also well-versed in gaming-style webtoons or shows with many gaming elements like HCLW and Let's Play. Still, No Scope is a full-on webtoon dedicated to the life of professional gamers/esports. Which is good considering we need more representation for the most oppressed minority in the world.

No Scope's most significant overall advantage is its usage of gaming lingo in an encouraging way. To exhausting detail, No scope tries to educate on various gaming lingo in a way that doesn't feel cringy or trying to relate to the fellow kids yo. It also puts much respect on the life of professional gamers, which I relate to. Like, I wouldn't say I like it when people look at someone's job or passion and assume it's lame because, oh, it's too geeky or looks easy.

 For me, respect the effort even when you don't like the craft all that much, but I digress. And while the art of the webtoon isn't the greatest considering the more cutesy art style, some cinematic shots are generally wallpaper-worthy. 

However, while the overall action isn't anything that special, they don't nerf the tactics and team strategies on display with the well-established rules of PsiBond genuinely had me engrossed with how interactive it feels. Plus, some of the one-sided beatdowns are funny as all hell and made me want to see what that DPS score must've been like.

But if that's not all great enough, then I think you'll love the character interaction. This series leaves you with that fun feeling that comes from being on a sports team or any group of friends, a feeling that I'm already nostalgic for now that I've grown up. 

Once the cast grows into the team Deathperdo (gold ass name), we get a lot of enjoyable and heartwarming moments that make you feel good, man. Plus, the chibi expressions are priceless. However, once the second half, we genuinely get to see the difference between the players and athletes where we see the divide that comes from Doonyoon wanting to play but also win in the world he loves now.

Epilogue

Overall No Scope is a straight AAA webcomic that only gets more buffed with time, and I don't want to be AFK from it any time soon. But with that, I will be taking a short cooldown from these unique April Webtoons, and let's see where the spotlight will be booted up next time.