#The Shadow Prophet Webtoon

[coconut530]

mARTch 30: Draw a gift for a friend (or three)

@the-smol-cricket is my actual friend, so I drew their fox sona. Hope you like it, Misty! 🧡✨

@ocreana I know we’re not actual friends, but I was really amazed with the events in 49: Crane Dive, so I redrew Ejo in his cell after he… saw some things 👓. One of my favorite scenes/episodes you have ever done!! Thank you for your beautiful work on the Shadow Prophet. ❤️✨

@little-the-rat, hi, it’s me again. I know we’re not actual friends either, but I had to make this. I’m still in love with your Kayne design practically a whole month later (IT JUST FITS HIM SO WELL GRRRRR); I just adore how the hair, necklaces, corset, and suit all have this extravagance that he would totally have about him. Compared to most Kaynes being just a plain suit, yours stands out. Anyway, I animated his first line with your design. I think it came out pretty cute, I hope you like it!! 🩷✨

Ejo reference:

I’ll try and make a colored version at some point

[webtoonenjoyer]

Made a video shouting out some underrated comics!

[mymindtoyours]

When your artist friends give you super beautiful Saru and T'Rina drawings for your bday... 💜 I feel spoilt.

The artists who made this are not on Tumblr but the Sarina art on the left is by Ealynn. Do look up her webtoon The Shadow Prophet. The one on the right is by a dear friend who is a designer but not active on socials. Definitely an inspiration to make some more Sarina art now that my holiday started I hope...!

[dobercorgis]

It’s spooky season so here are some webtoon recs

apologies in advance for the low quality images some of them are locked behind paywalls now (on the kr app the translated ones should be fine) and I was too lazy to go through all the chapters for the good panels

Ghost Teller- I’m so biased but this is one of my favorite webtoons. Summary in one line: ghosts go to therapy

Real summary: various ghosts (s1 is eastern ghosts, s2 is western ghosts) tell “human stories” (like how we talk abt ghost stories lol). the art is amazing, and all the episodes are all pretty solid. even if some stories are predictable you still feel for the characters (although personally I prefer s1 over s2)

Sweet Home- some of you might have seen it on Netflix but whether you watched it or not I highly recommend the webtoon (I have issues with the adaptation but that’s another story)

basically people suddenly start turning into monsters and the survivors of this apartment try to survive together. except the mc shows signs of becoming one of those monsters which creates unrest amongst the survivors. not going to get too into the monster part bc spoilers but the webtoon explores what people would do for survival so you get to see scummy ppl, kind ppl, all trapped together and try to survive 👍

the art style captures the story’s spooky/horror vibe so well. I didn’t include Bastard on the list (the previous webtoon the same author and artist worked on) bc it’s more of a psychological horror/thriller than creature? horror but if it sounds interesting or you liked sweet home I highly highly recommend Bastard as well.

+) There’s also a prequel called Shotgun Boy that’s more about the creatures’ origins

Surviving Romance- despite the title there’s little to no romance although it can probably be read as sapphic if you’d like. if you read makeup remover it’s by the same author. I’ve also seen some people compare this to orv but I can’t speak for that since I haven’t finished orv… haha

one line summary: mc gets isekai’d into a romance novel except it suddenly turns into a zombie apocalypse

long summary: mc is the mc of a romance novel but on the day she’s supposed to receive a confession from the male lead, there’s a zombie outbreak. she already read the novel so she knows the story and characters, but literally everybody that’s not the love interests don’t like her bc that’s how the mc of the novel was written. she finds out that the day resets when she dies but she doesn’t really care until someone she doesn’t know the face of saves her and she decides to find that person and make sure they make it out alive

even if you don’t like isekais (I personally don’t) it’s worth a try. it plays around the isekai premise well and the fourth wall moments were just *chef’s kiss* the impact of those moments especially when the webtoon was still ongoing was 🤌

the cast is primarily female characters, and despite the cast being on the slightly larger side, each of them are distinct from one another and the characters designs are very cute and colorful. overall it has an unique premise that it delivers pretty well on

Night of Shadows- kinda underrated tbh. mc has prophetic dreams, creatures from her dreams start appearing irl, and she’s the only one that knows how to deal with them.

mc is great. she’s strong, smart, and knows when not to give a fuck. the other three characters of the main cast are also pretty strongly established, and the plot and pacing are pretty good. this is the only one on the list that’s still ongoing (currently on hiatus after s1)

[thenegoteator]

for the obscure characters sketch prompts game: areum lee from night of shadows!

i really like this webtoon but unfortunately it's one of the daily pass ones <//3 i've been slowly making my way through day by day on my reread because she's worth it. to me. and as for situations...well she has fucked up prophetic dreams in canon, so maybe her having a nice dream for once? or going to an aquarium or something. or just her as the "pondering my orb" wizard sldjgkhjkljfeww

omg you're a trooper for persisting 🫡🫡🫡 she seems so fun!! I love her vibe, I hope she can catch a break, but in the mean time she's pondering her orb

[ihf-arts]

Fanart for some Webtoon originals XD My Deepest Secret, Neon Revenge, The Shadow Prophet, and Cursed Princess Club! 

[elvencantation]

I will never not be in awe of this gorgeous style and imagery 😱😍

[8requiems]

The Shadow Prophet: A Nice Change Of Pace

Official Synopsis: 

“The Great Prophet Godo has a place for everyone in his perfect society… so long as you aren't a failure. Itshou is living a diligent and sheltered life when she suddenly finds herself denounced and marked for exile. While her beliefs are shaken to their very core, a chance encounter with a childhood sweetheart derails Itshou’s banishment and puts her on the path to political uprising. Now facing down the same forces she once trusted to protect her, Itshou must untangle the web of lies at the heart of her city and unmask the Shadow Prophet.”

[Before I go further with this review, “The Shadow Prophet” at this point in time is not completed yet, so these points could be subject to change.]

Immersion:

As of now, The Shadow Prophet has 19 Episodes, but Episode 1 was a very strong pilot that demanded my attention. The art and writing both did their parts perfectly, but to understand why I think this way, I will dissect the first few panels of [Episode 1 Godo Says: “A Clean Room Mirrors A Clean Mind”].

The beginning of Episode 1 shows starts with a broadcast of “Godo TV”, and it immediately pulls the reader in everyone's, but more importantly Itshou’s, day-to-day. 

The next panel shows our main character Itshou searching through her cluttered room filled with paper cranes trying to search for something important. The messy room likely refers back to the Episode’s Title: “Godo Says: A Clean Room Mirrors A Clean Mind”. 

This is clearly not Itshou’s day: She lost her (whatever it is), she has to get a ride quickly so she won’t be late to her exams and being reminded of her late mother’s death because of rebels on the news.

Surrounded by all this confusion and negativity, she coils lies down in her bed with the many cranes she had made up until that point. It should also be said that on “The Shadow Prophets’ Marissa Delbressine and Anne Delseit LIVE Q&A (Toon Ladies Episode 06)”, Marissa confirms that the cranes Itshou made are used to focus on whatever she has to do, as well as carrying already present symbolism such as Luck, getting a wish granted, and/or even being used for meditative purposes.

At this point, I have only talked about half of the chapter, and I already cheering for Itshou’s success, and even started to unconsciously project some of her anxieties onto myself.

Setting:

From Itshou’s dorm, the city, and even the school: Marissa’s ability to draw settings that give off their respective vibes. For instance:

The Rush Hour of the city looks very cloudy, hidden, and pretty suffocating. Everyone doing their part as to not disappoint their peers nor The Great (yet mysterious) Godo, which you will quickly learn more about as you read. Because as the synopsis states, “The Great Prophet Godo has a place for everyone in his perfect society… so long as you aren't a failure”. The city’s suffocating environment matches the toxic relationship between the structure of this society and those that have to conform to it.

These scenes are from Episode 4: “Godo Says: When out of Ground. Learn To Fly.”

And as this scene suggests, The world is moving way too fast for Itshou to mentally comprehend at this moment in time. She can’t move at such a pace as calmly as everyone else around here seems to be. Although Godo Says: “A Productive Day Is A Healthy Day”, as prior events proved, Godo doesn’t acknowledge the imperfections of man in while only appreciating perfection.

This may sound like a digression, but it’s these experiences that will ultimately move the story forward.

Characters:

Because I want to keep the bare minimum of info so you, a possible reader, can enjoy the story more, I’ll only talk about two characters: Itshou and Ryuichi.

Itshou

Itshou’s role as the protagonist is to learn more about the truths of this world and determining the path she wants to go down. As soft-spoken as she appears to be in the initial chapters of the story, it doesn’t mean she isn’t determined or even afraid to go after an answer if need be, which caught me off-guard. She is definitely a character worth following should you consider reading The Shadow Prophet.

Ryuichi

Ryuichi, whether you love or hate him, is a compelling character. Everything he does makes you immediately curious to figure him out because ever since his introduction, we the reader could tell that he isn’t your average joe or even just any government worker. The more I learn about his relationship between him and Itshou, the more confusing his motives seem to be. Moreover, the way he gaslights Itshou makes me see him as the main antagonist (not even regarding what he did on Exam Day, which basically starts the story).

Quality:

The Shadow Prophet is one of the more unique Webcomics on Webtoons featured collection in terms of art. The only other Featured Webtoon that has put me in awe in terms of art is Space Boy, a webtoon I definitely want to get to Reviewing. I could share more examples of the art, but if what I have shared doesn’t convince you, I don’t think another example could.

Execution:

The Execution so far has been par for the course, and it helps that Marissa’s personal life had influenced the stories world, and some of its characters, but not in a way that messes with the integrity of the whole plot in a negative way.

Final Thoughts:

I ended up finding this out through the Toon Ladies Interview I referred to earlier when I was talking about Immersion, but apparently, there is a playlist you can listen to when reading The Shadow Prophet which I thought was pretty neat, but the playlist someone was meant to post was not posted, which sucks.

Follow My Instagram and Twitter to know a bit more about me.

Arrivederci Brothers

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. The more i think about it, the more parallels i find between lore olympus and another less-known webtoon called "the shadow prophet". No, i don't imply they are in any way similar genre- or plot-wise or that one copies the other but hear me out: the themes

Shadow prophet, like LO, deals with age gap (and does not romanticise it at all), nepotism, utopian society with dubious morals and leaders, privileges and how bad their impact on all of the involved can get if something goes wrong and paints them in a way that they are constant obstacles for everyone involved instead of, yknow, making life easier for every character RS prefers thus diminishing any possible deeper conflict that'd make some actual plot or character progression. Even tho it is a made up futuristic scenery, it blends well with sentimental traditions shown though clothing and rituals and such, so there is a good lore explanation for the mixing of the old and new (where LO is all over the place so it ends up in cherrypicking whichever gets the stans to squeal more).

No, i will not elaborate on the plot bc everything is a spoiler. First season is only 40 episodes yet tells miles and miles more than LO's entire run so far

It also has neurodivergent and disability representation done well, at least in my opinion

It has gorgeous art too (i'm actually gonna go and say it's the most unique and beutiful artstyle i've seen on webtoons). It also utilises music made specificaly for the episode (just like for purple hyacinthus) and even gifs so it is quite a unique experience

The biggest joke? This comic updates on sundays as well🙃

(This is, again, by no means a comparison of these titles, as they are completely different from each other, but it is staggering how some themes are way too similar, but painted differently and send different messages. Anyway, please check out the shadow prophet, the author is gonna be back with season 2 soon)

2. I feel like LO has a bit of HP energy to it, and by that I mean people in power praise it as some groundbreaking work, when really you pick it apart and see its a mean spirited, uninspired story that happily conforms to every regressive status quo bias (gender roles, classism, racism, misogyny, etc) under a cheap veneer of liberal "feminism", and that is why it's marketed as something It's not. It can pretend it's progressive under a female MC + creator while it challenges absolutely nothing.

3. Persephone's AOW wasn't just poorly planned/executed, it's also that RS is too scared to let her darling be "problematic", leading to what seems to have been at least three retcons to it because of a small but loud section of fans being disappointed. A confident writer not only would had seek out help from their editor to plan this out, but they also wouldn't buckle under minor bad faith criticism to flip flop so easily on their own story. It makes it clear she's just making it up as she goes.

4. What’s wild to me is RS created fantasy racism in this story yet seems to have zero awareness that she’s framed the race who is discriminated against (the nymphs specifically) as the bad guys who “deserve” their mistreatment because they’re bad no matter what and they’re in the wrong for daring to stand up to their oppressors. We don’t see any male nymphs or this discrimination play out against satyrs either, so it’s hatred that’s both racist AND misogynistic. Like what the fuck?

5. The retcon of the AOW is also Rachel admitting she doesn't want Persephone (a literal Greek goddess and Dread Queen) cannot be anything but an already perfect, heroic person, which not only makes her an uninteresting character, it makes an uninteresting story. What is there for her to learn from? To grow? To overcome? She's by design supposed to only be static, which is a huge problem considering she's supposed to be the lead character and is supposed to be "growing up".

6. I'm kinda confused by the trial because the punishment is kinda how the myth's ending would go with the half year separation (except now it's a set amount of years that zeus will eventual forgive), but it's not that's not the myth because apparently now the myth is supposed to start (four years in? thats not good writing) so how would the half year punishment even happen then? persephone kills more people with winter and they go on trial AGAIN? like none of this seems planned out at all.

7. this isn't even just about RS but I just hate how many of the WT creators are white women who pretend to care about diversity and yet when they show their cast of some new comic theyre making or some OC they thought up it's just the same brand of skinny white people (bonus if the antagonist is the only one who just happens to be darker skinned). like put your money where your mouth is and give us an ounce of body fat and melanin, i'm begging 😭

8. Just wait till Rachel Smythe and other creator’s of this retelling, realize that the Abduction of Persephone mainly focuses on Persephone and Demeter, not Persephone and Hades. Idk why, but I find that a bit contradicting to Rachel’s “basic knowledge of Greek mythology” statement 😭🤷‍♀️

You’re basically developing an unimportant character in the myth when you should be developing Demeter and Persephone, plus their relationship. Hades is there just to set the plan forward; he has no other need in that myth but to explain the seasons and keep Persephone as his queen. 

9. Yeah actually I don't think we talk enough about how Hera had her own son see photos of a woman in the most terrifying position of her life. I know it was to like, get rid of them but Persephone didn't know who Hephestus was and she still doesn't know how Hera handled it afaik, which again, takes away a lot of her agency because she's only gotten to tell 1 person on her own volition about what happened, everyone else either assumes, finds out through prodding even when she's uncomfortable, or uses their powers. It's just weird that it's very brushed over that Hephestus has seen what Apollo did with his own eyes  because he'd have to see them to get rid of them. 

10. there's some LO fans who are just desperate to make it deeper than it is and how it "deals with serious topics" which like one) no it doesnt but two) you guys can enjoy a shallow romance comic, no one cares. a lot of us like shallow stuff for mindless entertainment. trying to make it deeper than it is only opens it up to bigger scrutiny when it doesnt meet even the bare minimum, and only puts more pressure on RS to work outside her comfort zone to where we end up w/ this degraded mess it is now.

[ocreana]

I've been stalking The Shadow Prophet on Webtoon since the season 1 finale came out. The release of the second season was said to be around January of this year. I was wondering if it's still being worked on or abandoned/put on the back burner for any particular reason. Thanks!

We're still working on it, though a lot more slowly than I had initially projected. We've had a lot of set backs in terms of health and other things going on. We now expect to be back late Q1, but most likely Q2 in 2023 at the latest. Thank you for reaching out and for inbetween updates and art previews you can check out my instagram or creator profile on Webtoons.com. <3

[coconut530]

Happy Shadow Prophet Return Day!!!

[webtoonenjoyer]

Hhhhh

[styrac0saurus]

here are my webtoon recs while i am here (im on mobile so i will be lazy and not provide links but i will try to sort by genre)

horror horror (psychological, supernatural, etc): melvina's therapy*, gremoryland, elena, stagtown, nocturne, where the light never shone

supernatural but not really horror horror: blood ties, ghost theater, tales of the unusual

action: viral hit, unholy blood*

drama/fantasy: the shadow prophet*, siren's lament, the strange tales of oscar zahn, annarasumanara, house of stars, strawberry seafoam

comedy/slice of life: my giant nerd boyfriend, marry me, the strongest florist

pieces of media i wish i had as a anxious wallflower middle schooler: cursed princess club*, the makeup remover, acception

some of these are actually independent canvas title on the webtoon website, starred * titles are my absolute faves currently

[ocreanablog]

After years, it’s finally here. Itshou has stepped into the world. It’s still surreal to me, but right now so many people are reading our story. I’m so thankful for all the comments, the theories and the passion of the readers! Me and co-writer @alicubi​ can’t thank you enough!

If you haven’t seen it yet, it would mean to world to me to give it a quick look on Webtoon originals! If it’s a match, please like and subscribe! Tell a friend <3

From now on I’ll be posting Itshou stuff here: wips, old art, style progression, thoughts on comic making etc. So please tune in now and then for some updates ^_^

I also would like to give special thanks to Coco Ouwerkerk / @colourbee​, for introducing me to Webtoon! If you haven’t yet, go check out her wonderful lgbtquia+ webtoon Acception! Another big thank you to the Dutch Mondriaan Fund who funded an early version of this story. Without them this project would have never seen the light of day. And most of all: thank you, Willem Ritstier, for plowing away so many years working together as the original writer on The Shadow Prophet and giving me the space and confidence to continue this road in my own way.

In memory of Pieter van Oudheusden who walked alongside me and Willem as a writer on this project for sadly too short a while.

So, since I’ve never had much of a social media presence, here’s some info on me if you want to get to know me a bit <3

I basically live on chocolate, black tea and back rubs. Enjoy listening to let’s plays, OSTs and audiobooks while drawing. Hope to one day draw only quality yaoi. Have an ever expanding list of fictional crushes. Still keep a locket somewhere with a picture of me and Sonic. Have a wonderful and understanding husband who buys me Sonic merch for my birthdays. Am thankful for the continued love, patience and support of said husband, our cute toddler and our family and friends.

I live in the Netherlands and work as a freelance comic artist, animator and illustrator. Made my comic debut in 2012 with the classic adventure series Ward for Eppo magazine in the Netherlands, written by Willem Ritstier. Completed four books for the series.

Other activities: Core staff member for the Dutch lgbtquia+ convention YaYCon. Founder of / artist for the Dutch former boys’ love doujinshi circle OpenMinded. I’ve been known as Ealynn in the Dutch animeconvention scenes... ages ago XD

Thank you for reading my long tale.

[ihf-arts]

Hey look, something that’s not Art Fight XD Made fanart for the webtoons The Shadow Prophet, Purple Hyacinth, and Thornstone! Check them all out! 

[elvencantation]

😍💛