Webtoon Spotlight

Spotlight#84: Ghost Theater

Have you ever been utterly blown away by something? If so, you probably understand why I just had to intercept the webtoon called Ghost Theater by LICO after I finished it. So let's start April with one of the most creative spotlights ever seen.

Summary

There isn't a single sane person in South Korea who doesn't know Rahee Ku's name. The young woman has made a name for herself as a talented and expressive actress in such a short time. However, like all good things, it comes to an end as Rahee gets put into a car accident that takes her family and her face's ability to make proper expressions. 

For weeks Rahee tries to find some way to restore her face, only to abandon all conventional options as she meets up with the mysterious Ghost Theater. In this place, lingering spirits are allowed to move on from their regrets to get properly judged in the afterlife. 

Realizing quickly that these spirits can give her the ability to express herself again, Rahee decides to join the mysterious theater to regain her face. All without realizing that she will gain far more than she bargained for.

Characters

Rahee Ku: Like every talented actress her age Rahee was slightly bossy and stuck up. However, after her employment at the ghost theater, Rahee quickly starts to mature. She starts looking back at her past relations with her family and becoming more introspective, kinder, and respectable.

Caron: The mysterious caretaker of the Ghost Theater, Caron is a wise, kind, and eccentric mentor figure to Rahee. His emotional intuition grants him an innate understanding of both plays and people. However, his need to protect others and his self-blaming can cloud his judgment on some days.

Paddy: The unfiltered assistant of Caron, Paddy is a spirit of the underworld with various supernatural abilities. Paddy is often short-tempered and snappy, but his intentions are always right.

Overview

Four years of webtoon, and I can confidently say that Ghost Theatre is one of the most refreshing and creative webtoons I've ever read. I've experienced Lico's style before in Reincarnation High school, but it's nothing like this. If I were to generalize, this is a combination of both Ghost Teller and Dr. Frost. Every arc, we get introduced to a new ghost with intricate stories and personalities that parallel Rahee very well. 

Through these ghosts, we also get introduced to plays that further parallel their struggle. This creates a very interesting premise as we effectively have multi-layered comparisons and contrasts with every requiem having its trials and tribulations. It's one thing to create a parallel with characters, but balancing that with the plays and giving the audience something to read on the side is amazing.

It's the literal definition of short and sweet as the art features heavy symbolism and some expert character designs that reflect the over-dramatic and cinematic tone. Ghost Theater, across its run, makes every arc truly mean something as we learn more about the supernatural world they've set up. 

And just when you think that the story eclipses the characters, we get hit with one of the most satisfying conclusions I've ever read with more twists than a twister, curly fry, and a Shamalayn movie combined. 

For the few musical tracks that we get, Ghost Theater hits us with some of the best music on the site, hands down. But, seriously the ending of this webtoon puts everything full circle and leaves off with a message that I feel is very important.

If Ghost Teller was supposed to reveal the flaws of humanity, then Theater is the story of redemption. The story of our mortality, and we need to try and live a life without regrets. Because we only have so many years on this planet and ghost theater tells us to find peace within ourselves and live freely before it all ends. Because for better or worse, we are human, which means that to move on, we need to forgive ourselves and others when tragedy strikes.

Epilogue

Overall I can't recommend this webtoon enough. Out of all the daily pass series I've read, this is easily one of the best and most binge-able at a short 51 chapters. I hope that you enjoy it before going up on daily pass. But with this requiem over, it's time to put the spotlight on something a little more "real."