The emotional start to The Second Coming of Gluttony starts with a princess, whose gaze was set upon the spear that had impaled her chest. The spearman, one that resembled a demon, disappeared into the ashes after victimizing another one of his foes.
The princess, surrounded by a mass of corpses, chuckled at the irony of her demise. To sum it up, her planet was invaded by alien forces looking for a new homeland.
The seven gods that were responsible for protecting the planet in exchange for them being worshipped had arranged for another alien force, earthlings. They were summoned in masses, yet they added to the chaos with their desire for profit, and with racist and selfish desires. A very small portion of them fought in the war between aliens.
The princess chuckled, then cursed at the earthlings that abandoned her. Though she then saw an earthling whose head was still moving, this was one out of the very few that had fought in the war. He was one that maintained his honor, and then she observed darkness greeting him. The darkness, in exchange for all the things he had suffered and his achievements, asked for his wish.
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- Part 1: Seol’s Lifechanging Wish in The Second Coming of Gluttony
- Part 2: The Main Character of The Second Coming of Gluttony
- Part 3: Main Theme of The Second Coming of Gluttony
- Part 4: Undeservingly Entertaining Elements in The Second Coming of Gluttony
- Part 5: Conclusive Remarks
Part 1: Seol’s Lifechanging Wish in The Second Coming of Gluttony
The story’s premise was essentially shaped by what Seol had asked the darkness in front of him to grant him. While he was in a state incapable of moving, the darkness exclaimed that it was capable of reading his mind. With that, he wished to be sent back into the past to change his fate.
The darkness was in utter shock at this wish, questioning why he wants that when he could just be revived instead. Though, he saw no value in revival considering the current state of his world.
A long silence followed him altering his wish and wanting only his memories to be sent back to his past self instead of his body which was impossible to transfer. The darkness once again revolted at his arrogant requests, though before anything could happen, Seol passed away.
The princess, who was observing all of this, requested that his wish be granted and forwarded a valuable possession of her own to the darkness. With that, his wish was granted, and his hazy memories were sent back to the past. A beautiful way to start off the story, to say the least.
Part 2: The Main Character of The Second Coming of Gluttony
Seol, the main character, is the one that experiences the most character development in the story – though this can be more of a bad thing than good. His memories being sent back to him in the past have an adverse impact on the direction of his life, from being a gambler to being a cool warrior that can take down anyone in his path.
He undergoes a sudden change in his personality which raises a plethora of questions but inevitably makes sense with the presence of his memories. From an argumentative, traitorous alcoholic he becomes a just person that wills to make a change in the fate of the world.
He sees the fantasy world that he goes to as something that is more than a job, unlike the rest of the cast. His Magic Vision ability, one that allows him to see good and bad outcomes with little context, is an amazing ability at the beginning of the story which exerts significant fascination of the reader, though it gets completely thrown out the window later on.
While it lasts, it does fit Seol’s desire to grow as a person. A weird thing is his will to save a girl, despite having the ability to sense danger, and almost dying for it but surviving through the power of plot armor!
While his character in itself is generic and nothing out of the ordinary, he can still relatively be very entertaining.
Part 3: Main Theme of The Second Coming of Gluttony
The Second Coming of Gluttony is a Power Fantasy that obnoxiously inculcates the fact throughout the entirety of the novel. This can be evident with the existence of its level system which incentivizes training to eliminate the next big bad that threatens the prosperity of the world.
While a level system isn’t bad conceptually, it does get disregarded sometimes with the main character beating people that he clearly should be incapable of beating.
The concept of a harem derivates from the romance element of this story. While the buildup to that harem is iffy, it can be pretty entertaining to see the reactions of the girls that Seol saves. Though, Seol’s a dense character that doesn’t understand who loves him and why which, oddly, adds to the comedic elements of the novel. The harem itself, however, is consistent with forgettable characters.
The action is great when accompanied by phenomenal writing, the combat is very expressive and in your face. When you look back on Seol’s past, and how he was driven to do what he does, some fights can carry a lot of weight behind them and add to Seol’s desire for personal growth and to escape the shackles of his pitiful life and build a better one.
Part 4: Undeservingly Entertaining Elements in The Second Coming of Gluttony
While the later portions of the novel are very meaningless and filled with plot holes, the earlier sections do have their merits. The story itself was driven by countless motivations, realistic ones, that drove Seol to do what he does. Realism defined the novel’s early chapters and the thorough descriptions of Seol’s alcoholic and gambling phases proliferated meaning within the action sequences.
The comedy in this novel, while unexpected considering the dark tones of the prologue, is prevalent and consistent. The main source of this is likely Seol’s high school boy-type personality and it doesn’t get old. While the side characters are replaceable with ease, their presence would be much more preferred than not.
Part 5: Conclusive Remarks
The Second Coming of Gluttony is a Power Fantasy that fulfills its purpose; it is insurmountably entertaining. Seol’s weird personality, the plain interesting side characters, the harem, the action sequences, and the overall story is entertaining – though that’s about it.
The later portions of the novel are shallow and lack the motive that was present in the initial portions of the novel, yet you stick around just because the introduction was that beautiful. Despite its predicted shortcomings, this novel is still a great read and I recommend it for someone looking to pass their time well.
